It’s about 60 degrees here in the mid-Atlantic States and, if you ask me, the perfect time to get a good fire going in your fireplace!  The reason I like to make fires when it’s between, say, 55 – 60 degrees is that, in most cases, you don’t need your central heating system to be on and you can enjoy […]

The Fall is the best time to both purchase and plant shrubs or trees.   On the purchasing side, most home centers and landscape shops are looking to clear inventory so you should be able to find nice deals (Home Depot, for example, has a 75% percent off shrubs sale currently). In terms of planting, the cool days and nights are […]

How to Shop for Fruit, Vegetables, and Fish For some folks, going to the market is a weekly chore and for others it’s an opportunity to purchase wonderful meats, vegetables, cheeses, fish, and fruits. It’s probably no surprise that we fall into the later group here at Scordo and that we actually look forward to food shopping! It wasn’t until […]

The winter season is just around the corner and if you haven’t already done so now is the time to start preparing your home for the winter elements.  Winterizing your home will not only make your home more cost efficient and save you money, but you’ll also be more comfortable in January and February when snow and wind are outside […]

NOW is the time to start preparing for the worsening economy (that’s right, you’ve read the preceding sentence correctly, the economy will get worse).  Sure, we’ve seen some pretty abysmal days on Wall Street and some radical actions taken by the US government, but beyond a deflated 401K account most Americans have yet to feel the roar of the current Recession.  […]

Essential Kitchen Tools Basic Kitchen Tool Philosophy Let’s get something out of the way quickly: you don’t need a fancy kitchen or hundreds of kitchen tools and gadgets to produce superb Italian food at home.  There I’ve made a food claim that I categorically stand behind and encourage you to adopt when preparing food at home.  My bold claim stems […]

Continuing on the theme (see Part 1 here) of what every new homeowner should posses in terms of home improvement tools, equipment, and supplies, here’s Part 2 of “A Practical Tool Guide for First-Time Homeowners:” Basic Painting KitPainting is a very easy home improvement task and after a few trials even you can be an expert.  Painting is all about surface prep, […]

My parents emigrated from Italy in the early to mid 1970’s.  My father has the equivalent of a technical high school education and my mother finished her formal education in the 7th grade.  Yet my parents are one of the most financially savvy couples I know, often making smarter economic decisions then their US-born Boomer peers (with BAs and Master’s […]

There’s something about a freshly vacuumed carpet or newly washed windows that gets me excited – call me boring and dull, but I really do love cleaning stuff!  The fascination started when I was a young chap, often vacuuming and sweeping for my mother and grandmother.  As a college student, I would secretly curse my roommate for not making his bed or […]