Since decorating mistakes can be very costly and time consuming, I always urge my clients to do their homework before undertaking any redecorating project. What kind of homework?  A good way to begin is to flip through design and decorating magazines, and visit websites dedicated to interior décor. Start collecting pictures of various design products and styles that appeal to you and you can visualize as your own.  Once you start identifying colors, designs, and various furnishings that illustrate your dream room, ...

I’ve decided to devote a lot of time this summer to exploring health and wellness. Being a person who has no preoccupation with age but still has a young child, this is probably not a bad idea. However, full disclosure: we have launched a new healthy lifestyle magazine here at Halston Media, so my pursuit isn’t always just for me. No complaints, though, because I am just embarking on this journey and already it’s been very cool. My calendar is already full of inspiring restorative experiences, classes, and treatments. I ...

Dear Dr. Linda, I am in second grade and have a problem about math. My teacher just keeps giving me homework and it’s driving me crazy. Because she keeps giving it to me on weekends and spring and summer breaks. And it’s only one level and it’s too hard. But the other people who have special needs get to be moved into a higher or lower group and they learn even more because it’s their level. I’m feeling very overwhelmed. Emi Dear Emi, It’s not that often that a second-grader writes to me. Thank ...

Dana Stahl, a learning specialist and educational consultant, will address educational questions and concerns that parents may have regarding their children’s academic development and progress in school. Topics can center on such concerns as how to handle homework dilemmas or what questions to ask at a CSE meeting. Questions can range from “How best do parents advocate for their children?” to “How do parents interpret formal tests that have been administered?” to “Which schools and colleges are right for my ...

2 Hollowbrook Place, Cortlandt $550,000.00 This unique 3 family home boasts tremendous curb appeal with a stone and brick exterior. Each unit offers 2 spacious bedrooms, 1 updated full bath, updated kitchens, separate entrances and separate patios. Two of the three units have beautiful brick and stone fireplaces that create a warm and cozy atmosphere in the living rooms. There is plenty of backyard space for tenants to use and ample parking via 1 car attached garage, driveway, gravel parking lot on side of house. Additional unit used ...

Did you watch “Roseanne” last week? The reboot of the popular show from the ‘90s opened to huge ratings. So huge, in fact, it earned the highest ratings of any network program in the last six years. More than 18 million people tuned in to watch both of the first two half-hour episodes. That’s quite an accomplishment for a show that had a terrible final year and then took a 20-year hiatus.  I am just going to put it right out front. The reason for this huge opening is that both the character of Roseanne Connor ...

I was always very impressed that my dog could bark on command and come when I called his name, until I read in the newspaper about a dog that saved his owner’s life by calling 9-1-1. Apparently, when his owner had a seizure, the dog pushed a speed-dial button for 9-1-1, barked into the receiver for help, and then opened the door when the responders arrived. Honestly, though, it’s not a fair comparison. That dog had been trained to save lives, and my dog has been trained… to go potty outside. Still, it did get me ...

Last Friday was such a nice day we decided to head down to Tarrytown and take in some jazz in Pierson Park for the Friday Evening Concert Series. If you’re in the mood for it, a little jazz can be just the thing. Much of it is instrumental, so you don’t even have to sing along. Every time I see a rock band these days, they start the song, get to the chorus and then stick the mic out into the audience and expect us to sing it. NEWSFLASH: that’s what we pay YOU for. With jazz, the band handles all the details by themselves, and ...

We spend so much time teaching our children not to bully one another and not to gossip, but all too often adults don’t practice what they preach, especially given the often toxic and viral nature of social media. Given the series of events last week regarding a disputed story involving the Somers girls and Yorktown boys lacrosse players, it seems that Somers school administrators were bullied into making premature statements. Many people are so quick to judge—and to judge publicly—without any deference to due process ...

Anything worth doing is worth doing badly, at least to start.  As a recovering perfectionist, I have learned to get started on a project even if I don’t have all the pieces together. Sometimes just puttering, tinkering or moving the parts around will help me sort out my brain enough to give me an idea of how to tackle a project.   I can’t tell you how many times I’ve started a project indirectly by doing something else. This could start by picking up around the house or folding laundry. I joke to my husband ...

The latest fiasco I’ve read about is the renaming of the “Laura Ingalls Wilder Award” to the “Children’s Literature Legacy Award.” Why? Because the renowned author of Little House On The Prairie portrayed Native Americans (American Indians) in stereotypical language. I must inject a personal experience here. A great friend of mine many years ago was Red Thundercloud, the last of the Catawba speaking people and a respected elder and healer.  When we first met I inquired if he preferred ‘Native ...

This year I was late in setting up my deck. Call it procrastination, muggy weather or whatever excuse, I finally got to it last week. With help from son, George, we set up the outdoor dining table and chairs; he methodically placed the flower boxes on the railing: “they have to be evenly spaced!” We did have a concern: what about the nest the sweet little birds had built under the awning? We could see it, but not into it. I hadn’t seen any “bird activity” in several weeks.  Watching these little birds had ...