'Tis the season for fear

With autumn upon us, Halloween can't be far behind. And that's certainly top of mind for one of my local clients, Midnight Terror Haunted House, which hosts a haunted attraction site near me that scares up big business every October. My job: promote and publicize the haunt to the media. These efforts have resulted in terror-ific coverage in the Chicago Tribune, Fox News, NBC and other outlets.

This years's campaign spotlight's lots of fresh news about Midnight Terror, which can be gleaned by clicking here.

Rub-a-dub-dub, time for a new tub

It’s true that most folks prefer to get clean via a shower than a bathtub nowadays. Consider the results of an Angie’s List survey of 2,000 people published in 2016: 90 percent of respondents were more likely to take a shower over a bath.

Yet experts agree that the tub is hardly in danger of disappearing altogether from the great American bathroom. In fact, two in five homeowners plan to upgrade a tub during a master bath remodel, and the tub ranks in the top five (as chosen by 35 percent of those polled) among features that homeowners splurge on most during a renovation, according to the 2017 Houzz Bathroom Trends Study.

For more facts and tips on how to pick the right tub for your bathroom redo, read my newest home improvement article published in The Daily Herald, available here.

Ferret merit

They’re soft, long, twee-faced, friendly, frisky, inquisitive, and downright irresistible. They live a heck of a lot longer than hamsters, guinea pigs or mice (up to 10 years or more). And they bond and interact with humans more closely than many other pets.

We’re talking, of course, about Mustela putorius furo—better known as the ferret. But despite making great pets, these critters often get overlooked by pet stores who choose not to offer them or their products.

Learn more about ferrets and the latest products made for them by reading my newest monthly small animal pet column published in Pet Age magazine, available here.