It was a year ago, right about when we moved into our current too-large-for-2+2 home, Justin and I decided that our next project will be a tiny house.

Our inspiration came from Portlandia... What an efficient way to live!

The truth is, as much as we love living with lots of room for the doggies to run around inside, we are looking forward to the day when we can take on more large construction projects and have the ability to live onsite so we can roll out of the bed and get to work. (This is true passion!)

Because of our need for tool storage and work space, after looking at many options, we decided that what we need is, again, to go full custom. Our plan is to use containers not only for storage, but also as a house frame, so we can maximize the usage of a single 25ft flat bed trailer to move all our things (and the house!). We wanted to cap ourselves at 25ft maximum so that we have a little more maneuverability for sites with more difficult access.

We started out with a four 20ft cube design, since 640sqft is about the same size of our first apartment. After all we want to go small, not ridiculous. :P

But then as we went through the design, the idea of having to make 4 trips to make "a home" began to seem a little daunting. We'll have all the conveniences, but we have to be on the road that much longer each time we move. So we decided to try smaller: cutting back to two 20ft containers, one cube with a kitchen + sit-in dinette/office with ample storage, and another cube for sleeping/bathroom/washer+dryer.

It sounded like a terrific design until I realized how unusable each cube can be by itself during the trips--we can't sleep in the kitchen while we're on the road, and we can't cook in the bedroom while we're on the road! Hmm.

So we went back to the drawing board. Maybe containers aren't the best idea because we're limited to 20ft and the next jump is 40ft. Maybe we just have to give in and look into getting an over-height 22ft trailer with usable interior space over the gooseneck.

While I was having fun coming up with a concept layout, Justin called around to find out how much something like that would cost. The answer is: pricey. Imagine my sad face!

To cut the story short, we came to the realization that in a world where you always get what you pay for, if we want to have a custom tiny mobile home that meets all our needs and price point, we just have to go really tiny. 160sqft it is then!

Justin and I took turns tackling this big tiny challenge, and we finally came up with the first Tiny Solera design!

This is my view while lounging on our custom built sofa with pull-out storage ottoman tucked under it.

And this is my view when I'm in the kitchen loading laundry in and out of our LG 4.3 cu.ft. all-in-one washer/dryer combo while waiting for some cookies to finish baking in the GE speed oven/microwave.

And this is my view while enjoying a very personal moment on the loo...

It is ridiculous how much "necessities" we can cram in that little space! Not to mention, we designed this so that it's self-contained with fresh and black/gray water tank. We also have a few more tricks up in our sleeves (not shown here) for hot water supply, power, and other storage.

If you're as excited as we are about this tiny house, prepare to have your heart broken... The truth is, we still have a long way to go before we can embrace the tiny & mobile life style. We also just learned that, again, what we see on TV or in bloggosphere is just too good to be true--there is a whole bunch of issues related to legally & semi-permanently living tiny for cheap (it's not a problem if you're willing to pay the big bucks to live in a mobile home park). Last but not least, we still got a big house to finish.

So until then, we'll continue to dream tiny, and refine all the details related to our tiny house project in the virtual world...

Since decorating our table for Christmas, I've been itching to find an excuse to decorate our table again. Yes, I need an excuse.

The truth is, Justin and I live like college kids (except we're much much much neater)--we have a hard time bringing ourselves to have dinner at the table (unless it's something so good we're afraid that the ferocious monsters in our house would snatch it off our plates). So to decorate the table for no good reason whatsoever seems is illogical. And in this family, we don't do illogical. :p

So I made up my mind that Valentine's Day was going to be that perfectly logical reason to exercise my decorating muscles again... even though we don't actually celebrate Valentine's Day. But that's a story for later. :)

As usual, I started my decoration planning by looking for some inspirations online. I might have missed the memo to apply the "no crazy amount of red" filter for my search, because this is what Google gave me:

And Pinterest didn't fare any better either...

So, much, red

Don't get me wrong, I like red. It's a wonderful color. A pop of red can give life to an otherwise dull and sterile space--the keyword being, a "pop", not a KA-BOOM.

SO instead of joining the rest of the world for a weekend of red explosion, I decided our table is going to be adorned with these not-very-Valentine-y colors: gray, white and green.

I knew that I wanted gray to be my foundation, that perfect backdrop for the table. So I picked out this "suit-inspired" gray fabric with white grid pattern and sewed it into a 2-person table cloth. This grounds the table with a hint of "formal" and "gentlemanly masculinity".

To incorporate some lively green, I found these moss mats to serve as the table runner. They have just the right organic look to offset the "formalness" of the tablecloth. Birch slabs and more decorative moss added the romantic rustic touch.

For the chargers, I repurposed our white cheese boards as chargers (we happened to have 2). The clean line and the sheen of the creamware echo the somewhat formal gray tablecloth.

I added some girliness through topping off the plates with lace ribbons and added a little color (pink, of course) with the marshmallow hearts.

I couldn't quite decide on what drinkware to use, so in the end, I went for the his & hers setup: beer stein for the manly man, and English bone china teacup for the lady.

Since it is a Valentine's Day themed table, Justin suggested that the random I Love You card I made (the one with a bone and red bow) for him last week should go on the table too.

That's it! I really like this setup as it feels so whimsical and romantic. Now onto enjoying the long weekend!

Hope everyone has a wonderful, love-filled weekend too! ❤

I never thought I'd pick up growing stuff as a hobby. But ever since I helped my cousin in California pick off some fresh basil leaves from their garden to wrap the shrimps for grilling, I decided that it's so awesome that I want my own herb garden too!

The only problem is, I'm afraid of a lot of natural things. The worms, the bugs, the dirt that gets in my fingernails that I have to pick off... Not to mention, I'm too lazy busy to maintain a garden!

I asked Google what to do, and Google answered me with this... Modern Sprout: self watering herb kits. How awesome is that! I love things that take care of itself. Apparently Oprah does too!

And then the math-head in me started going... A kit costs around $18-$20 each, a bundle of cilantro goes for 33 cents at Walmart, it's going to take forever for me to make financial sense out of this!

So instead of announcing to Justin that I have just developed another expensive hobby, I went shopping.

Here's what I came up with:

• Mason jar, wide mouth, 32oz, about $1.50 ea.
• 2" PVC coupling, about $1 ea.
• 2" PVC plug, about $1.75 ea.
• 1/4" braided nylon rope (It's important to get nylon as opposed to cotton to prevent the mildew, but also make sure it's the type that'll soak up the water)
• Screws (or just whatever you have around)
• Soil (I used the Espoma organic seed starter to reduce my chance of failing)

And then it's as simple as this:

1. assemble (stick the plug into the coupling with a little contact cement)
2. wait for the contact cement to fully dry and the odor completely dissipates
3. drill a hole through the plug using a 1/4" drill bit
4. drill again to add the screws on the sides 
5. thread the nylon rope through the bottom hole (make sure its length allows the rope to run fully through the coupling on one end, and touch the bottom of the mason jar on the other end)
6. fill the coupling with soil and plant your herbs! 
   Don't forget to add some water to the soil to give the plant/seeds some much needed H2O before the wicking action begins!)

Easy, right?  Even a cave woman (like me!) can do it.

For my planting pleasure, I started with these little guys from Seed Exchange.

I have to admit, growing something from seeds takes a lot of patience compared to the instant gratification one gets from the vegetable aisles. But I love my herbs and they've been loving me back! I have been snipping off these little green leaves to add flavors to our dishes and they're still growing strong!

And I haven't forgotten about the free basil I promised.

Please don't laugh at my lack of knowledge in planting and transplanting, but apparently basil can be propagated by cutting. How does one do it? As with everything in life, there's the hard way of doing it, and there's mom's way.

One day I was at our favorite Pho restaurant with my parents and I was telling them about my new found passion in growing herbs, while picking off the fresh basil leaves for my pho. "Take that stem home and stick it in water, that's how you grow basil," my mom said.

Say what?

Like a good daughter, I did exactly what mom suggested. And she's right. Not only did the bare stem I took home lived on, it even started to root (I think that's what the fibery stuff at the base of the stem turns into?) and grew some new leaves.

Once there are roots, the stem can be transplanted into the self-watering container. And now we have endless free fresh basil supplies!

To put the "self watering" super power feature to the test, last month we went on a 10-day vacation and left my beloved plants home alone. When we returned, I was happy to find them still alive and well hydrated...

The DIY self watering container work wickedly! (Pun fully intended)

Happy growing,

PS. For those who just want to get planting without the DIY, check out IKEA's self watering planters. I haven't seen them in person yet so not sure how much water it'll hold, but it seems to be a pretty aesthetically pleasing solution at a pretty reasonable price.

I love Christmas. I know it's becoming very commercialized and travel gets very expensive... But I still love it in my own ways.

Having moved around quite a bit and never lived in the same states as our families, we have always been traveling around Christmas time so we can see both Justin's and my family. But with the new house finished this year, we demanded decided to have Christmas at our house!

One of the most exciting things about Christmas is decorating. Raised by a crafty and creative mom in a faraway (subtropical) land, one of the best memories growing up was making our own Christmas tree. It has become a tradition of ours until we started in college, when the weeks before Christmas time were completely taken up by the insane amount of studying to prepare for the finals.

Getting to create our own family traditions now, Justin and I decided to go for the biggest fresh cut we can get--but I also want to keep the DIY tradition by making my own ornaments. So I picked up boxes and boxes or clear glass ornaments of various sizes, and got to work!

I was having a lot of fun creating each one of them different, but after many days and nights of ornament making, I was glad that we only have half of a 10' tree to decorate... (Please ignore the exposed OSB wall in the background. This is another project on our list to complete before next Christmas!)

(We feel that the tree topper deserves its own close-up shot!)

Christmas decorating isn't done until all the stockings are on the mantel...

Some warm glow and the fire...

And gifts under the tree...

The doggies are just as enthusiastic about Christmas as I am!

Christmas decorating is a family affair. My mom made these Anthropologie-inspired pillows with the Christmas theme to add a pop of color to our otherwise neutral living room.

She also created the center piece for our Christmas table setting.

My dad also put his new-found carpentry skills to use and helped us create a cedar Parsons dining set so we can seat more people.

Even though I get the credit for putting the finishing touches together, I know I couldn't have such a dreamy first Christmas at our house without the family's support! Our dinner table came out amazing!

To top off all the awesomeness, Chef Justin made this amazing prime rib roast for our Christmas Eve dinner...

On the day of Christmas... Since Beau Beau and Peanut are the only little ones in this family, they get all the gifts! Lucky dogs!

We hope you're enjoying this holiday season as much as we are! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year everyone!