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It’s a new year. So why are we holding on to lingerie and all it encompasses from decades back. Its time to get it together and rid yourselves of ill fitting, faded, falling apart undergarments.  Keep in mind the same is true for your nighties, baby dolls, chemises, teddies and negligees. If the lingerie is ill fitting then it defeats the purpose. For some odd reason we will buy a different size in cloths as our bodies change in one direction or the other. But have a difficult time doing the same for the under garments. Throw away any girdle, bras, pajamas, panties, lingerie that is tattered, stained, stretched out, etc. Those need to remain in the land of dead. I am an avid believer that, the sacred drawer should be purged twice a year. Some may feel once a year is plenty. Start by going to the lingerie dept or specialty  bras store and get fitted for the proper size bra. Measure your waist and hips, to determine your underwear size. Many of us want to pretend the number is irrelevant..  When in actuality that notion is far from the truth. Based on that lovely info, time to gage what sizes we really need to wear for proper fit. Understanding that without a neat undergarment canvas, what ever is painted on top will not work to its potential. Once you know your size, time to get rid of those that are in your drawer that are not the proper size.  A neat trick I picked up along the way for women: take out those bras and matching undies that are still in great shape but don’t fit, place them in a vacuum sealed bag. For some as we revisit the process and revamp that drawer, down the line our sizes may change.  In those cases some of the items in the vacuum bag can get reintroduced into the drawer.

I am an advocate of feeling feminine and sexy under your cloths. Try it, goes a long way. We can have a bad hair day, have on lounge cloths or the dreaded fat pants. But with that sexy properly fitting set under our cloths we feel a whole lot better.  Now that you know your correct sizes you can pick up great deals when you see them through out the year. A well-stocked lingerie drawer with good fitting options is the perfect beginning to any fabulous day or night for that matter!

Okay I was dead tired last night but knew I needed to get a meal in before the night was over.  I literally opened the fridge for inspiration to hit. There were fresh salmon, some garlic, red bell peppers and fresh baby spinach. All of which needed to be cooked like yesterday.  So I find myself doing what I do best thinking on the fly.  This meal feeds two easily. Being that I was so proud of the finished product in both taste and presentation, I just had to share this 17 minute meal, maybe 25 minutes for the more novice chef.

Ingredients;

2 cloves of garlic

1-red bell pepper

4 cups of pre washed baby spinach

2- 6oz fresh salmon fillets

1-teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon

1 tablespoon your favorite dried herbs (mix them for a unique flavor) I used thyme and oregano

½ tablespoon of basil

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes- can omit if prefer less spice in foods

1-teaspoon of butter

Fresh cracked pepper and salt to taste

Finely dice 2 cloves of garlic.  And rough chop the bell pepper. Turn your oven on broil. Heat olive oil in non-stick skillet on medium. While oil is heating, season the skin side of salmon liberally with salt and pepper or Mrs. Dash substitute. Place salmon fillets skin side down (you may want to spray you dish with cooking spray first) in your oven safe dish. Take your butter and evenly smear a thin layer atop each fillet. Season with dried herb medley of your choice, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Place garlic and bell peppers in heated skillet for 2-4 minutes or until the peppers are starting to soften and garlic becomes aromatic. While garlic and peppers are cooking place salmon in oven for 6 mins on each side. May take a little longer depending on oven and thickness of fillet. You want the salmon to have a light pink color and easily flake with fork.  Add spinach to garlic and pepper and continue to sauté with basil, salt and pepper and red pepper flake for 4 additional minutes.

Evenly divide veggies onto plates with a fillet for a light, fulfilling and quick meal. A nice wine accompaniment to this meal would be a crisp Pinot Grigio. Enjoy and feel free to leave comments after you try the meal.

The idea of super bowl Sunday usually evokes the anticipation of great company, great food and great drinks. We party on that day as if Monday is not mere hours away. What about the parents who have the responsibility of getting their children to bed a decent hour? We have a solution. Make the evening kid –friendly during the prep process and serving of the food. Include them, therefore when its time for them to retire typically much before the festivities retires. They fill fulfilled and apart. Catalyst has some cool kid friendly menu suggestions and fun ways to serve them:

Depending on the age of the children they can assist wit peeling, chopping measuring etc.

Main Course- has them help make their own individual potpies or Mac &cheese. In ramekins, small oven safe glass dishes. The kids will enjoy can filling them with all sort of great, different items i.e., sundried tomatoes, bacon bits, petite shrimp, cauliflower, etc. Kids love to feel special.

Tasters- taking your favorite burger recipe and make patties to fit perfectly into slider size buns. With small variety of unique fixings on the side. Add food coloring to ketchup, make it interesting. Swiss cheese from the deli (yes with the holes), etc.

Drinks- Kids version of the famous black and tan beer. Make separately a chocolate shake and vanilla shake. Making sure to add less milk and little more malt to the chocolate. Needing a thicker consistency for the layering to work. Layer the chocolate shake on the bottom half of an Irish coffee mug or classic coca-cola glass and top with the vanilla milkshake. May want to place glass with first layer in freezer for 15 additional minutes, allows time to set firmer prior to layering. Garnish with a maraschino cherry or chocolate covered malt ball. (This can also be used as a dessert) Healthy version of drink is to use fresh fruit and yogurt. Mimic the official colors of the team your family is rooting for, if possible. Use same layering techniques.

Side dish- It always great when you can get kids to eat their veggies. Splurge a little on calories it is game day… Take your fresh green beans or zucchini (cut into shoestring fry style) make your own tempura batter (simple recipes on foodtv.com) or can purchase premixed–add water at grocer. Heat a cast iron skillet or heavy pot with 1/3 full oil. Lightly season your veggies with herbs i.e. basil, oregano, thyme. Dip in batter lightly and place in oil. Fry until golden brown and float to the top. Serve with marinara sauce or ranch dressing.

Dessert: Keep it simple by buying prepared sugar cookie dough, and two or three prepared icings. Get out your favorite football inspired cookie cutters. Make cool shaped football themed cookies. Have fun using the store bought to make stitch makes on the football. Or teams logo on the helmet or pendant shaped cookies. May also want to purchase mini M&M’s, nuts, sprinkles etc. Let children be unique with there edible creation. Not only will they enjoy the process of making the treats but love showing them off at school on Monday.

So remember when preparing a kid’s choice menu keep it simple, fun and of course delicious.

As we all know Valentines Day is typically devoted to sharing a romantic day/evening with that special significant other in your life. What about those that are single. Lets not waste any moment to have a reason for a girls get together. Take advantage of the deals on sweets (chocolates especially), champagne, wine, services, personal chef’s, etc. Due to the demand. Here is your outline to planning a cute alternate celebration.

§ Host the get together in your home. Challenge yourself to move furniture around to create a different space within your existing space

§ Make a guest list of all of your single girlfriends, family members and maybe co-workers who like to have a good time. Should at most 20 depending on your space.

§ Think outside the box for colors, menus, theme, and entertainment. Tip Red is overkill, as its synonymous with LOVE Try a subtle hue i.e., beige and light gold, silver and white, tiffany blue, brown and pink, etc.

§ Set Budget. Having a realistic budget helps to make the planning process stress free. Don’t go into Debt!! Not that serious.

§ Set time frame that works for most on your guest list in theory. And send out Evites. Very economical and convenient.

§ Will this be a pamper party with Massages and pedi’s or a male revue, a wine tasting for several regions, pole or belly dancing lessons there are a million services available to enhance the entertainment aspect of your party. Know your crowd’s interest when choosing you don’t want to be offensive.

§ Choose a menu that’s indulgent and rich. Hey why not!! –If in your budget have all or part catered. A cost saving method: have each guest bring a specific item.

§ Be creative with your parting gift. It should make sense with the theme of your party. I.e., wine tasting –a unique wine stopper (don’t have to be all the same) or mini wine bottle (split) with pairing card.

§ Keep mood upbeat with music, get to know you games, trivia and libations!!!

Catalyst Events and Designs can take on all the details to make your Valentines Day gathering an ease for you. Call for more details!! 734-763-0612.

Here it is.. Another end of football season. For must of us non-football enthusiast, that means the regain to Sunday and Monday as a potential date night with our mate. That doesn’t include remotes, yelling at the screen and zombie like behavior. Now enter the Big Game, The Super Bowl. In attempt not to be left out of the festivities we go to a Super Bowl Party. Well, how can we maintain our femininity while being festive?

The possibilities are endless:

A v-neck line can be sexy with the proper fitting garment and under garments. All or at least most Football Jersey’s have that neck line. You must get a jersey that fits in the bust area, showing those curves. For some of you, you may need to purchase a child’s size, in order to achieve this look. Wear your favorite, great fitting, sexy jeans with Jersey tucked taunt into them. A belt with buckle power (oversized and just don’t make since). You can either glam it up with your favorite pair of stiletto or platform boot. Or flat slouched boot pant tucked in. Be as sudle or bold with your accessories. Hey it’s a Fun Time!!!

Another look- you want a unique way to show you spirit. And super sexy at the same time. Get your jersey a little larger than the first look making sure that it’s long enough to reach top of thigh area. As you are going to take it and wear with either leggings or for the adventures sex kitten as a dress (needs to come to mid thigh. With the legging look, Make sure they are coordinating in color with the jersey), place a wide belt, can be wild w/color here under your bust line. This will give the jersey look some structure and shape. Depending on the look you are trying to achieve you can go with a killer ankle boots, knee or thigh high boots. The key to this look is to make sure jersey fits properly. If you opt to wear the dress-look have your tailor place darts in the back for added shape. So what ever team your rooting for look feminine and chic while doing so. If you need personal attention with bring this look to life. Give us a call, we will have you fabulously spirited!

I always stumble across products that I, wonder how did I ever live with out it… A product or service that I must tell my family, friends and clients about immediately. And for the winter blues that one feels about the feet, I found the cure to all be all. Its called Miracle Foot Repair “as seen on TV”. Which to to me makes it skeptical. However its the real deal. In the winter, in the Midwest specifically  we deal with snow, sub-zero temps, very dry indoor conditions due to artificial heat. Subsequently our feet take a beating. From the heavy boots, thermal socks and dry conditions are feet feel the result. Finding a product that keeps our heels and balls of feet soft are at times difficult. Well while at Big Lots (my hit or miss store) I stumbled across it for $5. I grabbed it out of desperation for something new to try. To my amazement in two days my heels began to heal. Its also great for those of us that wear high heeled shoes. I wore 4 in. stilettos for 14 hrs straight had the “ache” when I retired for the evening. I grabbed the Miracle foot repair, as per the box it helps achy feet. Once again I was impressed by the results. I have since found the product at Wal-Mart, Target, CVS and Walgreen so far. Keeping in mind that the cost at those stores ranged from $8.59- 9.99. Well worth it to keep our feet Styling even if they are all bundled up. Wouldn’t want a pure disaster when spring hits and we want sandal worthy feet. So in between you pedicures and when you need a lil TLC.  Try it!!

Another Tip from your Creative Mastermind and Fashion expert.