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Filled with Wonder at the WNDR Museum
Are you ready for a sensory expedition through color, sound and light? This journey transports you from the grey sidewalks of Chicago’s West Loop district into a Willy Wonka-like world of wonder, complete with interactive selfie moments. Here at the WNDR Museum, touching the art is encouraged and silly dances are celebrated. Visitors young and…
Read More8 Ways to Enjoy Winter in Chilly Chicago
“It’s funny how you find you enjoy your life / When you’re happy to be alive.” Do you recognize this song lyric? I don’t even want to mention the band because it’s an embarrassing throwback to my younger years. But it’s completely true. After the Big Panini stole two years of our lives, we dreamed…
Read MoreTaking it SLO at the Garden Street Inn
When people think of exciting places to visit in California, they’re minds often jump straight to San Francisco and Los Angeles, two major metros know around the world. But I would contest that the towns sprinkled along California’s Central Coast, like Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo, offer an even richer vacation…
Read MoreA Dusk Light Show at Sensorio
Maybe you’ve heard of Napa Valley, where vino-lovers and elites travel for a romantic (and boozy) getaway. That northern hotspot is but one of California’s blossoming wine destinations, followed closely by Paso Robles, its up-and-coming little sister on the Central Coast, 26 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Straddling the distance between Napa and Los Angeles,…
Read MoreForbidden Journey to Hogsmeade, Harry Potter World
Did you grow up reading the Harry Potter books? I was never allowed to as kid, so when the pandemic shutdown first began in early 2020, I ordered all seven HP books and took advantage of the quiet evenings by catching up on the childhood cultural phenomenon I’d missed. If figured all the craziness would…
Read MoreSipping Butterbeer at Three Broomsticks, Harry Potter World
Continuing our Hogsmeade adventure at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Hollywood, we headed into the Three Broomsticks restaurant for a hearty British lunch and a sip of cold butterbeer. There they are, the three broomsticks! Our eyes immediately went up to the impressive vaulted ceilings of this rustic wooden tavern, revealing…
Read MoreColorful Candy at Honeyduke’s, Harry Potter World
Next stop, Honeyduke’s Candy Shoppe at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Hollywood. If you don’t mind a nose-wrinkling surprise, try Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans – “A risk with every mouthful!” Will that red candy bean taste like very cherry or tomato paste? Will the speckled tan and brown bean taste…
Read MoreWand Shopping at Ollivanders, Harry Potter World
All aboard the Hogwarts Express! We’re headed to an exciting afternoon in Hogsmeade, just a stone’s throw away from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The conductor helped us with our bags on Platform 9 3/4. First things first, we need to visit Ollivanders Wand Shop to pick out our very own wands…or should we…
Read MoreUniversal Studios Trip and Midweek Concert in Hollywood
Never have I ever…gone to a concert on a weekend. Seriously! The best concerts always seem to fall on a random weekday, never conveniently on the weekend. I guess musicians value their Saturdays too. Instead of fighting it, we embraced the opportunity to see Durand Jones and the Indications on a Tuesday last fall, which…
Read MoreSecret Tunnels on San Francisco’s Barbary Coast
Have you ever taken a food tour in a place you’ve never been? I’m convinced there is no better way to learn the heart of a town and meet its people than by tasting their signature cuisine. When Brandon and I took a food tour through the North Beach district of San Francisco, better known…
Read MoreThe Best North Beach Food Tour in San Francisco
Welcome to beautiful San Francisco! Let’s spend the afternoon eating our way around the city’s historic North Beach district, better known as Little Italy. We’ll try all the delicious cheesy and tomato-y recipes our Italian-American friends are famous for, plus some cold, refreshing surprises in this four-course adventure. Booking this food tour was no happenstance.…
Read More23 Ice Sculptures That Celebrate Winter
Everyone asks us why we moved to Chicagoland, especially right before winter? Don’t we miss sunny California, with its endless 75 degree days? Why move to the land of snow and ice? I tell them, yes, we miss aspects of California life, but something we love about the chilly North is how its residents embrace…
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