Chicago, Chicago

High Five

1. The Magnificent Mile. Oh. My. God. Was really only in the city about 24 hours--but could not believe all of the stores on Michigan Avenue. Barely touched tip of shopping iceberg, but did manage to swing into Neiman Marcus and soak in the fragrance, Burberry, epicure and contemporary designer departments. Loved seeing Tory Burch, Milly and Marc Jacobs collections, though still couldn't afford to buy anything.

2. Gold-Standard Chocolate. Vosges is made in the Windy City! Couldn't believe my good fortune. Love the Madison Avenue store in NYC, love knowing Whole Foods sells chic Vosges bars [regular and organic], including Mo's Bacon Bar. Landed at Vosges purple outpost at O'Hare Airport. Felt obligated to try Barely Baked Exotic Cookie with Caramel Toffee Chunks. Enough said. The 6-ounce cookie was $5.50. Also, Neiman Marcus sells MarieBelle!!! Dark Croquette Au Chocolat in five-packs of small individual bars. [Perfect way to use gift card I had--also bought H. a seersucker bowtie at NM.]

3. Great Dish. We ate at Hub 51. For the bloggers dinner, Hoover had the bar mix special Cosmo-like "Hoovertinis," reddish [in honor of the Dirt Devil], stylish and strong. We ate family style: Pulled pork with small, soft corn tacos for wrapping; designer salad; butter-tender filet mignon; and, for the finale, "Big Brownie," a warm, fine, giant square [too big for four people] and Martha's Carrot Cake, with a classic cream cheese frosting we all spooned right into.

4. Hotel Life. The city is dense with so many good ones. Really liked glam bathroom wallpaper and big red square ottoman to sit on and do your makeup at Affinia.

5. Chicago Tribune Building. Looks so elegant and impressive. The New York Times tops all, but its building doesn't stack up--not even when Spidey wannabe is scaling Eighth Avenue side [which I witnessed on way to Port Authority that day].