Get Down Wit Yo' Bad Self

How much did you love Guardians of the Galaxy?

It was the most profitable movie of 2014,

so I know I wasn't the only fan.

And since the seventies soundtrack

reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart,

I know I wasn't alone in my love of the music, either.

 A plot point of the movie is that there was an 

Awesome Mix Volume 1 (which was the soundtrack)

and an Awesome Mix Volume 2,

of which we heard only a single song.

So pretty much from the time I headed out of the theater,

I've been wondering just what songs should be on that second mix tape.

I am, after all, a child of the seventies (Class of '79 is Fine!)

and am therefore pretty familiar with the music.

I spent months writing song titles on Post-its,

and trying to figure out the perfect blend of pop, soul and rock.

Once I had done so, I made a mix tape (cd) for The Boy,

since he was also a fan of the movie,

and the whole set-up for the mix tapes is that they were given

to the main character by his mother.

The results?

Awesome Mix Volume 2!

All the songs were ones I loved without irony in the seventies:

some I danced to,

all I sang along with,

and one was even an "our song."

This is a soundtrack to long car rides,

slumber parties,

and dances in the high school gym.

And what did The Boy get me?

Seventies Soul and Funk!

Oh, yeaaaaah...

I believe it's going to get all
DANCE-Y 
up in here!

Everyday I'm Hufflin'

I got an AWESOME Etsy convo from one of my customers!

Look what she did for her daughter:

it's a Hufflepuff bedroom!!

I love it so much!

She bought the Hufflepuff bunting from my shop,

and got tons of other cool items from other Etsy sellers.

Head over to her blog post for more photos

and the links to the different shops she bought from.

I was thrilled to see this room,

not just because it has my bunting in it,

but because I'm a sister Hufflepuff.

Kitties: So Cute, So Destructive

Do you have one of these?

Well, I have FIVE kitties in my house,

so ornaments tend toward the fabric or indestructible.

BUT!

My mom gave me some ornaments she and my father

bought for their first Christmas.

That makes them over fifty years old!

What to do with these fragile things?

Well, I finally figured out that I could keep them out of my kitties' reach

by putting them on the wall, instead of the tree.

Yep, now they're safely out of the way of my little beasts

so I don't have to worry about this:

Yummy, Yummy Peanut Butter Blossoms

There are things I do not know much about,

such as the current state of popular music.

For example, let me get this straight: 

 there's a singer called Iggy Azalia,

and another one called Azalia Banks?

And they're... feuding? Or something?

Noooope.

I have no idea what's going on with that.

BUT.

There is something I am an EXPERT in, 

and that's Peanut Butter Blossoms.

An internet friend said she'd made a bum batch of these cookies,

and I realized I had been making them for something like 

twenty-five years.

So.

I know a thing or two about Peanut Butter Blossoms!

To begin with, look at my recipe card:

As you can see, I've made notes on it for years.

Now, how about we get cooking?

(Btw, there's a much longer recipe

 with flour and butter and whatnot in it.

Why?  Why?! I don't know, since this simple recipe is deee-licious.)

Here's the basic recipe:

1 18 oz jar creamy peanut butter

1 1/4 cup to 1 1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

48 chocolate Kisses (about a 9 oz bag)

But, look!

This year, I realized Jif had downsized their jars to 16 ounces!

Booooo.

I did the math, and 18 ounces means a 16 ounce jar 

PLUS

1/4 cup,

OR

2 cups total.

Anyhoo.

Start mixing your peanut butter, eggs, and 1 1/4 cup sugar.

This is important!

Start with the smaller amount of sugar,

and add a tablespoon or so at a time

 until the dough starts to change texture.

It will look grainy, instead of like peanut butter, like this:

To roll the dough into balls, flour your hands.

If the dough is still sticking to your hands,

you might need more sugar in the dough.

Don't go overboard with the sugar, though!

Too much will make the dough tough.

Also, don't make the balls too big.

Here's a Kiss for scale.

The recipe says this makes 48 cookies,

and it really should.

Place these dough balls on two cooking sheets,

then pop them into the oven.

I like to unwrap my Kisses while the cookies are baking

to give a sense of urgency to the whole procedure,

like I'm trying to disarm a ticking bomb or something.

 Cook these about 12 minutes;

the cookies should look dry and cracked when they're ready,

NOT brown.

Pull 'em out, and place a Kiss carefully on top.

Even with my expertise, I sometimes cook a few too long.

This cookie was at the bottom back of the oven.

THIS is what you want.

Follow these directions,

and you should end with scrumptious Peanut Butter Blossoms!

Yum!