green living, smart spending
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All new car models undergo strict crash testing. Some do better than others. What are the top safety picks for 2013? Here’s the list from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which is awarding its Top Safety Rating+ to just 13 models. Winners include the Acura TL; Dodge Avenger and its twin, the Chrysler
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If you have a spare $70,000, you can get a special three-day package for two in a hotel suite overlooking the US Capitol building and the inauguration of President Obama. The deal is at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill. More than just a room with a view, this Presidential Entourage package offers several
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The world’s largest annual winter carnival is the annual Quebec Winter Carnival, in the heart of Old Quebec. It is 17 days of fun in the snow, February 1 to February 17, 2013. The daily schedule of festivities includes parades, fireworks, slide runs, a giant foot ball game, concerts, snow sculptures, horse-drawn sleigh rides, dogsled rides, snow sculptures,
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Santa is going high tech. He’s replacing Rudolf, the reindeer and the sleigh with a modern vehicle to deliver all those toys, games and electronics to boys and girls of all ages everywhere. But Santa can’t decide what vehicle to buy, rent or lease. What should Santa drive on Christmas Eve 2012 to replace his
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‘Tis the season for holiday travel. AAA predicts that this year could be the busiest in the last six, with 93.3 million Americans will hit the road. These five FREE smartphone apps can help you survive holiday travel madness by reducing stress and wasted time — WeatherBug — Winter traveling can be unpredictable across the
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There are no Chinese restaurants in Taiwan, at least the kind so popular in North America, where Chinese restaurants serve up a menu mix of Szechuan, Hunan and Cantonese food. In Taiwan, when you want Szechuan, you go to a Szechuan restaurant, or to a Beijing-style or Shanghainese or Fukanese restaurant or dumpling house for
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The song tells us there’s no place like home for the holidays, especially now that it’s too late to book an affordable getaway holiday airfare or hotel. But you can cash in now on these travel deals for 2013. Even the Grinch would approve. Theme parks — LEGOLAND — Even though the new Legoland Hotel
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Holiday festivals and displays seem to get bigger and better each year. Of course, the most famous ones are the Rockefeller Center tree and department store windows in New York City, but even small towns are able to transform the Bah Humbug among us into believers. Take the kids, take yourself, to some of the
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There are nearly 50 world or North American debuts of new cars at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. More than half are fuel efficient, eco-friendly green cars. It’s tough to choose the most important new car, but my vote goes to the BMW i8 Spyder Concept electric — pictured here — and the Volvo
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