Mister Trash Can

Check out this really cool video about the impact of trash by Garrett Morin for Good. (via VLU)

time for a coffee roll

Whew. TGIF. I've had another rough week. Finally finished the long draining project that I've been complaining about for awhile now, but then just as that was done- got some bad disturbing news regarding my mother's health. Needless to say, I need a little break. I decided to do a quick getaway trip to Palm Springs, but of course after I've made all the reservations and stuff- what happens? It's all about RAIN!? ugh. Fortunately, I am sadly no stranger to this phenomenon, as there have been many a time where a trip to P.S. was plagued with clouds and rain as opposed the desired fun in the sun. Alas, P.S. I still love you. And I will still enjoy just getting a change of scenery. But before I go, I need me a little bit of comfort and joy- and so- I leave with you my HM friends, my latest obsession. The "Coffee Roll" from 85 degrees. 85 degrees is a new coffee shop/bakery that opened here in Irvine. Apparently it's a big chain (a la Starbucks) in Taiwan (although no one I have spoke to yet from Taiwan has heard of it). I assume since there's such a huge asian population here in OC, they decided to open one up here to try it out. The bakery is amazing. and the coffee is actually quite good too. But this "coffee roll"... OMG. lightly crispy outside- it looks all unassuming. But get past the bread/bun-ish exterior and you enter a world of sweet nummy goodness! I don't know why they call it a "coffee roll" as there is no coffee inside that I can taste. maybe it's mixed in with the bread part, or maybe it just tastes great with some coffee. Inside, there's a layer or red bean, and then- here's the kicker- MOCHI! OMG. They are constantly baking, so if you're lucky, you can get one while it's still warm and it's all the sweet gooey heaven you could ask for. Now, I'm normally not the biggest fan of red bean. Being asian, that is weird, I know, but this combo with the bread like outside and the mochi on the inside as opposed to the outside, has changed my world. If you're ever down here, you must go. (The shopping center it's in is the new asian hot-spot. Yummy food choices galore.)
(image above is the same coffee roll about 5 seconds later.)

Anyway- Check back over the weekend. I may have a few more posts since there is a great possibility I will be cooped up inside due to the rain. but hope you all have yourselves a great weekend!

needing a hook up

It's been almost three months now that Pepé has become a fixture here. Obviously he has changed my life. One of the biggest big changes is that every morning, I have to wake up early and take the lil' poopster... well...how do you say.... on his little poopy walks. Living in So Cal, I don't normally have to wear a jacket often, but lately the mornings have been a bit chilly, so where do my jackets end up? on the chair, on the stair rail, on the couch... So it's time I get me some sort of coat rack. Unfortunately my entry way is a little small, so I pretty much have to get something that will mount to the wall. I'm thinking to remove the artwork that is currently by the door, and use that location for a rack. Now comes the hard part- what kind of rack to get? There are lots of options, but nothing has stuck out at me. Part of me wants something fun and modern. Another part of me wants something very plain and non-descript, maybe almost rustic even?

So far, the top contenders are:
The "flip hook" from Umbra
this "Shaker" one
and this TJUSIG one from IKEA.
I'm not sure though... There's a part of me that thinks there may be another solution out there... so, the search continues... stay tuned...

paper medallions

I just can't ever get tired of this colorway: soft light blues, olivey-sawgrass greens, white- and I love the touch of light grey and hint of gold. These paper medallions were made from scrapbook papers. Although this was intended for a wedding, I could see this applied to any occasion. Check out the whole inspiring story here. (image from Martha Stewart weddings winter 2009- photo by Johnny Miller)

coraline box

I've previously mentioned how excited I am to see the new movie Coraline. It finally comes out tomorrow! woo hoo! Over the holidays, I received this awesome creepy little box (above). It had this little note, and this was inside:Apparently the creators of the movie sent out a bunch of boxes to some of their favorite bloggers, which is such a brilliant and creative idea. Check out some of the even more amazing boxes that were sent out here. This movie looks like so much fun. Check out these incredible behind the scenes videos. I am so in awe of this one about the lady who did the tiny sweaters!

Coraline comes out tomorrow Friday, February 6, 2009- click here for the official site.

Girard-o-rama

House Industries have launched their Girard collection! I've been eagerly anticipating it for awhile now, and they've even included a bunch of fun objects besides just the font. My favorites include the memory game and this Rosy Casa doll- Check out more here.

I Lego N.Y.

This series by Christoph Niemann made me smile- I love Legos. Check out the rest of the series here.

sticker love

Cover art for the January 2009 issue of Wallpaper. Designed by James Joyce. Check out more of his awesome work here.

trader joes

TGI the weekend

Whew!- long week- soooooooo happy it's the weekend. The long project i've been working on was supposed to end this past week, and it almost did, but there's still a little aftermath to attend to and then it should be done. This allows for a bit of breathing room this weekend, so I'm taking some cues from little Pepé this weekend, and encourage you to do the same:

Stretch a little...Go for a walk...and take lots of naps.hope you're having a good weekend!

Shigenobu Twilight

Gorgeous packaging for limited edition handcrafted scent. By artist Anicka Yi and architect Maggie Peng. More info here. (via Urbn blog, via iainclaridge)

blue tuesday: Airline Inspired Quilt

Modern quilt design by Feed Dog inspired by retro airlines
(via Craftzine)

playMuji

It's no secret. I've said this many-o times. Muji is the life. I could live Muji everyday, and now I can! (kind of). They have a new super neato animated screensaver thingy you can download that's half calendar, half drool-worthy-I-want-everything. Check it all out here and download the screensaver.

blue Munday: thomas Paul whale

I want this Thomas Paul whale pillow so bad. (via designsponge)

mundane aesthetic: color pops

icosa salt & pepper shaker from Tai Design

I recently got a set of these. Facets and function! They remind me of oversized D&D dice. They are so awesome. "...inspired from icosahedron." by TaiDesign. Porcelain. $32. Available here.

Ready for a walk?

That's the look I get when I say "Ready for your walk?"

It's been a whirlwind week for me- how about you? I've been quite bizzzy ever since the new year started, trying to complete an extensive project for work that's been a few months going now. Luckily, it's almost over, and after next week I should be back to semi-normal functioning. Things have been a bit overgrown and unattended to (like this blog) but one thing that has overgrown in a good way is my salad greens! look! They're huge! See here for the before at the beginning of the month. Time for salad! have a great weekend!

TGIF video break: Bars and Tones + Lemon and Lime

Bars & Tones from André Chocron on Vimeo.

Monoptik from Lutas on Vimeo.

talk amongst yourselves

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

Sorry, being a bad blogger- still buried with this crazy project for work- talk amongst yourselves- i'll be right back...

Thomas Wold Come Together and Good Hotel

I am a big fan of Thomas Wold, and he recently sent me an email letting me know about his latest show called "Come Together." If you're in the SF area, definitely go check it out at the Curiosity Shoppe. Recently, Thomas created this AMAZING computer station in the lobby of the I-must-see-why-didn't-anyone-tell-me-about-this-sooner!?- Good Hotel. I love the detail of the old school turntable mounted inside the cabinet. So inspired. He also did fun "Piecemeal" coffee table, which was featured in Readymade Magazine. Read more on his blog.

Dansk: Flamestone and Fjord re-release

Well, looks like 2009 has started out being quite bizzzy for me. I've been swamped and it's already thursday! AND It's already half way through January! yikes! Well, in more exciting news, I spotted this in the recent Modernism magazine: Dinnerware legend, Dansk, has re-released two classic designs, their Flamestone stoneware, and the awesome Fjord flatware. I'm in love with the matte dark brown (especially the beverage pot!), and these designs have been updated to be dishwasher and microwave safe as well. The Fjord flatware is stainless steel and has teak handles. Check out the Dansk site for more info and to purchase.

Twist together shelves

Fun shelving concept from Twist Together Company, available at Supermarket.

TGIS video break: again and again

Hope you're having a great Saturday!

Minilogue- Animals

Minilogue - Animals from ljudbilden on Vimeo.

Aero Garden 3

Yikes! It's already January 7! Apologies for the lack of posting. Coming back to the work load that has been piling up over the break has left me buried. Anyway- One of the most interesting gifts I received this Christmas was the Aero Garden 3. I remember seeing the original size Aero Garden at the Chicago Home&Garden show a few years back, but this #3 version is a lot more compact and smaller. For those of you unaware, essentially the AeroGarden is an indoor "smart garden"- it's this space age-y garden machine. Basically you put these "bio domed seed pod things that house the seeds, stick them into the machine. In the bottom, you put water and there's a air bubble pump that "oxygenates" it- you also add a nutrient capsule in the water. There's a grow light on top that stays on for 17 hours a day. And that's basically it. Here's a more detailed explanation. Anyway- I planted the "salad greens" pods, and within a day, it started to sprout. Over the next few days, it continued to grow. Now it's almost two weeks, and here's where they're at:It's quite fascinating to watch them grow so quickly. Not exactly a bountiful crop yet, but we'll see what happens in another week or so. I've seen these also at Target, and they have a bunch of different types of plant seed kits to gro. More info here.

2008- where I was- 2009- where are you?

Happy New Year! How has your 2009 been treatin' ya so far? Well, having kept up this blog now for over 2 years, it's fun to see where I was at in January last year. Did you keep up any resolutions you had made? For me, 2008 was supposed to be about "upgrading". Here's a list of the things I had set out to do, and the results:

• upgrade the bathrooms- this was accomplished back over the summer in August. Seriously, it's amazing how one just one thing can suddenly shift everything. By finally replacing the vinyl flooring with real tile- my whole perspective on my master bathroom changed and I went from light blue and pop-y fun, to drastically darker but (hopefully) more mature and... swanky...

• continue the parentals redo (guestroom or master bedroom)- Luckily my parents went on another couple weeks long vacation back in April, which led me to be able to do another room for them. It's so much easier to do these when they're gone (probably because they'll have no say on my choices, hehe). Because I also had a ton of work going on, I opted for the smaller downstairs guest bedroom. It's weird space, and I extremely limited in my options. However, again, changing up the paint color was the catalyst for everything.

• travel more- Work pretty much dictated this one, and in the beginning of the year, I found myself in the Seattle area several times for a client. But it wasn't all work, there definitely was some fun in between. Palm Springs, NYC (work + play), Hawaii, and Vegas found a spot into my 2008 as well.

• get the garage "situation" handled- ok. technically, this didn't fully happen in 2008. But it did happen during this last holiday vacation. So for me, my 2009 isn't really going to start until Monday ok? hehe- But I did actually hunker down and get most of the horror in my garage organized. I still have a long way to go to my ultimate clean dream garage. But for now, I can finally see the floor and I can walk from my car to the door in a straight line without having it be an obstacle course. Also new shelving and a ton-o bins helped to tone down much of the visual chaos.

So overall- and for the first time- I actually kept up ALL my resolutions! Color me surprised and somewhat proud! woo hoo! Here are a few other highlights for me from 2008:

•Spray Paint bandits strike again.
•The Apartment Therapy book.
•Grey pumpkins.
•my modern wreath adventure- (BTW, I created a flickr set to document this year's holidays if you're curious.)

•and of course, probably one of the best (and worst? haha j/k) things that happened to me this year, my new buddy, Pepé. And yes, I just had to create a profile for Pepé on Dogbook. I am now officially one of "those people." (be his friend! add him!)

Speaking of Facebook, I just created a fan page. Be a fan! and if you haven't already, join the HM Facebook blog network page here.

I'm still trying to figure out what my goals/resolutions are for this year. Last year they came pretty easy to me. This year, not so much. So give me a few days and I'll get back to you on that. In the meantime, I'd love to know how your year went, and what you're hoping for in 2009! Also, I haven't done this in awhile, but I'd love to know where you're reading Happy Mundane from- I'm in Irvine, CA- where are you?

Thank you again for supporting and checking out this little mundane blog.