Graham and I went on a day date over the weekend for Valentine's Day and my birthday. I have wanted to check out the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Chicago on Michigan Avenue since it opened in 2019, and it finally seemed like the perfect opportunity. We parked in the Interpark garage at 50 E. Ohio Street, for which Starbucks will validate your parking. The rate is $12 for up to four hours of parking. ... Read more
Brilliance: The Orchid Show 2020 at Chicago Botanic Garden
* Chicago Botanic Garden hosted our visit to Brilliance: The Orchid Show. All images and opinions are my own. Update: The 2020 Orchid Brilliance show has been canceled because of the COVID-19 outbreak. When Chicago Botanic Garden invited us to the preview for Brilliance: The Orchid Show, Graham and I were thrilled because we love plants. We decided to make a date night out of it. It may be cold ... Read more
Unique Date Ideas in Chicago
A goal I haven't shared yet for this year is to go on more dates with my husband. We don't regularly schedule date nights, but I'd like to change that. As Valentine's Day approaches it's a good time to figure out plans, whether you're a married couple, longterm partners or just started dating. I'm sharing five experience date ideas in Chicago. Rage Room: I have wanted to do this since seeing a ... Read more
Date Night with Johnnyswim at the Riviera Theatre, Chicago
We had our first date night in months (I think?) on Saturday night at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago. We saw Johnnyswim, our favorite duo, for the fifth time, and it was one of the best shows we've see them perform. We were nervous about getting to the Riviera Theatre because Graham had to work Saturday and his end time was uncertain. (It depends on when a game ends.) Also, I was ... Read more
A Date Night to Remember With Johnnyswim
Graham and I don't get many date nights. The last time we spent an entire evening to ourselves was on Valentine's Day. Last weekend's date to the Need to Breathe concert, for which Johnnyswim was opening, was a much needed night out for us and one that we looked forward to since I bought the tickets in March. If you have read this blog for a while, you know that we LOVE Johnnyswim's ... Read more
7 Favorite Things to Do in Chicago
Every summer that I've lived in Chicago I create a summer bucket list of things I want to do during the season. This year I am simplifying the process by sticking to just my favorite things to do in the city instead of trying to do everything. Completing my check list will be a bit more challenging with two kids, but I'm up for the task! My favorite things to do in Chicago: Standup ... Read more
Johnnyswim at Vic Theatre | Why You Should See Them in Concert
Graham and I looooove Johnnyswim. The husband and wife duo have incredible voices and are such talented songwriters. Their song "Take the World" was our first dance song at our wedding, and we listen to their music all the time. I bought tickets for last Friday's show months ago and we've been anticipating the show ever since. They played a sold out show at the Vic Theatre in Chicago, a gorgeous ... Read more
Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-Lanterns at Chicago Botanic Garden
Happy Halloween! Graham and I had a spooktacular date night at Chicago Botanic Garden on Sunday. It was a bit past our old folk bedtime, but we managed to find tickets for the sold-out Night of 1,000 Jack-o'-Lanterns on the last day of the event. We would have preferred to attend the earlier time slots, but we were only able to find 8:45 p.m. tickets available. We were still pumped to plan our ... Read more
Saying Yes to My Well-Being
Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WellYesMoment #CollectiveBias I've always considered myself to be a motivated and driven person. I am always saying yes to new classes, activities and opportunities, sometimes to my own detriment. I say this because in trying to do too much, I have sometimes neglected my ... Read more
34 Date Ideas (Besides Going Out to Eat)
Graham and I don't get many date nights, but when we do, we try to make them as memorable as possible. While there's nothing wrong with simply going out to dinner (it's one of my favorite things to do in life), I wanted to share date ideas for fun things to do that might not be the usual date activities to you. I tried to not make these Chicago specific so that you can hopefully ... Read more