A Holiday City Escape

Remember when I did a guide to Geneva this summer? Well I did it again – but for the holidays!

Geneva is the perfect Chicago escape (only 45 minutes away) and filled with unique and amazing shops and restaurants. I love going there. So when Lakeshore Mag and In The 6 asked me and Sam of Shining On Design, to join them in Geneva for the festive season – it was a no brainer!

 

Our shop crawl (if you will) was designed after Meredith Beebe’s In The 6’s amazing gift boxes. See her below! Each box encompasses Geneva’s most well known treats and treasures. Can someone say Oprah’s favorite brownies? Meredith also designed “his” and “her” boxes – so they make for wonderful holiday gifts. The Harrington Hotel currently leaves them for special guests and she recently collaborated with Donnie Wahlberg and Jennie McCarthy for a charity event!

 

But that’s enough blabbing, take a peek at our adventure below. You can find our entire experience over at the beautiful Lakeshore Mag – which is amazing.

Also, my sister Sam, is hosting a GIVEAWAY of an actual In The 6 Box! So head over to her blog now for a chance to win. You’ll love it.

We started at the beautiful bb Interiors – Interior design at it’s finest. The holiday decor is amazing too if you want to spruce up your home. They have something for everyone.

Fun side story – my sister-in-law Sam (that’s us above), recently started blogging, which I truly feel has made us closer. She is a talented interior designer, exceptional mother, talented writer and always crafting up the cutest DIY’s. She is married to my husband’s twin. I’ll never forget (when we were in our early 20’s still just dating the “Regan boys”) when she whipped out a batch of homemade Lemoncillo. I was buying Miller Lite and here she was fermenting lemons in this beautiful blue-bottle. Yeah, I’m lucky to have a creative in the family!

Next up was Graham’s Chocolates – pretty much the most amazing chocolate you’ve ever had. Santa and the Easter Bunny has been bringing me treats from here for years. Oh, and don’t forget about their homemade caramel apples.

Then we made our merry way over to another favorite of mine – Moveable Feast! This luxury catering service and lunch spot is where you can find Oprah’s Favorite Brownies – but in my personal opinion, their Fairytale Cookies are where it’s at! Their wine, specialty items and gourmet meals (which you can grab to go!) are a must.

Just when you think it can’t get any better, it does! Odalisque is the cuuuuutest beauty store that retails nice beauty products, fragrances and skin care. I’ve gushed about it so many times. They have unique labels and special products you won’t find anywhere else. Plus the owner, Bridget, is one of those ladies you want to be.

So this is my favorite part of the In The 6 Boxes – each one comes with an empty olive oil bottle, that you get to fill with your olive oil of choice at The Olive Mill! I went with the Truffle and it’s as fabulous as you can imagine. I have been using it to make scrambled eggs on buttered toast and a generous pour over popcorn with parmesan cheese and cracked pepper. It makes me feel fancy.

P.S. It’s super fun to make, swirl and taste your own olive oil and vinegar concoctions! For example Oregano Olive Oil and Parmesan Vinegar. Or a Blood Orange Olive Oil with a Fig Balsamic. Salads actually sound good now right?

Another fun place we tried was Fresh Ground Roast – where you can watch them roast and ground your own coffee! Although you can’t order an actual cup of jo, definitely worth checking out. There is also this random meat and cheese counter (through another vendor) that I thought added to the charm. How beautiful are these coffee bags by the way?

Last but not least, we ended our day with a cocktail, goat cheese appetizer and a beautiful ambiance over at Hache. Another wonderful addition to the hot restaurant scene in Geneva. I can’t wait to come back here for a full on date experience with the husband.

Have you ever been to Geneva?