New to You - Fran Meininger

Is this a real one?

Designer handbags can sell for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Handbags from the design houses of Chanel, Louis Vuitton and... Continue

Mommy-nomics. Yes, I know it’s not a real word, but it could be. It’s how moms everywhere budget, prioritize and allocate resources.... Continue

I received a nice response to the piece I did on 12 days of homemade, recycled and repurposed holiday gift ideas. So, in celebration... Continue

The Trashion Show that premiered last spring at Sonoma Community Center is, in my opinion, one of the most creative and exciting local... Continue

If your new year’s resolutions include reducing your carbon footprint, conserving and buying local – here’s a list of the... Continue

A friend recently asked me to sort through several cases of jewelry that had been handed down to her. It occurred to me that many of... Continue

Adaptive reuse. The definition may not roll right off your tongue, but you walk by examples everyday – buildings like the former... Continue

The holidays are upon us. And with them comes lots of talk about the stress, commercialism and overspending. I started wondering... Continue

Helena Nash had lived in her new, furnished rental home for three days when her landlord’s bank posted the foreclosure notice on... Continue

When I told my friends I would be writing this column, one of them suggested I talk about recycling cell phones. I thought, hmmmm,... Continue