Tickets to the museum at the Obama Presidential Center, which opened in June 2026, are sold out until at least October, but there's more to see and do there than visit the museum. The 19.3-acre campus, located at 6001 S. Stony Island Ave. in Chicago, is also home to a garden, playground, walking paths, picnic areas, a library, and more. My family and I recently made a day of visiting the Obama Center. We parked in the center's parking garage, ... Read the Post...
Lilo & Stitch Birthday Party Ideas
** This post about Stitch birthday party ideas contains affiliate links. Floradise is compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Floradise. If you're planning a Lilo & Stitch birthday party, there's no shortage of party decoration ideas, to the point that it can be overwhelming to choose. I'm sharing some of the Stitch-themed items I found for my daughter's 8th birthday ... Read the Post...
Exploring Haunted Sites on a Chicago Ghost Tour
** Thanks to US Ghost Adventures and Windy City Ghosts for hosting our Embers of the Windy City: Chilling Chicago Ghost Tour. From Oz Park in Lincoln Park, we set off on a Windy City ghost tour with our guide, Rachael. We met up with her at the Tin Man statue, where she talked to us about Chicago's history of dead bodies buried beneath our feet. With an EMT (Electromagnetic Field) activity detector in hand, our small group walked around ... Read the Post...
Visiting Iceland With Kids in the Winter
I've wanted to travel to Iceland for years, even before I became a mother. For my 40th birthday, I finally decided it was time to stop postponing this dream trip. I booked a winter adventure from Chicago to Reykjavik for my girls and me to celebrate the milestone. To drive or not to drive: That is the question When you research Iceland, you come across a deluge of opinions online, especially on Reddit. I found the experiences posted on the ... Read the Post...
Seeing “The Enormous Crocodile” at The Studebaker Theater in Chicago
A couple of weeks ago, my family and I received an invitation to Roald Dahl’s "The Enormous Crocodile" at The Studebaker Theater in Chicago. Presented by the Roald Dahl Story Company and the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the performance was held during the final weekend of the festival, but the show extends through Feb. 21. I jumped at the chance to take my daughters to the musical, which is based on Roald Dahl’s book. ... Read the Post...
Gifts for 11-Year-Old Girls
** This post about gifts for 11-year-old girls contains affiliate links. Floradise is compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Floradise! Shopping for 11-year-old or 12-year-old girls can be difficult. Their interests may be beginning to change, and keeping up with the trends can seem like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. If you're looking for a gift for an 11-year-old, here ... Read the Post...
My First Time Joining Scream Club in Chicago
A man kneeled to propose to his girlfriend with the Chicago skyline as their backdrop. Yards away, strangers formed a line along North Avenue Beach Pier to scream as they stood facing Lake Michigan. This duality perfectly encapsulates the city's vibrancy. I joined the popular Scream Club recently for my first group scream. I, like many others, had heard about the club on TikTok and clips from a news station that covered the group's activities. ... Read the Post...
Getting Our House Ready for the Holidays With Humbug Holiday Lighting
** Thanks to Humbug Holiday Lighting for providing a complimentary lighting service. I welcome any service that takes something off our plate, especially during the holiday season. One of those tedious tasks for many homeowners is putting up holiday lights on their homes. Imagine having your home tastefully illuminated with holiday lights in less than 45 minutes. Humbug Holiday Lighting in Chicago can make that a reality. A small ... Read the Post...
Cute Opal and Opalite Gifts
** This post about opal and opalite gifts contains affiliate links. Floradise is compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" has inspired an interest in opalite thanks to her fun, bop of a song, "Opalite." Google searches for opalite surged on Oct. 3, 2025, when TS12 debuted. Opal happens to be the birthstone for October, so if you're in the market for a gift, ... Read the Post...
Gifts for Teachers: Thoughtful Ideas
** This post about teacher gift ideas contains affiliate links. Floradise is compensated for purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting Floradise! Teacher gifts can be challenging to find. While the discourse online is that teachers prefer to receive money or gift cards, sometimes, as a parent, you want to gift something else for a change. Or you want to add a personalized, thoughtful gift to your ... Read the Post...