TRAVEL STORY: A DAY IN NORTH FORK, NY

We stumbled upon a fork in the road, and we chose the road less traveled.

My family and I were lucky to all have a weekend off at the same time. So what do we do? Travel, of course! We hopped into our car and headed to North Fork aka. the "un-Hamptons".

Most people take a long weekend to enjoy the area, but we only had a day to explore. And I think one day was pretty sufficient to enjoy the best of North Fork.

Here's a look at our day trip itinerary:

We decided to start at the Eastern-most tip of the island. The beautiful fields of Lavender by the Bay are picturesque. Unfortunately, they had already cut down all the lavender, but it was nice to browse their cute gift shop. If you want to enjoy their blooming fields, visit in late June into early July.

Then we headed to Kontokosta Winery. I fell in love with this winery and its view. It's set right by the ocean and they have a beautiful tasting room. Look at these floor to ceiling windows overlooking the vineyard! If you are looking for a place with indoor and outdoor space by the water to get married, I highly suggest this place! 

My favorite part about driving through North Fork are the flower and farm stands on the sides of the roads. Look at this gorgeous field of flowers behind one of the stands we stopped at. 

We lunched at A Lure Chowder House. They are set right on the water and offer delicious seafood. I highly suggest getting the clams on the half shell, the lump crab cake and the lobster roll. And you definitely have to finish your meal off with the Chocolate Bag dessert. It's an ice cream sundae in a chocolate bag! Perfect for a hot summer day!

   

Croteaux Vineyards was our next stop. They are known for their tasting barn, but since we didn't want to do any tastings, we decided to just walk around the grounds. In front of their vineyard was the cutest pig-nosed truck. The whole feel of the decor took my back in time and I loved it.

My favorite wines were found at Laurel Lake Vineyard. Their Moscato is delicious! They were setting up for a wedding ceremony when we arrived. It's a great location to have a slightly more casual wedding. 

We had some extra time before dinner, so we stopped at the Glass Greenhouse. Best decision ever! They have so many beautiful plants and for great prices! My mom has green thumbs, so she was in heaven. We even brought home our own lavender plants, so maybe we'll have our own lavender fields!

Then we finally made it to the place we were all most excited about. Our dinner at Jedediah Hawkins Inn. When we drove up, we all said our "oohs and ahhs". We knew we made the right decision. The interior decor is adorable and homey. But since we were expecting beautiful weather, we chose to sit outside when we made our reservation on OpenTable. 

The food was incredible! The tuna tartare was my favorite, but I also loved the seafood linguine and salmon. 

   

I can't wait to visit again! Have you been to North Fork before? Are there any other spots you would definitely visit on the island?

FOOD STORY: TABLE, DONKEY AND STICK

If you are in Logan Square looking for delicious European cuisine, look no further than Table, Donkey and Stick.

We heard the place was always busy, so we made a reservation on OpenTable. Thankfully, we did since the place filled up quickly after we arrived! If you've never used OpenTable to make reservations at restaurants, you should. It's also a great way to find the best restaurants near you. 

At Table, Donkey and Stick, the first thing I noticed was the natural light that filled the dining room through the floor to ceiling windows. They also have a delightful patio for summer dining. There's even a small garden in the back patio where they grow fresh herbs!

The Swabian pretzel was a favorite with the delicious and light cauliflower & comte fondue. We also loved the special fried green tomato. It was lightly breaded and seasoned really well!

There is a great selection of gluten free and vegetarian options too, such as the poached young carrots. These were cooked so well. I'm not a fan of soggy vegetables, so I appreciated that there was a still a bite to the carrots.

Does anyone else love pretzels as much as me? I loved that the Alpine Burger was served on a pretzel bun! Absolutely yummy! And who can say no to a delicious side of latkes?

As always, we finished dinner with dessert. We had a deconstructed chocolate covered pretzel. And it was delicious! The dark chocolate was balanced well with a bite of saltiness and herbs.

I brought along my Jordana Paige handbag to dinner to carry not only the necessities but also my DSLR camera. I love this bag's versatility, and I'm super excited to announce that all Jordana Paige bags are on sale for the Fourth of July! With my special code USAGS, you can get 40% OFF PLUS FREE SHIPPING in the U.S.! (Code expires 7/5/15)

I also accessorized my dinner look with some of my favorite Rocksbox pieces. I've loved every box sent to my door so far! If you haven't tried Rocksbox yet, be sure to try it! And you can get one month of UNLIMITED Rocksbox FREE with code joannaxoxo! 

SHOP MY LOOK:

Dress: Piperlime {Similar | Similar}

Bag: Jordana Paige -- Fourth of July 40% OFF + FREE SHIPPING sale with code USAGS

Jewelry: Rocksbox -- One month FREE with code joannaxoxo

DINING+STYLE STORY: A NIGHT AT THE SYMPHONY

Something I cherish in life is quality time with my sister. Because of our crazy lives, our off times rarely cross, but when they do, it's a time for both of us to take a short breather and sit back while enjoying something we both love. Luckily, we both had a night off for my birthday, so we decided to eat out and go back to our music roots by enjoying some classical music. We had an amazing dinner at The Gage and listened to the CSO perform Beethoven 9 conducted by Muti. So perfect! Just the relaxing night we both needed.

It was our first time dining at The Gage and I absolutely loved it. Everyone was so friendly and the service was impeccable. They truly know how to make their customers happy. The moment, we sat down, I knew we would have a great experience!

(PS. Please excuse these iPhone pictures. We were working with terrible lighting the whole night)

The Caesar Salad is probably the best I've ever eaten. I don't know what they put in the dressing, but it's pretty magical. And the Venison Burger was amazing! Pretty close to perfection. I loved the addition of jalapeños, it was a tasty surprise.

I found out that the lady at the table next to us was celebrating her birthday as well and she shared a piece of her delicious cake with me!! Serendipitous & sweet!

Then, our awesome waiter also brought me a Peanut Butter French Silk Pie and sang Happy Birthday to me! It was amazeballs. So smooth & the peanut brittle was yummy! I wish I was hungry enough to try the rest of their desserts.

Now on to that night's look. I'm loving the trend of florals in Fall and full skirts. For the night out, I wanted to wear a full floral midi skirt that I shared about in my Hong Kong style haul. However, I didn't want it to be too dressy, so I dressed it down with a chambray shirt. But it looked a bit too casual for the symphony, so I dressed it back up a bit with a favorite statement necklace from Benevolent Jewels.

It's all about getting that perfect balance! With practice, you can become fluent in utilizing what's already in your closet to dress for any occasion. Similar to how I styled this outfit, I typically start with the focal piece and add items to the outfit one by one.

Here are some details of both of our outfits. My sister wore an Anthropologie dress with a Kate Spade crossbody. My gorgeous shoes are Seychelles and I paired them with my new favorite Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac bag that I scored for a ridiculously affordable price at TJMaxx!

Don't forget that you can score yourself a pretty statement necklace like this one and many others at Benevolent Jewels for 20% off with the code JHCODE20! It's the best "investment" I've made since it has a classic look and can be paired with many different outfits!

Thanks for reading this story! I hope you all have a lovely week filled with smiles and joy! Be grace-filled to pour out grace to others & wear the kind of love that changes lives for the better. Something that was in the CSO program book was this sweet hand-drawn picture from a boy named Charlie. I am so honored to share a birthday with him! Let's share joy, live and give with courage and bring people together!

SHOP MY LOOK:

Top: Forever 21 (Similar)

Skirt: Hong Kong (Similar)

Bag: Rebecca Minkoff Mini Mac (Similar)

Shoes: Seychelles (Similar)

Necklace: Benevolent Jewels (Similar // Similar)

Linking up with:

Watch What I'm Wearing // Style Me Sunday

Manic Monday // Style to Inspire // Let it Shine // Monday Bloom // How I Fall
Style Sessions // Trend Spin // Confident Twosday 
Style Me Wednesday // Random Wednesday // What I Wore // I Feel Pretty
Throw Back Thursday // Thursday Favorites
Friday Fab Favorites // Friday Frills // Fashion Friday // Passion for Fashion // Favorite Fashion

DINING DIARY: AFTERNOON TEA AT THE PENINSULA

The torrential rain and flash flood warnings these past weeks have not been fun. Dear Chicago skies, what's to cry about when it just starts to actually feel like summer? Probably the worst is the humidity after the rain.

But a few friends and I took the chance to spend time in downtown Chicago to do some actual shopping, not the online kind, and have afternoon tea at The Peninsula. Luck was on our side! The moment we finished shopping and stepped into The Peninsula, it started pouring out of the blue. We were so thankful!