Remember the time when I was all rugged out? We did find one in the end and at a very good price. It arrived last week and here it is. Its Chinoiserie style/pattern was exactly what I had wanted to offset the masculine furniture.

While looking for some inspiration for the 2nd phase of my bedroom decoration process, I came across these lovelies from G.P. & J. Baker. You should take a look at Lee Hofa – there are so many different styles of fabrics but all so gorgeous in their own way. I’m sure they have a price tag to match but sometimes it’s enough to just admire such beauty from this distance.

I want to find some vintage, chinoiserie wallpaper/fabric to frame [in the style of these ]. Definitely something tasteful which ties in to the “asian-esque” modern bed we have in our room now. I didn’t think that a fully asian style bedroom [read: rosewood armoires, calligraphy paintings on scrolls] was “me”, I am fond of related themes. For e.g., we placed a simple country, shaker style bed in the guest room but I offset it with some tortoise bamboo blinds in the same color family.

I also picked out 2 new Rothko prints for above the fireplace and at the stairs. I enjoy his use of colors to depict a mood and his bold use of dark strong colors. Scarlett is still getting little bits of prettifying. I want to take my time in finding the right pieces and right style but for now, it’ll do.

Even though we don’t live in Santa Monica, our favorite radio station is KCRW. We listen to it off of iTunes and since we use our airport to channel all our iTunes output to our stereo, we get to listen to it anywhere in the house.

KCRW is a technologically up-to-date radio station. When other public radio stations were still available through the airwaves, they were already streaming. I remember my days in Boston when I would tune in and listen as I studied late into the night.

Now, KCRW is podcasting. I’m not surprised but I am also looking forward to loading some of these programs onto my iPod. Now I can take Nic Harcourt around on Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Contrary to what some folks think about this band, I think they are talented musicians and I’ve thought that since I first heard them on NPR’s All Songs Considered.

Those of you who live in the Midwest [St Louis, Kansas City & St Paul - they are opening for Elvis Costello] and in the Hudson Valley/Western Mass, they are going to play a couple of shows in early August. Do check them out.

They also recently toured the UK and played with The Beautiful South.

I miss the kids already. They were so much fun to hang out with and the house is a lot quieter without them. Olivia is all of 3 and a half and Ben turns 2 next month. How time flies! I wish it would slow down a little. I remember how tiny Ollie was when we had our San Francisco wedding almost 3 years ago.

The good news is that they will be moving closer to us. Really soon. Mike and I can’t wait – we just want to be the bestest aunt and uncle ever.

We took this picture just this last weekend. A perfect summer day.

After my dental appointment today, I stopped by the hospital cafe to grab a quick bite. I picked up some really not-so-good sushi rolls and a bottle of fresh apple cider. It’s my current favorite I think. You can really taste the apples, as opposed to clear apple juice that is just more sweet than apple-y.

In other news, my brother and his family leave today. I’ll miss them but they will be back really soon.

We’ve been enjoying our time with family this weekend. Of course, there was much eating done: roast duck and stirfried zucchini [mum's style] for dinner on Saturday, a big Sichuan spread at lunch yesterday and grilled fresh sausages from the market [chicken with shiitake, chicken with rosemary, bratwurst with cranberries and linguica] for dinner last night. Oh, and there were grilled peaches with a rum/honey glaze and vanilla ice cream.

Tonight, we’re making some grilled skirt steak, marinated in satay spices. I promise pictures then.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.

They arrive today. We can’t wait.

Some days ago, I received an email from someone I had not met before. She had found my blog after searching for a recipe for mee siam. She wrote me kind words about how she enjoyed reading my blog. I was deeply touched by her gesture. And, to gild the lily, she went ahead and sent me a copy of Terry & Christopher Tan’s book, Shiok!. I had put it on my wishlist a while ago and since she is good friends with the authors, she thought she would support her friends by fulfilling my wish.

Thank you again HM for your generosity, the book has the most beautiful pictures and I am looking forward to trying out the recipes.

Monday was terribly long at work and if that was not enough, I had to get on the slowest bus in Western Washington. The bus driver stopped at every red light, and sputtered at every bus stop. She even got off twice to let other buses pass [it's an electric bus so she had to switch the cables]. I also had the fortune of sitting next to a lady who stood up and sat down 10 times, just to check where she should be getting off. I probably wouldn’t have minded it so much if she didn’t poke me with her purse and let her child on her lap kick me, every time that she sat back down.

One and a half hours later, I was home but so very exhausted and cranky. I don’t get cranky very often.