Valentine's Day is a contentious holiday. Some love it while others detest it, and these feelings are usually contingent on who accompanies us on any particular February 14th. I asked the Chicagoist foodies to tell me their favorite things about Valentine's Day, defined however they liked. Single, coupled, fine dining or home on the couch - these are our favorite. Caitlin prefers wine to chocolate, Minna is annoyed by American V-Day, John likes trashy heart-shaped candy. If you have a great story, add it in the comments. more ›

In case you missed it, Oprah made her audience go totally crazy on Friday after unveiling her Favorite Things and bequeathing them upon a crowd of anxious and teary-eyed. What was the audience reaction like? Nothing short of epic: more ›

Oprah kicked off the holiday season of giving on Monday with free home makeovers for viewers care of Thom Filicia of Queer Eye and Oprah Show live-in lover Nate Dreamboat Berkus. First Thom scrambled to complete a home renovation in 42 minutes while wearing a child-size plastic fireman’s hat. We thought we were in for a light-hearted show, but it took a tear-jerking turn with Nate’s assignment. Guests Joan and Ken had made an appearance on the show back in September and won the chance to take Nate home for a domestic upgrade. What we didn’t know then is that Joan had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and has little time left to live. She wanted to make sure her husband and sons had a “manly” place to hang out in their house, so Oprah charged Nate with the task of upgrading the family’s unfinished basement into a guy’s wonderland. Some wood paneling, a pool table and autographed photos of dirt bikers seemed to do the trick, and the joy and relief in Joan’s eyes Oprahfied us. more ›