DigsMagazine.com | host: Rx for Xs & Os

be the perfect host/ess

a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

02.03.2005

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Rx for Xs & Os an aphrodisiac-inspired Valentine's Day fete by Mandy Karls | 1 2 3 4
continued from page 2

liquid love
With a little imagination you can transform your favorite libations into love potions too. Premix your favorite drinks in carafes or punch bowls and label them with cute names that allude to the theme. A mint mojito becomes "Mojo-ito" while a lemon sour can be billed as a "Pucker Up." Pomegranate seeds, red berries, and grenadine can make any drink blush. Remember to offer non-alcoholic options too. Conveniently, designating any "mocktail" as a "virgin" will seem apropos for this affair.

perfect scents
Smell stimulates the brain's memory and emotion centers, activating our primal desires. Scents including jasmine, musk, opium and ylang-ylang have traditionally been used as aphrodisiacs, but some studies indicate that the smell of cinnamon rolls and pumpkin pie can also do the trick. If you don't feel like baking, don't fret, fresh flowers, incense, scented candles and fragrant oils can all be used to perfume a room.

loo to-dos
Expand the theme beyond the main gathering areas of your home. Your bathroom can be a mini-retreat with scented soaps, candles, and other extras. Surprise your guests with a basket filled with mints, fragrance samples, lotions and stacks of soft hand-towels.

eye candy
Colors can also trigger a variety of emotions. Take advantage of this phenomenon and decorate with reds and oranges to stimulate psyches and charge the room with romantic energy. Replacing white light bulbs with red ones can instantly and inexpensively make any room feel exciting. Straight-sided vases and glasses filled with varying levels of food color-tinted water mimic the look of potion-filled beakers. Float a candle in each to illuminate the liquid and create a sassy centerpiece.

keep on moseying folks...

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