When I was a kid, I had those cheesy glow-in-the-dark constellation stickers in my room.  They looked so cool when the lights were off, but the stickers were all over the furniture and walls, and looked silly during the day.

I saw this Star Wars Death Star Planetarium in an email from Chapters/Indigo, and I thought it was so cool.  During the day, it looks like a replica of the Death Star (not as scary as it sounds – basically a grey globe), and at night, you can take the lid off and it will project stars on your walls and ceiling.  You get the “sleeping under the stars” effect, without doing any permanent damage to your walls or furniture (seriously, those glow-in-the-dark stickers were a pain to remove).

Want something a little more cute and cuddly? There’s a stuffed turtle that does the same thing.

I kind of love this.  East-end artists/couple John and Laura (of Labspace) have made a list of 365 things they’ve always wanted to do, and they’re going to (hopefully) complete them over the next 365 days.  Some things on their list are simple (watch Bonnie & Clyde), funny (have a spaghetti fight), odd (stalk a stranger), practical (make side shelves for the bedroom), crazy (GT/sled behind a motorized vehicle), banal (trim my nose hairs), romantic (kiss on a bridge at sunset) and adventurous (visit Machu Picchu).

Follow along on the website they created to document the process.  It will be interesting to check in after a few months have gone by, and see how they’re doing.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the publication of The BFG by Roald Dahl, the Royal Mail in England has issued a set of 10 stamps. They’re designed by Magpie Studio and feature illustrations from Quentin Blake.  Wouldn’t you love to have these as prints? I think they’d be perfect for a kid’s room.

What was your favourite Roald Dahl book when you were growing up?  I loved The Witches.

[via DesignWeek]

Just last week, Michelle and I were wondering when Wes Anderson was going to release a new film.  It’s been a long time since The Darjeeling Limited, and a couple years since The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Lo and behold, here it is!  It’s called Moonrise Kingdom, and it will be in theatres in May.  You can watch the trailer here.  Can. Not. Wait.

Wow.  This is what highway rest stops look like in Norway.

This is the coolest video. It’s a short stop-motion film from Sean and Lisa Ohlenkamp, showing what really happens after hours at Type Books.  It made me smile (and also had me wondering how long this must have taken to make!)

[I embedded the video below, but if you're having trouble viewing, click here to see it on YouTube]

[via BlogTO]

“This is what happens when you give thousands of stickers to thousands of kids.“  Love it.

Hey pals – just quick note to say Happy New Year and I hope you enjoyed your holidays.  It was a total whirlwind for us – a week filled with family, excellent food and drink, and winter colds for everyone. Oh well, such is life with a baby, I guess.

Speaking of the little munchkin – guess who learned how to crawl? She’s so proud of herself and her new skills. She crawls a few feet, and then sits up and claps with joy.  It is beyond adorable.

Later this week I’d like to tell you all about my New Year’s Resolution… but now I’m off to watch the Bachelor with friends. Yep, it’s a guilty pleasure, and I’m not afraid to admit it!

[image above of the Centre Island pier in winter by Flickr user gardinergirl. Part of Torontoist's roundup of the best photos from 2011]

That’s it for me – I’m officially on holiday, so I won’t be blogging next week.  I’ll be back with regular posts starting January 2.   I hope you have a wonderful holiday break; enjoying good company, eating good food, and getting lots of sleep!

Don’t forget to track Santa as he flies around the world Saturday night…

[image above: Christmas angels and a Santa Claus ride on Segways in Berlin on November 3, 2011. Photo from The Big Picture, c/o Wolfgang Kumm/AFP/Getty Images]

Wow.  Those are three of the winning images in the 2011 National Geographic Photo Contest.  See more photos here.

Also, see The Atlantic’s Year in Photos – part one, part two, and part three.