This harvest season, Lisa, my mom, and I visited Royal Oak Farm Apple Orchard in Harvard, Illinois. Our first-time experience became a new tradition. Scroll down to see more photos and read more about Royal Oak Farm Apple Orchard. We read the recent online reviews as we looked for a new apple and pumpkin farm, … Continue reading Royal Oak Farm
This is part one of three about Galena, Illinois. Galena Roasters was the first stop. It was time to “Drink better coffee.” Scroll down to see more photos and read more about Galena Roasters. As Lisa and I enjoyed our nitro coffee, Geoffrey Mikol, professional artist and owner of River Bend Galleries, stopped by for … Continue reading Galena Roasters
“Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there’s not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as … Continue reading Jerry Smith Farm
Quick! Coffee!! Where should you go for quick coffee? Calibre Coffee. Scroll down to see more photos and read more about Calibre Coffee. We came in for quick coffee and enjoyed the slow life of latte art appreciation. The coffee was all the rave, and the food fueled the drive to chew the fat. “Community … Continue reading Calibre Coffee
Last month, Lisa and I stopped in Middleton, Wisconsin to visit Grace Coffee Company and National Mustard Museum. This second leg of our journey would take us to New Glarus where we experienced: Swiss + German fine dining, the origin of “Only in Wisconsin” beer, world champion cheese, fresh original pizza like we remember, coffee … Continue reading New Glarus
“All this way for chicken?” That’s what I said years ago as a kid when my grandmother drove me, my father and family for some celebrated chicken dinner. Except it was for hours in the dark, and nobody really knew how long the drive, and we were getting hangry. My grandmother took it well, sitting … Continue reading Frankenmuth
(Needle drop.) Germany! Beer! Sausage! Mustard! Sauerkraut! Oktoberfest! Christkindlesmarkt! Coffee. (Vinyl scratch.) To all other coffee purveyors, Achtung! Scroll down to see more photos and read more about Tchibo Coffee. “Mmm…the Dark Roast is nice and strong. Oh, this is delicious. I really like this black. I’ve actually never seen this before. I need to get … Continue reading Tchibo Coffee
Picture this. It’s July. You know. Sunny, hot, muggy, buggy, and… …Halloween pop-up stores(?). And this. It’s August. You know. Still sunny, hot, muggy, buggy, and… …pumpkin lattes(!). This too. It’s September. You know you know. Dusky, mellow, comfortable, pleasant, and… …holiday pre-preview extravaganzas?!? Let’s sit down for an easy drink, and enjoy the season. There’s … Continue reading Fall Cocktail Recipes
817 Elm Street, Winnetka, IL 60093 “In a world…” of infinite cafés and coffee shops, one name rises up to break the chain: Peet’s Coffee. Check your local listings for opening times. Scroll down to see more photos and read more about Peet’s Coffee. “Peet’s Coffee has a brewed dark roast Coffee of the Day … Continue reading Peet’s Coffee
“Who wants to taste something spicy? Let’s do it. This is our Fyren Gin. This is the last thing that we’re going to taste. The Fyren Gin has that base gin recipe you tasted in the beginning, except I hold a serrano pepper by the stem and I char it by hand with a torch. … Continue reading Fyren Gin from Copper Fiddle Distillery
The Simple Luxuries 