I am an only child and have always loved spending time with myself. I literally CRAVE alone time and savor it whenever I can carve even a tiny bit of time for myself.
This past weekend was the Chicago Printers Row Lit Fest (read more about this special event HERE) and obviously I had to attend. Although it’s a very family friendly event, I had visions of myself aimlessly walking amongst the books, talking with authors and publishers, and just enjoying a day alone in the company of my fellow literary lovers. I knew from the start that this was one event I was going to enjoy allllllll alone.
And that’s exactly what I did 🙂
I had posted live stories from the event throughout the day on Instagram but this one basically summed it all up in 15 seconds:
I had planned on attending the 2 day event on Sunday but a view of my weather app told me that the rain might make that a bit tricky. So late Friday night I made the last minute snap decision to attend on Saturday and I’m so glad that I did. The perfect weather made for a glorious day of walking around in the most beautiful city in the world. I love you so much, Chicago.
My daughter had a birthday party, my son had a basketball class, and my husband took care of it all so that I could head downtown and enjoy some alone time. I woke up bright and early on Saturday morning excited for my very own city adventure! I packed myself a healthy lunch (I’m a healthy eater and usually end up packing my lunch ahead of time when I attend events like this where I know the food will most likely not be the healthiest of choices), grabbed my coffee, and drove straight to the city.
1 hour later (I can’t remember the last time I spent an hour in the car by myself and I sang at the top of my lungs the entire way. Loved it.) and I was there! I found a random parking lot, paid $25.00 to park my car, and immediately headed into the endless sea of literary heaven. All alone. So happy.
My favorite booth of the entire fair was the Open Books booth. They had literally THOUSANDS of books on tables for sale for $2.00-$3.00! There were SO many people walking and picking up books to buy and as books were picked up, they were immediately restocked with different titles by the nicest lady. Her and I had the most lovely discussion about our favorite books! She explained how she volunteers at the warehouse now that she is retired and I told her the thought of that is basically my version of heaven. I didn’t catch her name but she promised to check out my blog…if you are reading this, a special hello to my new friend! I actually went back to that booth THREE separate times because the stock was literally changing every second! THE. BEST.
A highlight of the day was meeting Francie Arenson Dickman (read my review of her wonderful book HERE). She’s just as sweet and adorable as I imagined she would be. I also loved stopping by the Midwest Writers Association/Windy City Historians tent and chatting with Cyndee Schaffer (read my review of her interesting book HERE). Cyndee, it was so nice seeing you! It was such fun for me to be at such a big event like this one and to personally know a few of the authors.
Throughout the day, I met such lovely authors, publishers, bookstore owners, and fellow book lovers like me. Hello and welcome to all of my new blog readers!
There was a Marie Kondo consultant helping people tidy up their lives! Read my review of her life changing book HERE!
Everyone loves the Lit Fest. Apparently even dogs…in backpacks?!? I took this picture to show my kids and expected, they loved it 🙂
I’m a HUGE advocate of breastfeeding and this book made me smile. There really was something for everyone there on Saturday.
Here is a link to a news report from Saturday night which shows highlights from the day I attended. He said there were 100,000 people there!
After 3 hours of walking from booth to booth, eating my healthy turkey sandwich by a beautiful fountain, and reading the backs of more books that I would have thought humanly possible…I was on my way back to the suburbs.
My husband sent a text saying that my daughter was sleeping at her friend’s house, and I immediately texted him back suggesting he find someone to watch our son so him and I could have a date night! A special thank you to my in-laws for the last minute babysitting so Jon and I could enjoy some time together. A lovely ending to a lovely day. As I said on Instagram, “Last night’s dinner included 3 courses, high heels, and the only food I had to cut and 1 potty break I had to take were for myself. Love date nights with my husband.”
And now that my glorious day is behind me, I have already been Googling trying to find the exact dates for next year’s Lit Fest. Apparently they haven’t been announced yet but whenever that weekend in 2020 will be…you’ll know where to find me 🙂
Want to see what I came home with from the fest? Here’s a quick VLOG:
What did you do this weekend? I hope it was a fun one! Any of you attend Lit Fest?
Xo,
Jenny
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