Green Me Up, Baby! 
 
We’ve attended four baby showers and two baptisms this month, and we just found out that our best friend is preggers, again. There must something in the air! Our role in the baby bug? Auntie and Gift-Giver Extraordinaire. 
 
Enter Nat & Helens, a newbie baby shop in East Lakeview that specializes in products that are not only adorable, but organic and sustainable (that means good for the earth and good for baby). We fancied the silk-screen printed onesies (“mi amore” is our fave), cuddled the Maggies Menagerie (100% worker-owned cooperative made) and thought the Bum Genius sprayer was, um, genius (to say the least). From bamboo wash cloths to body milk lotion, MooMe bibs to Miyim organic toys, Nat & Helens is a haven for healthy baby decoration and living. 
 
In the mood to be the star of the baby shower (minus the mama to-be, of course)? Then get thee to Nat & Helens. Need more incentive? Just for you, they’re offering 10% off your next purchase when you mention Chicago Picks! 
 
Nat & Helens
3125 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60657
773.360.7730         
www.natandhelens.com

Sofiaking Vintage
 
Lately when we cruise around town, we’ve seen many of our favorite shops cleared out and closed up. It’s like losing the ex-boyfriend you know you could call if you needed to, but he got married or something and now you really, really can’t call him. It hurts our tiny little black fashionable hearts when this happens, especially to the glory that is a vintage shop. 
 
Thank goodness for new storefronts that embrace the old becoming “new” again. We have a new ex-boyfriend, err, new lover—in the freshly opened Sofia Vintage shop in the Gold Coast. Chicago native Ashley Zisook recently uprooted from L.A. and found a home for her passion for vintage in this cozy shop named for Award-winning actress (and eternal glamazon) Sophia Loren. Zisook’s shop carries men’s and women’s clothing and accessories from the 1920s through the 1980s. Each item is carefully selected from shops all across the country, and may have been reconfigured a bit by Ashley herself. 
 
Look for Gucci finds, vintage t-shirts, chunky belts and necklaces, and tons of 1970s-inspired wear! Groovy, baby.
 
Sofia Vintage Boutique
1165 N. Clark St., Suite 400
Chicago IL 60610
312.640.0878

Easy Peasy Denim Days
 
We want kids some day. We think. After we meet someone nice, normal, and mostly functional, who’s six feet or taller. Or before we start collecting cats, one of the two. And we’ve always dreamed our babies would run wild and free, and be little hippies figuring out their own life philosophy. But if they are conservative prepsters, that’d be cool too.
 
The Denim Lounge was started by a hubby/wife duo who just wanted cool duds for their little one. Their vision expanded almost immediately, and with that came the onset of dozens more products. From diaper bags to Flower Girl dresses for weddings to a seriously chic collection of denim and clothing for men, women, and their kids, The Denim Lounge is a family’s one-stop shop. For women, they carry Citizens, Hudson, William Rast, and True Religion jeans, plus adorable Ella Moss tops and dresses—and much much more. 
 
There are so many brands to choose from, it’ll outfit the whole family in quality, funky threads that will surely showoff the fun, joyfulness of family life!
 
The Denim Lounge
43 East Oak St.
Chicago, IL 60611
312.642.6403
www.madisonandfriends.com

Sweet Sarah
 
We have a knack for spotting the next big thing before most other people. Yet somehow, our friends never listen to us—until someone else tells them later, and they come back and tell us about their new find that was ours to begin with!
 
Well, listen up—we found the latest independent designer darling and we’re thinking she’s Vogue material. Sarah Seven makes incredibly romantic, feminine dresses with cascading ruffles and perfect pleats, and naturally, we want everything she makes. Next big thing—called it.
 
www.sarahseven.etsy.com

Sign Language
 
No one will argue with the fact that Carrie Bradshaw was a trendsetter. Hello, the “Carrie necklace,” anyone? But we’d bet money on the fact that were she a real person, she would have upgraded to one of Lorena Barrezueta’s Manual Communication Pendants.
 
These porcelain pendants come in black or white with the sign-language alphabet and different signs on them—totes original. We’re torn between the one with the sign for love and the thumbs up. Hmm… what would Carrie pick?
 
www.lorenabarrezueta.com

Oh, Snap!
 
How do we put this delicately… can people please slow down on the overdone ‘graphic tee’ look? Sure it’s cute, comfy, and colorful. But we are ready for some variety. For the next step in artsy, cool tees.
 
We are ready for Eric Prowell’s photography/t-shirt project, suitably named “Oh, Snap!”  Grab a couple of truly unique tees, available in just a few stores around the U.S. and in Japan, but luckily for our neon-laser-neon-graphic-tee sore eyes, they’re online too!
 
www.theohsnapproject.com

The Tres Generaciones Blue Agave

 Slammin' summer drinks would be our major if we were still guzzling fifty-cent beers at dirty honky tonk college bars. Luckily, we've moved on to drinking more refined cocktails. This sophisticated cocktail is definitely on our menu this season. Tres Generaciones has re-launched their tasty 100% blue agave tequila, and unlike our blackout shots in Cancun, we now drink with class. Try this fresh new cocktail idea.
It will be the hit of your summer BBQ! But please—no body shots.
 
Blue Agave
1 ¼ oz Tres Generaciones Plata Tequila
1 ¼ oz Cointreau
1 ¼ oz Lime Juice

Place ingredients in shaker, and shake vigorously for 15 seconds. Garnish with lime wedge. 

www.tresgeneraciones.com

Art Your Heart Out
 
The First Friday of each month, Wicker Park/Bucktown is alive with art. This First Friday is part of smARTshow starting June 5 and running through the weekend. Visit with more than 100 artists! Start at the Flat Iron Arts Building at Damen, Milwaukee, and North avenues. Enjoy a weekend of art in this unique neighborhood!  
 
What: Second Annual smARTshow
When: Today, June 5, 6–10 pm; June 6, noon–10 pm; 
June 7, noon–6 pm      
Where: The Flat Iron Arts building, 1579 North Milwaukee Ave.
Cost: $5 suggested donation at the door
Visit: www.wpbfirstfriday.com

Anthony Kiedis & Flea... Market
 
You know the ‘Ethan Embry’ kind of character in movies? (Look back into your 90’s archives!) The ones who are devilishly handsome, smart, and nerdy-quirky? They’re kinda like a flea market. One big happy nerdy bundle of joy. Don’t miss Lincoln Square’s Big Neighborhood Flea Market. Snap up hand-painted ceramics, vintage toys, linens, and more!
 
What: Lincoln Square’s Big Neighborhood Flea Market
When: Saturday, June 6, 8 am–4 pm
Where: Next door to Griffins & Gargoyles
(2150 W. Lawrence Ave.)
Call: 773.769.1255
Visit: www.lincolnsquare.org