That said, taking on a gingerbread house can be a treacherous endeavor (and we mean beyond the obvious Hansel-and-Gretel reasons). Baking, building, and beautifying an entire structure is daunting. Many go for the pre-cut gingerbread house kits, which is a fine choice. But if you think this might be the year to finally try one yourself, we’ve got instructions. And we spoke with Kathy Krupa, culinary expert and food stylist at Wilton, about what you should know about gingerbread before you’re knee-deep in icing trying to keep the roof from crumbling....

So, which services should you feel confident conquering in your own bathroom, and which are best left to the pros? Here, experts weigh in on 10 common beauty services, according to skill and risk level, plus some additional tips and tricks along the way. “Factors such as peel type, strength, skin prep, the amount of time the peel is left on the skin, and the method of application can all affect the outcome,” warns Peterson Pierre, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of the Pierre Skin Care Institute in Westlake Village, California....

A credit monitoring service can alert you if your social security number is used to open a new line of credit, if you’re the victim of identity theft, or even if there’s unauthorized activity on your credit cards. There are services in the marketplace that offer these services for a monthly fee, while other providers allow you to enroll in credit monitoring services for no charge. Below, find out more about the benefit of credit monitoring and how you can choose the right service for yourself....

I don’t know about you, but I tend to buy a bag of frozen peas for a specific recipe or to have on hand as a flexible ice pack, then promptly forget they’re there. But it’s time to dig past the ice cream and pull out these sweet little buds for a nutritional punch that can help you do everything from fighting chronic illness to staying full between meals....

There are a ton of salmon recipes to try. Grill it, bake it, or add chunks to pasta, casseroles, salads, or frittatas. And don’t forget about sardines—they’re a super source of omega-3s, too. For a more flavorful mug, try a recipe that blends chamomile with cinnamon, apple cider, and lemon. The legume also contains folate, a B vitamin that helps regulate mood; a cup of cooked chickpeas provides more than 70 percent of the daily recommended intake....

However, retailers often follow well-established trends when offering discounts at certain times of the year. Whether it’s the post-holiday deals, like January’s annual white sales for linens and housewares, or the outdoor and garden goods that get discounted in the fall. With careful planning, you can save money in the long run by looking for sales that pop up at predictable points throughout the year. According to Bankrate, TVs tend to go on sale before the Super Bowl, in January or early February....

Can You Freeze Homemade Cranberry Sauce? The good news is that yes, you can freeze cranberry sauce, but it’s best if you freeze homemade cranberry sauce. Homemade cranberry sauce takes about 30 minutes to make and it freezes better because it uses fresh cranberries. (The fresher the fruit you use, the better the taste!) If you plan on freezing fresh cranberry sauce, it’s ideal to freeze it within a day of making it....

Substituting Shortening for Oil Shortening is made from solidified vegetable oil. When it comes to cooking applications or frying savory items such as stir-fries, you can absolutely use shortening instead of oil by simply allowing it to melt in the pan before adding the ingredients. To use shortening as a substitute for oil in baking, you can swap the two using equal amounts. This can be to substitute any type of cooking oil—avocado oil, vegetable oil, olive oil, and other cooking oils....

As a housewarming gift, I received a new set of hefty but oversized pans that I use for family dinners—and I always have my trusty Our Place Perfect Pot on deck. However, I rely almost daily on my Caraway Mini Sauce Pan when making small lunches for one. When the brand launched its highly-requested Minis Duo set a couple of months back, I received a sample to take for a spin in my kitchen, and it’s been a staple in my routine ever since....

Desperate for a solution, I turned my face into a testing ground for numerous soaps and spot treatments. It was only after discovering the Carbon Theory Charcoal & Tea Tree Oil Facial Cleansing Bar that my great skincare experiment came to a close. To buy: $10 (was $13); amazon.com Charcoal is a superstar skincare ingredient, commonly used in products to help rid the skin of excess oil and debris. In the case of the Carbon Theory Bar, charcoal is featured alongside tea tree oil, which works together to rid your pores of dirt and debri without causing excess inflammation....

I don’t eat carrot cake that often (I typically go with something more like this mini egg cheesecake) but every time I do, I remember how delicious it is – especially with the right cream cheese frosting! I thought it was finally time to share our favorite carrot cake recipe on the blog and with Easter right around the corner, I thought this would be the perfect time! This carrot cake is so good my husband ate it for breakfast (carrots are vegetables right?...

Christmas parties are all about the food (and Christmas party games) and I love to serve finger foods so people can grab and snack while they’re mingling or playing. I’m a big fan of charcuterie boards whether they be dessert boards, breakfast boards, or traditional charcuterie boards made up of meats, cheeses, and other snacks. But I couldn’t just make a standard charcuterie board so instead I made this Christmas wreath snack board instead!...

Her writing has appeared across most of Dotdash Meredith’s sites—including The Spruce, Real Simple, Travel + Leisure, PEOPLE, InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Health, Shape, Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens, and Food & Wine—as well as Time and Well+Good. She was a lifestyle news editor on Time’s cross-brand news desk prior to the acquisition by Meredith, after which she transitioned to the role of digital deputy editor for Real Simple. After about a year at Real Simple, she switched over to the newly formed centralized e-commerce desk as deputy digital director across shopping content for all of Meredith’s brands, from PEOPLE and InStyle to Better Homes & Gardens, Travel + Leisure, and Food & Wine....

I know summer’s almost over but with the swimming pools still open through Labor Day, my family is still going constantly! And we’re planning to do one big pool party before the pools shut down for the summer! I thought it’d be fun to do a bunch of pool and swimming themed treats including these fun pool party cookies, and these virgin pina coladas! Oh and of course my beach cake with its beach balls and little beach towels (with Sour Patch Kids sun tanning)....

To begin, tequila is produced from the fermented sap of blue agave plants grown in one of five Mexican states: Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Mayarit, and Tamaulipas. It comes in a range of categories, including Blanco tequila, Reposado tequila, and Añejo tequila. As a rule of thumb, look for tequila bottles labeled “100% Blue Agave.” With that certification, you’ll be sure the tequila was distilled entirely from the plant and not mixed with other ingredients, like sugarcane....

The Wrong Way to Wash Dishes We’ll start with this: There is most definitely a wrong way to wash dishes, and chances are, you’re guilty of it. “Generally, people are not efficient dish washers,” says green architect Colin Cathcart, of Kiss + Cathcart Architects and Fordham University, where he’s an associate professor of architecture. “When you let the hot water run and pass the dishes underneath so that it goes down the drain, that’s certainly the wrong way....

Every year when Christmas rolls around, I somehow get stuck in charge of planning Christmas party games. At this point, I’ve come up with over 40 different Christmas games, but I just don’t feel like I can play the same one year after year. Other than Christmas bingo, we always play Christmas bingo. Last year we did the saran wrap game and Scrooge your neighbor. The year before it was my viral dice gift exchange....

As with the new sleep lamp from Casper, smart lights, and other lighting innovations, companies (and people in general) are finally wising up to the fact that low-quality lighting has a negative impact on our day-to-day. If you’ve adopted the use of blue light glasses, you’ve likely also read up on how too much light at night can mess with your Circadian rhythm, potentially hurting your ability to fall asleep quickly; low-quality lights that are too low, flicker, or have a glare (whether we notice it or not) can also cause eye strain and visual fatigue, further affecting our energy levels....

According to Whole Foods’ 2022 trend report, breakfast is going to be bigger than ever this year. It makes sense: Working from home has provided many of us with the time to finally sit down and enjoy a real breakfast during the week—waffles on a Wednesday, anyone?—over the old protein-bar-in-the-car routine of a past life. We’re welcoming this silver lining with open arms. To make sure you’re eating the healthiest foods for the most important meal of the day, we tapped nutrition expert (and breakfast superfan) Frances Largeman-Roth, RDN, for the most nutritious morning meals to jumpstart your day....

Compared to shopping at high-end furniture stores, buying IKEA basics and infusing them with your own style will save you hundreds of dollars—plus, when you control the details, you’re guaranteed a piece that matches your home’s personality. To inspire your next project, we’ve rounded up IKEA hacks that deliver serious wow-factor. IKEA has never looked more luxe. When Jennifer from Making Pretty Spaces revealed her revamped guest room for the One Room Challenge, the results proved that sometimes the most dramatic IKEA hacks are also the simplest....