¼ cup butter, softened 1 cup powdered sugar 2 teaspoon milk ½ teaspoon vanilla ¼ cup powdered sugar Skillet Fruit 3 tablespoon butter 2 tablespoon granulated sugar 2 red-skin pears, cored and slliced 6 kumquats, thinly sliced ½ cup fresh cranberries

The couple bought the base cabinet at a home center and adapted it to accommodate the beverage cooler. They made a countertop and floating shelves from pine boards they burned with a plumbers torch to accent the grain. “It created a unique look that you just can’t get with stains or paints,” Andrew says. Including the fridge, this bar cost Andrew and Zoe about $450 to build. Andrew and Zoe spent about four days building and installing the bar components from the bottom up....

Jordan has chronicled the icky Befores through the pretty Afters as they DIY their Portland, Oregon, bungalow. An interior designer, Jordan posts projects, shares ideas, and seeks advice online for their petite home. Like when she wanted to replace the hardware on the original vanity in the bathroom but didn’t know what to do about holes from pulls that had been screwed in diagonally. “A designer friend told me to just embrace them and make them decorative,” she says....

You may be able to irritate them into leaving by placing colorful beach balls in your garden; woodchucks generally dislike the balls’ windblown movement. Or try stuffing ammonia-soaked rags into the entryways of their holes. (The main entryway will have a pile of soil beside it; there should be another entrance about 50 feet away.) The smell should cause them to move on. Another possible odor repellent is fox urine (available at most garden centers)....

How Long to Thaw a Turkey It’s important to start cooking with a fully defrosted turkey. Our handy turkey defrosting guide shares full timing and methods for thawing your Thanksgiving turkey. Our favorite way to thaw a bird is to leave it in the refrigerator. You can keep a turkey in the fridge for up to four days before cooking. How Long to Roast a Turkey Once your turkey has been properly thawed and brined, seasoned, or stuffed as desired, roast in a pan at 325°F using these times as guidelines for unstuffed turkeys....

The assembly instructions for a kit can be a bit daunting, however, so we’ve made the process easier with visuals you can follow along as you build. Grab a partner to help hold up the pieces and get started on your new backyard getaway.

Get the look—our favorite industrial decorating ideas. Repurposing a Room My husband, Brent, and I like to think outside the box when it comes to updating spaces in our home that sit empty or get little attention. We love dreaming up ways to make a room work for us so that we will want to spend time in it and enjoy the space. This was the case with our formal dining room in the front of our house, which sat empty for an entire year....

Although it’s often overlooked, the garbage disposal is an essential item on your kitchen cleaning checklist. Make the process easier by utilizing the natural cleaning materials you already use to clean countertops and kitchen appliances. The best way to clean and get smells out of a garbage disposal is a combination of the methods outlined below. These tips for how to clean a garbage disposal will remove odor and grime while helping to keep the appliance running smoothly....

How to Clean Silver Jewelry with Dish Soap What You Need Dish soapBowl of warm waterToothbrushMicrofiber cloth Step 1: Soak Silver Jewelry Add a few drops of liquid dish soap to warm water. Mix until bubbles form. Soak jewelry in the solution for five to 10 minutes. Step 2: Scrub Silver Jewelry Use a soft-bristle brush, such as a toothbrush, to clean any crevices. Rinse jewelry in warm water. Step 3: Dry Silver Jewelry To dry, gently rub jewelry with a silver cloth or a microfiber towel....

This natural cleaner easily cuts through mildew, bacteria, and grime and is safe to use on various household surfaces. Check out our cleaning tips below to learn how to clean the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and more with vinegar. How to Clean the Kitchen with Vinegar Refrigerator: Consider skipping the toxic chemicals where you store your food. Instead, try distilled white vinegar cleaning on refrigerator surfaces. Wipe up spills using a cloth dampened with a vinegar cleaning solution of equal parts vinegar and water....

How to Choose a Potted Christmas Tree Choose a tree that will survive the conditions where you live. First, know your Hardiness Zone, and choose a tree or shrub suited to your Zone. For example, if you live in Zone 5, choose a tree with a hardiness rating of 5 or below. A tree that’s hardy to Zone 6 will likely not survive winters in your area. Garden centers, florists, and home improvement stores may offer living Christmas trees that aren’t hardy in your region....

How to Deep-Fry a Turkey To start, you’ll want to prepare the turkey for frying by removing the neck, giblets, plastic ties, or pop-up timers. From there, use the following steps to make a deep-fried turkey. Getting the Right Fried Turkey Temperature Our Test Kitchen recommends frying the turkey in 350°F peanut oil or other vegetable oil for 3 minutes per pound. Take the internal temperature in the meaty part of the thigh (it should register 180°F)....

Colorful Combinations With its long chains of pink blossoms, kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate adds a romantic touch to any garden. Often beginning to bloom in midsummer, this annual will continue to bloom until fall. It’s a favorite cut flower and can be dried and used in floral arrangements. You can find varieties in dark pink and occasionally white. While not the main reason for growing kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate, its large, coarse-textured foliage can create a backdrop for other plants....

Installing either system involves cutting a hole in the venting using templates provided by the manufacturer. You’ll need about two hours to mark the template, cut holes, and install the humidifier. Before you begin, make sure to shut off the furnace.

What Is a Rose Slug? Rose slugs look like caterpillars or even miniature slugs, hence their name. But in actuality, a rose slug is neither a true slug nor a caterpillar (which becomes a moth or butterfly). It’s simply a larva of the rose sawfly. Velvety and yellow-green in color, rose slugs can get up to half an inch long. Signs of Rose Sawfly Damage The sawfly larvae will appear on roses in late spring and begin eating the soft, green tissue of leaves....

How to Make a Wooden Easter Egg Wreath Supplies Needed Drill and a small bitWood eggsToothpicksWood glue or Aleene’s Tacky GlueSola flowersCraft paint and brushesStraw wreath formExcelsiorHot-glue gun Step-by-Step Directions Toothpicks inserted into eggs and flowers give you a handle when painting before attaching to the wreath. Customize the Easter wreath with your favorite colors and flowers. Step 1: Attach Picks Drill a small hole on one long side of each egg....

Repeat this process with floral materials on the right post, covering the full length of the post. Reserve the largest and most dramatic branch for the top-right corner, placing it to follow the shape of the arch’s top beam.