Author: By Marni Jameson
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At Home: Helping with housing, one family at a time
Amid reports of war, crime and political mayhem, here’s a ray of sunshine. The story comes from Northfield, Minn., a small town with a big heart. Victor and Lorena Hernandez (whose names I’ve changed for privacy) came to the U.S. from Mexico 20 years ago while teenagers. They then met, married and had three children,…
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At Home: Make room for the baby and all the related stuff
If necessity is the mother of invention, motherhood is the inventor of organization. Anyone who’s become a parent knows that if you thought keeping your house and life pulled together before kids was tough, look out baby, because here comes the chaos. When my two were born, two years apart, I went a good four…
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At Home: A little bit of great beats a lot of mediocre
“I think of you every time I buy soap,” says the young woman, a friend of my daughter’s. We are at a wedding making small talk. “Triple-milled,” she continues. “Your daughter drilled this into my head.” I’m not sure how to take this. “Well, I’m glad some lessons have sunk in,” I say. My son-in-law…
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At Home: Hey, Google, how is AI changing the way we buy houses?
Think Geek Squad meets The Property Brothers. At the National Association of Realtors iOi Summit last month in Miami, innovators, futurists, investors and real estate professionals got together to chat like chatbots about PropTech. That’s the hip insider term for “property technology.” You are going to be so cool when you finish reading this, so…
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At Home: Good organization helps set students up for success
Tardy bells. Locker combinations. Yellow buses. Sack lunches. Shoes that give you blisters. School has officially started. And in households across America, the cries are sounding: “Where’s my homework? Have you seen my soccer shoes? You stole my charger! Hurry, we’ll be late!” But not at Lynn Stone’s house. Two weeks before school started this…
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At Home: Can this kitchen be saved?
“I want a bigger kitchen,” my daughter says. “So, remodel,” I say, which is pretty much my first response to any home-related complaint. “But I don’t see how we can make more space, and I want room for a couple barstools.” “So, move.” This is my second standard response to any home-related complaint. “But I…
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10 hostess hacks to make your food look better than it is
I’m not a cook. I do, however, love to entertain. Because having guests to my home typically involves feeding them, I try to compensate for my lack of culinary skills with stylish presentation. With a few hostess hacks, I can elevate the most humdrum potato salad from the grocery store deli, chicken wings from the…
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At Home: How does your herb garden grow? By making friends.
If your homegrown herbs are fizzling failures, the problem might their friend group. You think I’m joking. Turns out, and this was news to me, herbs are like people. Just as we have friends who bring out the best in us and foes who bring out the worst, just as we know people who make…
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At Home: 10 tips to iron like a pro
My mother knew how to iron. I should have paid more attention. I remember her standing over the ironing board, forming crisp fresh-smelling stacks of linens. I did not take further note because, back then, women’s lib was the rage, and I cottoned to the idea that ironing was a domestic detail I would have…
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At Home: Going from owner to renter takes some adjusting
“Ugg,” came the text from my daughter, “I’m not used to having a landlord.” I could sense the steam coming through the phone, so I called. She unleashed a litany of frustrations: a towel bar falling off the wall, a ceiling fan not working, windows that won’t open, unsightly nail holes from the prior tenant.…