Galena, IL

Place Visited: Galena, Illinois, USA
Date: June 2019

I drive through Galena to get to my grandmother's house, and while visiting her I decided I wanted to see Galena for real. The bus tour was fantastic, Poopsie's was silly fun, and the scenery was outstanding. A lovely little day trip.

Champaign, IL

Place Visited: Champaign, Illinois, USA
Date: June 2016

I visited my usual spots (The IDEA Store, Habitat ReStore, and Cafe Kopi), plus made a couple of new stops. I discovered CU Woodshop Supply through a billboard on the drive in. We had a great time checking out all the tools and gorgeous wood. Oishi Hibachi Steakhouse was recommended by friends. It was standard hibachi, which means it was fun and delicious. Oh yeah, and the Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight are fantastic gel pens I had a blast playing with. I love Champaign. My trips there are never long enough.

Champaign, IL

Location: Champaign, Illinois, USAVisited: June-July 2012
Sometimes it feels like my hometown was holding out on me, because I've certainly discovered a lot more new awesome things about it since I left than I ever knew about when I was living there full time. The top page is mostly dedicated to food - I try to eat at places we don't have in Virginia whenever I visit - while the second spread is all about The I.D.E.A. Store, which is one of the most amazing stores ever.  If you're ever in the area, be sure to take a gander. You never know what you'll find there.

Chicago, IL

Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Visited: December 2011

I grew up in Central Illinois, so I am no stranger to Chicago, but I hadn't visited the Windy City in several years. After spending Christmas in Iowa with my family, we decided to spend a night in Chicago rather than making the cross-state commute at the crack of dawn to make our 9am flight out of O'Hare. My husband suggested we see a play, and we settled on La Cage Aux Folles at the Bank of America Theatre. We were both familiar with (and fond of) the movie The Birdcage, which is based on the same play, and we were certainly not disappointed. My husband suggested we do this any time we fly into Chicago, and I think it's a marvelous idea.

Oh yeah, before the play we dined at the Italian Village restaurants - specifically, La Cantina. So delicious! We were stuffed by the end of it and definitely satisfied. Hooray for real Chicago Italian food!