Here’s how to make your favorite Starbucks holiday drinks at home. Red cup optional. Pumpkin Spice Latte The key to flavored lattes is the syrup, which can be purchased online in various sizes. Though Starbucks doesn’t sell its pumpkin spice syrup commercially, a similar syrup can be purchased from Torani, which is used by coffee shops across America. If you want to make your own, Starbucks at Home provides the following recipe: 1 cup water, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup brown sugar, 6 Tbsp pumpkin purée, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice should be simmered for about 4 minutes until everything is well combined....

Microwaving Sweet Potatoes Is there a difference between the terms “baking,” “cooking,” or “steaming” sweet potatoes in the microwave? No. These are all different ways of describing this simple microwave process. How Long to Cook Sweet Potatoes in the Microwave Because sweet potatoes vary so much in size and weight, there’s no one-size-fits-all time limit. In general, it takes five minutes to cook one sweet potato in the microwave, and add two minutes in the microwave for each additional potato....

The One-Wall Wonder If your “foyer” is really just a small wall beside the front door, don’t worry, you still have enough space for a functional entryway. Take advantage of vertical wall space with a large arched mirror ($289, shadesoflight.com). Bonus points: it will bounce light around the room. Underneath the mirror, we set a luxe-yet-affordable marble shelf with brass brackets ($70, cb2.com). To add extra organization, a brass rod ($15, RebelMetals....

Before you start painting, it’s key to select a primer that’s recommended for the type of bathroom cabinet surface you have (wood, metal, or laminate), and have it tinted to the color of the topcoat. This is especially important if the surface is dark or stained because the original finish can show through the topcoat. Consult with the expert at your paint retailer who can help you select the most appropriate primer....

Where to Plant Astilbe This showy garden perennial produces spikes of beautiful flowers that enliven the garden and add texture to flower arrangements in spring and summer. Hardy in USDA Zones 4-8, it grows best in partial shade, although it tolerates sun as long as it is kept moist. How and When to Plant Astilbe Plant astilbe early in the spring in well-drained soil with added compost and a general-purpose granular fertilizer....

Whether it’s a summer-blooming variety with large, showy blooms, or a fall-blooming type of clematis with hundreds of smaller flowers, these vines make a stunning statement. The most common clematis are the open-face blooms that reach as large as 7 inches across. Blooms also come in small, bell-shaped blossoms with outer petals that dangle like little lanterns. Some blooms have a pleasant fragrance. The swirling masses of fluffy seeds add textural interest, too....

Choosing Containers and Bulbs to Plant You can grow virtually any bulb in containers, and you can mix different types of bulbs together, too. In fact, it’s a lot like growing bulbs in the ground. Start with a container with drainage holes so that excess water can escape, and plant your bulbs in the fall. Most spring-blooming bulbs prefer well-drained soil and will rot and die if they stay too wet for too long....

While corn plant is one of the easiest houseplants you can grow, it can look a little gangly and overgrown over time. That’s the perfect opportunity to cut it back and propagate more of these plants from cuttings. Then, you can give the new, young plants away to new homes or keep them and create your own lush living room plant jungle. Timing and patience play into the success of growing more corn plants from cuttings....

Pasta is, after all, a near-perfect food. We can always look to pasta when we need an easy-to-prepare, affordable, and shelf-stable dinner. It’s extremely versatile, too, which means you can dress your noodles up in whatever sauce you have on hand—or just toss them with a pad of butter with salt and pepper—for a family-friendly meal that takes 20 minutes or less. One of the much-loved things about pasta is that you can make a big batch of it and eat it for days....

How to Remove Stains from Clothes Act fast! Deal with stains when they happen. The longer you wait, the more the stain will set into the fibers. Treat the stained spot using the specific solutions below, then wash the item as instructed on the care label. Start with the mildest stain solution first, then work your way up to harsher or more involved methods. Never dry the garment until the stain is fully removed, or else the heat could set the stain....

FSA Basics You may be familiar with a healthcare FSA, which allows account holders to arrange for their employer to set aside pre-tax money for medical costs. Well, a dependent care FSA works the same way but sets aside money for childcare—encompassing infant care through preschool, summer day camp, and before- and after-school programs—as well as adult care. Everyone is eligible for this program as there are no income limits for opening a dependent care FSA, but each household can only contribute up to $5000 per year, regardless of how many kids it has....

Speed Cleaning Routine Shut off your phone. Distraction happens—even to professionals. It takes Vicki Brown, president of Harmony Clean in Doylestown, Penn., four hours to clean her house—though it should take less than two. “I get sidetracked in my own home,” she says. Streamline your routine by removing as many distractions as possible: Cut down your screen time by setting your phone to vibrate, shut down the computer, keep the TV off, and save detailed projects, like organizing the linen closet or packing away winter hats and scarves, for another time....

How to Spot Grasshoppers in Your Garden Grasshoppers are common throughout the U.S. You might see them in shades of green, gold, or brown. They chew ragged-looking holes in plant leaves. In some areas, they begin feeding in early summer and continuing devouring foliage until the first hard frost in fall, becoming more numerous as the season wears on. There are more than 100 types of grasshoppers, and they eat all kinds of plants....

How to Store Dry Pasta Tight, secure seals will prevent bugs from infesting dry pasta. Once you’ve opened the original box or container of pasta, it’s important to transfer any leftover dry pasta to a fresh, airtight storage container. Keep airtight pasta containers in a cool, dark, dry place, like a cupboard. Stored in this way, dry pasta lasts indefinitely. How to Store Fresh Pasta Fresh pasta hasn’t been dehydrated, so it doesn’t last as long as dry pasta does....

How to Straighten Hair With Heat Learning how to straighten your hair isn’t a one-size-fits-all process, says Dickey. “Texture determines how to straighten,” he explains. Techniques vary by hair type, roughly divided along the line of straighter textures like waves and very curly and kinky hair. Step 1: Shampoo and Condition That said, all great straight styling begins in the shower. “The thicker, curlier and kinkier your hair is, the more you want to avoid shampoos with suds,” says Dickey....

So where does it go so wrong, and how can you avoid it? We asked the pros how to negotiate with your hairdresser and avoid future meltdown moments at the salon. That said, there are certain adjectives to avoid, especially when you get into tricky territory like bangs. Instead of using vague words like “shorter” and “longer” (your version of shorter may be entirely different from your hairdresser’s), be more descriptive....

How to Tell When Fish Is Done The two ways to tell your fish is cooked are visual cues that require no special equipment or thermometers. When fish reaches the proper cooking temperature and is fully cooked, it will display these cues. Opaque color. When you start cooking fish it’s rather shiny and translucent. When it’s done, the fish will be opaque.Flake easily with a fork. When fish is finished cooking, it’ll flake apart with a fork (more on that next)....

Wearing makeup, as you can imagine, is a struggle. Any powder, cream, or liquid foundation I’ve tried to use on my face has dried up along with my skin and flaked off a few hours later thanks to my parched canvas. That was the case until I tried the Super Serum Skin Tint by Ilia Beauty. To buy: $48; iliabeauty.com. I’m almost hesitant to call this skin tint makeup since it feels more like skincare on my face....

On This Episode It’s frustrating when you’re not getting what you want out of your career, whether it’s money, meaning, or in the case of this week’s listener, both. So what do you do next? Give up the security of a steady paycheck to pursue your passions—or stick it out and hope that someday you’ll make more money? And if that’s a possibility, what can you do to try to make it happen?...

In rooms where a standard hinged door might take up too much space, sliding barn doors can make the most of the space available while introducing a splash of color or character. (And they’re so much more dignified than rickety accordion or bifold doors.) Think of them as built-in multitaskers—they can help a room feel more open (or separate) and introduce a new décor feature at the same time. Plus, they can go nearly anywhere: bathrooms, kitchens, closets, laundry rooms, bedrooms, and more....