The Better Letter

I can’t go anywhere on the North Shore without seeing at least one (OK, 20) Lexus RX SUVs. In fact, at least five people in this very office own one. So, it’s no surprise that Cadillac put the RX in its crosshairs as they set out to redesign the wagon-like SRX.

Yes, it's cold.

The truth is that no matter how organized we may be, life, as well as our families, can be messy, and maintaining a home can be a real challenge.

Amassing a front closet collection of post-holiday clutter including 17 scented candles, three pairs of fuzzy pink slippers, five packages of sparkle pens, two juicers and a Snuggie, all still in boxes with the tags attached? You’re not alone. Here's where to donate post-holiday clutter.

We all dream of becoming “financially independent.” The dreams are unique to each individual and often change over the course of a lifetime. To become financially independent, you need to stay financially fit.

Our January issue is officially here.

A preeminent Harvard professor is on a mission to develop more ethical minds in high-achieving youth

When psychologists invented the concept of the resilient child back in the ’70s and ’80s, they were talking about kids from very poor neighborhoods who overcame adversity to do well. But if you grow up on the North Shore, adversity of that kind is hard to come by.

There isn’t anything in your home that better represents resiliency than an antique or vintage find. Resiliency and more. These things also represent times gone by—maybe a time from your own past, maybe a time we’ve only heard or read about.

Benefits: Strengthens and stretches the legs, knees and ankles as well as the groins, spine, waist, chest, lungs and shoulders. Stimulates the abdominal organs. Increases stamina. Bring out your inner warrior!

The real estate market is improving, homes are beginning to sell and you’re thinking once more about that long-delayed remodeling project. With the recent plummet in home prices, is it a safe time to invest additional monies into the luxury bath you’ve always wanted? Howard Miller of Howard Miller Kitchens, Baths, Additions in Northbrook, would answer with a resounding “yes!”

Here’s a prescription for post-holiday stress disorder: Take two friends, drink lots of fluids and head out for a spa holiday. You pick your remedy!

This month's picks for people, places and things with which you can make a difference:

At a soccer practice. At work. On vacation. No one ever knows when or where tragedy is going to strike. But it does.

"It never dawned on me how much it would hurt," Pamela Haschke of Arlington Heights says of losing her hair during her battle with a virulent form of breast cancer. She says it felt like pin pricks all over her head as the hair separated from the follicles.

After the tragedy, Marion Kahle wasn’t sure she even knew how to breathe.

Riverwoods, 1986. By the time I’m 4, things are completely out of control. It’s like a Chinese toy factory exploded in my house. There are thousands of trinkets and toys: My Little Ponies, yo-yos, Styrofoam balls, stickers, cassette tapes.

Lets’s face it. Chicago winters are tough. But don’t let the snow-filled, housebound days get you down. There’s still plenty to do when you’re stuck inside.

Winter is full of ice and snow, blustering winds and freezing temperatures. Even though it’s cold outside, that’s no reason to lie passively by the fire, hibernating until the winter’s end.

"Dense,” said my husband, trying to come up with a compliment for the very healthy, but heavy muffins I had just made. We were 20 minutes into our weeklong experiment, and we were ready to cheat.