5 Ways to Improve Your Garden this Fall

Instinct tells you fall is the time to steer you focus away from your garden until next spring, but according to horticulturalists, fall is a vital time to work on garden maintenance. Klara Heller, a certified nursery consultant at the Home Depot, said autumn is a great time to develop and expand your garden.

Plant your tree or shrub now

Fall is an excellent time to get planting your tree or shrub. Plant it on a cool day when the sky is overcast. Putting them in the ground now will help these plants establish a great root system before the frost.

Facebook Fan Pages Growing

This is Liz Silver's fan page. Are you a fan?

Facebook created an application, which allows people to dedicate an entire page to anything they are interested in. These are fan pages anyone who is also interested in the topic, person or subject of the page can join. Fan pages have 10 million users joining each day, reports Facebook’s latest statistics.

6 Ways to Become Closer to God

Photo By Molinovski/Wikipedia Commons

Have you ever longed for a relationship with God? If you want to become closer to God or become a better Christian this guideline is for you. Dr. Wayne Odle, pastor of New Heights Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Markham, IL, laid out six very important ways to become closer to God.

Have a desire to know God

According to GlorytoChrist website, a person must begin to seek God. Dr. Odle agrees that one has to “have a mindset to want to get closer… a real …almost a burning desire” for wanting to know God. Some people go to church and do many spiritual things but are not close to God. “That craving has to be there first. Prayer and reading the Bible can help get this desire.”

5 Ways to Travel on the Cheap

A traveler walks along the terminal as airplanes taxi along the runway in the background. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, file)

As the struggling economy forces millions to deal with pay cuts and unemployment, traveling might not be high on your agenda. However, there are some methods you can use to get around your money woes as you… well… get around. Here are a few tips:

7 Ways to Protect Yourself from an Attacker

Photo by Fighting Fitness/Wikimedia Commons

By Megan Perrin, Loyola University Chicago

Whether you live in a big city or in a suburban town, the threat of danger is there. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, even though national crime has slightly decreased over the past year, rapes, domestic violence and abductions still occur.

The 5 Best Selling Men’s Fragrances of 2009

Snapshot of Givenchy's "Play"

The perfume season is beginning as the holidays are approaching. Gift-givers should know the best ones to give to the one they love. Lisa Anderson, a long-time perfume sales expert from Macy’s on State Street, suggested these 5 best selling men’s fragrances this season.

Five Ways to Cook Like a Professional Chef

Photo Credit: Kathy Willens/Associated Press

Have you ever watched a cooking show or been to a fabulous restaurant and thought, ‘I’d love to be able to cook like that?’ Well, you are not alone. I have learned that cooking like a professional chef isn’t as hard as we all thought. In fact, learning to cook like a professional chef will help you make your meal mistake free, save you time and help you enjoy cooking! Stacy Dixon, the culinary and marketing director for Frontera Foods Corp., as well as a graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu’s Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, shared five easy ways to cook like a professional chef.

5 Best Late Night TV Interviews

No matter which late night TV talk show you watch, viewers expect something from these comedians- humor and good guests. But which interviews can be called “the best?” Kyra Kyles is a pop culture reporter, columnist and blogger for the Chicago Red Eye. She says what makes interviews memorable are the guests’ “sheer disregard for the audience, insistence on doing whatever they wanted to do, and [the hosts’] reaction to it all.”

5 Ways to Lose Weight Without Going to the Gym

It's true what they say, an apple a day keeps the doctor away

There are many ways to maintain your health that don’t involve an exercise machine or a strict diet. Loyola University Chicago’s Fitness Program Coordinator, April Boutler, of has 5 tips for staying healthy when you’re too busy to work out regularly. Her tips are easy and stress-free.

Take the Stairs Instead of the Elevator
If possible, always take the stairs. “You want to get your body moving throughout the day”, says Boutler. Walking up stairs for 1 minute will burn 8 calories. If you’re office is on a floor too high to reach by stairs, try walking up a few flights before taking the elevator

Five Hot Clothing Trends For Men

John Hamm’s character in “Mad Men” has inspired fashion all around the world this fall, even his own.

With autumn approaching, all you men take note as time to ready your wardrobe for the fall. So what is the style this fall? Sacramento California’s own, Steven Benson (this reports’ father), and owner of S Benson & Co. has these tips on how look dapper this season:

Imitate Mad Men

AMC’s TV series about advertising executives in 1960s New York, “Mad Men,” has not only taken the TV world by storm, but the fashion world as well. The Emmy’s took note too by nominating the show for best costume design in a series. “Fitted suits make you look trimmer and more youthful,” says Benson.

Benson’s Tip: Pair correctly: “It is important these suits are paired with a narrow tie and a small collared shirt.”

Our Pick: A fitted three-piece suit by John Varvatos. (Price $795.00. Available at Nordstrom)