Here’s a genius idea for your winter Chicago weekend:

• Call NoMi Spa at the Park Hyatt
• Make an appointment for a custom manicure ($40). While you’re at it, maybe make an appointment for a girlfriend or two.
• Show up, get in a robe and slippers. Spend time lounging by the indoor pool, maybe even dipping in the hot tub or enjoying a steam.
• Choose from a wide array of Deborah Lippman colors (pictured: Hit Me With Your Best Shot). Enjoy a thorough hand mask, massage, and a killer paint job.
• Marvel at the teeny-tiny melon ball salad that accompanies tea as the conclusion to your service.

NoMi Spa at the Park Hyatt Chicago, 800 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL

Last night, headed to a byob sushi feast (that ended with this), I dropped by Perman Wine Selections. Craig Perman, the owner, was the sole employee, and he walked me around the room, talking about why different reds or whites would be a good option (a red from a region of Italy where they eat a lot of fish, for example). When I settled on a bottle of Austrian Grüner Veltliner (you take the girl out of Vienna, but you can’t take the Vienna out the girl), he explained the history behind the label.  Despite this high level of service, I wasn’t shown a bottle of wine over $20.

I’m now dying to try the 6 for $60-Something sampler. Craig selects 6 bottles around the $10 price point and provides expert tasting notes. So much better than blindly wandering around a mega-store with no guidance!

Perman Wine Selections, 802 W Washington Blvd, Chicago, IL

(Also, am I out of the loop, or is this “See Inside” feature of Google Maps new? I LOVE it!)

Finally… home decor that’s not French! 

(Alas, the seller also offers Bonjour.)

Guten Tag Extra Large Illustration, €24,00 EUR

Have you a beer lover in your home? The type who drinks the fancy 22 oz bottles? Then you should probably buy this. One side is an opener, the other side will act as a seal, maintaining the carbonation and flavor of the huge vessel as he/she checks in over and over again to Untapped. 

(Spoiler alert: someone is getting this as a Valentine’s Day gift.)

Hermetus Bottle Opener and Resealer - $8.70

I present to you: Formaticum Cheese Paper

Among the many lessons of my 20s, I include that you are not supposed to encase cheese in plastic ever. Since my love of the fancy fromage doesn’t seem to wane, I best protect these investments.

My money is in Manchego.

I returned from Minneapolis last night with a cold that worsened due to five days of hard living. My lips were chapped, I’d had a hangover for two days. That city chewed me up and spit me out, and I’ve not any photos to show for it. Here’s what I loved so much about this work/play weekend in my beloved former home:

• Classic cocktail happy hour at Bradstreet Crafthouse
• Takeout from Brasa: slow roasted pork, tostones, and rustic-style grits with cheddar
• Coffee shop tours: Rustica Bakery (best ginger cookies EVER), Bull Run Coffee Bar (I missed those baristas in their Depression-chic garb), and Urban Bean (obsessed with their minimalist-chic decor and general vibe… a new favorite)
• Dinner at Bar La Grassa: Soft Egg and Lobster Bruschetta and Gnocchi with Cauliflower and Egg
• Picking up a glass of Sangiovese on my way up to my corner room at Graves 601
• Blastng 89.3 The Current, a member-supported, no-format radio station
• Drinks and dinner at The Lowry (exceptionally pleasant bartenders who make all the classics and the bar nuts… heaven)
• MORE drinks at Barbette, including a Nouveau Monde, (old fashioned with ginger syrup)
• Sitting around Chris and Nicole’s dining room table with an epic spread, losing all track of glasses of wine consumed, talking and laughing loudly late into the night
• Deciding after midnight to head to 331 Club, stumbling into the CD release/live show of The May North (fiddles and banjos and an upright bass!), chanting for encore after encore, drinking Surly, and dancing furiously to hip-hop until they kicked us out well after last call

On Sunday, I managed to get down one piece of bacon before the  MSP airport, where I ate a life-saving patty melt at Ike’s Food and Cocktails. No cocktails for me… not for a long time.

I’ll admit, I forgot flasks existed after college. Every 21st birthday celebrant received one from their roommates,  straight from the Urban Outfitters gift table or engraved from the Things Remembered mall kiosk (how thoughtful). Maybe you brought it to a party, or on a ski trip, but you probably forgot to wash it and it was thrown out in one of the seemingly endless moves from college house to childhood home to post-collegiate apartment we all did.

This flask, however, in addition to its pleasing shape, non-offensive price, and charming engraved message options, boasts one additional feature: TSA compliant.

Izola 3 oz. Salut Flask - $22

Salt-roasted pears with cajeta

Recipe here. I’m sure it’s delicious, but the photography alone here is mouth-watering.