The Oliverii Family of Restaurants is well known on the North Shore, with restaurants in Northbrook (Trattoria Oliverii), Deerfield (Ristorante Abruzzo) and Oliverii North (Antioch). This time, our destination was Libertyville and Ristorante Bottaio, bustling on a recent Friday night. Pet peeve alert: Our reservation was for 7:45 p.m., and we arrived promptly. Although they […]
Opening a women’s boutique at the height of a recession isn’t for the faint of heart—but Annie Boyle of Evanston, co-owner of Davis Miller in Winnetka, has come up with creative ways to weather the storm. Seven months after opening the store in August 2008, the feisty, well-dressed redhead decided to start doing designer consignment […]
As the weather changes and the birds start singing, we are ready to experience joy, excitement and hope. Maybe a change for the better in ourselves. But our lives may be weighed down with old habits of depression and anxiety, unnecessary worry and suffering, impulsive reactions to others or a constant churning restlessness. For many […]
It’s no secret that I love food, but I’m usually able to show enough restraint that I don’t fear stepping on the scale. Except for right now. Was it the cookies, champagne, dinners out, lunches with friends or all of the above that have me feeling like I have a jelly belly? For all of […]
Think “Desperate Housewives” in which Edie and Gabrielle sign up for boot camp. Some of you might remember in that episode when Gabrielle decides to stop showing up, the entire group is punished, so Edie and the other wives come to her house and bully her out the front door and into the grueling routine […]
Cold and flu season is here. And Mibs is trying to keep their family healthy. The following are homeopathic preventatives and remedies that the Kitchen Cabinet, our family living experts, highly recommend: Preventives—to build your immunity Garlic: The Greek Olympian athletes ate a clove a day to keep illness away. Garlic is not only a […]
Carol asked. Mibs answered. Thanks to Carol for writing “Make It Better.net” to suggest that we include Places To Lunch as a sub-category. This was genius! Mibs (the Make It Better Staff) discussed this idea and we unanimously decided to develop a detailed listing as soon as possible. In the meantime, here are some of […]
Feel like you can’t talk beer with the boys? Well, we have high hops—er, hopes—for you. Increase your brew IQ with this quick and easy guide. Beer Ingredients Hops: An herb that gives beer flavor—specifically bitter flavor and aroma, so don’t order a “hoppy” beer unless you’re ready for some bitterness. Hops are also […]
Life gets cozy in autumn. Shorter days and longer nights make for more snuggle time, and what’s better for one’s mental and physical well-being than a little skin-to-skin time with a willing partner? Sounds lovely, but we all know that life in a busy family is not exactly sexy, and distractions abound in the evening […]
Is your iPod the only thing not feelin’ the heat these days? No worries—we’ve got songs to make your summer sing, whether you’re lounging outdoors or on the go. These two playlists are the mixology of Winnetka’s Val Haller, creator of the music site Valslist. To purchase and download all the songs at once, simply […]
