DEPARTURE LOUNGE: SIT BACK, RELAX, AND ENJOY YOUR (WINE) FLIGHT

It bodes well for a place that can make a woman with four kids recall the sensation that accompanies the words, sleek and sexy.   It took a departure from suburbia for me to embrace a place that offered an opportunity to escape.  Once settled into your plush seat, you may decide to stay and linger.  No flotation device required and you won’t find safety information in your seat back pocket.  But it may induce wanderlust dreams you’ve managed to stow in your overhead compartment.   Departure Lounge inspires your mind to open and like a fine glass of wine - to breathe. Departure Lounge isn’t just a travel agency, it’s a coffee and wine bar that just so happens to sell customized travel.

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HEARTLESS MACHINE: WHERE VINTAGE & MODERN CO-EXIST

Thankfully the sun wasn’t shining the day I met Christopher Locke, owner of Heartless Machine, or I would have been blinded by countless brass instruments strung across his shop, oddly resembling the dangling nocturnal colony that clings under Congress Bridge.  These discarded musical remnants are waiting for him to free them from restraint, and provide a new set of responsibilities.  These metal scraps may not have a heartbeat, but Mr. Locke has engineered a way to unlock a melody that caused my heart to skip a few beats. 

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DELYSIA CHOCOLATIER: YOU HAD ME AT HABANERO

Even the best departments stores lack the ability to bottle and sell a quality most only dream of obtaining, grace. Nicole Patel, proprietor of Delysia Chocolatier, wears it with ease.  Her posture is perpetually poised, leaving me to wonder if she were a dancer in her childhood.  Her smile is enhanced by warm expressive doe eyes framed by fluid dark shoulder length hair, both physical features mimic her passion, chocolate. 

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