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Ina Garten is basically a fairy godmother. She flies through the world, sprinkling bits of wisdom and fleur de sel everywhere she goes. From date-night tips to dinner party advice, Ina is always there to help. And from chocolate cake to lasagna, her recipes are simple and straightforward yet yield the most impressive results. How does she do it? Pure magic.

But that magic can be yours too. Like every generous godmother, she has shared her magic in the form of tips and tricks. Here are 10 to make your life easier, better, and more magical.

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My friend Lauren, who asked me not to use her real name, has been sober for more than two years. She was a good friend — someone I texted almost daily with news and commentary, wardrobe emergencies, and, of course, plans to have our ritual pre-dinner glass of wine. It didn’t happen every afternoon. But three or four days a week, Lauren would come over around 5 p.m., after I’d had a long enough day with a toddler to think a smidge of wine sounded like a great idea, but before either of our husbands came home.

As it turned out, that was usually her third or fourth drink of the day.

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(Image credit: Joe Lingeman/The Kitchn)

A slice of classic cheesecake is one of those desserts that takes nicely to added flavors and tinkering. If you love both pumpkin pie and cheesecake, these creamy bars are the perfect hybrid. There’s a sturdy graham cracker crust on the bottom, then a layer of classic white cheesecake, and finally a delicate pumpkin cheesecake layer fragrant with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices. One pan makes a lot of bars that you can take to your next party or potluck; I promise the pan will come home empty.

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I love having my daily cup of coffee — for the caffeine, but also for the ritual involved. That’s why, when I set off on a two-week bike trip at the end of summer, I brought along a pretty serious coffee setup. Taking a normal ritual and doing it somewhere entirely different is special, which is why I’m such an advocate of making coffee outside.

So what do you need to make good coffee outside? Well, there’s one secret you should definitely know — plus a few more tips and tricks of the trade.

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It’s time to stop kidding yourself: your hair is thinning. There’s really only so many times you can look in the mirror and willfully ignore that rapidly receding hairline. By the age of 35, statistics indicate that two out of three average American men will have some form of hair loss — most likely male […]

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Ah, the twenties. Not the decade of flappers and Prohibition… I mean the ages of 20 to 29 years in the human lifespan. It’s an interesting time: the teen years are over, but may take a while to shake off. You’re officially an adult, but don’t always make adult decisions. It’s a time of many […]

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A puzzling swarm of red dots was seen on radar screens this past week, covering over 100 miles across the Denver region. At first, the weather service was confused and thought the images they were seeing might have been birds.   Look at what’s flying into Denver! Radar from last hour showing what we believe […]

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Miwa Sado was working like crazy. She was a political reporter for NHK, a public broadcasting firm that employed her to cover the election scene and governmental proceedings in Tokyo, Japan. Her job required her to give it her all. In a single month, for instance, she logged 159 hours of overtime with just two […]

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With Halloween rapidly approaching, ‘tis the season of all thingy spooky. Here are ten pictures of ghosts captured around the world. If you didn’t believe in ghosts before, perhaps you will now. 1. Stairwell ghost in Stanley Hotel This first ghost was caught by guests at the famous Stanley Hotel in Colorado. In fact, this […]

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(Image credit: @Daibellaaa)

There are some things in life we don’t question. Unlike tying your shoes, where you might use the loop, swoop, and pull method or the bunny-around-the-tree method, the kitchen colander leaves little to interpret.

Up until this point the colander seemed like something that needed minimal directions, if any at all. Like IKEA directions! First, place in sink; second, dump in pasta. It seems unquestionable until you see this alternate method that had me looking for the face-palm emoji!

Why haven’t I been doing this my entire life?

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