(BPT) - Thanks to foreclosures and short sales, home buyers are snatching up great houses at reduced prices and remodeling to create stylish modern homes. Lucky for those buyers, many of today’s top trends are relatively easy to recreate, and will add re-sale value to their homes.

(BPT) - If cleanliness is next to godliness – as the old adage goes – than a clean kitchen is simply a divine place to be. It’s the room in your home that gets the most intense use, so keeping your kitchen clean can be a challenge. You can make kitchen cleanup a bit easier if you take your cleanliness cues from professional chefs.

(NAPSI)—Nobody wants to spend more time cleaning their kitchen than they need to. So what’s the secret to creating a carefree kitchen? Choosing durable kitchen products that are easy to use and nearly maintenance free.

(StatePoint) Remodeling your home? Don’t just keep up with the Joneses. Go a step further by giving your home truly unique upgrades.

Arizona Illustrated, Southern Arizona’s week-night news magazine series for over 30 years, and the flagship local TV production for Arizona Public Media (AZPM,) has undergone a make-over. The new AZ Illustrated (pronounced A-Z-Illustrated) debuts in its regular week-night time slot at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, February 4, 2013. The new AZ Illustrated features different hosts and topics each night – Metro, Science, Nature, Arts and Politics – offering insight and discussion relevant to Southern Arizona audiences. Tapping into the wealth of talent and experience of AZPM’s award-winning producers, reporters, and production team, while introducing new specialists from the community, the series will feature new voices, new stories and a new focus.

You can enjoy the rich, natural beauty and timeless appeal of stone or slate flooring anywhere in your home. The inspiring looks and touchable textures of stone and slate are actually available in an affordable, comfortable-to-walk-on, easy-care floor. The look is so natural, so real that it’ll take more than a first or second glance to reveal that these luxurious floors are, in fact, premium vinyl tile.

If you have natural stone countertops or other surfaces in your home, you may be the object of your neighbor’s envy. According to a 2012 survey conducted by Harris interactive, three-quarters of homeowners who intend to remodel their kitchens in the next two years would like to install granite countertops.

Variety is the spice of life, and where dining is concerned, there’s no more savory selection than Splendido at Rancho Vistoso, an industry leading and award-winning Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) based at the foot of the Santa Catalina and Tortolita Mountains, in Tucson.  With several restaurants and lounges to choose from, and finely-appointed kitchens in Splendido’s terrace and villa homes, dining options are virtually limitless. 

Love the tropical look? Wish you were surrounded with luxuriant greenery? Want to enjoy it without sweltering in triple-digit heat? Want it all without going broke on your water bills?

Those of you who have been reading my columns for the past eight years know that I will admit that I have killed a few plants in my day.

Oct. 13 class for babysitters at Golder Ranch

Spring brought a dazzling crop of wildflowers to southern Arizona, and it's fostered the growth of something else — a spurt in the building of new homes throughout Northwest Tucson.

The kids are home from school, and you have some days off.

Special to The Explorer

In this space a week ago, just before running off to Oro Valley's "State of the Town" address, the suggestion was made that members of the town council find "some common ground," each side making "overtures to the other, to let everyone — and the public — know that all ideas and perspectives are valued and respected."

I recently gave a tea party to celebrate the birthday of a friend of mine. This marbled coffee cake was an absolute hit and is the ultimate tea time treat. The cake has a soft subtle coffee flavoring swirled through a feather-light sponge cake. It is simple to make and simply delicious.

The table in front of Paul Ellwood held gauze, bandages and alcohol swabs.

If the sound of Frank Sinatra's voice makes you long for Las Vegas, you just may want to stick around Tucson for a couple of weeks.

Thousands of Marana residents stand to save money on flood insurance due to a recent decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority wants a Major League Baseball spring training campus in Marana, and intends for it to be “green.”

If the Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority has its way, Marana may get a baseball complex befitting the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks.