Hive & Seek

Day Two: Pastries, Pampering, and Pure Bliss

Guest Blogger: Dawn Balestrieri-Glossa

Saturday started bright and early for us. I knew we needed to get a jump on the day if we wanted to snag the best pastries at Mindy’s Bakery (https://www.mindysbakery.com/). People start lining up at 7 AM for her goodies, and we arrived at 7:30 AM to find ourselves third in line. It was a brisk morning, but a cute baby in line with us made the time fly by. We ended up with a lot of food – what can I say, a girl likes options!

Originally, we thought we’d find a park to sit and devour our haul, but the cold weather had us heading back to the Airbnb to enjoy our feast. OMG, it was all so delicious! Our favorites included the breakfast sandwich (these are made in limited quantities, so glad we got there early!), the raspberry kolache, and the poached plum Danish.

Next up on our itinerary was New Century Head Spa (https://www.newcenturyheadspa.com/). We started with an analysis and a microscopic shot of our scalps. Mine was dry! So dry. And then we were escorted into a room to have our heads scrubbed, scratched, massaged, and steamed. Pure bliss! Our “after” photos of our scalps showed squeaky-clean noggins.

Afterward, we stumbled upon a four-block-long craft fair, the Renegade Craft Fair (https://www.renegadecraft.com/). Such a fun variety of artists! We all bought some adorable strawberry stickers from an LA-based creator called Little Women Goods Feminist Gift Shop.

Lunch came quickly, and we knew we wanted to try Mott St. (1401 N Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL 60622, https://www.mottstreetchicago.com/). They’re Asian fusion but famous for their Mott Burger. I got the burger, and it was worth every last calorie. This burger was a juicy patty topped with hoisin aioli, pickled jalapeños, and sweet potato frizzles, all on a perfectly toasted bun. We also consumed the lox platter, home fries with kimchi, and the avocado dip. We left completely full!

By the time we made it back to the Airbnb, we were exhausted. We decided to hunker down for the night instead of heading back out. We binged Hulu’s “Tell Me Lies,” ordered in some chicken kabobs later, and just had a great time chilling out.

Stay tuned for our final day’s adventures and more Chicago recommendations!