Cookies aren’t the only thing that I make, honest! My sweet tooth has just been acting up lately, which is not easy to ignore. But since I want to be able to fit into all those cute summer dresses hitting the stores, I decided to look around for some “lighter” recipes. I found this one thanks to the wonderful blog Nosh With Me. If you haven’t been there, you should go and take a look. There are some great baking recipes. This recipe was discovered in an issue of Cooking Light, so I’m fairly confident that they are better for you than the average snickerdoodle. As an added bonus, your home will smell so good while these are baking!

Cooking Light’s Cinnamon & Sugar Cookie More »

I’m always looking for new stationary in hopes that it will inspire me to write more letters and actually send out those thank you notes. Well, I think I’ve found some that would do the trick. Simply Serra has a nice selection of stationary, invitations and holiday cards. Like the name suggests, the common theme for all the letterpress is simplicity. My personal favorite is the skull motif, even if it is pink. Does the pink make the skull less edgy or does the skull make the girly pink more edgy? Well either way, it’s the best piece of stationary I’ve found so far.

Simply Serra notecards: $25.00 for 18 cards and 18 envelopes

Easter is coming up for those who celebrate. While I’m no longer the practicing Catholic I was in grade school (read: when I had no choice), I still enjoy the tradition of dying eggs. Every year my mom and I would lay out the newspaper and hard boil a dozen eggs. My brother would always create The Grey Egg by dipping one egg into every color. It was always super hard to find outside in the yard so if you did find it, you were given a special treat (usually a couple of dollars). One year, The Grey Egg was never found until the next Easter!

While looking around the many crafty blogs out there, I found this site which features natural easter egg dyes. Using ingredients you may already have in your kitchen, you can create some really nice organic colors. The deep indigos and rich cinnabars created from ordinary vegetables, spices and teas can’t hold a candle to the Paas pallet. While you need to let the eggs sit in the dye overnight, it’s definitely worth it. I think my brother would even approve of the warm grey made from the Rosehip tea.

ninja edit: These natural dyes can also be used for yarn, paper or fabric!

Are you wondering if you should hold off a little longer before buying that new iMac or Apple Cinema Display? Well if you’re like me, you probably are. This handy guide takes into account how long each Apple product has been on the market along with the average number of days each product’s predecessor had been on the market before it was updated. Since the guide is provided by MacRumors.com the information is based on Internet speculation. Still it’s nice to see the information complied in one place. I think I may wait on a new Mac. I’m banking on Leopard being released in the somewhat near future!

MacRumors Buyer’s Guide

You can now buy FLOR carpet tiles at the best big box store in town. FLOR tiles come in a variety of colors, textures and patterns. You can lay down a whole wall-to-wall carpet or just create a fun rug or runner. The best thing about FLOR is if something gets spilled on a tile, just rip it up, wash it out and put it back (or if it’s really destroyed just replace with a brand new tile!). Each tile measures 19.7Lx19.7W”. $59.99 for a pack of 6 tiles

The Illini Apple Center is offering the 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook for only $899. The normal student (education) price is $1049 and full retail price is $1099. This is the entry level white MacBook, but it’s still a pretty good laptop. Make your way down to the IAC before the offer expires (which their site says is soon).

Ninja Edit: Do you think they are making room for new Mac goodies?

I was in Chicago on Saturday and it was really foggy.

The two posters that flank my T.V. usually elicit an uncomfortable response. Maybe it’s the lack of color, the bare breasts or even the hoofed human leg. Whatever it is, the art of Franciszek Starowieyski is certainly bizarre. At home, the posters were kept hidden away in a back room, a surprising relic from my father’s art collecting days. I remember sneaking back there to look at the mysterious images. The fanciful script made the polish words even more cryptic and the skulls and breasts compelled me to only look for a second before shutting the door and running back to my room.

Now the posters hang prominently in my living room. I have seen them so many times that I don’t really see them anymore. But whenever a new visitor stops by, I am reminded of how I felt about the posters so many years ago peaking into the back room.

To check out more of Franciszek Starowieyski’s art, or other Polish artists visit the Polish Poster Gallery (FYI: since bare breasts are a recurring theme of Starowieyski’s art, some of the images on the sites linked here may not be safe for viewing at work a.k.a. NWS)

On Wednesday April 4th, Chicago’s Newberry Library will be hosting a lecture on the 1949 and 1950 Arctic expeditions of Edmund B. Thornton (a.k.a. my dad!). From the Newberry Library’s website:

“During the summers of 1949 and 1950, Mr. Thornton served as a crew member on the Schooner Bowdoin out of Boothbay Harbor, Maine on two expeditions to the Arctic. He reached a latitude of eleven degrees from the North Pole, and had contacts with the Native Inuit in North Greenland. This visually stunning program will include highlights of Mr. Thornton’s Arctic experience together with comments on the history and exploration of the Arctic Regions.”

If you will be in Chicago, and have any interest in geography, history or anthropology, I recommend that you attend this lecture. Click here to register for this event.

Being a student, I don’t have a whole lot of extra money to spend on beautiful danish modern furniture (when I find it for cheap, it usually costs more to restore it!) or other nice things for my apartment. Therefore, it’s good to know that Target is looking out for all us students out there by offering attractive design at even more attractive prices.

I have this same colander in orange, but it’s showing a little wear and tear. I love my colander because I can leave it out with some fruit and it looks great. It’s always so hard for me to pick out just one color when all of the colors are presented in a spectrum. Aqua? Orange? I can’t decide! On sale for $16.19 at Target. Also available in 5-qt. for $21.99

I just bought this bookcase because I was running into a severe storage issue with my books. I like to hold on to my textbooks as reference, because I don’t always remember everything I learned my freshman year. This bookcase also comes in three different sizes and finishes, so there is something for everyone. You can also buy a couple to create the illusion of a singular wall unit. $59.99-$99.99 in Espresso (shown), Dark Oak and Honey Oak (lightest finish)

I love this bookcase, but I love it even more when it’s stacked with another. At $99.99/case, it’s not exactly student budget
friendly. However, I loved the design so much, I had to put it up here. Also available in a deep brown/black finish.