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Teresa is a busy wife and mother, but at every available opportunity, she escapes into a fantasy world. You see, Teresa is a romance writer, and her active imagination is helping write her third book.
Botanical name: Crossandra species
You can check out home-building and remodeling trends in Wichita next week at the Wichita Home Show. The show starts Thursday and runs through Feb. 7 at Century II.
What if instead of feeling like you're about to hyperventilate, you get hungry after inhaling the smell of a freshly painted room? Made of about 90 percent food ingredients, Anna Sova Food Paint is a low-VOC formula that comes in more than 500 colors — all of which "smell like a milkshake," the paint cans say. You apply it just like regular paint, and it protects your walls and scrubs easily.
Almost February — The shortest month starts Monday, and thank heaven it's the shortest. I like my long months to happen in the summer.
Botanical name: Stromanthe sanguinea "Tricolor"
My 140-year-old home is a bit off-kilter. None of the windows, walls or floors is square, which means when you try to dress them in drapes, it's impossible to get a neat, uniform look. So I opted to cover my windows in simple wooden shutters. While I adore the streamlined look, I miss the luxury and richness of fabulous fabric window treatments.
As Wichita gets ready for its annual home show next week, national experts are saying that Americans want smaller houses and are willing to strip some of yesterday's most popular rooms — such as home theaters — from them in order to accommodate changing lifestyles.
And you thought you had a brown thumb.
Foggy dew _ It's been pretty taking walks this foggy week, seeing beads of dew hanging on arching spirea branches like pearls on a necklace. Higher temperatures have helped the overall weather condition, too. But I think we're all suffering from a sunshine deficit. I'm looking for great things to happen once the clouds finally break.
In the world of cabinetmakers and other craftsmen, sometimes fake or “faux” is better than real. Recently a huge Civil War monument in Cleveland was restored, and experts learned that what they thought was expensive pink-and-yellow marble was actually inexpensive white marble that had been painted — so it was faux. The 19th-century group that built the monument must have wanted to save money.
Tonia and Francis have traveled the world and have lived on three continents. But with three young children and a brand-new baby, they decided the time was right to move back home and put down roots. They bought a big house near their families that needed a bit of work, and expended all their effort into updating their kids' rooms. But they got stalled when it came to their own space, specifically their master bathroom. The room's awkward layout, grungy tub and peeling wallpaper made it the last place these busy parents wanted to spend any time.
Today is the last day to recycle a real Christmas tree. Remove all decorations from the tree. The trees will be chipped, and anyone can take the Christmas tree mulch for free.
As a professional designer and house-flipper, Ryan Brown knows how to increase the beauty and value of a house. But what does a flipper do differently when he's designing a permanent residence for himself? Here's how Brown splurged and scrimped:
Botanical name: Cestrum aurantiacum
Make a list of projects you plan to complete during the year. Include small but important chores so you won't overlook them, and big projects so you can budget ahead.
One of the newer collectibles to be found at auctions in Japanese monster toys made in the 1960s and 1970s. A recent auction by Morphy of Denver, Pa., was held on land and online to sell a huge of collection of toys, including about 50 of the Japanese kaiju ("strange beast") toys.
Seed orders — Every year brings some disappointments in seed orders because of losses to crop failures. But this year there are reports that losses could be more widespread because of unusually bad weather last year. While extension agent Rebecca McMahon says she doesn't expect shortages of anything more than of a variety here or there, she does recommend not waiting until the last minute to buy the seed you want.
A few months ago, I faced a decorating challenge extraordinaire. Colin Cowie, designer and party planner for the stars, was coming to Nell Hill's Briarcliff for a special "Tabletops With a Twist" benefit luncheon. For the event, we needed 60 table centerpieces that were elegant and interesting plus packed enough punch to hold their own in the massive venue. What could be more perfect than garden statuary? On each table we featured distinctive statuary embellished with honeysuckle vine, pumpkins and gourds. The effect was stunning.
Botanical name: Juniperus chinensis "Keteleeri"
