Ideas & Tips — Home

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...

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...

If you're like most people, you probably make ambitious goals with the best of intentions but then find yourself struggling to meet them. Here are some tips for setting yourself up for success from sociologist, life coach and O Magazine columnist Martha Beck: Identify your goal: You'd be surprised how many people fail to clearly identify their goal. Rather than saying you plan "to lose weight," commit to losing 10 pounds.  Break it down: Next, Beck suggests breaking down your goal into a single daily task, such as exercising for 30 minutes. Then keep dividing it in half until it...

It's the middle of winter, your garden is frozen, and the herbs you can get in the grocery store just aren't cutting it anymore. What's an herb lover to do? You might think you would need an elaborate indoor lighting setup to grow herbs indoors during the winter, but fortunately, all you really need is a spot that gets a good amount of light and the right knowledge and techniques. Here are some tips to get you started: Start out with a strong plant. If the plant you choose already has brown or wilted leaves before you even bring it home,...