Should I put up holiday decorations while my house is on the market? Live in the house to sell it rather than how you would normally live in it. Buying a house is like falling in love. We step over the threshold and we melt. Now we can either be brought in tighter, or […]
These days, I’m a lucky girl. I snoop in interesting homes and beautiful shops filled with surprises, and I meet fascinating people, folks blessed with right-brain abundance and a knack for living the interesting life. Sharing the discoveries from my snooping excursions is the other half of the fun. Which is why the Snoopster […]
We caught up with Bark, a physician from Evanston, who let us in on her green fairytale. When Bark’s old house flooded in 1999, it had to be demolished because of the carpet of mold that nature chose to install in the aftermath. Somewhere along the way Bark asked a contractor she knew from spin […]
Are you planning a fall remodel? Good news—there could be some cash coming your way. On the heels of a successful Cash For Clunkers automobile program, the federal government has approved a similar program for home appliances. Consumers will begin to see the program, sometimes referred to as “Cash For Refrigerators,” heavily advertised in […]
Homeowners have come to accept the fact that hiring a painting contractor often brings surprises—and sometimes not the good kind. “The timeline can last weeks longer than originally agreed upon; the price can escalate faster than the blink of an eye; and the finished quality can leave much to be desired. But this isn’t how […]
Broken bones, deep wounds requiring stitches, near asphyxiation, these horrible traumas can happen from playing sports. But if you’ve ever tripped over the Ripstick, cut your hand on an errant hockey skate or nearly fainted from the stench of sweat-infused, mold-breeding football equipment, you know that injuries can occur without ever putting on the pads. […]
From the Garden of Eden to the hanging gardens of Babylon, mankind has long appreciated a good garden. Fortunately, one need not channel King Nebuchadnezzar to cultivate an outdoor space. As the rise in container gardening illustrates, where there’s a will (or a terrace), there’s a way. Fortunately, many North Shore homes stand on large […]
Trapped inside a tired décor? With a few simple tricks and a handful of dollars, you can wake up any room in your house.
With all the rain (not to mention my wallet’s dearth of dinero), I just haven’t done a lot of entertaining out in my backyard this summer. You too? Well, heck, the fat lady hasn’t sung yet. Let’s do something about this. After getting your guest list together and before pulling out your favorite recipes, […]
All right. So maybe you aren’t exactly a “Type A” personality. But don’t you wish you could be once in a while? Then maybe you wouldn’t find yourself curled up in fetal position in front of boxes of photographs meant to be a scrapbook for your parents’ 50th anniversary, the pattern for the troll costume […]
