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Second-Story Remodeling Options There are at least four ways to expand vertically during your home renovation. How you go about your second story addition plans depends on your preferences, foundation requirements for adding a second story, and building regulations. Cost of Adding a Second Story If you need to add a sizable amount of space (several rooms rather than just one or two) but are faced with a tight budget, adding up may be your smartest option....

The perfect setting for cuddling up with a good book or relaxing with yet another Gilmore Girls marathon consists of decor designed with warm autumnal colors and soft textures like velvet and chunky knits. And don’t be afraid to incorporate pieces that aren’t inherently “fall looking”—you can still get that comfortable feel without overwhelming your space with yellows and oranges. Early Access Fall Decor Deals Ogrmar Handmade Velvet Pumpkin Decor Set, $17 (was $27) Stonebriar Rustic Wood Round Serving Tray, $20 (was $60) Eddie Bauer Reversible Throw Blanket, $22 (was $40) Yankee Candle Cranberry Chutney Candle, $17 (was $28) Anduuni Decorative Knitted Pillow Case, $17 (was $26) Naturl Pampas Grass Decor, $18 (was $29) Tiny Land Fall Garland Pack, $11 with coupon (was $20) Safavieh Dallas Shag Area Rug, $165 (was $800) Serene Spaces Living Birch Bark Candle Set, $26 (was $30) Tiny Land Fall Front Door Wreath, $44 (was $55)...

This Halloween do the monster match instead of the monster mash with these cute Halloween bingo cards full of cute monsters for kids to match! It’s a great alternative to traditional Halloween bingo! Monster Match Halloween Bingo I was working in the lab late one night, or should I say on the computer late one night. And really it’s every night these days as we’re about to hit fourth quarter, and I like to do all the things I can for the holidays!...

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase via my links, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. The Call of the Wild Digital Release Raise your hand if you’ve seen the new The Call of the Wild movie with Harrison Ford? If you’ve read the Jack London book before, this one is a must-watch! I’ve heard good things and had been planning to see it but movies with a baby, even PG ones, are not so easy....

I’ve always been a huge Grinch fan if you couldn’t tell from my Grinch gift exchange, my Grinch themed Christmas punch game, and the various Grinch recipes on my site. I even made Who pudding last year! There’s just something fun about one of Sr. Seuss’ most iconic characters. Maybe it’s the green. Maybe it’s him realizing the true meaning of Christmas at the end of the story. Or maybe it’s all of the fun renditions that have been made over the years that just keep the story alive and coming back over and over again....

When hamstrings are weak, they can cause knee pain and increase the possibility of strain, says Maggiacomo. A lot of times, this weakness stems from muscle imbalance, when your quads, the muscles that run the length of the front of the thigh, are more dominant than your hamstrings. This phenomenon is typically more prominent in women than in men. When your muscles are imbalanced in this way, “you’ll have a hard time achieving proper form for exercises, and it will have an adverse effect on your running form if you’re relying solely on the quads for stability and power,” Maggiacomo explains, noting that you want to make sure you’re working the quads, hamstrings, and glutes equally to address muscle imbalances....

How Many Cups of Powdered Sugar in a Pound Let your cake recipe, powdered sugar icing recipe, or whatever baking recipe you’re using determine if you need to sift the powdered sugar. Sifting powdered sugar makes it lighter and fluffier, so you’ll need more of it by volume to reach 1 pound. With these guidelines, you’ll know the answer to “how many cups of powdered sugar is a pound?” 1 pound = 3½ to 4 cups unsifted powdered sugar1 pound = 4½ cups sifted powdered sugar...

When Pumpkins Are Ready to Harvest Pumpkins, like watermelon, strawberries, and grapes, ripen best attached to the vine. Once removed from the vine, the sugar content of the fruit will not increase, which makes harvest timing especially important for pumpkins you want to use for baking and cooking. While sugar content isn’t a factor in pumpkins used for front porch decor, the process of maturing on the vine does help pumpkins resist rot....

On This Episode Buying your first home is already a major money milestone—but having to do it on your own in an uncertain housing market can make it feel even more overwhelming. In this episode, host Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez interviews real estate expert and mortgage lender Nicole Rueth about how to navigate the home-buying process as a single person—including the options and alternatives available to single buyers who fear being priced out of this hot housing market....

States With the Most Expensive Thanksgiving Turkeys Since live turkeys aren’t plentiful in Hawaii and Alaska, and thus must be shipped to both of those locations, residents of those states can expect to pay the most for a Thanksgiving turkey, with Hawaii taking the top spot. Hawaii The average price for a turkey in Hawaii is $50.35—the highest price in the nation and roughly 47 percent more than the national average....

“Two-thirds of what we buy in the supermarket we had no intention of buying,” says consumer expert Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping ($16, amazon.com). Supermarkets not only rely on such behavior-they encourage it. Every aspect of a grocery store’s layout—from the produce display near the entrance to the dairy case in the back to the candy at the register—is designed to stimulate shopping serendipity....

What Are the Different Types of Cabbage? Cabbage belongs to the same family as Brussels sprouts and kale. It evolved from a leafy mustard plant, and this is why it has a light natural pepperiness. Cabbage, though, also has hidden umami and sweetness that can come out with cooking. There are three main kinds of cabbage: red, green, and Savoy. Green is a mint-green that often shades to white in some parts....

“Apply multiple colors and sit with them for a few days,” recommends Erika Woelfel, Behr color expert. “Test them in multiple different parts of your room with different lighting to help you to better visualize what the color will look like in your space at any time of day.” Nicole Gibbons, the founder and CEO of Clare, shares similar advice: “Make sure you love your color both under daylight and in the evening when the sun is down and the artificial lights are on in your home,” she says....

Sometimes manufacturers will throw the everyday shopper a bone, putting the more common name in parentheses next to the scientific name, like this: tocopherol (vitamin E). But without that nudge, an ingredients list often just looks like a string of long unfamiliar words separated by commas. Instead of doing detective work, it can be easier to follow popularity and opt for skincare products (and ingredients) with a cult following, especially in the age of beauty influencers....

Whether you’ve invested in a high-end hair dryer such as the Dyson hair dryer, something mid-level like the T3 hair dryer or Chi hair dryer, or even a more moderately priced brand like a Conair hair dryer, if you fail to properly maintain it, it will most certainly stop working at some point. Furthermore, using an attachment such as a hair dryer diffuser can add an additional reason for your dryer to become too hot....

As a general rule, plan to complete a few essential cleaning tasks about once a week, though some bathrooms might need more frequent scrubbing, depending on the frequency of use. For example, a shared kids’ bath will get grimy much quicker than a powder room mainly visited by guests. Whatever way you work it into your cleaning routine, make your bathroom sparkle with this guide on how to clean bathroom fixtures....

How to Tell If You Have Mold in Your House “Visible growth may seem like an obvious sign you have mold, but don’t forget to use your sense of smell,” the team at NADCA says. Sometimes a small amount of mold is assumed to be dirt, or mold may be lurking out-of-sight in your HVAC system—this is where your sense of smell comes in. “Is there a strange, earthy smell in your home that won’t go away, no matter how much air freshener you spray?...

Earlier this year we installed an outdoor brick oven in my parent’s back patio area, and it’s been a total game-changer for the space. We’ve made brick oven pepperoni rolls, apple crisp, chicken, and so many more delicious brick oven meals. But that brick oven was looking a little lonely on the back patio, so we decided it was time to create an actual outdoor entertaining area to go with it....

Why Everyone Should Floss Yes, brushing your teeth is important, but there’s something brushing can’t accomplish on its own. “When you brush, the brush can’t get between your teeth,” Dr. Manz says. “It’s that area between the teeth—where the teeth are touching—we need to be able to clean. The simplest, easiest, and most efficient way to do that is with floss.” Both flossing and brushing work to rid your teeth of plaque (among other things)....

How to Freeze Strawberries The most common way to freeze strawberries is by flash-freezing them whole and unsweetened (aka dry pack method). There are also ways to freeze strawberries with sugar that we’ll get to later. Step 1: Wash and Dry Strawberries Before you freeze strawberries, wash them thoroughly by placing them in a colander and gently rinsing under cool water before removing the stems. If you remove the stems before washing, more water can get in and affect the texture and flavor—no one likes a watery strawberry!...