//Grab the original BG color of the link
var originalBG = $(".animate").css("background-color");
//The color you want to fade too
var fadeColor = "#CCCCCC";
//Now animate on links with class = animate
$(".animate").hover(
function() {
$(this)
//Fade to the new color
.animate({backgroundColor:fadeColor}, 750)
//Fade back to original color
.animate({backgroundColor:originalBG},750)
},
function(){
}
);