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Illustration: Elisabeth Boehm. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Aunt Galya, my father’s sister, died. She was just over eighty. We hadn’t been close—there was an uneasiness between the families and a history of perceived snubs. My parents had what you might call troubled dealings with Aunt Galya, and we almost never saw her. As a result I had little chance to form my own relationship with her. We met infrequently, we had the odd phone call, but toward the end she unplugged her phone, saying, “I don’t want to talk to anyone.” Then she disappeared entirely into the world she...

When owning your own contracting business, day-to-day questions or larger issues will come up where answers are uncertain or the path forward isn’t clear. A contracting community as a sounding board can be helpful in your goal to keep your business moving and growing. In this first of two blog posts, Sweeten talks with Tom Raber, founder of The Contractor Fight. Tom explains how to start job-costing, discussing profit and overhead with clients, and common issues that general contractors are facing within his coaching groups. You can also check out his podcast. Sweeten matches general contractors with high-quality home renovation...

Every woman has had that moment where she’s looked in her wardrobe and felt she has nothing to wear! When this happens, the first instinct might be to grab the credit card and get shopping, but with a few genius tips and tricks, you can practically have a new wardrobe without spending a cent! Change It Up! Make the clothing work for you – not the other way around! If some of your garments are too tight or loose, change them up a bit and repurpose their use. Margaret sees it as “Having a different relationship with the individual pieces.”...

For a limited time, you can order ANY SIZE Martha Stewart Mattress Pads from Macy’s for just $15.99! Shipping is Free for orders of $25.00 or more (so if you purchase two) or else you can avoid shipping by choosing Free ship to store! Cover: polyester; 8-oz. per square yard polyester fiberfill skirt: polyester. After unwrapping, air product for 24 hours to eliminate trapped odors. Machine wash warm. Tumble dry low. Use commercial machines. Martha Stewart Essentials Classic Quilted Mattress Pad – Twin or Twin XL, $14.99 (regularly $40) Martha Stewart Essentials Classic Quilted Mattress Pad – Full, $14.99 (regularly...

Here is my take on an outfit that I wore on this date 10 years ago! You can see the original outfit post right here. This is the same dress, but in the intervening years I had it altered to be a bit shorter. I love the gradient pattern at the bottom and didn't want to lose that, so instead of doing a traditional hem, my tailor unattached the bodice from the skirt and hemmed it from the top of the skirt instead of the bottom! This is one of my all-time favorite dresses that I own. At some point...