Rose Kennedy writes about DIY, homes, consumer advice and products

Edible landscaping as an employee perk at EpiCity

"I blew people away just by having them try raw okra," he said. And then he got out a roaster, "kissed the okra on the flame first" and tossed it with Beautiful Briny Sea salt from a fellow vendor. "People lined up for it, they were eating it for breakfast," he recalled gleefully. Mosser brings that same "all in" attitude as NBT collaborates with EpiCity Real Estate Services. Not content with merely edible landscaping, or community or urban demonstration farming, he's working with companies to

Are you committing financial infidelity? How to earn back trust

Card games to matrimony, no one likes to be associated with a cheater. But has it ever occurred to you that you yourself might be committing infidelity, not in the bedroom but in the financial realm? That’s also a serious relationship issue, maybe even a deal breaker. But before you can reform, you should understand what financial unfaithfulness involves and who’s most likely to start exhibiting this pattern of behavior. Here’s the working definition, followed by some glaring indicators and some

Don't try this at home: Top home repairs that aren't DIY

»RELATED: 6 common first-time homebuyer mistakes that could cost you big time But frugal isn't always better, even if you have monster DIY skills. "When it comes to doing your own home repairs, there's a thin line between being fearless and foolish," noted Joseph Truini of Popular Mechanics. Sometimes you have to go all in with the home repair budget, whether it's to avoid bigger, more costly disasters, to assure home safety or to protect your investment. These are six times you should never s

Debate settled: This is the right time to put up your Christmas tree

»RELATED: Your guide to Christmas tree lighting events around metro Atlanta There are answers to this question that depend on everything from Prince Albert to the opinion of tree growers to something called Adelaide Pageant Day. Whether you're undecided on the best time to put up your Christmas tree or are merely looking for reinforcement for your preferred date, at least one of these timing traditions is bound to work for you: The ultimate etiquette authority, Miss Manners, doesn't specify w

7 ways introverts can succeed on their strengths in the workplace

But the surprising reality is that not only do introverts fill a valuable role in the workplace, in certain areas they have strengths that help them outperform their extroverted co-workers. »RELATED: 9 secrets you should keep to yourself at work While extroverts may make great first impressions with their lively personalities, the value in those qualities at work diminish over time, UCLA researcher Corinne Bendersky told USA Today columnist Anita Bruzzese for a piece titled, "On the Job: Intro

John Coykendall, Knoxville's Seed Savior to the World

John Coykendall seeks heirloom seeds to preserve from many different sources: childhood friends and seed-saving pen pals, visitors to the Walland, Tenn. Blackberry Farm luxury hotel and restaurant where he works as master gardener, and gardeners from his travels to Austria and Hungary and Romania. But this time the colorful mix of dried heirloom beans came to him in a paper sack. In his dog’s mouth. “We were at the farm I own in Bybee, Tenn., about 200 acres near Newport, and I was planting po

How to keep your pets and family safe from coyotes in metro Atlanta

How did we get to a place where coyotes are living in an area with an established MARTA, gleaming corporate headquarters and endless rows of luxury condos? There's no use being indignant, because humans pretty much did this to themselves, according to the Atlanta Coyote Project, co-founded in 2014 by scientists from Berry College, Emory University and the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. "The presence of red wolves in the southeast is historically what kept out coyotes," it said. "Once we h

DIY: Create your own succulent garden on the cheap

If you have the money, it's always an option to buy a living work of art like a vertical succulent wall hanging or elaborate dish garden and limit your involvement to learning how to take care of succulents. But it's also possible to create a succulent garden on the cheap in Atlanta. Just follow these basic tips and strategies to amass cost-effective succulent planter components: Choose indoor or outdoor: Your goal in learning how to take care of succulents cost-effectively means choosing ones

Do you really need an Instant Pot? How to buy countertop appliances

Before that, small appliances consumers lusted for juicers, quesadilla presses, ice cream makers and rotisserie grills. But which trendy small appliances from this year or from times past will actually make life better for you - or at least make you happy you bought something you'll actually use and are happy to own? "There's an overwhelming number of kitchen appliances on the market place," noted ReadyForZero, a blog that focuses on reaching zero debt. "With that comes the ever-present opportu

4 purple vegetables to grow in your Atlanta garden this summer

Plus, there are plenty of other solid choices — most of them heat-hearty and ready for planting, and a few you can even grow in containers. Best of all, you can enjoy the royal color in your garden or use them to add groovy hues to your dinner plate, indoor centerpieces or flower arrangements. Here are four fine choices to get you started. Peace out with purple, people! Where to find: The plants are a bit cantankerous and grow from seed, so it's best to pick up plant varieties, including Little

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