Photo: Thinkstock

It's happened to me: Seeking an after-dinner treat, I ransack the pantry to see if I have all the ingredients to make cookies, only to find I'm out of vanilla. Or I don't have eggs. Or I only have a half-stick of butter. Most of the time, when I'm in one of these must-bake-something-sweet-now moods, I'm not looking for the most elegant, wholesome dessert. I just want something easy and good. Enter two-ingredient baking. The concept hinges on using pre-packaged helpers like cake mix and ice cream to create something a little more special. So next time you're grocery shopping, stock up on a couple of these pairings from food bloggers, and you'll be ready when the urge to bake strikes.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
The magic two: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and an egg
What they make: Thin cookies that are crispy around the edges and chewy in the center, perfect for stacking.

Pumpkin Muffins
The magic two: Pumpkin puree and classic yellow cake mix
What they make: An incredibly moist muffin (really, who are we kidding? It's a cupcake) with a nice hit of earthy pumpkin.

•"It really felt spiritual among us:" A man buys an omelette for a stranger and sets off a mass act of kindness.

•You have permission to bring Oreos to the bake sale. The 10 secrets of highly organized people.

•After losing everything in a fire, a Dallas man finds his best friend—and hope—waiting in the ashes.

•Brussels Sprouts... with Turkey Bacon?  How to transform 5 other foods you only think you hate.

•A lesson in forgiveness: A woman is violently attacked and forced to change her name. Today, she's letting go of the past by helping imprisoned murderers.

Photo: Gregor Halenda

Just between us, the fuzz on my upper lip has gotten out of hand: If it were dark instead of blonde, I'd look like my uncle Alfonse. So I was game to try OLAY's new Hair Removal Duo, which involves a two-step process using a skin guarding balm and hair removal cream. Because my skin is sensitive, and I was concerned that I might be trading a fuzzy lip for an alarmingly irritated one, I did the 48-hour patch test and followed the directions very carefully. After smoothing on the protective balm, then coating it with the removal cream, I waited exactly six minutes before gently wiping it all off. No problem! No redness! No fuzz! ($25; drugstores)

Photo: Poppin

The weekend is within reach...let these little splurges make getting there more fun.

Prepster Desk Set, $25. Notebooks in pink and white, a green ruler and set of pens, and a white tape dispenser will give your desk a little Palm Beach flair.

Apple Slicer, $40. Position this ingenious disc-shaped slicer on an apple and rotate it to release perfect slices for snacking or cooking. Even cooler: If you don't want to eat the whole apple, leave the disc pressed against the fruit, and it won't dry out or turn brown.

Printed Ballet Flats, $25. For this price, buy an extra pair of these adorable python slippers and keep one at the office for days when you just can't take another minute of wearing  heels.

Vermont Rolling Pins, $45-$94. These pins are functional works of art, from the sleek Modern to the funky Beehive.

Image: Warner Brothers

I recently saw the movie Contagion, in which a ruthless, jet-setting, flu-like virus kills millions of people in a matter of weeks and causes global hysteria. The movie makes spreading the disease look as easy as:
1. Sick person coughs on folder.
2. Healthy person handles same folder.
3. Healthy person touches their face and--bam! Turns into dead man walking.

In a post-bird flu, post-swine flu world, we kind of knew that's how the transmission process works, but seeing Gwyneth keel over made us wonder how we might avoid that fate—or the common cold.

Surface-to-person contagion is technically called fomite transmission, says Anna Bowen, MD, MPH, a medical epidemiologist who works for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  "Generally, germs can live on surfaces for minutes to hours to days, depending on the nature of the germ and the surface." Smooth surfaces transmit viruses better than porous ones.

This is why the CDC is always reminding us to wash our hands. But we wanted to know--is a simple soap-and-water combo better than anti-bacterial gels at protecting us from Voldemort-like viruses?