MORE STORIES

• WASHINGTON REPORT

  Settlement conveys a message

  Demand transparency in details of refinancing or purchasing a home.
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  A GREEN CHRISTMAS

  Create 'recycled' ornaments with the kids for the holidays

  When artist and environmentalist Harmony Jones sees metal scraps, odd cuts of wood, even plastic bottle caps, she doesn't see trash. She sees a creative opportunity for her and her daughter, Skyler, 9, to fashion found objects into ornaments for their Christmas ``enviro-tree.''
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  BOOKS

  Home decor page turners make great holiday gifts

  If you're anything like me, your idea of a fine way to spend a wintry Saturday or Sunday afternoon is curled up with a great design book.
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  Charming glass fantasies are born in a suburban South Florida garage

  With luscious lips and polka-dot fins, these fish pop with personality. Each one -- and there are thousands in homes and galleries across the nation -- originates in South Florida.

• GADGETS

  Hot accessories for your portable media player

  Whether it's an actual iPod or some other MP3 player, most everyone has a portable media player, and there are a ton of accessories for them. Many would make a great holiday gift. Here are some of the best:
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  HOME FASHIONS

  Aprons make a comeback with sass, attitude

  Rachel Hart remembers her mother always shooing her from the kitchen, making sure she went to college, supporting her work in sales and marketing, applauding her aspiration to be a novelist. Today, Hart earns a living selling aprons that she makes of taffeta and silk, trimmed with rhinestones and tassels.

• WASHINGTON REPORT

  Early intervention in mortgages is now allowed

  Under Fannie Mae's revised approach, borrowers expecting financial difficulties can request loan modifications.
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  FESTIVAL OF TREES

  Thinking small yields big results

  The Festival of the Trees is in miniature this year. Instead of life-size or larger ''trees,'' designers and architects created 19 table-top artworks that were sold in a silent auction at the Dec. 2 opening fundraiser for interior design students at Florida International University. The event raised $60,000.

• What do you get for $480,000?

  Securing a mortgage these days might be tricky, but finding homes priced to sell is no problem. Agents say property is starting to move again, and no wonder. You can find not only the right location, but lots of charm.
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  Limited editions: Avant sells designer luxury in the Design District

  The Miami Design District is chock full of furniture showrooms and art galleries, but an addition to the neighborhood is an artful amalgam of both.

• WASHINGTON REPORT

  Buyers bank on dropping rates

  Potential home buyers were reluctant to commit to a 5.5 percent mortgage thinking an interest rate cut might be right around the corner.
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  WATCH IT GROW

  Red and green palm likes it wet and warm

  Name: Sealing wax palm Botanical name: Cyrtostachys renda Description: What a Christmas present this would make for someone, in beautiful red and green. The scarlet crown shaft and leaf stems (petioles) make this one of the most beautiful of palms, and in South Florida it is often one of the most sought after. But be warned: it is easy to lose in cold and dry weather. I'm on my third set. Native to Southeast Asia, Sumatra and Borneo, this is a palm for warm and moist places. I have grown them sitting...
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  PLANT CLINIC

  Be careful not use Bt in the butterfly garden

  Q: Where can I find one of the Bt products that you often mention to control caterpillars? A: Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) can be found in the pesticide sections at most garden centers, hardware stores and plant nurseries, as well as online. Brand names are Thuricide and Dipel. This is a strain of toxin produced by a bacterial disease that only affects caterpillars that eat it. It needs to be sprayed on the foliage.

• FRUGAL DUCHESS

  Take the BOGO test

  As a shopper, I was skeptical about BOGO specials, which are store promotions that offer merchandise at a rate of buy-one-get-one free or half-off. Following the trail of BOGO signs, I have purchased matching sets of accessories, home products and personal care products that I don't really need or want. Those past results have taught me to steer clear of most BOGO sales.
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  Frugal cheer: Decorating the home without breaking the bank

  Sure, there are gifts to find and wrap and treats to bake. But before embarking on those projects, plenty of folks focus on the really important holiday tasks. Like placing a pudgy snowman soap dispenser on the kitchen sink.

• GREEN CHRISTMAS

  Chickens, organic jeans on lists of the eco-aware

  If the idea of Bing Crosby crooning ''I'm dreaming of a green Christmas'' gives you warm fuzzies, this holiday season may be your best yet. Yes, it's the year of the eco-friendly holidays. Entire books are being devoted to the greening of the season. Websites have been constructed, mass e-mails have crisscrossed the Internet and segments of talk television are being devoted to helping you reduce your holiday carbon footprint. If Santa used some sort of motorized conveyance to make his rounds, he...
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  Cobweb Shoppe not afraid to tackle anything

  All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again. But if they had known about Fred Cooch's Cobweb Shoppe, the old nursery rhyme might have had a happier ending.

• WASHINGTON REPORT

  Over time, home values rising

  Dozens of local markets showed positive appreciation for the past 12 months, despite negative national numbers.

• FRUGAL DUCHESS

  One woman's frugal shopping game

  Whether you are browsing for home accessories or clothing for your children, shopping can be expensive. But Kathy Luisi, a Central Florida mother of four boys, has created and tested a frugal shopping system.
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  PLANT CLINIC

  Take precautions when handling Brazilian pepper

  Q: A day after I cleared brush from my backyard my skin broke out. It looks like poison ivy rash but we don't have that weed on our property. The brush I removed I think is called Florida holly.

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