Sock Monkeys bring joy to our hearts. They bring out an inex­plic­a­ble desire to cud­dle them and love them. You just want to take every stray Sock Monkey home and give it a place to live.

The 6th Annual Sock Monkey Madness Festival is hap­pen­ing this week­end, March 6th and 7th, in Rockford, Illinois. So grab your sock mon­key, load up your Kia, and head out!

Want some­where new to get some­thing old? Try the Depot American Diner on the west side of Chicago. A friend sug­gested it to us on a recent day in the city, so we gave it a try. It was worth the trip, and the self induced food coma it brought on.

Put away the warm win­ter clothes and say hello to spring­time in Chicago! Spring is the per­fect time to explore all that Chicago has to offer. With an array of activ­i­ties and events includ­ing art exhibits, sport­ing events and world-renowned the­ater, Chicago is in full bloom this season.

During the sec­ond month of the sec­ond decade, the folks at Doubletree Chicago Magnificent Mile, 300 E. Ohio St., are turn­ing up the heat on hot win­ter rates avail­able at the upscale prop­erty. Every Tuesday in February will fea­ture Twos-Days 2-Hour Promotion from 2 p.m. through 4 p.m. CST, with callers receiv­ing up to 50% sav­ings on rooms at the prop­erty con­ve­niently located just steps from Michigan Avenue, Navy Pier, and Millennium Park in Chicago.