Get to know some of Chicago’s most beloved and recognizable buildings a little bit better with these four tours from the Chicago Architecture Foundation. 

Source: Chicago Architecture Foundation

How’s this for a New Year’s resolution? Pass up that vodka or whiskey drink and go for an aquavit cocktail instead. There’s no better time to make the switch. With more Midwest distilleries making the spiced Scandinavian liquor, bartenders are shaking, mixing and stirring the spiced liquor into a variety of delicious concoctions. Here are nine to try in Minneapolis right now.

Source: Eater Minneapolis

Things are getting serious. With little more than a week left to catch the Matisse exhibition at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the staff has extended hours and even set up an overflow parking lot. Don’t miss the work (more than 100 pieces) of one of the most recognizable and influential artists of the 20th century. The exhibit closes Jan. 12.

Source: Indianapolis Museum of Art

Join some of Chicago’s leading thinkers (Claire Cahan of Studio Gang, Martin Felsen at UrbanLab and more) as they discuss how water issues impact neighborhoods, cities and beyond in a forum at the Chicago Architecture Foundation on Wed., Dec. 18.

Source: After the City, the City

Get the scoop on the newest film from Minnesota’s own Cohen brothers. “Inside Llewyn Davis” tells the story of the would-be king of the Greenwich Village folk scene in 1961 before Bob Dylan arrives on the scene. 

Source: Minneapolis Institute of Arts/Alison Rosa

Short stories are hard to write. Trying to cram all that detail and character building into a few pages takes talent. Luckily, it seems Minneapolis publisher, Graywolf Press, isn’t at a shortage of talent these days. Three of its books, “Spectacle,” “This Close”and “Love is Like Power, Or Something Like That,” made Flavorwire’s list of the 10 best short story collections of 2013.

Source: Flavorwire

What could make hot chocolate better? Seriously, liquid chocolate is pretty amazing during a snow storm as it is, but the ladies over at the blog A Beautiful Mess have added a level of class to hot chocolate we just never expected: lavender and honey marshmallows (so long to jet-puffed version). Learn how to make them now.

Source: A Beautiful Mess

Former Detroit Pistons guard Vinnie Johnson wants you to kick back and relax (or get some work done) in his new studio, Airea. The space (which is also used to sell Haworth office furniture) will be broken down into 11 nontraditional work zones: from a lounge area for one, to a conference space that can hold 40 people.

Source: Crain’s Detroit Business/ Airea

How do you create an art gallery a family can live in? That’s the challenge architect Jeff Dolezal of Tack Architects was charged with when he designed a home in the Regency neighborhood of Omaha, Neb. Dolezal pulled from Mid-Century Modern influences when he created this nearly 10,000-square-foot home.

Source: Dwell

You wouldn’t expect a small Indiana high school to house an art collection worth millions, but that’s the case at Peru High School. This past spring the school in Peru, Ind., put its collection of more than 138 pieces of art (including Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí) on display. See it here.

Source: Dwell

When the owners relocated from Washington, D.C., to Duluth, they wanted a home that embodied modernist values: openness, light, economy, sustainability, connection to the land and enhancement of the natural features. Scroll through gorgeous interior and exterior shots here .

Source: ArchDaily

The rising stars of metro Detroit’s culinary scene put on a meal to remember last weekend. In case you missed it, The Root Restaurant & Bar posted two delectable photo recaps: one of the nine plates served during the first Young Guns Dinner, and another of the behind-the-scenes prep. View the full menu here.

Source: Eat It Detroit/The Root Restaurant & Bar/Jacob Lewkow

In honor of the exhibition “Album: Cinematheque Tangier, a project by Yto Barrada,” sign painter Dan Madsen spent a few weeks at the Walker working to bring a 16-by-25 foot map to life marking the theaters (past and present) in the Moroccan city, Tangier. Learn more Madsen and the inspiration behind the beauty that took 193 hours to paint.

Source: Walker Art Center

In one fell swoop, Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago plays matchmaker between 75 artists and potential art buyers in its fifth installment of “Not Just Another Pretty Face.” The exhibition of commissioned work opens this Sat., Dec. 14.

Source: Hyde Park Art Center

Fall may be slipping away, but there’s no reason not to give the quintessential fall dessert ingredient, the apple, one more go around. Especially if the recipe includes bourbon — mixed in ice cream. That’s sure to warm anyone’s spirit right up. Here’s the secret to making baked apples topped with bourbon ice cream.

Source: A Beautiful Mess

Steven Holl Architects’ addition to The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in Missouri brings translucent glass to another (gorgeous) level. These photos of the buildings from Andy Ryan look like minimalist paintings and drawings. 

Source: Arch Daily/ Andy Ryan

We could all use an extra happy hour as the holiday season approaches, so why not mix up the usual bar scene? This Wed., Dec. 11, head over to SpaceCrafting for drinks and appetizers (thanks, Parka), and a chance to see new products from Arbor Wood (thermally modified timber products), Biosurf (a biolaminate made of soybeans and corn) and Plyboo’s new Reveal line (carved and textured bamboo wall panels). The event runs from 4 to 7 p.m., and did we mention one lucky attendee will win a Loll Designs chair?

Source: Intectural/SpaceCrafting

It’s holiday shopping crunch time. Luckily, there’s a studio opening in St. Paul, and a pop-up shop in Minneapolis this weekend where you can get some stocking stuffers or “just because” gifts (hello, we’re also buying for ourselves). On Friday and Saturday, Woodsport is teaming up with TOMOCO and Hennepin Made glass to bring you some of the most beautifully made furniture and glass light fixtures. Get there. Then on Saturday and Sunday, online curated shop, A Mano (started by a local photographer), joins Forage Modern Workshop for a gorgeous pop-up sale of goods handcrafted by U.S. artisans (think teak wood and tobacco candles, jewelry, handmade soap and more).

Source: Woodsport/A Mano

The closing party of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit’s show, “The Past is Present” is nearly as exciting as the exhibition itself. Eighty years after Diego Rivera’s iconic “Detroit Industry” mural, MOCAD celebrates the city by asking 15 artists to create new murals inspired by Motor City. Breezee One, Detroit’s diva MC, singer and songwriter will close out the show with her power synths and minimal beats.

Source: Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit

Ponyride throws open its doors of its 30,000 square-foot warehouse in Detroit this Friday for its second annual open house. This year’s soiree features a return of a pop-up marketplace (including makers such as Detroit Denim and the Smith Shop), that drew more than 500 people last year.

Source: Ponyride

Sure, you’ve heard of a food and wine tasting, but how about a chocolate and beer tasting? Missouri bean-to-bar company, Askinosie Chocolate, teams up with Mother’s Brewing Company to show you how to combine the best parts of a meal: booze and dessert. But don’t go late. We hear the handmade truffles infused with Mother’s beer don’t last long.

Source: Askinosie Chocolate

A new beacon of light is coming to a Detroit corner. A group of students who call themselves “Larry and Friends Design Co.” are knee-deep in the process of creating a light sculpture set to shine on a vacant lot in Midtown. The class of students from Lawrence Technological University’s College of Architecture and Design will debut their sculpture at Midtown’s 41st Noel Night on Dec. 7.

Source: Deadline Detroit

With great fanfare (gaggles of media and the who’s who of the restaurant scene) Eataly previewed it’s newest location in Chicago set to open Dec. 10. The 63,000 square foot Italian marketplace boasts an open layout stocked with delicious morsels.

Source: Chicago Eater

Gregory Euclide has been busy lately jet-setting between Los Angeles, Paris and London for several solo shows. But the Minneapolis College of Art and Design graduate will round out his season with a show in his home state of Minnesota, his first show there in years). The show opens at the Arts Center of St. Peter on Dec. 7.

Source: Minneapolis College of Art and Design/ Arts Center of St. Peter

Canadian artist Diane Landry transforms plastic water bottles, laundry hampers and plastic cutlery into things of beauty. Her most recent installation “Exhaustion,” a chandelier-like object made of plastic forks and knives that floats up and down, made its U.S. debut at her ongoing exhibition (open through March 2) at Ohio’s Contemporary Arts Center.

Source: Contemporary Arts Center/ CityBeat