September 14, 2016

EXPLORING CHICAGO

For the most part, I usually don’t travel much outside of my neighborhood. I’m a huge fan of walking and love that fact that Chicago is a very walkable city. Last weekend my husband and I decided to get outside our little Chicago bubble and go exploring.

We decided to go on a little adventure with the help of Enterprise CarShare. This member-based service offers automated rental vehicles by the hour, the day, or even overnight. You’re able to enjoy the convenience and spontaneity of having a car without the hassle and expense of owning one.

We chose to make a day of it and reserved our car using the Enterprise CarShare app. It was super easy to find a car to reserve in our neighborhood so we booked it. What’s so great about this service is that Enterprise CarShare allows you to go where you want, whenever you want. Now here’s a look at what we did:

STOP #1: COFFEE {AND A CROISSANT} AT LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN

My husband LOVES coffee and I am all about breakfast these days so we decided to start our day at one of our favorite spots: Le Pain Quotidien in the Gold Coast. It was right by where we had to pick up our Enterprise CarShare car so we thought we would fuel up before we hit the road. Le Pain Quotidien has the best pastries {my personal favorite is their chocolate croissant} and I absolutely love the organic coffee.

STOP #2: SHOPPING AT FASHION OUTLETS OF CHICAGO

The next stop on our adventure was to the Fashion Outlets of Chicago. We felt like we needed some new fall clothes since the seasons are changing. I love this mall because it is super close to the city and has so many stores in one location. Some of our favorites include: J.Crew Factory, Neiman Marcus Last Call, Cole Haan, DVF, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Tory Burch, Vince, and the Bloomingdale’s Outlet Store.

STOP #3: LUNCH AT UMAMI BURGER

After we got our shopping on, we decided to take a break for lunch. I’ve heard great things about Umami Burger in Wicker Park so we thought we would give it a try. We both got the Cali burger and split the skinny fries. My personal favorite was their homemade ketchup. There was definitely some truffle oil in there that made it absolutely delicious.

STOP #4: PHOTO SHOOT

Right outside of the restaurant and close to where we parked our car was a fun mural {bloggers love their murals!} so we decided to take an impromptu photo shoot. I usually do these with my other blogger friends, but my super sweet husband was on board and did a great job as a photographer…don’t you think?

STOP #5: GROCERY SHOPPING AT WHOLE FOODS

Lastly, we made a stop at the grocery store. I usually go by foot to places super close to me, but when I have the chance I love shopping at the huge Whole Foods Market on Kingsbury Street in Lincoln Park.  I would have to say that it’s my all time favorite place to market in the city. I love the wide selection of products, the huge salad bar, fun food stations, and of course the wine bar {when I’m not pregnant}.

Check out a few snaps of our day…
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So as you can see, Enterprise CarShare is the perfect alternative to car ownership and great for urban areas {like Chicago} where owning a car can become expensive. Interested in trying it out? Click here to select your city and enter the promo code BLOG 16 —it’s $0 to join AND you’ll get your first year membership free {plus $20 in driving credits}. Happy driving friends!

*This post was sponsored by Enterprise CarShare. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that make GCG possible. 

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30 thoughts on “EXPLORING CHICAGO”

  12. Shea Sayers

    This sounds like such a fun day! I love playing tourist in my city–I tend to stick to my usual places too but it’s fun to get out and explore! You’re making me want to go back to Chicago–it’s been several years since I’ve visited there!

  26. Kasie Chelanne

    We need Enterprise CarShare in Los Angeles! We just downsized to one car and are still getting used to it. Having an hourly rental option would be perfect for us! It looks like the two of you had a wonderful day exploring! I love that bag by the way.

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