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Valenti Builders celebrates 75 years of building throughout Chicagoland
Drive around the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, and you're bound to see multiple projects by Valenti Builders. From the total revitalization of downtown Park Ridge and the Northbrook Corporate Center on the Edens to St. Francis Xavier Ward School at Old St. …
How to thrift like a pro
Tudors Down · the design column · One of the most common questions I'm asked about my home decor is where I shop. When I answer, "Thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets, etc.," I hear the same thing in response: "Every thrift store or estate …
Starfish Animal Rescue: Adopt one of these pets today
What started as providing transportation to shelters and rescues in the Midwest has become a group that not only provides loving homes to rescue animals from two high-kill/high-volume shelters in Kentucky but also provides transportation for other rescue groups so that more than 2,000 dogs …
10 must-do New Year's resolutions for your home
Tudors Down · the design column · Starting a New Year usually means starting a list of New Year's resolutions that everyone seems to have trouble sticking with. Diet? Check. Save more? Check. Land your dream job? Check. Often, our homes are the last thing …
How to accommodate holiday guests
Many of us may find ourselves with a little extra company this holiday season. These tips will help you manage keeping houseguests. Plan. No one likes unexpected company, and no one likes to feel like they are intruding. Let friends and family members know that …
12 days of Christmas
Santa will be here before you know it. Celebrate accordingly. 1** Make a pumpkin spice latte at home. Heat two-cups milk, two-tablespoons canned pumpkin and two-tablespoons sugar until just steaming. Remove from heat. Stir in two-tablespoons vanilla and one-half-teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. Blend until foamy …
The O-Christmas-Tree challenge
A glowing, sparkling, tree, centered in a window is just not in the cards for those with less than spacious homes. For most, just finding space (window excluded) is a challenge. What should you do if you have no space to for a Christmas tree? …
How to plan for unexpected company
Tudors Down · the design column · I've been in far too many situations where a friend/relative/long lost roommate decides to call and unexpectedly pop over for a quick visit. This is fine when my house is clean and put together, but of course, it …
Baby boomer basics for starting a business
If you are older than 50 and think business ownership may be for you, you're not alone. According to the nonprofit AARP Public Policy Institute, 21 percent of the self-employed were between 55 and 64, while 10 percent were 65 and older. A volatile economic …
A teacher's lessons become a survivor's strength
Geraldine Dirksen, 73, taught at Chicago Public Schools for 30 years, and she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, the same year as the last Chicago Teachers Union strike. Dirksen, a longtime Wilmette resident, recalled her cancer survivor story from a peacock green settee …
When diagnosed with breast cancer, the news that a reconstructive surgery also acts as a pseudo-tummy tuck is about the best thing someone can hear. “I had two kids, and to be honest, my stomach could go,” said Jennifer McDermott, 45, of Evanston, who underwent a TRAM (transverse rectus abdominis muscle) Flap to reconstruct her breasts. “It’s almost like a tummy tuck. It’s a similar thing.”
How to renovate without breaking up
Tudors Down · the design column · We've all been there: fighting with our partner over nothing. Throw a renovation in the mix, and you'll have a recipe for disaster. Somehow, we are supposed to manage fixing our home while not letting our relationship break …
Flaunt your family's story through eclectic modern design
Tudors Down · the design column · Eclectic modern - a trend growing faster than you can say it - is a style I embrace in my home. This worn, lived-in look gets better with age, knowledge and wisdom, and it pops up in many …
8 small tweaks that create a big impact in your home
Tudors Down · the design column · On the occasions when you want to update your living spaces, sometimes you can't bring yourself to paint an entire room or buy new furniture. So, what do you do when you want a change but have little …
10 homemade natural beauty and spa treatments found right in your kitchen
Forever searching for the Fountain of Youth, many people may find themselves spending hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on beauty products, salons and spa treatments each year hoping to achieve the latest and greatest skin, hair and body. 30 BEST GIFTS FOR KIDS You'd be …