things make me happy: paper lantern.

Part of the deal with moving into a Taiwan apartment is that you're tacitly agreeing to be bathed in florescent lighting no matter what room you're in. After almost three weeks of living in an undead glow, we'd had enough. The light in our dining room was the first to come down, and in it's place went a squat lantern of white paper. We have a different lantern waiting to go up in the living room, and plans for lighting changes in the bedrooms and the office. Even with just the one lantern up, I can really say I'm seeing my new home in a whole new light.

Ikea väte hanging lamp.

And on a terribly belated note, I was recently profiled on Girl in Asia's behind the blog feature. Check that out here. Thanks for inviting me to participate, Liz!

things make me happy: Living is better with Muji.

We have many reasons for wanting to get back to Asia. The food. The lifestyle. A need for travel. And Muji. Their pared-down clothing and accessories are simple, functional, and so straight-forwardly handsome. I'm browsing the site now in advance, and I wouldn't mind a new Muji bag, or a new Muji notebook (I filled mine up months ago)-- I'd even be totally unhip and get a pair of Muji house-slippers, if I could find them in my size.

I'm thinking it's time for a little more Muji in my life.