Forest & Bluff Magazine

LAKE BLUFF’S Wick DeYoung lives by the motto “It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you overcome.” DeYoung has personal knowledge of what it’s like to struggle academically. It was his personal experience growing up with learning challenges that led him to launch Dynamic Tutoring Solutions. He understands the need for specialized support for students with diagnosed learning differences. “I know first-hand it’s not easy being different from your peers, especially on the North Shore,” DeYoung says.

THE ORIGINAL SIENA TAVERN located in downtown Chicago was inspired by the legendary restaurant La Taverna in Siena, Italy, which I had the pleasure on dining at several years ago on a multi-week vacation through northern Italy. Although the city-based “tavern” and now the new location on the North Shore is more polished in aesthetics, the food is as “melt in your mouth” delicious as what I remember from my visit to Siena.

THE TERM CUSTODY is often used interchangeably with visitation, but the custody agreement actually refers to both the visitation schedule and the decision-making structure. Visitation is vastly more complicated. Between setting a standard weekly schedule, divvying up holidays, and scheduling vacation time, there are a lot of moving pieces, all of which need to be outlined before the agreement can be filed.

CHASE HAWKINS was a high schooler himself when he first felt the connection a great youth group can provide. “Growing up in Cincinnati, I don’t remember a lot of parishes having youth groups, so I thought it was pretty cool when our church started one,” Hawkins says. “That feeling never left me.” In fact, that feeling was so strong that on his summer vacations in college from Marquette University, Hawkins worked at Life Teen Camp Covecrest in the mountains of Georgia.

IT’S EASY TO GET CAUGHT UP in revamping your wardrobe to fit the season’s latest trends. But between the cut-outs, faux fur coats, and low-rise jeans, the fashion trends may begin to seem overwhelming. When you’re standing in the dressing room trying to determine which item to purchase, let me remind you that jewelry is often what makes and completes an outfit.

OF ALL THE local produce available in the winter, squash is one of the most delicious. Sweet and nutty, rich and warm, squash has a satisfying depth of flavor and silky texture. Nutritionally, it’s high in potassium, has a low glycemic index, and is a guilt-free pleasure with only 45 to 90 calories per cup cooked. “There are so many varieties to work with!” says Chef Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Café in Northbrook.

WHEN Helen Berkun was a young girl growing up in Mariupol, a… Read More FORMER MILLIKIN University basketball sharpshooter Joe Guin netted nine feathery three-pointers— in… Read More CHASE HAWKINS was a high schooler himself when he first felt the… Read More LAKE BLUFF’S Wick DeYoung lives by the motto “It’s not what you… Read More THE TERM CUSTODY is often used interchangeably with visitation, but the custody… Read More THE LAKE FOREST SHOP celebrated its 100th anniversary in dazzling...

THE LAKE FOREST SHOP celebrated its 100th anniversary in dazzling fashion last September. It was an occasion for owner Ellen Stirling to thank her long-time customers, and an opportunity for the community to show its appreciation to the woman who had ushered this iconic institution into its next century. Sadly, Stirling passed away after a lengthy illness just eight weeks following this magnificent party. She was 73.

FORMER MILLIKIN University basketball sharpshooter Joe Guin netted nine feathery three-pointers— in 10 attempts—in his 35-point game against Wabash College in 1986. It still stands as a Big Blue program record. Now a co-founder of Compass Financial Partners (CFP), a Northwestern Mutual private client group that moved from Vernon Hills to Lake Forest in December, Guin—along with CFP co-founder Tim Hender—chose not to rely on finesse to herald the firm’s presence to the community.

WHEN Helen Berkun was a young girl growing up in Mariupol, a city in Ukraine, her world was full of color. Her family was comprised of painters, photographers, and designers. But when Berkun and family emigrated to the United States in 1990 when she was just nine years old, her parents hoped she would choose a more traditional path to the American dream—become a doctor, an attorney, or a high-powered woman in business. “My Mom and Dad were both so creative,” Berkun says.