April 2005

1716 LOCUST

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SPRING DÉCOR

April

BRUSH ON FRESH ACCENTS WITH STENCILS TO SHOW YOUR STYLE IN EVERY ROOM.

Settling Into Simple

Most small towns have a house like Sherry and Lee Bruce's: a nondescript little rental that gets passed from hand to hand.

HISTORY IN BLOOM

Passionate about the past, a St. Paul, Minnesota, gardener and her family transformed a long-abandoned horse paddock into a color-drenched garden.

Playtime Branches Out

COPPER CATCHES THE EYE

Ask the Experts

PRETTY UP YOUR MIRROR IN MINUTES

A Facelift for Florals

These fresh, quirky prints are light-years from your grandma's florals. Today's bold and often oversize designs have broad appeal-- they jibe with traditional and contemporary rooms and they appeal to nearly everyone.

Ride the next wave in texture

CARDBOARD GOES CHIC

EVERYDAY ON DISPLAY

Whether it's baseball gloves or rolling pins, avid collector John Weiss deftly fills his family's Connecticut home with artful arrangements of mostly everyday items.

SHEDDING SOME LIGHT

A California couple brought a simple garden shed into glorious bloom with a few creative additions.

ALL NEATLY STOWED

A Maine family set out to create a bright and efficient mudroom and laundry space that meets their needs paw-fectly.

RESCUED BY AN ISLAND

A gregarious Texan blends her talents for cooking and real estate to create a sleek new kitchen.

SOARING SPIRITS MEMORIAL ROSE

NEW LIFE FOR AN OLD HOME

Seven children and a house bursting at the seams encouraged Susan and Don Deloach to remodel their historic Chicago-area home to suit their casual family-centered lifestyle.

VACATION-LOVERS' GARDEN

By designing their yard on Cape Cod with nature as a partner, Tom and Marian Strangfeld spend barely 30 hours a year on its upkeep-- leaving lots of time for family.

GROWING CACTI IN A COOL CLIMATE

A gardener uses stone-studded beds and brings tender species indoors in pots to satisfy his passion for cacti in Connecticut.

REVELING IN RIBBONS

Grosgrain ribbon-- you've seen it on belts, handbags, and those ladylike jackets. Now you can bring home a snippet of that high fashion with fanciful projects that give your rooms a lift.

ADD SILVER TOUCHES

Put flecks of light into your shade garden with perennials whose foliage displays a metallic frosting.

CREATIVITY ENTERS STAGE RIGHT

A Tampa family's spare guest bedroom is remodeled into a bustling little theater. Its wee performers, and their parents, give it rave reviews.

COTTAGE MEETS MODERN

A California couple who love cooking, entertaining, and the outdoors blended their passions and crafted their ideal kitchen and gathering space.

SHADE CAN BE A BLESSING

Homeowner Kelly Wingo found it impossible to grow a lawn under the maple trees in her suburban Boston front yard, so out went the grass and in came a garden of many different greens.

Using Everlasting Blooms

Smart Dining

Natural Mix

HAPPY STIRRERS

Rice Pudding Deluxe

Five a Day

USING SIMPLE SYRUPS

Cakes in Bloom

SILVER-LEAFED GARDEN

BUTTERFLY AND HUMMINGBIRD GARDEN

When parents make mistakes

Top parenting pros share some of their worst goofs-- and show how moms and dads can turn their mistakes into the best lessons of all.

Something cool for after school

Get involved and learn about new programs that help ensure children spend their after-school hours in new and meaningful ways.

Get your act together

Curb clutter for a cleaner, more organized home and a brighter outlook on life. These 7 ideas can lead to order, calm, and more family time.

Caring across the miles

Looking after parents over long distances can be a real challenge for even the most dedicated children. Here are ways to smooth the path.

Spicing up the Romance

... As a self-proclaimed "incurable romantic," Deborah Whitfield believes in the power of possibilities: ...

Garden Open... please. step in

Like any good professor, Daniel Hinkley loves learning. Even Heronswood Nursery, the mail-order business he started as a complement to his job at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Washington, is a classroom full of ideas. Now devoted full-time to his nursery, Dan has never lost his enthusiasm for learning and teaching. Gardening is his "journey of learning."

The Art of Change

In Carole Lansdown's Sonoma farmhouse, a dictionary remains open to a fragile, yellowed page with a bookmark pointing to the word "change."

SHAPES OF FRIENDSHIP

HERB GIFT

PASTRY ESSENTIALS

ADVENTURES WITH WINE

Walk away from back pain

Seventy percent of us have back pain, but it can be eased by using our own two feet.

Pets for Kids with Allergies

Plan with Cans

Trying to squeeze more fruits and vegetables into your family's diet? Don't forget your trusty can opener. "Canned foods are a great convenience," says Liz Weiss, a registered dietitian and author of The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers. "You can open a few cans and pull together a healthy meal in no time." The boon goes beyond convenience. "With canned food, you're not sacrificing quality," adds Carolyn O'Neil, a registered dietitian and author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous!

CAMP FOR KIDS WITH DIABETES

BUZZ SPRING AHEAD, FALL BEHIND (ON SLEEP)

Exercise to Your Max

For years, people striving to keep fit have been told to hit their target heart-rate zone. Trouble is, the formula is only an estimate based on your theoretical maximal heart rate. Your true maximal heart rate may be as much as 15 beats per minute higher or lower. Consequently, you may be exercising at an intensity that is either too easy or too strenuous (and potentially dangerous).

The Shopper' Mart

Renewing your policy

Insurance policies of one form or another have been around for generations, offering protection to families against loss of home, property, or life. And while more than a few insurance companies have likened themselves to a good friend or a helping hand in a time of need, no sheaf of papers and no amount of premiums paid can match the protection that comes from our neighbors.