Seeing The Light. Translucent, transparent, reflective or illuminated from within, this season’s furniture is all aglow. By .

Field Notes: Headed for the Rocks, Grasping for a Life Buoy. Questions for troubled couples: Where do we turn? Is it too late? By LOIS SMITH BRADY.

Vows: Lisa Sette and Peter Shikany. Lisa Sette and Peter Shikany ended up building more than just a house together. By LEW SERVISS.

The Phantom of the Menu: Chatham Cod. Environmentalists and fishermen are working to make codfish once again a year-round presence off Cape Cod, using river herring as a lure. By JULIA MOSKIN.

Wines of The Times: The Taste of Cool in a Pinot Noir. While the California weather recently has been conducive to ripe, rich pinot noirs, the 2005 vintage in Northern California was an exception. By ERIC ASIMOV.

Restaurants: Pampering, and Beer in Pitchers. Mia Dona, whose food is robust, often rustic and sometimes proudly unsubtle, is a matter-of-fact restaurant suited to a budget-conscious time. By FRANK BRUNI.

The Minimalist: You Use It Every Day. But Can You Make It Cook?. Your microwave oven can be put to use in more ways than just reheating coffee or softening ice cream. By MARK BITTMAN.

In the Garden: Proof That Spring Can Keep a Promise. For more than a century, thousands of early-blooming bulbs have brought color to the du Pont estate, near Wilmington, Del. By ANNE RAVER.

House Proud: The Would-Be Revivalist. When Mark Robbins became dean of the Syracuse University School of Architecture, he resolved to help revive the city’s struggling downtown. By LESLIE KAUFMAN.

A House Not for Mere Mortals. Architects Arakawa and Madeline Gins have essentially made it their mission to outlaw aging and its consequences. By FRED A. BERNSTEIN.

Skin Deep: A Girl’s Life, With Highlights. Hair treatments like full-color dye plus highlights, once reserved for women with salaries and mortgages, have increasingly become the norm for pre-pubescent girls. By CAMILLE SWEENEY.

Life’s Work: Dilbert the Inquisitor. There is a continuing effort to turn hiring and promoting into a science. By LISA BELKIN.

The Latest in Fashion: Pink Slips. Fashion has entered an era in which there is little to no tolerance for a designer who doesn’t sketch a single dress without the bottom line in mind. By ERIC WILSON.