Peppered Thought – The Spice of Life

The other day I found this link to public domain astronomy images and once I stopped staring wide-eyed, my mind instantly started working.

I love astronomy – I mean, obviously – and want to incorporate dreamy galaxy pictures into my home decor without it looking like a 1970s-inspired little boys’ room (not that there’s something wrong with that!).

I have found very few ideas around the web, so maybe I will just post a couple and see if I can bounce some ideas off everyone else. If not, I will have to write a desperate email to Apartment Therapy for astro-help!

This marvelous wall-sized mural poster I found on AllPosters seems like it would be an awesome mural to adorn my bedroom ceiling.

The only other ideas I could think of were placemats, window films, wrapping paper, or screen-printed or Spoonflower-d and made into throw pillows.

Anybody else have any ideas of how to incorporate astronomy into a (semi) adult decor?

A while back I posted some pics of my cereal bar concoctions in a Week in Review, and I kept putting off the how-to post and frankly, well, I apologize. For those bakers who didn’t look elsewhere or forgot about them, I’m sorry. Stop what you’re doing, grab your favorite cereals and get to work now.

The Nice ‘n’ Simple, the Fruitcake and the Indoor S’more.

This is one of the easiest desserts because all you have to do is melt butter, melt marshmallows, toss in cereal, mix and spoon onto a sheet. Done. But you probably want measurements and stuff like that, so here they are:

3 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 10 ounce bag of marshmallows (I used mini-marshmallows – 4 cups equals a 10-ounce bag of regular marshmallows)
6 cups rice krispies (use golden grahams, or trix, or whichever flavors you want)

Melt butter over low heat. USE LOW HEAT. DO NOT BURN BUTTER. Sorry for the caps, I kind of wrote this with the intention that I would reread it if I needed a reminder, too. I guess this is from a taste perspective. If you like that crispy, burnt butter taste, by all means, crank up your stovetop a tad higher and let it sit a little longer. Personally, I like cereal taste when making cereal bars (note: I don’t make butter bars, so don’t ask for any).

Add marshmallows stirring until melted completely. Add cereal and toss to coat thoroughly. Using a spatula (I used a rubber one), press into a 13 x 9 pan coated with cooking spray or parchment paper. Cut into 24 squares when cool.

We got it into our heads to make cereal bars when we went to the Grilled Cheese Invitational in LA, there was a vendor who also made cereal bars that were pretty heavenly. It opened our eyes to a whole world of cereal bar possibilities.

The cheerio Nice ‘n’ Simple bar is as its name desribes, simple like the original rice krispie treat. The Fruitcake is a definite trix-y dessert treat. And the Indoor S’more, depending on how much of each cereal (golden grahams and cocoa krispies) you mix in, is almost better than a real s’more!

I have only one request: send me some!!

What kind of combo would you make?

This week, I:

went to ASU Mercado, hung out with smart, awesome people involved in the arts and ate lunch enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather,

fashioned a decorative wall kite from an old shirt,

made a headphone holder from an old learner’s permit using this technique (I may spray paint it, but look at my crazy blonde hair!)

…and began collecting goodies for a fun, outdoor project,

(Ron Swanson loves Li’l Sebastian.)

and said goodbye to Li’l Sebastian, on my favorite show, Parks and Rec.

p.s. I love the above shirt.

Anything of note on your end?

First Row: Vixens Empire card that has a fantastic checklist your mom can look at breathe a sigh with each check-mark you made. The Hot Mama card is part of Real Simple’s wonderful collection of slideshows for Mother’s Day Gift Guides.

Second Row: Able and Game has a great selection of Mother’s (and Father’s, remember that one for later!) Day cards, some of them perfect for all my friends who are now “mums.” I LOVE this New Yorker comic so much that I might make it into a card for my sister.

Third Row: Jordan Ferney had an excellent envelope surprise idea that you could use not only for Mother’s Day, but birthdays as well. 16 Things Mom’s Really Want for Mother’s Day post on Babble

You can also check out:

• frolic-blog’s guide to making a french, hand tied, papered bouquet. Turn a store-bought bouquet into something personal and a work of art!
• it doesn’t have to be served in bed, but crepes are a mom favorite! We will be making some for my mom, complete with bacon, fruit and tons of Grand Marnier!
• One of my old Mother’s Day guides, complete with a list of awesome moms. I had to go back and check to see, and yes, I still agree with all of them, especially Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor.

What are your plans for Mother’s Day?

Ever wondered how some people can get those little pictures by the link in the address bar?

FAVICON FRENZY!

I have had my little typewriter favicon for quite some time. I think I used this site, But since I can’t remember, I go by Katie has a fantastic post about why and how to get your own!

Played in spring dandelion meadows

had fun spray painting anything I could,

made some baby shower invitations for my sister,

got an allergy cold (my eyes tear up every time I blow my nose – that’s never happened)

and took lots of walks with buddies!