Good Morning Friends!

I’m back for the fourth and final day of my travel journal. Today’s stop…Chicago!

Don’t be deceived…Chicago looked like spring but felt like winter when I was a speaker late last month at the Vision Window Treatment Conference. Visions runs in conjunction with KBIS, the big Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. I loved meeting tons of designers and window treatment professionals and seeing all the gorgeous kitchen and bath products.

I was excited to see fashion designer Jason Wu’s line of bath products for Brizo. Yes, Mrs. Obama’s go-to style guru can also make a pretty good looking bathroom, don’t you think!?

An invite to the HGTV cocktail party was a special treat!

Thanks to Rich and Laurie for the special invite and telling us about the all-new HGTV Remodels site. You’ll want to check it out and see what all the buzz is about!

While in Chicago, I also enjoyed several sites and restuarants. I had a fun lunch with Tiffany (from my staff) at a cool new Thai spot called the Slurping Turtle.  I told you on Monday how I loved Bento Boxes and they had a fabulous one!

It was such a pretty time to be in Chicago with the tulips all in bloom.

And I had a fantastic stay at my favorite hotel, the Peninsula.  If you follow me on Twitter, you know I tweeted about my stay there and this arrived within minutes to my breakfast table…what a sweet treat!

Since it was my 10th Anniversary, my hubby met me for the weekend to celebrate and the Peninsula treated us with complimentary chamapagne and chocolate-dipped berries!

Lunch at RL is always in order when in the windy city, especially since it’s just steps away from the Peninsula…

and just around the way from the famous Water Tower. How could I resist going there again for a delicious salad and glass of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc?

Another special treat was seeing my great friend Frank Ponterio’s gorgeous Pied a Terre at the Ritz Carlton Showhouse sponsored by Traditional Home. Carter and I also had a lovely dinner with Frank and his wife Becky at the chic Henri over-looking Millennium Park and the Art Institute.

Another AWESOME experience was having drinks at the coolest bar ever… The Aviary. Their drinks are works of art and culinary delights. My behind-the-scenes tour with my friend Steve Rugo (who happens to be the architect of this hip spot) made it even more exciting!

Naturally, a visit to the Hermes store was in order.

Especially since we were just around the corner on Saturday morning, dining at this yummy place!

The whole trip was a great success, even though it was freezing cold and I had to pull out my fur coat just 2 days before May!

I ended my trip with one last meal…Oysters and chowder at Shaw’s Crab House with a Bloody Mary to boot!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my travel journals this week. Stay tuned for another product or two from KBIS in tomorrow’s post when we’re going “retro”.

xo, Tobi