Q: Is it possible to paint floors so they look like stained concrete? I really like the smooth, seamless look, but I'm in a condo and there's no way I can have poured concrete. Is there another way to get the look?

A: Take a leaf from the book of visual tricks belonging to architect Charles "Chip" Bohl. In his own apartment, he used epoxy paint to seal the floors, so they gleam as smooth and shiny as ice underfoot.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...well, maybe not so much. Warm woolen mittens? Now we're getting closer. Some of my favorite things to give for the holiday season usually, of course, have some sort of "fashion factor" to them, and this year, my list of favorites is long. However, in the interest of Santa's budgetary constraints, here are just a few of my favorite fashion things -- all for under $100:

Q: My wife goes crazy with Christmas decorations every year. I don't get it because she has great taste in everything else, but Christmas turns into cutesy stuffed Santas and fake poinsettias everywhere. I always manage to tone down the outside lights — ours is not the neighborhood for blowup plastic snowmen.

How can I get a message across without hurting her feelings … or her Mom's, the original overdecorator?

Forget your size, forget your age...every woman can be sexy, says designer Bradley Bayou who has dressed dozens of Hollywood stars. "Celebrities use red carpets as advertising," says Bayou, who shares his style secrets in his book, "The Science of Sexy." "They have to think carefully about what they're going to wear, because what they're selling is their image. The same goes for you. No, you may not be walking down an actual red carpet, but the minute you walk out your door, you are selling yourself and your image."

The Subaru Impreza WRX is a wide-body attitude adjustment in an all-wheel-drive car line that ranges from a meek entry model ($18,220) to the spike-fanged, 305-horsepower WRX STI. The WRX has always been a hoot to drive, but this year Subaru stroked its stance with the same wide-body styling as the STI. The package is available as a sedan and five-door hatchback, which launched this generation's legend. The track is wider by about 1.5 inches, and the 17-inch Dunlop SP Sport performance tires are an inch wider, too.

Q: We have an odd configuration in our entry hall: The stairs split left and right, leading up to the landing into the living room. It's the first thing you see, so I'd like to make it attractive, but the space is kind of small. Any ideas?

A: Any space, however small, can pay big decorating dividends. Generously sized stair landings are comparatively rare in contemporary architecture, so you must have an older home and -- let's hope -- the architectural detailing to go with it.

Pricing for Hyundai's new 2012 Veloster three-door coupe starts at $18,060 for the entry-level model with six-speed manual transmission and ranges to $19,310 with the six-speed EcoShift dual-clutch transmission. Cars are rolling into dealerships now. Both models are powered by a 138-horsepower, direct-injection, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that gets an EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of 28 mpg city and 40 mpg highway with the manual transmission, and 29/38 with the dual clutch.

Barack Obama and Jimmy Hoffa are like Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Lady Gaga and hype, the "Jersey Shore" cast and hairspray: inseparable. The president can no more disown the Teamsters Union's leader than he can disown his own id.  At a Labor Day rally in Detroit on Monday before Obama spoke, Hoffa stoked anti-tea party hostility by urging his minions to "take these son of a b*tches out." (Botched grammar added that extra boost of street-gang authenticity to the labor lawyer's threat.) The same civility police on the left who decry any references to crosshairs as incitements to violence are now mute about Hoffa's brass-knuckle rhetoric. 

Q: Are we crazy to think of converting our garage into a guesthouse -- maybe a "granny suite"? It has a cathedral ceiling, concrete slab floor and opens into the back garden, which is nice. We just need some encouragement. Plus some ideas, like what to do about the stained concrete floor; should we cover it with hardwood or ceramic tile?

All countries relish in their own tall tales. Britons boast of the legend of King Arthur, the only man who could extract the mighty sword Excalibur from its stony prison. Americans exalt fictitious giants, such as Paul Bunyan, and characterizations of real-life heroes, such as George Washington's inability to tell a lie. 

Back to school, back to work. As we celebrate Labor Day and the end of summer, it's time to get down to business again and rethink those professional wardrobes."What to wear to work is an issue that's more complicated than merely adhering to a dress code," says Lisa Armstrong, author of "Harper Bazaar Fashion: Your Guide to Personal Style." The good news according to Armstrong is that what we do choose to wear professionally is "an opportunity to express your individual style."

Q: We are slowly doing over a Greek Revival house. There's been a lot of serious rehab, so we're just getting to the "fun" part -- choosing colors and wallpapers. But it's not so much fun after all: I'm overwhelmed, especially when looking at all those books in the wallpaper shop! Could you help me narrow down my choices to designs that would be appropriate for a house that dates to l910? We are people who like formal, own antiques, but don't want fusty or busy. 

The Kia Optima Hybrid sounds too good to be true: a midsize sedan that gets 35 mpg around town, 40 mpg on the highway, costs less than $30,000 and comes equipped with near-luxury features and state-of-the-art engineering.That's all true -- and the closer you look, the better it gets. The Optima Hybrid is an engaging car to drive for those who get into the electronics and finesse of a gasoline-electric powertrain. Green enthusiasts will appreciate how far you can go on battery power. And the Optima Hybrid gets the top five-star NHTSA safety ratings, according to SaferCar.gov.

A wedding is an optimal time in life to review one's financial status as well as to make financial resolutions for the years to come. Since marriage is a blending of two unique personalities, it is also a blend of a variety of money habits. Marriage may blend a saver with a spender or some other combination.

Q: Is it a crime to paint over old wood paneling? We are rehabbing a l9th-century farmhouse that has seen better days. It was used as a barn for years and the paneling (it's either oak or pine -- hard to tell) was really abused by the elements? My husband is holding out for refinishing, but we have so much else to do, I want to paint. Help us decide! A: Renovating -- like life itself -- is always about priorities. Do what means the most, the quickest.

Kids are heading back to school (already!). Giant robots are giving way to think pieces (well, not entirely, as you'll see later in this column). Fall is just around the corner, and that means an array of films vying for more-refined eyes (mostly) and a thinner but satiating slice of the box-office pie. Here is a slew we're looking forward to as temperatures cool outside.

Sept. 2: "Shark Night 3D" -- Not to be outdone by their pint-size, razor-teethed pals the piranhas, sharks are going three-dimensional in late summer. Guaranteed to be a b-movie delight. Starring Sara Paxton.

 Q: Hate "cocktail" tables..."coffee" tables, too! By any name, I think it's a boring cliche to always put a low table in front of every sofa. Makes it hard to get in and out and to sit down, too. I'd like your thoughts on the subject.

A: Remember why cliches become cliches in the first place: because they are so inherently right you really can't improve on them.

A Stanford University study reports that humor, especially the positive kind, helps people better cope with frightening or disturbing events by forcing a change of perspective and a new appraisal. Negative humor works too, but not as well.

Writing in the journal "Cognition and Emotion," the Stanford scientists showed study volunteers a series of specialized images categorized by their emotional content. After viewing the pictures -- car crashes, corpses, scary animals, dental exams -- the participants were asked to rate the intensity of their emotions, positive or negative.

 Whenever kids start heading back to school, you can bet that retailers are gearing up for major sale events -- tempting us all to get into new fall clothes at bargain prices. While you may pick up a few great deals when you're at the mall buying the latest Uggs for your daughter, chances are that most of us will become what style expert Amy Goodman calls "sale suckers.

"Yes, we're all usually "suckers" about saving money, but according to Goodman, who wrote "Wear This, Toss That" (Simon and Schuster, $27) you may want to pay more attention to what you really need instead of blowing the holiday budget months in advance. Here are some of Goodman's "sale suckers" to watch for when hitting the stores this month:

 Q: We were shopping for our new condo and fell for a rug with a wild pattern in a lot of different colors. I'm really afraid it will take over our lives, but we can't stop talking about it, so I thought we'd ask you if there's a way to decorate around such a rug?

A: Don't decorate around it -- decorate to it! Make the rug your focal point and repeat its colors on the other ingredients in the room, which should be neutral enough to play second fiddle to what's going on, on the floor.