Ideas & Tips

If there was to be only one rule for appropriate utensil placement it is that everything has to be neat or, more specifically, geometrically spaced with the centerpiece consummately controlling the center and the placements sitting at equal distances from each other. So long as this rule is recognized, it is difficult to create an unsightly dinner presentation.  There are several other general decrees. The knives are always situated with the cutting edge pointing toward the plate. Dessert spoons and forks are catered in with the dessert. Also, never place more than three of any utensil. If there are more than...

Making your own soap is a great way to be creative and thrifty at the same time. Throughout its long and colorful history, soap making has taken on a life of its own as a sub-culture with numerous enthusiastic participants. Ann Bramson, a handmade soap pioneer and author of Soap, writes in her book, "Where the hard pastel-colored bars sold at the drugstore are anonymous and indifferent, homemade soap has character. It charms…it smells good…feels good…is comforting in ways which manufactured soap can never be." When the process is broken down to its most basic elements, soap is merely the outcome...

Tea parties aren't just for kids! Next time you host a gathering for a group of women — perhaps a bridal or baby shower, book club or luncheon — throw a grown up tea party. Here are some tips for sipping in style:  Encourage hats: Be sure to send out traditional invitations on pretty stationery. Encourage your guests to wear their favorite tea party attire, including pretty, Kate Middleton-inspired hats.  Make dainty sandwiches: Sandwiches make great tea party fare, especially if you remove the crusts and divide them into tiny, bite-sized pieces. If you're feeling especially creative, use cookie cutters...

Tired of all your old standby dinner recipes? Why not mix things up and try serving your family breakfast for dinner? Also known as "brinner," your kids are sure to love having foods normally reserved for the morning hours during the last meal of the day. You may even want to make it a fun weekly tradition! Here are some ideas to get you started: Breakfast burritos: Incorporate a Mexican food twist to your brinner when you set up a breakfast burrito bar. Wrap some warm tortillas loosely in a cotton dish towel and arrange in an attractive fruite bowl...

There is nothing wrong with enjoying ice cream in the winter. As a food, ice cream comes with numerous health benefits. It is both a source of vitamins A, B-6, B-12, C, D and E and it increases the amount of thrombotonin in the human brain, a hormone attached to our happiness and the reduction of stress. But there are several other reasons for eating ice cream, even in the winter, with perhaps most of all being that it tastes good. Still, if detractors attempt to rain on your pistachio parade, here are other ice cream perks that make eating it at...