photo by phoosh
DEAR SARA: My baby is off to college soon. She will be living in the dorm about 75 miles away from home. We need to start getting together all the little essentials she will need. It has been a while (quite a while, actually) since I lived in a dorm. Can you help me come up with some items we might have missed? We know she needs long …

photo by lucyfrench123
DEAR SARA: I wanted to know if you have any suggestions for frugal beauty supplies. I use the foam makeup triangles to apply foundation and concealer and have been wondering if you had any other suggestions. I usually end up using those sponges way too long, and I am sure there must be something better for the environment as well. — Emily, e-mail
DEAR EMILY: There are eco-friendly makeup …

photo by scholastica_ees
DEAR SARA: I bought two large containers of Folgers a while back when the product was on sale. I recently opened one and found it is a very mild flavor. Can I get a stronger coffee and mix with the mild? Will it improve the flavor, or would I be wasting my time and money trying to fix this? I hate not to use what I got on …

photo by g~
DEAR SARA: Help! What can I do with a lot of apricots? I was expecting a bumper crop of apricots from my tree. We picked them, and we have about 25 pounds in varying degrees of ripeness. Except for jam, what else can I make with them? By the way, I don’t have a dehydrator. Thanks! — Dutchie, e-mail
DEAR DUTCHIE: You can freeze or home-can them. Visit the …