Looking forward to Kim O’Donnel’s book The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook. I am such a meat lover myself so these recipes will help me enjoy delicious meals and eat less meat.

Last month, I made a really delicious butter mochi from Reid’s recipe. Now I’m craving it again. I might try this matcha version. I just have to make sure to make it matcha-y enough. I always don’t use enough matcha powder in my baked goods.

I love parties. Here’s a great idea for one – a Favorite Things party. (via A Chow Life) I can’t wait to have one with my girlfriends.

I love Mad Men. Look what folks behind Helvetica documentary remade – a 1960s poster promoting Helvetica.

This double sconce from Roll and Hill has caught my eye and I have just the spot for it.

Wondering what to do with all the zucchini showing up this time of the season? Here is some inspiration.

How was your weekend? I had a good one. We had our hands full on Saturday with Scarlett’s very first garage sale, we had quite a few customers and enjoyed hanging out in the sun. I have a farmer’s tan but the new color on my skin is healthy. I know it will return to its pale glory in a few months. Sunday was a minimal chore day, we only took the cars out for a bath and vacuum. We don’t do that very often but it really does feel good to have a clean vehicle.

July is coming to an end and soon it will be birthday month. I love August. When I was younger and growing up in Singapore, it meant that we could look forward to a day off from school – National Day, and in that same week, 3 of us cousins will celebrate our birthdays together (we were born in the same week of the same year). Now, August means the height of summer – grilling out, popsicles, a bountiful garden, orange sunsets and balmy evenings. Can you tell that I am so looking forward to August?

Today’s bits:

I have been wanting mojitos this summer – I think these Danish Modern muddlers will look stylin’ and work well. Of course in a pinch, we can always use one of these wooden rolling pins.

My other half will cringe at this but don’t you think this Hello Kitty wallet is absolutely adorable?

I haven’t had the chance to visit the Georgetown Farmers/Flea market that is held every Saturday. Maybe this week.

The noise of the fan blades from our columnar fan sent me on a quest for a less noisy fan. May I present the Dyson Air Multiplier. It looks sleek and are blade-less so they won’t be a cleaning nightmare. I am not sure about how much I am willing to fork out to be without the extra noise and to have better air flow. But I would be interested in checking these out at a store.

I am always on the lookout for letterpress prints – this Urban Gardening one by Starshaped Press is delightful. Very summer-y colors and a great use of type.

I told you that I can’t live without rice. Here’s my brunch one morning – Omurice – a Japanese omelette filled with fried rice. My rice had peas, Chinese sausage (臘腸）and some bacon, and a sprinkling of fried ikan bilis/dried anchovies. For those who know SE Asian food, it was a cross between Chinese fried rice and Indonesian Nasi Goreng.

Seattle was teased with some good sunshine for most of today but we are headed for more rain this weekend. I’m looking forward to cooking a Thai dinner tomorrow for some dear friends and on Sunday, we are going out to lunch with dad.

Today’s bits:

I want to make these cocoa oatmeal cookies, I personally know a cookie monster.

One day, when I can afford it, I would love to commission Lubna Chowdhary to design a tile installation like this.

I am not sure if I will make it to Whidbey Island this summer but look at this lovely organic potager garden – The Raven and The Spade. [via Willi at DigginFood]

Enjoy your weekend!

It’s another June Seattle day when the sun is playing hide and seek with us once more. I would like the sun to join us until about October, is that too much to ask? I am sure that I’m not the only Seattleite feeling this way. Still, we love our Emerald city because without all this rain, how can we be touted as emerald?

Yesterday, I went to the local garden store to get some annuals, herbs and a couple of veggie starts. I am not sure how they will do if the weather continues to behave this way. But a gardener is always hopeful that Mother Nature would be kind. As I am writing this, the rain has tapered off and the sky seems a little brighter.

Today’s bits:

I found some portulaca or Moss Rose and will be planting them in the front borders since the sun beats down quite hard there when it actually does.

I have a weakness for anything related to, named after and resembling Spain – this Sevilla Chair looks awfully comfortable to me. If only I had a porch…

This bamboo iPhone cover with a laser engraving of Leandro Castelao’s art is quite lovely.

Nigel Slater talks about growing his own vegetables in these videos. (Thanks, curiousmint, for telling me about his new book, Tender.)

Thank you A & S, this was just the perfect ending to a slightly crappy day. It made me smile endlessly. It moves me when my loved ones see me and know exactly what I love.

I cannot wait to use this adorable set of measuring cups. I am afraid it might be relegated to be displayed because they are so cute.

Thanks a million!

Yes, you can always get a traditional toast rack but look at this modern wooden toast rack. On a rainy day like this, a pot of tea and jam and butter on toast is lovely.

This week, we moved into different offices and mine has a bunch of huge holes in the wall. I could really use this pretty wall-hanging by Marimekko.  It is the right width and length for the number of holes I need to hide.

For those of you who enjoyed Gary Hustwit’s typography film Helvetica, he is releasing a new documentary about industrial design in 2009. It’s called Objectifed. I think this print is brilliant.

Read here for more information.

I have been wanting these stock tank planters for a long time but I never knew where we would put them. On some days, I just stare at my backyard, as if waiting for a spot to magically open up for me so I could run out and bring them home. I tried hard to avoid the urge to plop them down randomly in the middle of my backyard (which is what I did with a collapsible growbed because I couldn’t let another growing season go by without planting a raised bed) but now, I’m so glad that I waited for the right time and the right spot to place these. The front yard is a perfect place for them.

We found the right size tanks at a farm supply store (thanks Megan!) a while ago but I took a day off from work and we drove out to pick them up. We had to hire a van since they wouldn’t fit in Angpow; we also had to bring home an obscene amount of compost and peat. But oh that lovely black gold! Armed with the right drill, making holes on the tanks went pretty quickly for Mike. It took us some time to mix the compost and peat evenly and then came the real task – to decide what to plant in each tank.

Here’s what we have so far: one tank for ornamentals, one for edibles and one for herbs.

More pictures here at Flickr

I can’t wait to get my hands on these.
[via Anna at D16]