Ideas & Tips

One of the fastest ways to freshen up your decor is to bring a little bit of the outdoors inside, whether with a potted plant or a vase of fresh flowers. Here are our top tips for welcoming nature into your home:  Bring in potted plants: Potted plants don't have to stay outside on the patio. Real Simple magazine advises choosing a pot with at least one drainage hole in the bottom to avoid over-saturating the plant's roots with water. Buy potting soil from your favorite plant nursery, and remember that succulents and cacti require a unique soil blend. Be sure...

Whether you love to cook Asian cuisine or prefer to order take-out, elevate your favorite Chinese, Japanese or Thai meal to the next level with elegant Eastern-inspired table settings. Here are some tips for party-ready Asian dining:  Asian color palette: HGTV recommends using a focused color palette to reinforce your chosen theme. Red and gold shades evoke a vibrant, celebratory mood, while muted blues and greens can elicit a more serene aesthetic.  Centerpieces: For a simple and inexpensive centerpiece, artfully group stones together in the middle of your table. Alternatively, take Better Homes & Garden's advice and create a minimal...

How do you throw a pizza party for grown-ups? Make it gourmet! Fun and unique, this is one dinner soiree that your guests will be talking about for weeks. Here are our ingredients for making you the host with the most:  Antipasto: Lifestyle magazine Southern Living recommends starting your meal with a prettily prepared antipasto platter. Your cured meats, bruschetta, veggies and gourmet cheese will look particularly distinguished arranged on a brushed stainless steel serving plates.  Cheese: Be sure to buy mozzarella — the classic pizza cheese. Asiago, Parmesan and/or Romano are also delicious. Ricotta, goat, blue, Brie and Manchego cheese work...

Do you ever find yourself tasting a meal you've prepared and realizing it just doesn't have enough flavor? Do you dump loads of grocery store spices into your dishes, only to be put off by their bland, vague taste? It may be time to look into grinding your own spices, which is easy to do if you have the right equipment. Spices begin to lose their flavor as soon as they're ground, so when you buy prepackaged spices in the supermarket, they're already starting to go south, flavor-wise. Home-ground spices are obviously the right choice in terms of flavor, but...

We recently discussed some healthy snacking options, but even the best snack in the world won't turn your day around if you failed to eat a healthy breakfast. After all, it's called the most important meal of the day for a reason! Here are some of our favorite ways to start the morning:  Breakfast burrito: Women's Health Magazine suggests a lighter twist on your favorite breakfast burrito. Use a whole-wheat tortilla and egg whites to add fiber and cut fat. Some black beans and fat-free cheese provide extra protein.  Cereal: Make Cooking Light's three-grain breakfast cereal with walnuts and dried...