A Night of Hidden Gems: Complex Magazine and Chevrolet Help Us Explore Chicago

Complex Magazine is always at the forefront of social media trends. One look at their Twitter or Instagram and you automatically know who they are and what they are about. When the magazine was founded in 2002, they were way ahead of the game and the only outlet of its kind. Last week, Sarah and I spent the day with Chevrolet at the Chicago Auto Show and fell in love with the brand, which is creating cutting edge technology in every single vehicle produced. Hello WiFi hotspot and On Star in every car.

Complex joined forces with Chevrolet this past Saturday to put the brand new Chevy Trax into the hands of 20 people in Chicago. Luckily, I was one of them and dragged SSC PR girl Sarah and Marc Katz along for the ride. We were sent on a night to explore “hidden gems” throughout Chicago. Complex created 20 unique itineraries, so no two were the same. We started off our night by picking up our car at The James hotel, and off we went.

We had three stops. The first was The Empty Bottle, an underground punk bar/music venue. They happened to be throwing a block party that night, so we spent a few hours drinking cold brews in the mud before wandering inside. Did we look a little out of place in our six inch heels and leather jackets? Absolutely. Did we mind? Not at all. Inside, we found bad ass decor and intense games of pool happening.

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For our second stop, we went to a magical place called Sprout Home. The owner took us through how to build the cutest little terrariums.The whole store is wall to wall plants and you cannot help but smile as soon as you step foot inside. I chose a colorful fern with moss and started planting.

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Our third and final stop of the night was dinner and drinks at Fulton Market Kitchen. Right off the bat, we were very impressed simply with the insane decor. Walls are covered in graffiti murals, sculptures, and unique paintings. The FMK website boasts that it is “the intersection between art and culture,” and I must agree. I would highly recommend my other car is the batmobile, a sweet drink consisting of Spanish pear cider and brandy with notes of citrus.

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The night wrapped up a little bit before midnight, and we wound up at Soho House listening to old school hip-hop and sipping on cocktails.

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Content sponsored by the Hidden Gems campaign.

Sosh In The City

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I’ve always been interested in fashion and tech. With so many new fashion apps coming on the market, I find that my screen is full of cute little icons telling me where to shop, how to tag my outfit, and what I should be buying next. The one thing I was missing? An app for my other loves…food and exploring the city. When I first heard about Sosh, it sounded too good to be true. I often get stuck in a rut of going to the same place over and over again, just because searching online for new places to trek around to can get overwhelming.

So what is Sosh? Sosh is an app that helps you seamlessly create adventures in your city, whether you want to explore new areas of your own neighborhood, or venture to a new part of town. The Sosh iPhone app acts as your personal concierge for your social life, assuring that you will never be bored.

When I first logged into the app, I was asked a few questions to help tailor my interests and filter out suggestions that I would not necessarily enjoy. Sosh continually updates itself to keep up with the trends, so we don’t have to. This is particularly great for me because I don’t have time to constantly be searching through the news or online for where I should be eating or what events are going on. Sosh helps keep me fresh and trying new places.

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My top Sosh experiences so far? Sosh suggested “Geek Chic” for me last week. A private cocktail party and space show at the Adler Planetarium. It did not disappoint. Sosh also suggested that I try Headquarters, a “beercade.” Headquarters was a ton of fun, with arcade games and unique drinks. I highly recommend the “Motts cocktail.”

So, Sosh just launched last week in Chicago, and it’s become my new favorite icon on my phone. You can download it for yourself here.

With the nice weather finally starting to come around, I’ll be dragging my boyfriend around this weekend to check out new bar patios to hangout on. I currently have 14 bookmarked. Too many? Never.

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