Sourdough is what the first bakers made. If you feel intimidated, remember this: People have made it since long before we knew what yeasts were, since before we had today’s modern advantages of packaged organic flour, digital scales, and tap water. Yes, it’s a project. But it’s something you can totally do. It just takes a little time and patience—roughly half an hour of work spread over four to seven days....

This philosophy applies to sugar cookies, too. Why spend hours piping out the most painstakingly perfect snow-dusted pine tree if it isn’t even edible? Enter tie dye icing. Enjoy decorated cookies that look more high-maintenance than they are. Bonus: They are nearly impossible to screw up. Here’s how to execute the cutest tie dye sugar cookies. After you’ve mixed the dough and rolled it out, choose any style of cookie cutter you like and cut into shapes....

You’re not alone. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2018 Stress in America survey, 74 percent of U.S. adults said they’d experienced one or more signs of stress within the last month of responding to the study. The Stress in America 2020 survey revealed 67 percent of U.S. adults noticed their stress levels had increased since the coronavirus pandemic. And in 2022, the APA stress survey found that it’s no longer merely jam-packed schedules and go-go-go mentalities weighing people down: More recently, prolonged health crises, geopolitical tensions, inflation, climate anxiety, economic uncertainty, and other major global issues—many of which the majority of us have never experienced before—have taken U....

Not only can cleaning out your photo library help you get rid of unnecessary digital clutter, but it can also make it easier for you to access and hold onto those memories you don’t want to forget. Learn how to organize photos on your iPhone using photo organizing software and apps, plus a few simple tips and tricks. How to organize photos on your iPhone: 1. Delete duplicate photos The invention of digital photography was a wonderful thing—it means we don’t have to rely on just one roll of film to capture our favorite moments and we have endless chances to get the perfect shot....

Learn where and how to store candles, along with mistakes to avoid while decluttering your collection. 1. Decide Where to Store Your Candles First, determine a storage spot. Keeping like items together is one of the top organizing rules to follow, so be sure to implement it for candles as well. “The number one rule of storing candles of all types for short or extended periods of time is in an enclosed, dark cool place," says Raffi Arslanian, owner of Thompson Ferrier, a New York-based luxury candle company....

How to Reheat Thanksgiving Turkey in the Oven The best part of reheating turkey in a warm oven is that you can use the appliance to reheat a slew of leftovers for a quick meal. Plus, the oven is a chef-approved method for reheating Thanksgiving turkey and takes very little effort, just preheating the oven. “The best way to reheat turkey is in the oven,” says chef Jose Garces. “Slice the turkey, place it in a shallow pan, add some chicken or turkey stock, and cover tightly with foil....

Generally, a refrigerated stick of butter can take anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour to soften; meanwhile, frozen butter can take upwards of four hours to reach a usable consistency. If you forgot to leave the butter out ahead of time, or it just won’t thaw quickly enough, we’ve gathered a few helpful tips for achieving smooth, soft butter fast. Benefits of Softened Butter Aside from the much more malleable texture, softened butter plays an important role, especially when baking....

Read on for doctor-recommended essentials everyone should have, plus items for three kinds of families—the on-the-go sporty crew, households with young children, and empty nesters—so you’ll always be well supplied. The Absolute Essentials for Any Medicine Cabinet Start here. Every home should have these basics on hand. Acetaminophen A good first choice for treating headaches, pain, and fever, it’s gentler on the stomach than ibuprofen. Tylenol is a well-known brand....

How to Keep Store-Bought Bread Fresh You can leave store-bought bread in the plastic it came in. Consume in 3 to 5 days for guaranteed freshness, but it can last up to a week as long as there’s no mold present. Bread lovers might also benefit from storing bread (purchased or homemade) in a bread box, which is ventilated to keep the bread fresh without building up unwanted moisture. Storing Homemade Bread Homemade bread including yeast breads and quick breads like banana bread should be completely cooled on a wire rack as soon as they’re done baking....

Keep in mind that these tips for stretching shoes work better on natural materials such as canvas and leather—shoes made of polyurethane and other synthetic materials tend to shrink back to their original size over time. How to Stretch Shoes Tip: Apply a little leather conditioner after you stretch your shoes to help keep the leather in tip-top shape. RELATED: How to Make Any Type of Shoe More Comfortable To use a shoe stretcher, start by spraying the parts of the shoe you want to stretch with a shoe stretching solution, which can help relax the fibers of the leather or canvas so they can expand....

How to Make an Ombré Charcuterie Board For this Valentine’s Day collaboration, Delp and Hulugalle wanted to do something unique. “We selected an ombré theme as a metaphor for the fluctuating emotions of the heart,” Delp explains. “We also loved the use of moody, dark burgundy and purple tones, as they reflect those deep feelings.” This mini-board, which Delp sells for $105, features 32 different items, including various meats, cheeses, fruits, nuts, and more accompaniments....

As poison hemlock spreads, there’s “more of an opportunity for kids to play with it and pets to eat it,” Dan Shaver, a state forester for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Indiana, tells The Indianapolis Star. “It is not a plant you want around your home or in your local park.” What is Poison Hemlock? Native to Europe, poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a relative of carrots and parsley that was brought to North America in the 1800s as an ornamental plant because of its ferny leaves....

But you might be less familiar with another cannabinoid, called CBG (short for cannabigerol). Like CBD, this substance is thought to provide healing benefits without altering mood or perception. Most cannabis plants only contain trace amounts of CBG—about 1 percent. But its properties are garnering attention from health professionals and consumers regardless. To better understand CBG and how it differs from CBD, we spoke with Matthew L. Mintz, MD, FACP, an internist and primary care physician practicing in Bethesda, Maryland....

Olive Oil Benefits for Skin It is true that olive oil has a slew of skincare benefits. The emollient is chock-full of monounsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants, so it has excellent moisturizing properties. If you suffer from extremely dry and/or compromised skin, olive oil might be a good option to reach for—especially during the cold winter months. “The integrity of our skin relies on the lipid barrier, which holds the individual skin cells together—when the weather is cold, we generally begin utilizing heaters which evaporate the liquid barrier of the skin and lead to dry, cracked skin,” explains Neda Mehr, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and medical director at Pure Dermatology Cosmetic & Hair Center in Newport Beach, Calif....

But first, some background on this plant’s origins. The jade plant is native to Africa and has been around for an extremely long time. “What’s really interesting about this particular plant is that it uses a process called CAM photosynthesis,” she explains. “It opens its pores only at night, which means that during the day it holds in a lot of water, allowing it to be more drought-tolerant.” The lack of surface area on its small, round, and fleshy leaves also helps to keep water in....

In response to the overwhelming success of the Hearth & Hand line, Cara Sylvester, Target’s senior vice president for home, said: “It’s been a wildly successful addition to Target’s strong owned brand portfolio, and we’re constantly refreshing the assortment and adding new categories, like bedding and furniture, to bring guests—and loyal Chip and Joanna fans—back for more.” For Fixer Upper fans who weren’t about to DIY their own shiplap, the line makes it easy to introduce a touch of the modern farmhouse aesthetic into their own homes....

Yet nailing down the perfect iteration of these essential closet staples isn’t easy, and I’ve especially struggled with finding the perfect T-shirt. Most T-shirts I’ve tried have either been too long and boxy or too tight and fitted, not to mention the sleeves being too short, or even the collar being too high to be comfortable in summer. Thankfully, I’ve finally found the 10-out-of-10, no notes, absolutely perfect T-shirt after years of searching in Madewell’s Supima Cotton Essential Tee; I love it so much that I stocked up and bought three....

Jordan and his family opted to buy a newly renovated two-family home, with the idea of renting out the other apartment for income. But he soon found that he’d bought a house with some major unforeseen issues. “We started to have all these red flags before we even closed,” Jordan says. “And in two months’ time, we had a bill of over $45,000.” That was to fix plumbing issues, repair heating units, and fix a problem created when the flippers he bought the house from failed to put a waterproof sealant beneath the shower....

To make the process even more confusing, what you see on the walls may not stay consistent throughout the day. No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you: Different angles and lighting—natural or artificial—can dramatically transform a color. “That perfect pale grey during the day can sometimes look very violet or blue at night, which will drive you crazy over time,” says Erin Gates, designer and the blogger behind Elements of Style: Designing a Home & a Life....

That being said, many of us are trying to limit our caffeine intake, and as a result, are in the market for a coffee substitute (or an alternative to our hot chocolate addiction). While giving up coffee is no simple task, there are plenty of other delicious—and jitter-free—options. But if you’re a peanut butter lover, we may have found the next best thing for you. Surprisingly enough, aside from a quality PB&J sandwich, peanuts (when brewed) make a great coffee bean replacement....