Rainbow

In a blink of an eye, the new year is...well....not so new anymore.

I'm finding myself clawing my days in the office, returning to a warm home to 2 pairs of hands ready to pounce at me, at the slight jingling of the keys turning the lock. 

The bebes are growing. Fast. I am recording every single bit of their lives, albeit mentally. Forever etched in my mind. 

This mind. It's not young anymore. I've been straining to remember bits of information. 

Which brings me to this wonderful repository. 

I have to jot down my thoughts. Somewhere. My captured moments. 

Like this of a cake. I baked with the girl helping me with the swiss meringue buttercream. 

A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far Away . . .

Caught up with one of my favourite families over brunch here.

I love the mocha and the brioche french toast (with mascarpone and apricot jam). M loved his crab cakes (the best he had ever in Singapore, he happily proclaimed). And Nad actually ate quite a bit of the macaroni and cheese.

The best bit though - the early birthday pressie I received from Exp and family:

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!

It's a DREAM!!!

Thank you Exp and family! I can't believe you remembered my "dream". I'll be sure to send some over when I bake some using the cutters. :-)

Spice Girl

It's the long National Day weekend here on this sunny isle.

Happy 45th Singapore!

You've come a long way from that that tiny fishing village island in the Straits or as what most people would know from maps - that little red dot.

The long weekend has seen me painting the new side and coffee storage tables we purchased from Ikea;  Cleaning out the spice rack - threw out the old ones and am now starting to build a new one. We only have the basic spices we need for our daily cooking and baking and grilling needs at the moment but I am sure that in time, our precious cupboard real estate will be filled with more jars of spices.

(Nadine's repurposed food jars)

 

Kooky Cakey Love

So we're almost there - with painting the laminated re-used study shelves and table.

I am excited. To finally see the books and magazines finally getting out of the confines of the cartons up in the guest bedroom.

Sometime this week. I am hoping.

But because I have been  busy sorting out the study and a few of the cabinets in the kitchen today, I need some disgression before I call it a day.

I loooovee these from Williams-Sonoma:

Call me a romantic (or a lazy git in this case) but waking up to pancakes in bed would be lovely. And to bite off Darth Vader's head is . . . er . . .  a geek's dream. :-)

And oh . . . I am seriously in love with these message-in-a-cookie cutters.

kitchen inspiration

i finally found the images of a kitchen that melted my heart a few years ago

{martha stewart's cantitoe kitchen}

grey's anatomy

grey (gray?) kitchens... deliciously stylish...

{images from living etc}

Let's eat cake!

After watching Chef Michael Smith whip up a cake (amongst other yummy treats for a birthday), I am tempted to bake one.

Better yet. Cut them up into slices and place them onto these beautifully mismatched cake-tier stands:

(Images courtesy of Let Them Eat Cake)

Maybe for Cookie's 1-month party . . . . hmmmm.......

handwritten

spotted jamie oliver's products at tanglin mall the other day... decided to surf around ....

love the simple, handwritten labels.

sandra juto

...{ sandra juto webshop }

A Mini Surprise

I went on a Paper Source diet recently and shopped my way through the sale.

Mini was sweet enough to volunteer (ok, she had no choice cos' I practically had her arms twisted..heh) to receive the delivery and then mail the package on to me.

I got home the night before to a wonderful package waiting for me. Dry and beautiful despite the stormy weather all day that night.

And I had a sneaking surprise courtesy of Mini:-

(Orla Kiely kitchen towels and a twig & fig's cute letterpressed card)

Isn't she sweet?

Thank you Mini! You may just sway me to California with that letterpressed card. :-P

pamela bell in nyt

+ i think i would probably opt for something similar when i have kids - grafitti on couch.

+ case study: orange in kitchen works.

{images from new york times on pamela bell's apartment via made by girl via room & serve}

~exp~

do you know james beard?

i can't remember how i got to know james beard - it was a fairly recent discovery. and today, skimming through Gourmet, i found Laura Shapiro's article. i can't wait to get hold of Beard's cookbooks.

i'm pschying myself up for the shanghai trip. i'm done with a project - well, technically some loose ends remain, but that's technical, right? - and i've drifted from aimlessness (i vacillate between being antsy and lazy when i'm not working), to being introspective. i like this "introspective being" of me - i question myself internally, the way i function, the way i relate to the people around, what i learned, what i could have done better, the constant dialogues i have with myself is my way of resting, i think. and i'm still finding new things about myself i didn't know. this is also the time for a pedicure (oh how i procrastinate), errands, and a massage and pilates! and now i feel {almost} satisfied. i feel i could go on and work on another project. i feel happy and almost ready for shanghai.

inspira, can't wait to see you and M again.

xo,
exp

Not to be trifled with

I love playing with our kitchen gadgets.

Especially so, they allow me to be as creative as I can be with our desserts.

My version of the raspberry trifle was a hit at our Sunday brunch a few weeks ago thanks largely to the idiot-proof custard cream layers which I whipped up with my trusty mixer.

I'm on a hunt for a good-sized pot for stove and oven use. Any recommendations anyone? ~ Inspira

Tea (Towel) Anyone?

Guess what I got in the mail today?

A tea towel hand-printed by Exp and a beautiful card accompanying the piece of art.

Don't you just love Exp? :-) ~ Inspira

patina

inspira,

is this new? momiji dolls? have i been living under a rock? these are so cute, oh i wish i could own all of them, each holding a secret message for my {imaginery} daughter - like "mommy will see you at the madhatter's tea."



my favorite is Momiji Flowers that says "I dreamt about the flowers they sang about tomorrow."
these dolls are from patina stores who has an amazing selection of kitchen goodies - surf away!



the website doesn't give much details but sparrows salt and pepper shakers are inspired by Charley Harper and the floral thermoses are from London's Victoria and Albert Museum and are based on the deisgns of William Morris (also seen on the decemeber 07 issue of Oprah's O magazine.)

xo,
exp

an overture

inspira,

{i wrote this on wednesday night and didn't post it until now - so everything from this line forward is ex-ante}

late night, we finished 17 vietnamese spring rolls (!) they were tiny, unlike the ones we made back in the States - we typically would make 10 for dinner. it's more for my soul that i insist on making dinner after a day at work - it's therapeutic as long as i don't feel that i'm going solo. "feel" and "solo" are the operative words {i guess} and the ones that distinguish me from a stepford wife.

the flurry of recent nesting activities remind me of the heady days of wedding planning. i want it all - to have a shiny home and a job that brings home not only bacon but also pancetta. then again, with a full time job, i wonder when i'll get through the recipes-stash that i've ratpacked away and carted around from and to three different cities, the many cookbooks that had sailed the seas and had finally made their way here, and the amazon-wishlist that i've been coveting. and although we don't have a Willams-Sonoma here, i find myself itching to go to Pantry Magic every week. {and if we do have a williams-sonoma here, i can picture you and me shopping there.}

so there, i feel like i'm planning a wedding all over again. except this time, it's a martha-stewart-esque home making obsession. it's self-flagellation and (i admit) strangely satisfying. and tonight, i came across this charlotte mold at the Williams-Sonoma website and feel that i have to get it. that familiar fervent. our wedding budget did not permit a wedding cake - i had wanted a charlotte - and as serendipity would have it, we had our charlotte. during our honeymoon. in paris. my sister who was living in paris then, bought the cake and served sauternnes with it. it was a simple lunch. it was a poignant memory. it was a transitional point from wedding planning to living a new life. i remember telling myself, "this is what life should be about - celebrate whenever we can, given the tiniest opportunity." it felt right that i had my cake and ate it surrounded by my family.

*********

{anti-climax} so back to my mold, my mind says to get it - and when i read the story on W-S about the heart-shaped handles being "traditional", i'm almost sold. the overture i make when mulling over a purchase is taking up precious blog-real-estate, yes?

{image: left - martha stewart, right - williams sonoma}

an epiphany

"color is visceral" ~ terence conran

{french bull spoons}

{angela adams trays}

{Atelier LZC dishtowels from rose and radish}

i realize i can never be a straightjacket-wearing minimalist.

~exp~

le creuset

a fairy tale afternoon in Scandinavia

with chocolate fondant hearts...

from Le Creuset Lifestyles

reminds me of toasty toes and fuzzy naps

~exp~

{just} inspiration board

some things {just} have to take permanent residence in my kitchen ...

clockwise: Noted egglings from Rose and Radish, daisy piggy bank from notNeutral at modern seed, Nigella Lawson's beech serving "hands", Karin Eriksson's ethereal bowl, Nigella's egg-shaped salad dishes and cute salt+pepper piglets.

don't you love the word "just"? sounds so sweet and assertive :)

~exp~

crazy about tea towels

i really hate to write over inspira's sweet post... so, i'm going to fudge a little and pretend that i wrote this post before her...

so besides, trawling ebay for fabric, i've been staring at my home to see what i could do... as if i have a lot of time on my hands - not!

still, today i happened to skim throught remodelista's archives and came across this beauty by Elizabeth Salonen. Helsinki Remade linens are inspired by the city's (Helsinki's) Art Noveau's architecture.

i'm such a shameless copycat - i think i've something brewing for the trusty ikea tekla - these are unbelievably absorbent and dry up speedily (an attribute you would be thankful for in this humid climate). ~exp~



{image: left from Design Forum Shop, right from IKEA}