If you're looking for quality blackout curtains that aren't drab, these are your best bet. 

The Best Home Fashion blackout curtains block out 99.9% of light and insulate against heat and cold — so they're perfect for anyone who has trouble sleeping.

But unlike most black-colored blackout curtains, these come in six beautiful shades that will add warmth and color to your room.

Pro-tip: If you're someone who prefers to sleep in really late, go for the black or navy options.

Best Home Fashion wide width grommet top thermal blackout curtains: $79.99$42.37[47% off]

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New York Times food writer Mark Bittman claims to have discovered the secret to perfect pasta: water.

In the New York Times Magazine last week, Bittman wrote about this discovery during a recent trip to Rome while hanging out with a chef named Flavio de Maio:

...the secret, as it turns out, is to stir the mostly cooked pasta quite vigorously so that its starch emulsifies with the seasonings and added water. 

After reading this, I wondered if it really could be so simple. Over the weekend, I gave it a try with Bittman's recipe for cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper pasta). Three ingredients: pasta, cheese, and pepper. Plus the starchy pasta water of course. 

It turns out that to make an amazing dish — a simple but hearty upgrade from mac and cheese — it takes about 20 minutes all in. I eat gluten free (I know), so I made this recipe twice, with regular pasta and gluten free pasta, to see if they both came out creamy. 

As expected, the pasta with gluten came out smoother and creamier, but for quinoa pasta, the gluten free stuff was pretty good. The leftovers were also softer than the usual basically-raw-again crunchy stuff that you usually get when you try to eat gluten free pasta after its been in the fridge. 

(Big thanks to my wonderful co-chef, Steve Rousseau)

This is what you'll need. A box of pasta, some olive oil, water, salt, pepper, and two kinds of cheese (a cup and a half of Parmesan and a cup of Romano, grated). The recipe serves two, more or less.

Start making the pasta. Add salt to water in a pot, then bring it to a boil, then add the pasta. Some people will tell you that adding salt makes the water boil faster. This is incorrect. Adding salt makes the pasta more delicious. Cook the pasta for the number of minutes directed on the box, minus one.

While your pasta is cooking, make the cheese paste. Combine the grated cheese, salt, and pepper with "just enough cold water to make a thick paste." Mash it together and spread it around the bowl.

Leather and water don't mix.

While leather shoes won't exactly get ruined in the rain, you should still be careful when wet weather hits.

Yes, shoes are obviously made to be worn, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take a few precautions to safeguard your investment.

The best way to protect your leather shoes are to own a pair of rubber galoshes, or overshoes. They fit over your shoes and work spectacularly well to make sure your feet and shoes stay dry. Keep a pair at home and a pair in your desk drawer case of a sudden downpour.

The best galoshes you can buy are Swims, but if spending nearly $100 on a shoe that isn't even really a shoe isn't for you, there are plenty of cheaper options on Amazon.

Many guys don't realize that some of their fancier (and more expensive) dress shoes often come with leather soles. And while leather soles do provide great traction and a classy appearance, wearing them in the rain can ruin them.

Here's why, as pointed out by style blog PutThisOn:

• Leather soaks up water like a sponge. Just like your skin, leather needs a certain amount of moisture to stay strong and supple. But this amount of water can damage the leather, and make it break down prematurely.
• After your soles get wet, your socks will instantly get soaked. It goes without saying that wet socks are always unpleasant.
• When leather is wet, it's much more easily damaged. You wouldn't want a chunk or two taken out of your expensive leather shoes just because they got wet.

How can you avoid these footwear catastrophes? Simple: wear rubber.

PutThisOn recommends Danite Rubber soles, which retain the sleek profile of leather but can take a beating even when wet. A shoe like Allen Edmonds' University Wingtip comes with Danite soles, but any cobbler can also resole any recraftable dress shoe with a rubber sole.

If you do end up wearing your leather-soled dress shoes in rain, stuff some newspaper or stick them in rice to soak up the moisture and allow them to dry before wearing them again.

Basically: in the game of "leather, rubber, water," water beats leather. But rubber beats water.

SEE ALSO: 12 online services that make it really easy to dress like a modern gentleman

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A survey of over 1,000 American families by Care.com found that the average hourly wage for babysitters across the US is $13.44 — the same as 2014, but up 28% from $10.50 in 2009.

In major cities, a sitter is even pricier: about $14 in Los Angeles, $15 in New York, and nearly $17 in San Francisco. 

The majority of families hiring someone to watch the kids let their sitters set the rate, 40% base the pay on what their friends pay sitters, and 20% use a pay rate calculator. Over a quarter of families tip their sitters on top of their pay. 

There's some especially good news for sitters, though: 87% of families surveyed would give their favorite babysitter a raise.

SEE ALSO: Use this one measure to figure out if your kids are spoiled

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There's nothing better for your health than a good night's sleep.

People who sleep well have fewer heart problems, are less likely to make risky financial decisions, and are in better shape.

So in order to sleep better at night, we recommend getting a mattress topper.

We picked four of our favorites (that are all super discounted right now.)

A memory foam mattress topper

Memory foam conforms to your body perfectly, which reduces pressure points that cause you to toss and turn at night.

Pro-tip: These toppers come in various widths (from 2" to 4"). If you're a bigger person we recommend selecting a thicker model.

Memory Foam Solutions:$659.99$113.99[up to 83% off]

A latex soft mattress topper

If regular memory foam isn't enough for you, go for the latex mattress topper.

It provides 33% more pressure relief than conventional foam and fiber cushioning materials.

Plus, it won't bunch, flatten, or sag.

Ultimate dreams Talalay latex soft mattress topper: $599.00$354.00 [up to 42% off]

Gel infused memory foam mattress topper

Another option is the gel infused memory foam topper, which is known for its therapeutic qualities and orthopedic support.

This gel mattress topper specifically helps relieve neck, back and shoulder pain.

And because the foam curves around your body, it helps relieve stress, joint and muscle pain and even arthritis.

The Milliard gel infused memory foam mattress topper + ultra soft removable bamboo cover: $369.00$84.99[up to 77% off]

The best quality for the price mattress topper

And if you want the best quality for a lower-priced model, this mattress topper is your go-to.

"High-quality yet super affordable; I was initially worried it was going to be cheaply made, but not at all -- it's just as nice as the more expensive toppers I've owned in the past, if not better," one reviewer wrote.

Best Price Mattress memory foam mattress topper:$265.00$122.76[up to 54% off]

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A home needing some serious work just sold for $411,000 over its asking price, Curbed SF reports.

The four-bedroom home, located in San Francisco's Outer Sunset neighborhood, was listed for $799,000 in February and sold for $1.21 million just two weeks after coming onto the market. 

That's roughly 50% above asking and a lot for a house that even the listing warns is "in a deteriorative state; needs everything, not for the novice." According to Redfin, the buyer paid in cash. 

It's just another example of how crazy the San Francisco real estate market has become. 

From the outside, the home looks totally run down.

Whoever bought the house will have to put in a lot of work to get it back in shape. Curbed speculated they'll end up flipping it for more money after the remodel.

Here's a look at the bathroom. It obviously could use a paint job.

The research suggests that men are more likely to cheat on their spouses than women. 

Not only that, they're also more like to "poach" somebody else's mate.

But according to a 2011 Dutch study, those behaviors aren't due to men's insatiable appetites for flesh, but because they're more likely to hold powerful positions in the world. 

Tilburg University psychologist Joris Lammers and his team surveyed 1,561 professionals, asking how high up in their organizations they were and their history or interest in cheating.

"Results showed that elevated power is positively associated with infidelity because power increases confidence in the ability to attract partners," they wrote, adding that the association held for a personal history of cheating and an intention of doing so in the future.

The gender that a person was born into did not predict cheating. It was the station they held in life. 

"The relationship between power and infidelity was the same for women as for men," the authors wrote. "These findings suggest that the common assumption (and often-found effect) that women are less likely than men to engage in infidelity is, at least partially, a reflection of traditional gender-based differences in power that exist in society." 

The study adds to a growing wealth of information around how power effects people's behavior. Beyond being more likely to cheat on their spouses, people who feel powerful are more likely to commit traffic violations, feel distant from other people, and find their own life story more inspiring than anybody else's. 

"As a social psychologist, I believe that the situation is everything and that the situation or instance is often stronger than the individual," Lammers said in a statement. "As more and more women are in greater positions of power and are considered equal to men, then familiar assumptions about their behavior may also change."

Which would be an unexpected fallout of gender equality, to say the least.

SEE ALSO: Science says these 9 tactics will help you win any argument

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Manny Pacquiao had to get creative to buy his new mansion in Beverly Hills.

In addition to paying $12.5 million for the 10,000 square-foot sprawl, Pacquiao also gave the seller four tickets to his fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr., according to Martin Rogers of USA Today. 

Tickets are priced as high as $7,500.

Pacquiao's realtor told Rogers the tickets "no doubt" helped him get the house over two other bidders.

The seven-bedroom, eight-bath mansion has a sleek, bright interior with gorgeous backyard views overlooking Beverly Hills.

The house also has an in-home theater and a beautiful back patio with a pool and lounge area.

The house is an exclusive, gated community.

The entrance is two stories high with a fountain centered in the driveway.

The entrance with a winding staircase.

Meet the guitar for the modern day rockstar.

The Jamstik Wireless Smart Guitar feels and performs like a normal guitar, but you hook it up to an iPad to use Apple music apps.

This gadget guitar is easy to set up and doesn't require any tuning. Plus, you can control the volume so your neighbors won't complain about the noise.

"The Jamstik is cool-as-hell... Turn your iPad into a real instrument," John Brownlee of Cultofmac.com noted.

The Jamstik is perfect for all-level guitarists.

Jamstik Wireless Smart Guitar: $299$199[33% off]

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If you're bored ordering the same Mocha Frappuccino, we have a solution. 

The website Starbucks Secret Menu lists dozens of new combinations for the frozen favorite. 

If you try this in stores, baristas recommend knowing which ingredients come in the Frappuccino when you order. Starbucks workers aren't briefed on the secret menu, and so instructions are a must. 

Here are some of the best "secret" Frappuccinos: 

• Cookie Dough: Order a Cinnamon Dolce Creme Frappuccino. Add mocha syrup (1 pump for tall, 2 pumps for grande, 3 pumps for venti). Ask for java chips blended in, top with cookie crumble. 
• Red Velvet: Order a half White Chocolate/half regular Mocha Frappuccino. Add raspberry syrup (1 pump for tall, 2 pumps for grande, 3 pumps for venti). Top with whipped cream. 
• Cap'n Crunch: Order a Strawberries and Creme Frappuccino. Add caramel syrup (1/2 pump for tall, 1 pump for grande, 1.5 pumps for venti). Add toffee syrup (1 pump for tall, 1.5 pumps for grande, 2 pumps for venti). Add hazelnut syrup (1/2 pump for tall, 1 pump for grande, 1.5 pumps for venti). Add java chips if you want some crunch. 
• Cotton Candy: Order a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino. Add raspberry syrup (1 pump for tall, 1.5 pumps for grande, 2 pumps for venti). 
• Neapolitan: Order a Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino. Add a scoop of vanilla bean powder (1.5 scoops for a venti). Add mocha syrup (1 pump for tall, 2 pump for grande, 3 for venti). Top with chocolate syrup and chocolate whipped cream. 
• Ferrero Roche: Order a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino. Add mocha syrup (2 pumps for tall, 3 for grande, 3.5 for venti). Add hazelnut syrup (1 pump for tall, 1.5 for grande, 2 for venti). Add hazelnut drizzle. 
• Cake Batter: Order a Vanilla Creme Frappuccino. Add almond syrup (1 pump for tall, 1.5 pumps for grande, 2 for pumps venti)
• Oreo: Order a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino. Blend with white mocha instead of regular. Top with chocolate or regular whipped cream. 
• Caramel Mocha Chip: Order a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino. Add bittersweet mocha sauce (1 pump for tall, 2 pumps for grande, 3 pumps for venti). Line the cup with caramel drizzle. Top with chocolate whipped cream, caramel drizzle, and cookie crumbs. 
• Chocolate-Covered Raspberry: Order a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino. Add java chips. Add raspberry syrup (2 pumps for tall, 2 pumps for grande and venti). Line the inside of the cup with mocha sauce. Top with raspberry whip and mocha drizzle.
• Horchata: Order a Tazo Chai Creme Frappuccino. Add vanilla syrup (1/2 pump for tall, 1 pump for grande, 1.5 pumps for venti). Add cinnamon dolce syrup (1 pump for tall, 2 pumps for grande, 3 pumps for venti). Add chai syrup (2 pumps for tall, 3 pumps for grande, 4 pumps for venti). Cinnamon dusted on top. 

SEE ALSO: 35 companies changing the way we shop and eat

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If you're planning a movie night anytime soon, we recommend you check out one of these movies.

We've put together a list of great classic movies that are new additions on Amazon Prime. They range from the Star Trek series to the latest Ken Burns documentary.

But you'll need to get the popcorn yourself.

Groundhog Day [HD]

In a sentence, another great Bill Murray film.

A grumpy weatherman (played by Murray) is experiencing Groundhog Day over and over again. Eventually, he starts to reevaluate his life and change for the better.

Price: from $2.99 to $12.99

Amistad [HD]

Amistad is based on the true story of a 1839 mutiny abroad a slave ship traveling towards the Northeast Coast of America.

And Morgan Freeman is in it.

Price: from $2.99 to $14.99

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan [HD]

We're going to go ahead and declare this the best Star Trek movie ever made (sorry, TNG fans.)

In the film, the genetically engineered tyrant Khan returns while the aging characters are struggling with their own mid-life crises.

Price: from $2.99 to $13.99

Godzilla [HD]

The 1998 remake of the classic monster attacking New York City story.

If you need to jog your memory, this one's starring Matthew Broderick and Jean Reno.

Price: $2.99 to $12.99

Ken Burns: The Roosevelts - An Intimate History Season 1 [HD]

Documentarian Ken Burns is at it again, and this time here's exploring the lives of Theodore, Frankling and Eleanor Roosevelt — some of the biggest names in US politics ever.

Price: $39.99

My Bloody Valentine (1981) [HD]

This Canadian cult classic violent slasher film from the 1980's is now up on Amazon Prime.

If this is your kind of thing, enjoy.

Price: $2.99 to $14.99

Leprechaun [HD]

The horror-comedy film "Leprechaun" (and it's numerous sequels) are now also available.

Fun fact: this movie was Jennifer Aniston's first big thing — even before Friends.

Price: $2.99 to $4.99

But there's way more than just these options. 

Check out the full list of the best things coming to Amazon Prime in April below:

• 29 Palms [HD]
• Adaption [HD]
• Amistad [HD]
• And Now, Ladies & Gentlemen
• Autumn in New York [HD]
• Belly [HD]
• Bloody Sunday
• Cool World
• Craig Ferguson: Does This Need To Be Said [HD]
• Death Wish [HD]
• Death Wish 2 [HD]
• Delicacy (English Subtitles) [HD]
• Dick Cavett's Watergate
• Enter the Ninja
• Escape from Alcatraz [HD]
• Finding Your Roots Season 2 [HD]
• Flesh & Blood [HD]
• Frankenstein
• French Connection II [HD]
• Godzilla [HD]
• Going Overboard [HD]
• Great Estates of Scotland Season 1 [HD]
• Groundhog Day [HD]
• Hercules in New York [HD]
• Ken Burns: The Roosevelts - An Intimate History Season 1 [HD]
• Kicking and Screaming [HD]
• Lay the Favorite [HD]
• Leprechaun [HD]
• Leprechaun 2 [HD]
• Leprechaun 3 [HD]
• Leprechaun 4: In Space
• Leprechaun 5 (aka Leprechaun in the Hood) [HD]
• Leprechaun: Back 2 Tha Hood
• Little Women (1994) [HD]
• MAKERS Season 2 [HD]
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil [HD]
• Mommie Dearest [HD]
• My Bloody Valentine (1981) [HD]
• My Old Lady [HD]
• Noah [HD]
• Ping Pong Summer [HD]
• Racing with the Moon [HD]
• Sand Wars [HD]
• Saved! [HD]
• Scary Movie 3.5 [HD]
• Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers [HD]
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan [HD]
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock [HD]
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier [HD]
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture [HD]
• Submarine [HD]
• Suicide Kings
• The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland [HD]
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert [HD]
• The Bounty [HD]
• The Brothers Grimm [HD]
• The Dead Zone [HD]
• The Mystery of Agatha Christine with David Suchet [HD]
• The Quiet Ones [HD]
• The Reckoning
• The Thing Called Love [HD]
• They Came Together [HD]
• Till Human Voices Wake Us
• Time Scanners: Season 1 [HD]
• Trekkies
• Unforgettable [HD]
• Winnebago Man
• Wooly Boys [HD]

  ---

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Shanna Mahin has worked for a variety of celebrity clients. She can't reveal who they are, but she can share what she's learned from her time serving them. Below are nine of those lessons.

1. Getting the job is tough!

Good assistants are hard to find and are valued, but getting your foot in the door can be a big challenge.

Most assistants get stolen from agents, film sets or other actors, but if you're still determined to give it a shot, buff up your resume to a polished sheen and try the big staffing companies around town.

In addition to providing maids, nannies, house managers and the like, they sometimes get assistant jobs.

But be warned: if a celebrity has to use an agency to snag an assistant, chances are they've already got a closet full of assistant skeletons. Proceed with caution.

2. Celebrity assistants can make a lot of money.

$75k-200k/year. But when you factor in the odd hours, late nights, and 24/7 commitment, it's not nearly as much as you think.

3. Not all celebrities are alike.

Some may have the delightful reputation of George Clooney, but others are emotional wrecks who treat their assistants like shit. You will not be able to parse this on the initial interview, or possibly even during your first few weeks of work.

They're actors. They're good at acting normal.

4. You may get to experience the lifestyle of the rich and famous, but you'll always be looking in.

As a celebrity assistant, you're neither rich nor famous, and you will be reminded of that every time you deposit your paycheck.

5. Didn't like doing your homework in high school? Tough.

You may find yourself doing homework for your celebrity's kids. In their handwriting, of course. Anything less than an A is unacceptable.

People may want to talk to you, but you’re not the end goal. You're merely the gatekeeper to someone more interesting, and once they get past you, there’s no looking back.

6. You'll find yourself running interference with bad dates and drug dealers.

And doing the dishes if the maid doesn’t show, carrying luggage that outweighs you, and babysitting bratty offspring.

The payoff? Well, that depends on who you’re working for, but your big reward is probably going to be the dregs from party gift bags and a paycheck that is going to keep you living in a very different zip code from the one you’re working in.

7. Don't plan on having a life.

Your own, that is. While being a celebrity assistant may mean you get to travel to glamorous destinations and meet interesting people, it also means being at the beck and call of your celebrity at all times.

You may need to fly somewhere in the middle of the night, or leave your best friend's party to fetch laundry at a moment’s notice. And forget dating — you're in a committed relationship with your celebrity.

8. Life as a celebrity assistant is rarely glamorous.

Sure, you get to drink a lychee martini or two in an exotic locale every once in a while, but while you're there you'll likely to be on the receiving end of a 3:00 a.m. phone call requesting emergency tampons/a pregnancy test/condoms. Good luck finding a 12-pack of Trojan Extra Large on an island where the solar electricity poops out at 10:00 p.m.

9. Sometimes it feels like you're a paid best friend.

This isn’t a bad thing, but if you end up hanging out with other people in their crowd, the moment will come when you get flipped back to work status and it can be awkward. No matter what intimacies you share, at the end of the day, you're still the hired help.

Shanna Mahin has worked for a variety of celebrity clients, and like most former and current celebrity assistants, her lips are sealed. Her book OH! YOU PRETTY THINGS is out in April from Dutton.

SEE ALSO: 19 high-paying jobs for people who don't like stress

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The BI Life team gives us a crash course on Spanx. Spanx is an American hosiery company founded in 2000 by Sara Blakely.

The company mainly manufactures pantyhose and other undergarments for women and, since 2010, produces male garments. Spanx specializes in foundation garments, including undergarments and bodysuit shape wear, which are intended to give the wearer a slim and shapely appearance.

Produced by Joe Avella

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Taco Bell just unveiled the "biscuit taco" – a new breakfast item that looks exactly as it sounds. We tried the biscuit taco with fried chicken and another somewhat more traditional biscuit taco filled with sausage, egg, and cheese.

Produced by Will Wei& Joe Avella

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If you're looking for an affordable camera that will take incredible pictures, we recommend you check out this deal.

This Canon PowerShot digital camera has a 16.0 megapixel high-sensitivity CMOS sensor combined with the Canon DIGIC 4+ Image Processor.

Additionally, it has a 42x Optical Zoom and a 24mm Wide-Angle lens.

"This camera takes excellent pictures and the zoom is great!" one reviewer wrote. Another added that "this camera is a superb entry level, or semi-pro camera."

Sounds like a deal to us.

Canon PowerShot SX520 16Digital Camera with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 3-inch LCD (Black):$329.00$199.00[40% off]

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A fashion trend that began in rural Mexico and swept up through large portions of Texas and Oklahoma has recently made it to the fashion runways of Paris.

The trend is men wearing very pointy boots. Absurdly pointy. As in, you'll-poke-your-eye-out, how-can-you-even-walk-in-these pointy. Safe to say these are not just the opposite of square toe.

They're called guarachero boots and some feature a point so severe that they actually curl upward, reaching incredibly unwieldy proportions.

Like these: 

According to NPR, the boots, called "guaracheros," originated in rural Mexico. But for the first time, the boots have gone completely mainstream. Designer French fashion house Comme des Garçons makes a black ankle-high boot clearly inspired by the trend, called the Guarachero Boot. 

They retail for $515.

How did a boot with such proportions catch the eyes of designers and reach the runways of Paris? Like many fashion trends, its beginnings are humble.

The boot is inseparable from the trend of tribal (pronounced tree-val) guarachero music, which NPR describes as "a mix of pre-Hispanic sounds, cumbia rhythms and techno." Both originated in the rural town of Matehuala in the San Luis Potosi region of Mexico, as did the angular boots.

As Vice notes in a short documentary on the footwear, the pointed boots all started when someone sharpened his shoes. This caught the eye of someone from another neighboring town, who also sharpened his shoes. A competition for the sharpest shoes began, and it wouldn't end until the points reached epic proportions.

"Then people started making them pointier and pointer, until it got out of control," one young man from the documentary quoted by NPR said, who they noted "fashions pointy boots out of water hoses."

Soon, the pointy trend began spreading across Mexico and Hispanic communities in the US, taking the music along with it. NPR notes that "residents of Matehuala started wearing the boots in tribal dancing competitions at clubs, rodeos and quinceañeras."

The quick spread of the boots can be attributed to popular DJs and musicians who have taken up the trend and spread it worldwide. NPR notes that DJs like Erick Rincon and the French David Guetta have featured them in their music videos, leading to a sharp uptick in popularity.

Which is how they became so popular and came to be featured prominently in the spring/summer fashion show of CDG.

That's how we end up with these photos: 

CDG's boots differ quite a bit from their Mexican inspiration. Refinery29 notes that they're based off the Chelsea boot, rather than the more traditional cowboy boot, with side gussets and easy pull on tabs.

Refinery29 also wondered whether a $515 designer boot based on something usually made "on the cheap" was appropriate, but notes that anyone who was a fan of the DJs who brought the boot popularity would probably go nuts for it (if they had the money). Indeed, the web shop Ssense is sold out of all but two sizes.

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Wine is expensive, relative to nearly any other beverage. Even if you aren't drinking a high-end wine, there are much cheaper things to drink. 

That premium is the result of a long and laborious growing and production process. The outcome is a drink that ideally provides a complex, food-friendly experience that justifies the price.

Given the investment, don't you want to get everything you can out of that glass of wine?

Here are five things you can do to increase the flavors found in wine. They'll work whether you paid $7 for a bottle, or $7,000.

1. Aerate you wine. Wine is a living, breathing thing. It evolves as it ferments, and continues to evolve as it is stored. One of the key things to keeping wine alive is to keep the juice away from oxygen. In a relatively short period of time — usually a day or so — exposure to oxygen will eliminate much of the volatiles that create the smells that influence our sense of taste with wine. 

However, until it dies, oxygen helps “open up” and release the flavors of a wine, primarily because unpleasant volatiles die first and harsh tannins will soften. When you open a bottle of wine, the small opening at the top of the bottle allows minimal oxygen in. To maximize aeration, you need to allow the wine to get exposed to oxygen more rapidly. Here are some tips for decanting:

• Pour the wine into a decanter. The act of pouring the wine into the decanter agitates the wine, and the design of a decanter allows more of the wine to come in contact with the air (relative to the small opening of the bottle.) If you drink a lot of red wines, especially big, bold, wines that could use some softening up (a high-alcohol wine or a young Cabernet Sauvignon, a big Syrah ot Shiraz, a Rioja, a big Malbec, etc.)
• Don’t have a decanter? Pour your wine into a pitcher with a wide opening. I have an iced tea pitcher that would work almost as well as a real decanter. Most wines need 60 to 90 minutes of decanting, and some really big, complex wines could decant for 6+ hours, but even 30 minutes will help.
• Don’t have time to decant?  An aerator will really help. I’ve done numerous tests where I’ll compare a wine run through an aerator vs. one poured directly from a newly opened bottle, and it is always extremely clear which glass has been aerated. There are many designs and products, but the Vinturi is the most popular. I use an aeration stick made by Brookstone that aerates an entire bottle at once. I’m sure many others work well, but I don’t have first hand experience with them. 
• Don’t have an aerator?  You can use your blender. Pour a bottle of wine into your blender and run on your lowest setting for 15 seconds, and your wine will be well-aerated. Once aerated, you need to pour the wine back into the bottle (use a funnel) or a pitcher, and it just isn’t very convenient. But it works! 
• Aeration is worth the energy if you want to get the most out of your red wine. If you have a straightforward white (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, etc.) there is less benefit. Some rarer white wines are decanted, but as a rule you can avoid this step with whites.

2. Agitate your wine. Hold the stem of a properly sized glass and softly move your glass in a circular motion so that a mini-whirlpool forms in the glass.  The agitation helps to release the volatiles that create the unique smells of wine, and makes them easier to capture. 

3. Smell your wine. You don’t need to be obnoxious, but most people sniff their wine like they have a slight cold. Get your nose in there and take a whiff! The smells will stay with you as you take a sip. 

4. Use a good wine glass. What’s most important is the size of the glass. You need to have a bowl large enough so that a typical pour (4 to 5 ounces) occupies no more than one quarter of the glass for reds, and one-third to one-half a glass for whites. This is, again, for that all-important exposure to air, and so you have room to agitate you wine.

I prefer glassware with a very thin glass wall.  Sure, they are more breakable, but are much more enjoyable to drink out of and hold. There are varietal-specific wine glasses for nearly every grape varietal. I went to a tasting hosted by Riedel, a very famous glassware manufacturer, and tasted wines in the “proper” glass for each grape.  It was really interesting, and I believe the various glasses did improve the smells of the wines.

Do I have specific glasses at home? Nope. I prefer to use my money to buy more wine than glassware. If you have a good red and a white wine glass, you’re in great shape. Some say you should only hold the glass by the stem because your hand warms up the wine. I think that goes a bit overboard  — I use stemless glasses almost all the time and I’ve never had an issue with them.

5. “Chew” your wine. Go to a wine industry tasting, and it sounds like the entire room is using mouthwash at the same time. Professionals aggressively move the wine around in their mouths to ensure that all of their taste buds are engaged before they swallow (or spit) their sip. Try it. It is amazing how tastes start to emerge.  However, when having a nice meal with your family or friends, or a client, or coworker – tone it down a bit. You don’t want to be “that” person, and a more gentle movement around your mouth does virtually the same thing. 

6. Finally, a really good wine will evolve over time. At the beginning of a bottle, you might taste mostly fruit, but when you come back to the wine in an hour or so you may find more subtle flavors appearing.  Everything discussed above helps coax this out of the wine. Sometimes I catch this. Sometimes I don’t. I have no idea if it was the wine or me, and I don’t worry about it.  It’s cool when it happens, though. 

Do you have to do these things? Nope. Does it make a difference?  You bet. Try some or all of these tips with a wine you’re excited about.

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As trees begin to blossom with the start of spring, the thoughts of Christians around the globe turn to Easter. Easter is a time for those who celebrate it to be with family, friends, and loved ones.

And what better way to spend time with your favorite people than to stuff your face with delicious and traditional Easter meals? But what these time-honored treats are can differ dramatically depending on where you are in the world.

We decided to find out just what those typical dishes are. Now we're hungry.

Mexican families traditionally often spend Good Friday eating capirotada, a sweet bread pudding covered in sugary syrup, various fruits, berries, and nuts, and a layer of cheese.

Fanesca is a rich soup served in Ecuador during the week before Easter. It contains milk, gourds, pumpkins, beans, grains, peas, corn, eggs, and salted cod. It is usually served with empanadas or fried plantains.

In Jamaica, Christians eat buns and cheese on Easter. The buns, made with spices and raisins, are cut in two and eaten with slices of cheese, usually cheddar.

Freemium games have evolved into one of the most lucrative models in the video-game industry, with mobile games and their in-app purchases generating about $7-$8 billion in iOS revenue last year. It isn’t limited to mobile, either.

League of Legends, the wildly popular multiplayer online battle arena PC game is “free-to-play” as well. But “free-to-play,” like “freemium,” doesn’t really mean free – last year, the game generated over $1 billion in microtransactions.

Like many “freemium” or "free-to-play" games, League of Legends offers players the core game for free and then optionally charges them for premium content such as in-game currency, extra content, or customizations.

Players in League of Legends can purchase new champions (characters), skins (customized looks for those characters), and influence-points boosts (which help you gain IP faster from playing the game, so you can buy champions without spending money).

Champions can also be obtained for free using influence points earned while playing the game.

Here are some of the champions you can buy in League of Legends:

And here are some of the skins you can buy:

Riot also often has sales and bundles like any retail store:

After the news was announced back in October, players on the League of Legends subreddit discussed just where all that money was coming from— namely, players spending thousands of dollars per year on added content.

One Redditor, DTSuteru, estimates that he spent about $2,000 since he began playing the game in March 2013.

Another user, cguo0516, estimates having spent more than $4,000 on the game over the past three years.

Other players' situations weren't as drastic. User Cloud_Rice estimates having spent $600 on the game over the last four years, while user Jagla estimates spending $200 over the course of two to three years.

One user had an idea how people spent so much money.

"Due to the way League of Legends works ... newcomers often benefit and feel good when spending real money. You can quickly lose track of how much has been spent and the true cost of what you are buying because of the genius 'RP' conversion [In order to purchase items, you must convert money to “Riot Points”]. The game has been designed to be a cash cow from the start,” explains user ElDanesh, who estimated spending around $200 on the game.

Here's what it looks like to buy "Riot Points" in the game.

One of the most interesting things about the thread is that, despite spending a large amount of money on a video game, the users were mostly satisfied with having done so.

"In all honesty, I really don't regret spending money on the game. You can legitimately play the game [without] spending a dime. The only thing that requires cash are skins. Anything else can be bought with enough play time,” wrote user Sw0rDz.

Here’s user Captain_Canadian’s justification for spending between $1500 and $2000 on League of Legends over the last five years:

It started as supporting a smaller developer, but it turned into me wanting to stay competitive but having less time due to school and work [note:While nearly all champions can be obtained for free with enough gameplay, it can take a long time to rack up enough “Influence points” from winning games to do so]. Thankfully I make enough money that it ended up being more worth my time to just pay for the champs/skins I wanted in [League of Legends] and just work a bit longer to make up the difference.

I would rather pay $1500 and keep playing a game I enjoy with friends than have to give up the time it would take to earn enough IP for the newer champs. In the end that's basically only about 30-40 hours of work for me so it's better than playing the additional hundreds/thousands of hours it would otherwise take.

Redditor Servalpur had a similar perspective:

I'm in a similar boat. I love League, but I also have a 9-5, a wife, and a 14 month old daughter. This all equates to me playing (at the most) 2-3 games a night, and more likely one game a day. I don't have time to [earn influence points], I am however an adult with a good job. A thousand bucks over two years is more than fair to me to enjoy a hobby I like so much. God knows I've spent more on sh*t I've enjoyed less.

Not all Redditors were happy however. Many complained that despite spending so much, the game still suffers routine game bugs and server outages.

"This just shows again how [expletive] people really are and how easy it is to sell them sh*t they don't need. Good job Riot, your pyramid is awesome and works,” wrote user ChaosCore.

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Shave!

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