One of my favorite condiments – prik nam pla (fish sauce with Thai bird chiles). I put it on almost anything but my favorite uses – over fried noodles, fried rice or soup noodles. Try it, if you like it spicy. I just like the fresh chile flavor with the salty sweet briny fish sauce.

Today’s bits:

I made this Kim Chee stir-fry recipe today with ground pork instead of pork belly – really quick and really tasty.

This sounds and looks like a really delicious baked pasta recipe.

Another food truck to look out for in Seattle - this time, some good ol’ Creole cookin’.

Here’s a really great website – Roaming Hunger, that helps promote this mobile food truck culture – yay for curbside cuisine!

I loved Gayla Trail’s first book called You Grow Girl and now I want to get my hands on Grow Great Grub. On a related note, I mixed in chicken manure into the veggie bed and stock tanks. Can’t wait to see how happy the veggies will be.

I may not have monsters to keep at bay but this beautiful whale light box caught my eye today.

We had delicious burgers and fries at Five Guys last week, just before we saw Toy Story 3. What a fun night!

Today’s bits:

I decided on this shower curtain for the new walls in the master bath. It is making the bath look quite masculine. I think I just need some happy yellow daisies in there to make it look like a girl lives here.

Dinner swaps/cooking co-ops – what a creative fun idea to make dinner one night for several families to pick up and then enjoy the delicious dinners for another couple of nights during the week from your swap families. It makes me want to start one.

I am a big Nigella fan and when she loves something, I’m always quick to pay attention. I think she has great taste. She recommends this chic new book by her art director/book designer, called The Geometry of Pasta. I am a believer that any shape pasta can be paired with any sauce but this book tells you what goes with what.

My favorite thing to eat is shokupan しょくぱん (Japanese white bread). I like it plain, or with butter & a sprinkle of sugar, or some kaya (pandan coconut jam) or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Since I’ve been home from Singapore, Thursdays have become the day that I do my grocery shopping. It is far enough away from the weekend to avoid the crowds (especially in the Asian market) but still close enough to it to not miss out on the deals. Grocery shopping = shopping lists. For a while, I had been searching for a good iPhone app that I could use to create lists for shopping and other things. I would use the notepad application but it just didn’t work very well without the ability to check off the items as I went through the store. I think I have found the perfect list application for me – Crush App’s Paperless. I love how it looks (those cute icons!) and the ease of use. I have been using it for a few days now and love it! You should try it out for free and see if you like it, especially if making lists are your thing.

Today’s bits:

Lately, I have been thinking about sewing more. I think I’ll start easy again and try making some handmade napkins. I was doing my decluttering and found that I have very few cloth napkin options. These from Molly @ Purl Bee are too cute.

I am a sucker for good packaging and labels. I would find myself buying something I don’t really need because it was in a lovely package. I have 3 bottles of honey in the pantry but I would buy this bottle here. [via Lovely Package]

In the market for alphabet posters for your little one or yourself? Etsy has a good variety of them.

How adorable is this tea cosy from Robin and Mould’s Etsy shop? And this sleepy dog pillow is darling!

If you do screen captures for work or fun, Snagit is a common tool to use. It is now available in beta for Mac. Try it out, you might like it.

I bought this vinyl wall art 2 years ago for the living room makeover but we did not end up putting it up there. I think I have found the perfect spot for them. I placed them just at the corner of the stairs, they really look like they’ve always been there. Whenever I see them as I climb the stairs, it makes me smile.

I am so glad that the latest issue for Lonny is now out. I am still savoring each page.

There must be something creative I can do with these lovely textile colors from Jacquard. Oh, you should have seen my excitement when I saw that Blick has opened a store in Seattle right on Broadway, by Jimi’s statue!

This shower curtain will go well with the new Nocturnal Grey walls in the master bath. I can see skyscrapers right in my bathroom! I am such a city girl.

Erica tweeted about this blog – I love it, it makes me want to cook these recipes because of the great drawings.

That’s all for today, I have to go out to enjoy that sunshine before it goes away again.

 I love her but she is a such a tease!

O, Seattle, why do you do this? All I ask for, once a year, is to have a nice lovely summer. This past weekend felt like winter. Ok, a little spring-like but it was way too cold for almost July! Please, let the sun come out to play, please?

It was a busy weekend here at Scarlett. I cooked up a Thai food storm in the kitchen and got to spend time with my dear friends. I got to show off some of my cooking skills and recipes picked up from cooking school in Thailand. I did make an old favorite recipe – Fried Prawn Cakes – they were popular!

Today, we celebrated Father’s Day with dad and the rest of the gang with some brunch. It was delicious and always fun to get together and share food. There were fish & chips and creamy crab bisque.

Today’s bits:

How have I missed out on Juana Molina before? Take a listen if you like ambient, electronica and good vocals.

Allison Miller can really play those drums, I’m just sayin’.

I have cupcakes on my mind this week – I want some brown liners for these cupcakes that I’m planning to make.

I need more Cray-pas Oil Pastels for my new Taro Gomi book. I just want to color, doodle, scribble and did I mention, color.

[via Willi @ DigginFood] A tomato trellis makes so much more sense than a tomato cage. It’s hard to find a cage that is strong enough for plants with the larger fruit but if the weather in Seattle keeps up this way, I doubt that I will have to worry about it.

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!

I swear that I was born to eat rice. Yes, I am obviously biased towards it since I’m Chinese and I have only been eating it for most of my life but how can one not love rice? Especially when it’s cooked right, those perfectly plumped grains are delicious! White rice is my favorite, I also eat brown and red, basmati and wild. It looks like for health reasons, one should eat less white rice and more brown but I say, all in moderation!

Today’s bits:

At the local kids store yesterday I saw this adorable book, it has so much detail in it. I love how kids can learn about different parts of the world in such a fun book. It reminded me of Richard Scarry’s books.

It took working in jobs that made me sit in many meetings to realize that I love to doodle. I really enjoy Taro Gomi’s books and have bought them for my favorite fellow doodler, O. He has new books and I can’t wait to get my hands on them.

Letterpress printed cards always make me happy – this mermaid one from Hello!Lucky is so fun and have my favorite colors. I also like this anniversary one.

This weekend, I am cooking up some Thai food. This cucumber salad from chez pim sounds really summery.

Are you ready for the weekend?

Ever since I realized that we won’t be moving for a while, I have always tried to keep up with my decluttering projects. I just do not want to end up with too much stuff over time. Like almost every other person, I like stuff. I find it, I buy it, I don’t know where to put it. Today I finally finished sorting through the boxes that I brought home with me after I left my job. It took me a while to figure out where all these work things would go. I did not want to fill my workspace at home with these things so I had to take a brutal approach. There was much to recycle and discard.

Here is an interesting link to some instructions on how to tackle decluttering your home. Unclutterer is a great resource for organization.

Today’s bits:

How about these nesting Russian Babushka glasses?

You might have already heard of these guys who make excellent affordable Pinot Noirs in Sonoma – Banshee Wines. I have not tried it but I heard from reliable sources that it should not be missed.

I always enjoy a good ice cream sandwich, both the American version where you have two cookies sandwich some ice cream as well as the Singapore one where you get scoops of ice cream in a slice of bread. I have to say I love the latter version, what can I say, I’m biased to memories and tastes of my youth. Still, these farm animal ice cream sandwich molds are really cute.

Run, don’t walk, to Geraldine’s Counter in Columbia City for their sweet potato fries. Heavenly, crispy, orange and sweet!

I think these reusable sandwich bags are a good idea, especially if you send kids to school with plastic sandwich bags that they just toss. These also seem really easy to make at home, all your crafties!

I love beans. I love black beans the most. I take a can of black beans, add a minced/smashed clove of garlic, a few sprigs of coriander/cilantro, a sprinkling of Adobo seasoning and let it simmer for 15 minutes. I pour in all the liquid from the can so it thickens up. This is served with rice and some kind of meat. The other night it was fried pork chops.

The weatherman predicted rain today but the sun was a nice surprise. I went outside to weed and plant more annuals so that the front yard would get more color in the next few weeks.

Today’s bits:

The story of this loyal Akita, Hachikō brought tears to my eyes. The loyalty of this dog is so moving.

Love this font packaging for Eames Century Modern.

I think that these stainless steel windmills will look good just by the front door.

If I ever make it to Buenos Aires, this is where I would like to stay. Who wouldn’t want to stay at Home while in beautiful Palermo?

I have been wanting to make summer bunting for the patio and I think using oilcloth like this one is a good idea.

This is what summer is all about – sipping iced tea in one of these swings on a lovely beach home porch.

Not a lot for today but wanted to let you all know that I am still here. I am still listening to my muse and feeling like I’m on fire with creative energy. These days, I’ve been spending it de-cluttering and organizing and does it feel good! I am also re-reading The Design of Everyday Things, it’s very inspiring.

Today’s bits:

These pebble earring studs are very organic and raw. I think they will look great with a linen outfit.

This limited edition Iced Tea set from Heath Ceramics has caught my eye for a while now. It would look so good on our chestnut dining table.

Our dinner conversation tonight involved horse poop and mushrooms that lead me to now inform you that mushrooms do grow on horse manure. According to dad, the mushrooms picked (washed and cooked) from such cultivation are actually delicious with bacon and eggs in the morning.

What do you think of this cool mid-century inspired pendant/necklace from Kris Nations?

Before I go:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs