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Lauren Viera

@laurenmviera

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Writer; semicolon enthusiast.
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✨the second edition of “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Chicago” (@lusterbooks) is out! the weirdest/best thing about writing a guidebook — vs any other type of book — is that you have the chance to go back and fix things every couple-few years. for this edition, I wrote 45 new entries to replace spots that had closed since the first edition came out in october 2023. (RIP to The Freeze, Berlin nightclub and many others. hello to The Sugar Hole at @co1orclub and @earlybirds_club and tons more.) even as I type this and boxes of the brand-new book are arriving at bookshops, I already know that a few of these “new” listings are moot and will need replacements next time (RIP @frylikeaneagle). the book-publishing process is a lengthy one, which means that other fantastic new spots (e.g., the @obamafoundation Presidential Center, @badbutterchicago) didn’t make the cut since they opened post-deadline. we’re lucky that most of chicago’s best “secrets” (and standards) remain unchanged. and yet: the ever-changing cycle of commerce & culture is an excellent reminder that our city is alive and well, and there’s always room for new favorites. holler if you want a tax-free copy from me, or support your local bookstore! @citylitbooks + @exileinbookville have signed copies. taken in Chicago, Illinois by @laurenmviera
43
2 months ago
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Alaska. when I was a kid, I had this red-and-white beaded coin purse with the word ALASKA woven into the design (peak ‘80s) that my great-grandmother had brought back from a trip there. I had a sense that alaska was very far away and very majestic, but had no real frame of reference for its geographic scale or complicated culture or natural beauty. thanks to @pdxkaren & @michaeljviera , our extended family was fortunate to dip into alaska via a massive cruise ship — itself a unique cultural experience/experiment in humanity. we paddled across a glacier lake outside juneau, and traversed century-old rails thru gold-mined mountains above skagway, and rode the bus out to see a dozen totem poles hoisted into the earth off the coast of ketchikan. from the boat, we saw spouting whales and scores of eagles and turquoise glaciers. and yet, there is so much we didn’t see — it’s just so big! — it almost feels like cheating to say we were there at all. how many days or towns or photos quantify really being somewhere? for this trip, I think, memories of the ten of us together for a milestone summer will carry the most weight. 🩵 taken in Alaska, USA by @laurenmviera
27
2 months ago
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springtime in italy. we don’t usually participate in “spring break” vacations so this 10-day journey felt especially luxe. four cities in 10 days was a little much, but when there’s so much to see/do/eat/drink/feel, why not? thank you @shoshauna & @jeffporterwine for the hospitality and incentive to visit (how did we not get photos together?!). grateful to have eaten focaccia in the city that made it, browsed drawers full of renaissance paintings, hung out on top of the duomo, visited the HQs of our household coffee & water brands, and so much more. until next time… 🇮🇹 taken in ITALY , Europe by @laurenmviera
22
7 months ago
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Instagram sunsets are an actual cliche, and yet: I will never forget the sunset in this first photo: my last night on maui, seated next to my sister @hello.hvk in a bossy Tommy Bahama recliner with a mind of its own, happy-goofy and cry-laughing, watching the big orange ball slip further into the north-central pacific ocean. no joke, the moment immediately after the ball dropped, a humpback whale breached directly to the right of the sun’s “green flash,” and the entire beach cheered. this was pretty much the vibe of the entire trip: luxuriously lazy beach days, ocean water warm enough to wade in, whale spouts along the horizon as frequent and random as fireworks on the fourth of july, the freshest fish, the mellowest mai tais, the best company thanks to a beautiful rainbow of women who love HVK *almost* as much as I do. 💚 when I reluctantly returned home to sub-zero temps via a 6am, post-red-eye walk from the El, I found my orchid — the only one I’ve ever kept alive — had bloomed, as if in tribute to all the wild & rambling roadside orchids I’d been surrounded by while away. hawaii, and heather, I ♥️ you! taken in Maui, Hawaii by @laurenmviera
15
8 months ago
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The End. and, I hope, The Beginning. I finished my first screenplay yesterday after many, many, many, many, many drafts, a handful of very early readers, a preliminary research query, countless hours of reading/screening comps, a tiny writing retreat, numerous conversations and phone calls and zooms with dear friends and mentors and therapists and an energy healer in sedona, two prestigious writing lab rejections, an incredible writing accountability group, a brilliant writing coach, and lots of printer paper. I’m sharing here for a few reasons — partly a manifestation of magic ✨(production querying starts now!), but mostly for potential networking. if you have ties to film production — especially in relation to/support of stories about working mothers & mental health — let’s talk. taken in Chicago, Illinois by @laurenmviera
103
a year ago
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just back from a new england vacation, where we spent a few days in boston to walk the freedom trail, collect all the national historic site passport stamps, eat cannolis, hang out at frederick law olmsted’s house (those are his colored pencils!), and check out all the maps at the library. drove up the coast to maine & stayed in the most beautifully efficient cabin, ate lots of lobsters & popovers in acadia national park, admired all the window boxes, hiked a ridic elevation gain, biked the carriage roads (even more crazy elevation gains for our midwestern blood 😅), stopped by pushcart press, and made it to salem & house of the seven gables on the way home. when you enter maine via turnpike, there’s a sign that reads, “Maine: The Way Life Should Be” — which we guffawed at. how cocky & presumptuous. and yet: after this brief flirtation with saltwater-tinged air and pine-scented drives and gently bobbing sailboats and wicked fresh fish and friendly strangers and 300yo churches and wild blueberry brambles and wooden ship institutes and fresh oysters literally underfoot, I can’t help but think it’s pretty accurate. 🦞 🚤 🌲 🦪 taken in Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster Company by @laurenmviera
9
a year ago
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traveling alone for the first time in many years was humbling. this was my first trip to paris since studying abroad there 25+ years ago (!) and while many things have changed — the attitude toward speaking english, the ease of navigating the Metro w/ electronic tickets vs. paper, the very unfortunate selfie station in the dome at Galeries Lafayette — many things are still the same — primarily, the beauty of this very old city. I assigned myself a full agenda of meals & culture to stave off the thing I’m worst at: going with the flow. but fortunately, my curiosity and sneakers led the way. I wandered side streets and was charmed by unplanned delights — the hardware on a 300+yo door, the prettiest skate park, a modigliani at the picasso museum, white asparagus season, the unexpected facades of 400yo churches, snacking on raw beets w/ butter, a Hausmanian apartment door with a half-dozen locks, the paris equivalent of the bloomingdale trail, a simple pedestal sink with brass fixtures that have stood the test of time. having listened to a rick steves profile just before leaving, I was newly reminded by all the ways one can experience a foreign place: as a tourist, as a traveler, as a pilgrim. I feel like this trip was an unapologetic combination of all three, and a good reminder of why travel is so important in the first place. thx to @shoshauna for showing up right as things started to feel lonely, we got to reminisce in style. 🥐 🇫🇷 taken in Paris, France by @laurenmviera
30
a year ago
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june was so emotional. attempted to balance said emotions with ear seeds (new to me; fascinating), ran a race, fell for a new favorite painting, built a trellis, walked thru a sculpture, happy cried at a 9yo DJ set, coworked with a dear one, almost awe-struck cried at the chicago theater, volunteered in the ‘hood, baby-nostalgia cried at a summer camp in wisconsin. 🥲 by @laurenmviera
24
2 years ago
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once upon a time, I played in bands. I was lucky enough to tour parts of the country, record albums, play festivals, hear our songs on the radio, and experience the unique and indescribable joy of making music with people. a decade (and The Artist’s Way) later, I said yes to playing bass for @lindsaycanderson @lwatral & @its_jcraw, and saturday is our first show together. never in a million years did I imagine I’d have a kid who’d voluntarily make ‘90s-style fliers for my show (and put them up all over Logan Square), but I’ll take it! nervous/excited to say: see you there? taken in Color Club by @laurenmviera
24
2 years ago
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long weekend in the desert with friends as old as my youth. 🌵 so many desert blooms, almost-pants-peeing laughs, sweet & salty snacks, quality hikes, cute cacti, & throwback memories. also: a soundbath! not pictured: 4 mile uphill jog sans shade 😅, hilarious group exercise routines, starry hot tub soaks, a couple-tree tumbleweeds, one roadrunner, and a really fun dinner out. 💜 taken in Joshua Tree National Park by @laurenmviera
7
2 years ago
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#violajeanette is 9! Selfishly, I love this age: a very satisfying twofer of big-kid smarts and little-kid snuggles. Spunky & silly, weird & wild, crafty and truly good at technical drawing, still reading & swimming like crazy, and now also into a teensy bit of rebellion. I’ll take it. Here’s 9 photos for 9 years plus a favorite that resurfaced recently from birthday #1 when we were all much younger. 💜 by @laurenmviera
25
3 years ago
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Restock alert! 📚 “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Chicago” sold out of its first printing (!) and I got my box of reprints just in time for a spring event: book talk & signing, Tuesday 4/9 at @chicagopubliclibrary Independence Branch. #500hiddensecrets #500hiddensecretsofchicago taken in Chicago, Illinois by @laurenmviera
4
3 years ago
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