This past weekend, I was in Chicago for the wedding of a good friend. It has been many years since I was last in Chicago and being there with Princess Bethany was even better. Now, we did not have much time in Chicago proper but there was a nice gap in between the wedding, which was near Irvine Park and the reception which was downtown. This gave us a good hour or so of time to wander around downtown for a quick sightseeing. During this little foray we decided to walk through the famous flagship location of Marshall Fields ( note: I refuse to call it by it’s current name so don’t bother correcting me). I was not quite prepared for the treat that laid before me upon entering the door and what a treat it was. There, in Chicago, in Marshall Fields, was a fully stocked and staffed Levenger “store-whithin-a-store”. How did I not know about this before?

I was just floored. Astounded. Dumbfounded… For me, this was Mecca.

The store was stocked with, from what I could tell, the full catalog of Levenger goodness. The staff was amazingly knowledgeable and helpful. They even had a table where they helped you build a free Circa notebook. You could choose which page types, ring colors and add ons you wanted in it. Obviously this is simply a gateway drug to get you hooked on the product (as I already am) but it sure was effective. I built one in the Junior size (half letter size) with a nice mix of gridded pages, cornell style pages, some daily agenda pages and a pocket in the back. The staff person who helped me even mentioned that, if I called him directly, he can ship me anything in the store. Thereby avoiding Levenger’s onerous shipping fees. So, basically, I now have a personal shopper at Levenger. How cool is that!?

So, if you are in the Chicago area, and have a fetish for fine paper pr0n as I do, make a stop by. It will be well worth the time and may even be as religious of an experience as I had.