photo by ninjapoodles

This time of the year, daylight quickly turns to dusk. We crave the warmth of comfort foods. It’s time to showcase one of your winter assets — desserts baked with love. You can create unforgettable memories for your family by baking dessert casseroles such as cobblers, crisps and cakes. One-dish desserts are perfect for snow days, or let one bake while you sit down for dinner, and it’ll …

photo by mangpages

DEAR SARA: My son has denim jeans that are torn in both knees and a pocket here and there. What do you do with the denim material once they are no longer wearable? Dust rags? I need ideas. I have five pairs that I need to do something with. I hate just throwing them in the trash. I spent a lot of money on these jeans. — Melissa, …

For years, I’ve applied plastic to our windows, during winter, to keep the draft out. It’s not a fun job, and the plastic kits get costly. I love the first tip below. Plenty of stores and manufacturers throw it away, so you can probably get it for free by checking your local yellow pages and making a few calls. You can post an ad to Craigslist (www.craigslist.org) or Freecycle (www.freecycle.org), …

Valentine’s Day can be the most frustrating holiday. I see the tension rise as couples scramble to find the perfect romantic gift idea that isn’t a cliche or cheap and tacky. Most can’t afford luxury gifts, so the pressure is on to express their love within their means. It seems ridiculous. I feel sorry for some men who have to somehow come through on this single day, but at the …