Kitchen Road Trip: Illinois

Happy Monday! This weekend, a friend and I played tourist in Charlotte (our hometown) and visited a somewhat new art museum downtown. It can be easy to get caught up in life and not experience the great things about where you live, so I find it quite refreshing to do that sort of thing every once in a while. It’s like getting a little taste of travel without having to go far at all.

One of my first memories of art museums was on a trip my family took to Chicago when I was a kid. I didn’t know it then, but it was the first of many trips to Illinois — the subject of today’s Kitchen Road Trip. After North Carolina and Washington, D.C., I’ve probably spent the most time there than any other state. In fact, I’m the only member of my family who hasn’t lived there at some point! There’s so much to love about the Prairie State: quaint towns, vast cornfields, Marshall Fields, Lake Michigan, amazing deep dish pizza. I think I’m due for a visit sometime soon! As always, a few more of my favorite Illinois items are up on Pinterest! // susannah 

Click below to see the best of Illinois food + design.

1. Rare Bird Preserves Sampler* ($50 for six) // 2. Yellow Lion Circle Pattern Screen Print* ($35) // 3. Gold Zag Tray by Up In The Air Somewhere* ($98) // 4. Letherbee Autumnal Gin* ($39.99) // 5. Vosges Exotic Truffles Collection* ($40) // 6. ‘The Hoosier Mama Book of Pie’ Cookbook by Paula Haney ($29.95) // 7. Field Notes Original Notebooks* ($9.95 for three) //  8. Lillie’s Q Bloody Morning Lillie Mix* ($15) // 9. Nourishing Notes Market Tote* ($38) // 10. CakeBox with Leather Strap by Piebox* ($75)

*Made or designed in Illinois

(Photo // Jim Roberts)