Monthly Archives: April 2014

Where can I watch The Blackhawks in Chicago?

by adrienne

Everybody loves the Blackhawks! You can go watch them live at the United Center if you can get tickets. Or watch them on TV with a bunch of other fans at one of these Official Blackhawks Bars.  Official Blackhawks Bars play the game on most or all of their TVs and there’s sound- other games on other TVs are muted. Also, they have the spinning red light and play the Chelsea Dagger  song when the Hawks score, which is fun. These are some of my faves: Gold Coast/Mag Mile/Old Town:

  • Butch McGuires. Bonus points if you go near Christmas for an out of control decoration situation.
  • The Lodge: Super low key, oldey timey and retro- one of the oldest bars in Chicago! Also, kinda lodgey.
  • The Snuggery: Ok, I’ve never been here but I like the name. Who doesn’t like to snuggle while watching sports and drinking beer?

Lincoln Park: 

  • Beer Bistro: Tons of different beers here and good food, too.
  • Crossroads Public House: This is where we celebrated the 2013 Stanley Cup Victory
  • Michael Diversey: Very lively, full to brimming with Bros and Trixies- but still, it’s our go to Blackhawks Bar, plus they have good food

River North:

If none of these appeal to you, you don’t HAVE to go to an official bar, pretty much any bar with a TV in Chicago will be playing Hawks games, or will put them on if you ask. Also! If you’re really a Blackhawks fan, be sure to go have a meal at The Palace Grill. Not only is it a neat old vintage diner, but it’s by The United Center and packed with Hawks stuff. Rumor has it that the players themselves stop in from time to time, too. Fun!

How to make a two minute, two ingredient sugar scrub.

by adrienne

Homemade sugar scrubs are all the rage now, so of course I make them, too. But I am cheap and lazy so I make the easiest, least expensive version I can. And it’s fab! You just need some sugar (I’ll go into the different kinds in a minute, here) and some virgin, raw coconut oil (the non virgin, processed kind is ok, but it won’t have the nice scent we want for this scrub). Oh, you’ll also need some kind of plastic container to put it in.

sugar scrub ingredients

You just need some sugar and some coconut oil for a nice sugar scrub.

Put some of the sugar into the container- I usually fill it about half way. Then add the coconut oil- stirring in a little at a time until you get the consistency you want. If you add too much, just add some more sugar.

Stir the coconut oil into the sugar

Stir the coconut oil into the sugar

Ta da! You have a yummy sugar scrub.

You can make it whatever consistence you like- softer and more moisturizing, or stronger and more abrasive

You can make it whatever consistency you like- softer and more moisturizing, or stronger and more abrasive

You can use any kind of sugar you have around, different sugars give a different texture.

White Sugar: Softer, more liquidy. A good all around scrub for face and body. Not a lot of scent, just a nice vanilla, sweet scent.

Brown Sugar: Slightly more abrasive, with a very nice caramelly scent. Another good all around scrub, might be slightly abrasive on the face, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Evaporated Cane Juice: About the same abrasiveness as the brown sugar, but with a less caramelly scent.

Turbinado or Raw Sugar: Slightly caramelly, sweet scent, too abrasive for the face, but great for body skin, rough patches and dry feet.

It’s hard to believe something so simple can smell so wonderful and work so well, but it does!