I know it has no nutritional value, but there’s something totally comforting about eating instant ramen noodles. They hit the spot when its cold (like right now) or even when its late at night (like right now). At the local Japanese grocery store, they have all kinds of variations, some are even with fresh noodles, all vacuum packed. The other thing that I love is to eat noodles while watching bad tv- which would be why I must get these Noodle bowls! I love how they have a handle like a cup, and holes for your chopsticks. I saw them at the Target Red Hot Shop- but I see they’re also available at Uncommon Goods. I know I’ve seen these in person at a store, but I can’t remember where just now.

For those of you who don’t have to work this week, hope you’re enjoying your break, and for those that do have to work… at least there isn’t as much traffic?

West Elm gave ApartmentTherapy an exclusive sneak peak into their Spring 2007 collection, which I posted this morning on the LA site. I’m really excited about some of the directions their taking. I love love the bird rugs (yeah, I know birds have been everywhere- but I still think they’re pretty) and I think some of the runners could make great wall hangings. I also really love this mid-century/eames/r.day inspired molded plastic chair. I’m curious to the quality of it- but I love how the shape feels slightly updated and I love the legs. There will be a part two to the post coming in early January, which is also when much of the Spring Collection will start to hitting online and stores. Word on the street is that some of it is already trickling in stores now! Stay tuned….

So… are you done yet? is all your shopping done? or are you just following tradition, like I am, despite what I vowed I wouldn’t do, and wait til the last minute? Well, you still have a few days left, so don’t feel bad. You’re not alone. I recently was contacted and asked if I’d like to try out this new website, called ReadySetHoliday! It’s put together by the people at Sears, and features products from Sears, Martha Stewart (Kmart) and Land’s End. The site was created with your average homemaker in mind. They figured that for most households, the mother makes most of the buying decisions when it comes to the holidays, and so it’s set up to make the task of holiday shopping easier. Although I am obviously not the target customer, I do make all the shopping decisions in my house (helps when it’s your house) and was intrigued to see how it would all work. I even received a $30 gift card to try the whole thing out- So I was like- um.. OK! So off I went… www.readysetholiday.com.…

It’s actually a cool idea. I like how they’ve included a bunch of features, like ideas for “getting ready” or tips for “dealing with the unexpected…” and they’ve given lots of different ways to organize the products, such as by person, by price, etc… they’ve even put in ideas for recipies (they have one for mac and cheese-yum…) and ecards you can send.

After perusing, I now had to figure out what I wanted. To be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot that I was interested in. It’s not that they didn’t have a ton of product, because, well.. there’s tons to choose from. It’s just my first inclination was to peruse the home decor section, and most of it was either past my $30 limit, or just not my style. I’ve posted about some of the more contemporary things Sears is doing right now, and unfortunately I didn’t see a lot of that product being offered on this particular site. But tons of appliances at good prices (I just don’t happen to need one right now.) One thing that did catch my eye was this super cute Hello Kitty sewing machine- super kawaii!! My only gripe besides the lack of more contemporary content is that they didn’t have a “view all” function. Who has time nowadays to click through page after page?

Anyways- what I did find, and quickly ordered, was something I’ve been eyeing for a long time. The Craftsman Palm Grip Laser with Laser Trac. Lasers are cool. and I’ve been putting up more artwork lately, and this thing looks like it will be totally handy. And could be a good gift for a few friends of mine (unless i keep it for me… which will probably happen, hehe) So, click, order, and then I noticed this whole “pick up at the store” thing. Basically, what they offer is, you order your item, and it will actually be ready to pick up at a store near you within 5 minutes. Well, it just so happens that there’s a Sears close by, so I was really excited to try it out- In the end, I got to Sears, eventually found the merchandise pick up place (it turned out to be outside the main store) but within minutes, got my new Laser Trac! Very exciting. So, overall, pleasant experience. I love the whole “pick it up at the store” thing. I know other stores are starting to offer it, but this was my first time actually trying it. I love the instant gratification without waiting in the long lines. I’ll have a full report on my Laser Trac coming up. (I guess that means I’m keeping it) The readysetholiday site stays up through January 12, 2007.

Sometime life (ok, well, Whole Foods Market) throws you a container of monkey-faced cupcakes. And… when that happens… you just have to eat them. All of them.

As I’ve mentioned, my happy home is not so happy right now. However, I have big plans to bring up the cheery status this holiday break. I started the first of which the other night. Lets back up… It should be known that I have an awkward shaped kitchen. This isn’t a necessarily a bad thing, but it leaves weird corners that end up collecting random things. One thing that was really starting to bug me was that one of the corners became a dumping ground for all my cookbooks and food mags. I wanted to keep them handy, but at the same time, they were visually cluttering my counter space. So what to do? After much deliberation, I determined the ideal place would be if I could hide them in one of my cupboards. I have a very standard set of typical “track home ” cupboards next to my refrigerator. They can hold a lot, but they’re boxy and deep. I knew if I could hide the books in there, they’d be out of sight, but also not easy to get to. My solution? These supercoolness pull out drawer systems! I found them at the Container store. (unfortunately couldn’t find them online, but they are in-store.) Although a bit pricey (the one I got was $45) I am definitely pleased with the results. The kits come in several sizes, and I’ve seen different variations at the hardware store. I was looking specifically for a sort of solid tray (as opposed to a wire basket.) This version was exactly what I was looking for. Anyways- installation was snap, and they had one that was the perfect size. Now my books and mags are out of site, easy to get to, and I still have some room on the side to store other things. The healing has now begun!… next up… holiday decor… stay tuned…

I am so fascinated by this and dying to know how it works. Anyone have one?

I also forgot- Shelterrific is having a great contest for all you tschotke lovers (like myself)-
GO check it out!! and ENTER!! you only have 5 days left!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been one year since my first blog, Its(k)notwood has been in existence. Without I(k)notwood, there’d be no happymundane! Just wanted to cross promote a little and mention we’re giving away 5 fun woodgrain things- for free! Three of them are up now, we’ll reveal the last two on wednesday- check out the post for more details!

As many know, I’ve been complaining and moaning about being under the gun of a massive project that has pretty much owned me for the past few months. I’m happy to say the worst is over and this weekend allowed me the first few moments of a somewhat “back to reality” weekend. Although I wasn’t able to fully complete many of the maintenance projects I had planned to do, I was able to do a good assesment of the damage. It rained this weekend and it sort of nicely co-incided with the state of my mind. I took a few pics and found a strange beauty in the disorder of the aftermath. One of my pots has become incredibly overgrown (due to my neglect) and combined with the rain, gave up… and fell over. Lots of bright red leaves fell, leaving a beautiful gold and red carnage on the grass. And when I went inside, I noticed my poor lamp that has fallen apart and that I’ve neglected to repair for a few weeks. Oh, and then there’s the fact that my house is basically one big disaster zone (note my “dramatic” use of flash. Cue sound of girl screaming…)It’s a little sad, but at the same time, kinda nice to be reminded that your house has a life and character of its own as well. I’m sorry happy house, I have big plans to make it up to you this holiday!

Ok, normally, I’d be all over this. Here, they’ve taken the mundane detergent bottle and made it a vase. Not exactly a new concept, seen it somewhere before, but for some reason, I am not loving this. I can’t put my finger on it… maybe it’s the chrome finish? Perhaps if it was just simple white porcelain or something more matte? Actually, I wish it was glass, or why not just plastic- in fact, why not just reuse your existing ones (wash them out thoroughly of course.) Anyway, what do you guys think?

oh you necessary evil Starbucks you.. hehe- As I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve been working a bit too much lately (but its almost over)- and consequently I’ve been drinking a lot of coffee as well. It doesn’t help that the closest coffee place to me is a Starbucks. Oh you evil peppermint mocha- keep away with your tempting chocolate minty goodness. But on the Happy Mundane side, I love the different retro-esque patterened sleeves that Starbucks has been using this holiday season!

these are hillarious! too bad i don’t have a chimney… (via Craftyrobot)

Stopped by Crate&Barrel last night and was excited to see these great Marimekko wrapping papers! I love how so many of these holiday designs are classic enough to be used year-round. Especially love the tree print… there are also green and red designs too. You could even frame some and have your own large Marimekko print for about $8 each!

Spoon rests are nice, but it annoys me that afterwards, its one more thing to clean after each meal prep. Which is why I am so excited to find this little doo-dad. Its a Utensil Pot clip. It clips onto the side of your saucepan or pot and holds the utensil, so you don’t need a spoon rest! There’s heat resistant silicone pads that clip to to, and helps protect against scratches and also helps the utensil from slipping. Anyone have one of these?

I can think of so many soooo many people uses for this right now…. hehe….

I’ve seen this on a few blogs already, but being that lately I’ve been thinking about banks, I love this one too. (maybe all these cool piggy banks are trying to tell me something… like… maybe I should try to save?….)

nah…

I hope everyone here in the US had a great Thanksgiving holiday. I’m in the tail end of a massive project I’ve been working on for the past few months, so I’m really looking forward to this coming Christmas for a much needed break (I had to work over the weekend… boo…) Perhaps it’s this anticipation that is driving me, but for some reason, I’m just really excited about this holiday season. I also am loving the fact that there is so much great color going on right now in decorations. The covers of the December Martha Stewart and Living Etc, both are great examples, and actually are inspiration of what my christmas decor will probably look like. For the past few years, I’ve been fascinated with the pop-y colors of vintage glass ornaments , especially from the 50′s and 60′s. I used to put them on a white faux christmas tree, but last year, I put them on branches and placed it in a vase I had. Here is a pic:This year, however, I probably will go back to a more traditional tree, as I picked one up on sale over the weekend… (it’s also faux and white…) I have a Tord curtain displayed on my stairwell, basically as artwork, and have layered it with christmas lights, which looks great during parties and adds a nice ambient glow. It will look especially nice this year since all my new Tord /Target goodies will match! How are you going to decorate for the holidays this year?

I was just reading about the new flame-retardant curtain fabrics from Marimekko. I especially love the classic “Tuuli” print. But then, coincidently, I looked up at my window, and at my current “curtains” (they’re not really curtains per say… but they work for now) and saw this:I guess I already have my own version of the “tuuli”! (thanks to mother nature and mr. sun!)
A nice suprise and another random example of life imitating art…imitating life?…

this is the soundtrack to my life right now… and its only tuesday.