Lighting up the night

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The annual Festival of Lights Parade in Downtown Los Altos got us all geeked up (and chic’ed up) for holiday decorating, and that got us thinking: When do you flip the switch on your home displays?

CHIC (Pearl)

I love the holidays, and I’m pretty traditional when it comes to timing. Before the day after Thanksgiving became known as “Black Friday,” it was better known as the day to shake off your turkey coma and drag the holiday decorations out of the garage for an afternoon of untangling lights and counting wise men. And that’s more fun to me than shopping at a crowded mall and fighting over parking spots.

GEEK (Kevin)

My philosophy with holiday decorations is go big or — don’t go. If you’re putting up one light strand, you may as well use 20 to make an adequate impression on your neighbors and help your ‘hood feel more festive. As you may have guessed, big displays are my thing, and I save time by starting wicked early. In fact, I keep some outdoor decorations up (unlit) year round to save time on the inevitable setup.

Mint condition

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Do you use Mint to track your personal and household finances? Well, it’s time to find another app. Parent company Inuit announced last week that it’s rolling Mint into the Credit Karma platform, which means users need to migrate to a new service. NerdWallet has some tips for where to go, although we’re a little sus of their intentions. Here’s more.

Mother’s Day Hangover

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We don’t know about you, but we felt a little behind the curve on Monday. Maybe it was all the mimosas and See’s Candies for Mother’s Day! How did you celebrate Mom?

CHIC (Pearl)

Every woman will tell you that flowers are a waste and chocolates are bad for their diet. But the truth is, every mom loves flowers, and every mom likes chocolate, especially when it comes from their babies — no matter how old those babies get!

GEEK (Kevin)

I’m the kind of guy who celebrates Mother’s Day every day. Whenever I’m in the neighborhood, I’ll stop by to see if anything around the house needs fixing or if mom needs a grocery run. At the end of the day, it’s the little things that make mom happy!