We find ourselves more and more with a need for espresso but nowhere to get it but a Starbucks, if at all. We also aspire to great espresso, but the savings account hasn't quite caught up to our caffeine fueled dreams. Enter the portable espresso maker. While pulling a shot from these machines probably won't give you the beautiful cremá you'd see from a countertop maker, they work well while camping, at the office or in a pinch. Most require another heating implement for the water, but a fire, electric kettle, microwave or stove top can help you in this department. More

While the proverbial "they" always say neccessity is the mother of invention, it's clear that laziness has inspired its share of innovations. If the idea of picking your butt of the sofa to turn the thermostat up (down?) a few degrees is too much to bear sometimes, you can now get your virtual personal assistant, Siri, to do it for you. All you need is a web-connected thermostat and some programming knowledge. More

If I had to venture a guess, I would have said that it was better to space heat one room than turn up the heat in the entire home. That is, before I calculated the cost of various heating fuels. Find out how you can decide to space heat or whole house heat this winter. More

Q: We are about to move into a new rental property and are stuck with this rather blah bathroom. I'm looking for a paint color and some fun accessories to give it a little bit of life. Please help! More

Between heating for winter, dressing for parties and cooking for family, the holiday season seems to send our appliance usage into overdrive. Turn back the wheels of time and do a little preventative maintenance to avoid putting a year's worth of wear on your heater, laundry machines and kitchen appliances the next two months.

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It's that time of year where one of the few everyday comforts is sitting by a warm, roaring fireplace. While fireplaces were originally incorporated into homes as a primary source of heat, in recent years they've gotten a bad reputation for being heat suckers and only good for decoration. There are actually a few great types of fireplaces that can be used, for anyone from apartment dwellers to home owners, that are sure to keep you cozy and warm, and maybe even reduce your heating bill. More

Are you like us and depend upon your morning cup of coffee to get started...and maybe even last through the day? Sometimes a whole day can come to a halting stop without that cup. Call us snobs, but common drip coffee doesn't cut it, so we've been researching espresso machines to fulfill our caffeine urges and meet our taste bud requirements... More

There are few things we enjoy more than watching the wisp of steam sway from our morning coffee, a white whisper that wakes us with a buzz felt behind the eyes. In winter it's a warmer for your hands, just as good as gloves. Which is why, given all that our coffee gives us, we hate to make a bad cup of joe. We're still learning, and are certainly no World Barista Champions, but after a time reading and a series of trials and errors we've gotten a lot better than the boilerplate mud-water we used to brew. Here are the tools and tricks we're using now. More

Many of us have been drooling over the Nest Learning Thermostat everyone's been raving about (including us and us). Unfortunately for those of us who waited on pulling the trigger, it's now officially sold out through early 2012 - that's a longer wait time than the new iPhone 4S! Apple's not the only one that's got it figured out - make a smart looking and working device and people will flock to it while throwing money out of their pockets. But if you missed the boat (like we did) there are many options for smart thermostats or hiding your plain jane one so you're not completely left out in the cold. More

It's the sexiest little thermostat to ever hit the market. Meet Nest, available mid-November. It works a little (well, a LOT) differently than a regular thermostat. Curious? See a video below: More