Photo Courtesy of Amy Jo Royall | Birch House
I don’t throw around the phrase Once in a lifetime experience too often. I’ve been known to use many hyperbolic sentences, especially when retelling some event that immediately I know will only seem significant to me: “And then the squirrel just started showing up on my porch every. single. morning and it was the absolute BEST.” So when I went to a dinner hosted by Kinfolk magazine right here in Chicago, I knew I would surely have something to say; I just did not know it would be: “It was the best night of my entire life.” But it was, and it was. From the decor to the aesthetics, which were comparable to the magazine itself, from the people to the conversations I shared, every bit of the evening was beyond anything I expected or have experienced. I moved to Chicago over two years ago, and it has been a struggle to find a feeling of comfort in my surroundings. However, with every moment of that evening, sitting amongst strangers at the most lavish of lavish tables, I felt at home. We were all there for the same reason; to meet and gather with no agenda. It was splendid and unlike anything I have had the privilege of partaking in. And ever since that night, I have yearned to once again sit with those who love what I love, and to be truly present amidst the chatter and clanking of glasses.
coterie. 