An Evening on Chicago's Oak Street Beach

Affordable Tiered Quince Dress—comes in both washable silk and cotton. There’s also a mini version! (It’s obviously inspired by the Anthropologie Somerset dress, but the price tag is a lot better.) / Birkenstocks (Have been eyeing this pair, though! Kids’ version here.) / Sunglasses / Lucy’s Swimsuit (Baby/toddler version here.) / Emma’s Swimsuit / Radio Flyer Family Via e-Bike

Welcome to my favorite beach in Chicago. (And welcome back to my blog. 😜)

So we did something very out of character for our family:

We cancelled all travel plans for the second half of the summer.

And I’ve gotta say that I am loving this very 90s-style summer. Or at least the kind of summer that Mitch and I independently experienced in the 90s! No camps, no plans. (The girls did attend camp at the beginning of the summer, but only for two weeks.) I remember waking up every morning excited that once again, I was free to do whatever I wanted. Within reason, of course. Ha. ;) And it’s so nice to give Emma and Lucy a taste of that!

Last night, since we once again had no plans, we decided to bike down to Oak Street Beach, which, if you’ve never been, is Chicago’s coolest beach, IMO. It’s right off Michigan Avenue, surrounded by all the big buildings, and the juxtaposition of the beach and the city is very surreal.

There’s also a beachside restaurant called Whispers, and you can sit and dine with your toes in the sand. (It’s pricey, though. A good tip for keeping things reasonable is getting a couple of drinks and some fries!)

I wore this affordable Quince tiered dress, which comes in both washable silk and cotton in tons of colors. There’s also a mini dress version! It’s one of the most versatile dresses in my closet, and I wear it throughout three seasons. Dress it down, like I obviously did on Oak Street Beach—or dress is up with chunky heeled sandals and some jewelry. You could even brush your hair! ;)

Quince’s dress is obviously inspired by the original Anthropologie Somerset line of dresses, but the price tag is a lot better. That said, Quince really only carries solid colors, whereas Anthro offers a bunch of patterns and different versions of the OG dress. I’ve long been a Somserset fan, and I do still purchase the pieces, but tend to buy the staples from Quince and the patterned ones from Anthropologie. Both brands sizing is about the same; I would say that the dresses run true to size but if you’re in between, go down. (Especially if you have a smaller chest like I do!)

As you can see from the pics, it was a great night. We enjoyed snacks and lollipops, listened to music, played paddle ball and chatted excitedly about an upcoming birthday party. Summer 2024, you’re turning out to be a gem. ✨

I wonder what we’ll do tonight… 😉