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How to Build a DIY Outdoor Concrete Table Related Video

Test Kitchen Tip: Wondering how to cook okra without the slime? It’s true, when you cut into fresh okra, the inside has a thick, shiny liquid that might seem “iffy” to the uninitiated. Cooking okra fast and hot gets rid of that viscosity (aka slime). That’s why our methods here—such as grilling, roasting, and cooking quickly on the stovetop—are all about speed. How to Prepare Okra for Cooking No matter what method you use for cooking okra, be sure to wash it first:...

1. Use Floral Preservatives Many store-bought bouquets come with a small packet of flower food to mix into the water. If you’re cutting tulips from your own garden, you can find larger containers or packs of flower food packets online or at garden centers. Follow the instructions on the packet and your blooms should last longer than flowers kept in plain water. Sometimes, you’ll hear that adding citrus soda or a spoonful of sugar will keep your flowers fresh, but none of them work quite as well as flower food....

Editor’s Tip: If stickers don’t come in the right sizes, use construction paper and tape to make your family ears. Editor’s Tip: To secure the vase—and to make it more festive—fill it with glass pebbles, decorated eggs, or Easter candy (just don’t plan on eating the candy). Editor’s Tip: To create an interesting arrangement, choose vases of various sizes and colors. Related Video

1. Ignoring the Type of Mum Amy Enfield, a horticulturist for Miracle-Gro, says garden mums should be planted outdoors by late summer or early fall so the roots have time to form before the soil freezes. Also known as hardy or Belgian mums, garden mums are sold in garden centers and nurseries. They’re perennials in USDA Zones 5 to 9. But even when they’re planted at the right time, they need a few other things, like excellent drainage....

7 Tips for How to Mail Cookies Wondering if you can mail cookies by USPS, UPS, FedEx, or other such services? Sure! But you risk them arriving a bit dried out or as a pile of broken pieces unless you… Choose sturdy cookies. Avoid any cookie recipes that are fragile (macarons), flaky (lacy Florentines), cream-filled (sandwich cookies), or delicate (butter wafers) when shipping cookies through the post. The best cookies to mail are those that are at lower risk for breaking or smushing during transit....

Flowers, fall wreaths, and gourds in all shapes and sizes get their chance to shine with these Thanksgiving window displays you’ll fall for. Related Video

1. Turn a Closet into a Desk Turn a small closet into an inviting workspace with just a few add-ons. This closet-desk hybrid has bright blue barn doors that can be pulled shut so you don’t have to stare at work once your duties for the day are over. Inside, a floating workstation and shelves provide storage and a writing surface, while two sconces provide task lighting. Funky wallpaper adds personality and turns the “cloffice” into a fun focal point....

Buy It: Weber Jumbo Joe Premium Charcoal Grill ($89, Walmart) Buy It: Crock-Pot Cook & Carry Slow Cooker ($35, Target) Buy It: Nordic Ware 13-Inch Pizza Stone Set ($25, Walmart) Related Video

Career professional spanning three decades of interior design writingPublished in luxury publications such as Architectural Digest, Glamour, and Traditional HomeWriter of celebrity features, covering their homes for lifestyle magazinesAuthor of two books: Designs on Film (2010) and Re-De-Sign (2009)Public speaker and blogger for Cinema Style Related Video

Wrote 150 research-based articles on organic gardening.Co-hosted 40 monthly podcasts or Twitter chats with national experts on a range of home gardening topics.For three years was the co-author of one of the top five most trafficked U.S. garden blogs.Created over 100 newsletters about children’s gardening.Guest on national and local garden radio shows. Related Video

In terms of water and energy usage, dishwashers are much more efficient than washing dishes by hand. According to a recent study by detergent brand Cascade, it takes the average person about 15 seconds to handwash a dish. During that time, the sink uses half a gallon of water (a typical faucet spouts four gallons of water every two minutes). By comparison, an Energy Star-certified dishwasher uses less than four gallons per cycle, which means running a load with as few as eight dishes can actually save water....

Wrote for Architecture magazine for 11+ yearsWrote for Southern Living magazine for 10+ yearsContributing editor and writer for Coastal Living, Better Homes & Gardens, The Washington Post, House Beautiful, Cottage Style, Architectural Record, and Traditional Home for more than 20 yearsAuthored the books 30A Style, Instant Architecture, Seaside Style, and Tracery: The Art of Southern Design. Related Video

Turn your home into the Halloween house of your neighborhood and cast a holiday spell over everyone that walks by. Whether you try your hand at DIY bats and spiders or want to give guests and passersby a good laugh, we’ve got you covered with plenty of Halloween-inspired creations. These giant Halloween decorations are guaranteed to create a big scare. Related Video

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This guide offers instructions for how, and how often, to perform routine cleaning, and what cleaning methods to avoid damage to the hide. It also covers how to remove stains when they occur, and how to deep-clean cowhide rugs to make them last for years. Care Basics for a Cowhide Rug It might surprise you to learn that cowhide rugs are relatively easy to maintain—so easy, in fact, that they are among the easiest types of rugs to care for....

Before You Start Cleaning Copper Some copper items feature a lacquer finish that you should avoid cleaning with these methods. To determine whether the surface is lacquered, dip a rag in white vinegar, then baking soda, and use it to rub an inconspicuous spot on the copper surface. If it removes an area of tarnish, the piece isn’t lacquered, and you can use the following natural cleaners. Before cleaning copper, you should check if the item is copper-plated....

What now? Before you take all of the lights back off the tree and head to the store for yet another replacement strand, we’ve got a few tips and tricks for fixing your string lights and getting the holiday season back on track. Common Christmas Light Issues Christmas lights aren’t the most reliable decoration. While string light technology has improved with time, homeowner-grade lights found at big-box stores aren’t always made to last....

How to Bake a Cake First you’ll have to choose a recipe. You can keep it simple with a yellow cake (pictured above), or you can choose a slightly showier recipe, like a chocolate devil’s food cake or a vibrant red velvet cake.If you’re not a fan of the traditional frostings, try a German chocolate cake. We also have a few birthday cake recipes for celebratory occasions. The possibilities are almost endless, and these directions will help you make them all, but angel food, pound cakes, sponge cakes, and chiffon cakes require different methods, so read up on those separately....