By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
When I was a kid, my favorite salad dressing was Thousand Island. It was the only dressing that I would put on my salad.  As I grew older, my taste evolved and I also became more health conscious. Every once in a while, however, I crave the taste of my childhood favorite. During a recent visit to Whole Foods, I saw a whole line of yogurt based salad dressings by Bolthouse Farms in the refrigerated section. Including Thousand Island! After putting on my reading glasses to check the tiny print of the nutritional information, I [...]

I thought I was completely done with Halloween. I actually gave all – every single last piece – of my Halloween paraphernalia to my neighbor when I moved. My kids confirmed that they were done with the trick-or-treating thing a couple of years ago. And, since I lived in a gated community, where mainly arrogant un-costumed teenage boys would knock for candy, I closed shop long ago.
But now, since moving to the Chicago North Shore, with nary a gate or wall  in sight, and small children galore, and the Halloween “spirit” already omnipresent (and adorable), I’m thinking that I might [...]

A business model perfect for our times. ShopitupChic, is a cute little online boutique that sells as well as lends out fashionable, contemporary clothing. The site was launched just a couple of months ago by Christin and Katie, formerly apparel & shoe buyers for a highly visible online retailer. These two young ladies believe that fashion should be accessible to all body types and wallet sizes. So, in their boutique, one can buy any of the (very well priced) pieces that are displayed or rent a number of them, depending on the rental membership program that is picked. For example, [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
This summer, my mother-in-law, Betty, came to visit us and brought a package of  Salba® with her for me to try. She knows that I put wheat germ and ground flax seeds in everything – from muffins to meatballs – and thought Salba has even more health benefits than those two combined. Hmmmmm… could that be possible?
Not that I don’t trust my mother-in-law’s judgment, but I had to check this out myself. So this is what I found out. According to the website, Salba is the richest whole food source of Omega 3 fatty [...]