Penny Road Pond in Barrington, Illinois

Looking for a new place to hike, we headed over to Penny Road Pond in Barrington over the weekend. The trails adjacent to the pond area are a bit less defined than in other preserves. In general, the area experiences less traffic which lends to a particularly peaceful experience.

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Canceled: Live Auction Cake Sale Benefiting Barrington Relay for Life May 12, 2018

**Disclosure: I manage social media for Norton's U.S.A. All opinions are 100% my own.

*****Over the weekend, Deborah fell and broke her hip. She is recovering from surgery, so unfortunately we will need to cancel the Live Auction Cake Sale. The store will be closed today and reopening on Wednesday. We hope Deborah has a smooth recovery!*****

After a year hiatus, Norton's U.S.A. is thrilled to bring back the Live Auction Cake sale benefiting Barrington Relay for Life on May 12! The event is held the day before Mother's Day so you can bring home a cake for  Mom while supporting a great cause!

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Early Spring Scenes from Crabtree Nature Center

Crabtree Nature Center in Barrington Hills, IL is alive with the sounds of spring! While we still have a little while before spring "officially" starts, a recent hike through the preserve revealed our native wildlife already making preparations for the season ahead. This time of year is one of my favorites to hike because there are generally fewer hikers and the barrens trees make it much easier to see birds.

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Home for the Holidays Village Wide Holiday Event in Barrington, IL December 2, 2017

Home for the Holidays is a village wide holiday event in Barrington, Illinois on December 2. Holiday fun will be threaded throughout the village providing families with a full day of free holiday cheer. The event includes a petting zoo, ice carving, a model train display, a "Nutcracker" performance, Santa visits, carriage rides and much more. The holiday event runs 10AM-6:30PM and culminates with Santa's arrival to the tree lighting aboard a fire truck. A free holiday trolley will transport your family from festival to festival. A great day to celebrate Christmas, family and the community! Be sure to shop local while creating holiday memories!

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Exploring Colored Squid Gallery in Barrington, Illinois

We had some time to spare on a recent to visit to Barrington, so we made a visit to a new to us gallery -- Colored Squid Gallery.  Colored Squid Gallery is an amazing cache of artisan items made locally and across the USA.

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Easter Egg Hunt in Barrington Stores

Through April 8 enjoy some Easter fun at the above Barrington stores. Find an Easter egg while shopping and win a prize! I thought I would share this for shoppers this weekend and over Spring Break!

**Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Snow Much Fun Free Holiday Events in Barrington, IL December 3

This Saturday is THE day to be in Barrington. The quaint village will have holiday events throughout during the Snow Much Fun Event.  A free holiday trolley will be available to transport families from one location to another. Events will include dance performances, model trains, story hour, cookies, cider, carriage rides, carolers, live reindeer, a petting zoo, Santa visits and more providing for truly festive day. The day will culminate with a tree lighting at 5PM! Below is more information and detailed times:

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Treating Ourselves at The Heart of Europe Cafe {Barrington, IL} CLOSED

**Heart of Europe Has Closed.**


When the cold wind starts to bring the chill to the Chicago area, we start to look for hot chocolate. At some point during the summer, I learned about The Heart of Europe Cafe in Barrington. I am frequently in Barrington during the fall and winter for various events, so I eagerly seized on the opportunity to check the cafe out.

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Paint Your World Purple: Upcoming Story Hour and Barrington Relay for Life Event!

Hope soars from Barrington's Relay for Life Butterfly created by Barb Ross! ~Image courtesy of Mary Sneed

Barrington is preparing for the village's annual Relay for Life event on June 10! The event is open to the public and features special relay laps as well as some fun for families. The first lap around the track is a Survivor's Lap, giving survivors a moment to celebrate their victory and allowing participants to honor their incredible journeys. The moving Luminaria Ceremony provides an opportunity to honor those who have survived cancer, those who are still fighting and those we have lost to cancer. This year's Relay for Life will be 5PM-11PM on June 10th at the Barrington Township High School. An evening guaranteed to be full of emotion and inspiration!

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Hiking in Cuba Marsh in Barrington

Last year, we visited Citizens Park in Barrington and enjoyed a short hike. We didn't realize at the time that Citizens Park abuts with Cuba Marsh. We were delighted to see that the preserve extended past what we thought. However, rain curtailed our visit.

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Epicure Bistro {Barrington} (CLOSED)

Over the past couple of months, we have had the opportunity to try Epicure Bistro  in Barrington on two occasions. My daughter is a huge fan of crêpes, so anywhere that serves them is on her list. So, Epicure is definitely an option that appeals to families. However, it does have a romantic ambiance and is a nice spot for a date night as well.

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Anna Shea Chocolates: A Chocolate Gem in South Barrington

**Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Whenever we visit The Arboretum Shops in South Barrington, we cannot resist a stop inside of Anna Shea Chocolates. Right in the middle of an outdoor mall, Anna Shea continually delights visitors with inventive artisanal chocolates crafted right on the premises. Not something you expect to find in a mall!

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Anderson's Candy Shop {Barrington}

Chocolate tastes so much better when it is fresh and handmade! That is why I am entirely fortunate to not live very far from Anderson's Candy Shop in Barrington. The Anderson family has been making chocolate confections in Richmond, Illinois for three generations--since the 1920's! A few years ago, the family opened a second shop in Barrington giving more families an option to enjoy their delights!

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Champagne Tasting Experience at Vin Chicago Barrington! Cheers!

**Disclosure: I did receive complimentary admission to the Vin Chicago Champagne Tasting. No other compensation was received. All opinions are 100% my own.

Wow! We had so much fun at the annual Champagne Tasting at Vin Chicago in Barrington a couple of weeks ago! I can easily see how this event is a perennial favorite. Initially, I thought the concept of trying over 30 champagnes may be a tad overwhelming. I do like a little bit of an adventure but would such a sampling hold my interest and would I really notice differences between the wines? Hmmmm.......

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Barrington Holiday Wine Walk November 21 {FREE WINE}

Time to mark your calendars for a fabulous way to kick off the holidays! Enjoy Barrington's Holiday Wine Walk on November 21 from 2PM-6PM. Sips and small treats are free! Plus, there will be special shopping deals along the way. The wine walks are always a lot of fun, a good way to see the different businesses in Barrington, socialize a little and get a little walk in. Maps will be available at each of the participating businesses.

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VIN Chicago: Family Business Focusing on Hand Picked Wines {& a Giveaway 11/15/15}

**Disclosure: I did receive a gift card to experience Vin Chicago. No other compensation was received. All opinions are 100% my own.

One of the fabulous things about living in Chicago is that the entire area is a treasure trove full of unique and interesting finds to discover. This past week, I visited Vin Chicago for the first time and quickly learned that it is a wine store that truly stands out from the others. While my husband and I were excited to sip wines during Vin's weekly Saturday tasting, we were immediately captivated by the story behind Vin Chicago and developed an appreciation for their personalized approach to wine selection.

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Sneak Peek Inside Barrington's White House, Stocking the Kitchen and Upcoming Open House

Barrington's White House ready to welcome the community! Image taken by Deborah Leydig, owner of Norton's U.S.A.

Barrington has been celebrating its 150th Anniversary this year in glorious fashion with various special events including an 1865 Street Festival back in April, a birthday celebration at Citizen's Park and more to come! Along the way, the town renovated one of its most iconic and historic structures, Barrington's White House. Anyone who has traveled along Main Street this past year cannot have missed this massive community effort. In fact, fresh in my mind is viewing the home this spring still encased in evidence of ongoing construction. The house above once looked like this:

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A Visit to Citizens Park in Barrington

Recently, we had a free afternoon so we decided to stretch our legs a bit at Citizens Park in Barrington. We have been there a couple of times to take our daughter to the lovely playground. This time, though, we decided to take a little hike. We knew that there was a bit of a trail in the preserve but we didn't realize how long it was. What a nice walk! It turns out, the path goes into Cuba Marsh so you can make quite a hike out of it!

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8th Anniversary Celebration at Norton's U.S.A. June 9-14

I also contribute to social media over at Norton's U.S.A. Norton's has quite an amazing week ahead, so I wanted to share some of the deets here too!

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Ambrosia Patisserie in Barrington for a Sweet Treat

**Disclosure: No compensation was received for this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Life is short, so you need to treat yourself once in awhile! If you are going to indulge, you need to make it worth it! Ambrosia Euro American Patisserie is definitely worth a peek--and a taste! Ambrosia's creations are nothing short of art--delicate, elegant and beautiful.

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