30,000 Steps

I look forward to buying merchandise for upcoming months.  In retail, you're always living in future seasons.  In the heat of July, you're thinking of tree ornaments and tannenbaums.  This July, we traveled to The Merchandise Mart in Chicago for a 3 day weekend.   We always take the Metra train into the city and a taxi to the hotel, The Amalfi, which is only 5 blocks from The Mart.  It's a small hotel with clean rooms and great service. We now feel at home there.  We arrived on Saturday, dropped our stuffed suitcases and headed out to BUY!  During the 5 years I've been shopping at The Mart, there's always change.  (The 1st year we were in business, I didn't go. I relied on companies that I personally knew.)

This year the change was much more dramatic than ever before.  Many of the long term, permanent showrooms have closed.  5 years ago, there were 3 full floors of shopping.  This year, only half a floor was for permanent showrooms.  That didn't stop us though.  Elke had a tachometer on and tracked over 30,000 steps during the 3 days.  We sought out only the very best of product lines.  We're sure that Fall and Holiday are going to excite you!

A few of our favorites...

-Towne and Reese - Trendy and Timeless Jewelry
- Izola - Inspired by Utilitarian Objects.  Appealing accessories for the GUYS
- Mistura - Time pieces that make a statement. Made with recycled materials. Handcrafted to perfection.
- DeBrand Chocolatier - The Truffle Collection.  They seem almost too beautiful to eat.
- Favorite Gourmet - Gluten Free Soups. Quick and Easy. Healthy and Delicious.
- JAG and Sisters Clothing - Outrageously Comfortable Corduroy and Knit Hoodies and Ponchos
- Algeria -  Comfortable, Affordable and Fashionable Footwear.  Footbeds of Latex, Cork and Memory Foam

High Fashion Hats, Mittens and Scarves.  Tokyo Milk, Vintage Inspired Jewelry. We tracked our steps at The Mart- over 30,000 steps to seek out the very best for Fall and Christmas 2012!

Around 5 pm, we headed back to our room to kick up our feet for a few minutes before dinner.  We had reservations at Mercadito on Kenzie at 5:30 (It was either that or 9:45pm )  These guys know how to make margaritas that will change your life (at least that's what their shirts say)  Elke, my mom, and I chatted over tres margaritas and 3 platters of fish, shrimp, mushroom tacos with freshly made guacamole- a great way to end a long but successful day of buying - Cheers!