Nirvana has been reached!

If you want to buy me a gift (and who doesn't) here is a little wish list that represents my two favorite things right now- strawberries and Bento boxes. [please insert heavenly choir music here]
Now that I have to find a store to replace Ichiban Kan this may be my new mecca.... Bento Crazy!!! What could be better than this lovely collection of Bento boxes??? LOOOOVE it!

clipped from bentocrazy.com

Strawberry Candy 2 Tier Bento Box and belt set 6.50

Cram Cream Strawberry Stainless Steel Water Bottle 13.00

Black Strawberry Two Tier Bento Box 16.00

Red Strawberry Two Tier Bento Box 16.00

I wonder if I can score some free Bento goodies for doing a kick ass review?? =)

MAIL TIME!!!

I LOOOOOVE GETTING MAIL!!!!! In the last three days I have gotten two wonderful packages (with more to arrive any day now!)

First came my bento order from Ichiban Kan, a lovely Japanese import store in CA with the BEST bento deals. I bought three two-tiered boxes with matching belts, a square box, some toothpicks (for make kababobs), some paper grass (for keeping items separate), and some small condiment bottles. (If anyone knows where I can get a pipette please let me know!). All that for about $12!!! Lunches are going to be sooooo much easier to take! Just check out the Bento Group on Flickr to see some AWESOME bento ideas!
Here is a pic of my loot!


Then today I received an even better package- my Usborne book order!! Aside from getting my customer's books I also got Gabby and AJ's books... a LOT of them! (Did I mention that being a consultant totally ROCKS out?) Let's just say that I spent very little to get all these and my girls are sooooo excited to have new books to look at!



And last, here is a pic of my girls... digging in the pool! Gotta love their imagination!

Surf's Up Saturday- The Return of the Bento Box

I have been slacking on putting together whole bentos for lunch, most of the time Gabby is just happy with the cute shaped sandwiches and the skewers of fruit. But last night I got a bento style box and am back to a full blown obsession! Here is my new box, purchased from World Market and called a Tiffin Tin: Here are some sites that I have found with great and very inexpensive accesories for creating your own bento lunch. Aside from being fun to put together, I think that bento boxes are the way to go if you are trying to save money and be environmentally friendly. Kids are drawn to them because they are fun and nothing mixes.

Jbox is a very interesting site that has a whole bunch of Japanese items, not just bento things. The prices are great and they have a lot of things that other stores don't have like weiner shapers... who doesn't want their mini hotdog turned into a tulip?! =)

The Tiffin Tin is a great blog for getting ideas for your lunch, whether you carry a bento or brown bag it. I love how clean the layout is and very informative.

Wendolonia is another blog that is very bento- centered. This woman amazes me! She just had a baby (JUST) and is still making bentos for her little boy and posting fabulous pictures. I love how simple her bentos are and kid friendly. Gabby's lunches are very similar to her little boy's.

Another great store is called Bento Crazy. They have a good amount of bento kits and supplies. I really like red two tier box!

I Love Obento is my new shopping site. They have such cute accessories like grass dividers and silicone cups for keeping items seperate. My favorite is these cute apple mayo cups, complete with little spoons that look like worms!
Finally is a new find for the day- Japan Centre. It is a foreign store and all the prices are in pounds, but everything is only 1.49 pounds which is $2.63, not bad at all. There are a lot of people on Flickr who have ordered from there with fabulous results.

Surf's Up Saturday! A little of this... a little of that!

Ok, so I was going to do another theme... especially since we are in an "ahoying and aaarrrghing" mood in my house from listening to a great Pirate CD... but then I became a little ADDish and discovered a whole bunch of other things that have caught my eye! So here is my lil list of a little of this and a little of that!

Well, I have to share the CD that has captured my kids and husband's undivided attention. We have been listening to this CD non-stop and I am ready to don an eye patch and make someone walk the plank! Pirates of the Caribbean: Swashbuckling Sea Songs is a hit and will be sure to have you singing, "Yo ho yo ho a pirate's life's for me!".

Next is a new obsession of mine, Bento Boxes! These Japanese box lunches are so neat because it is visually appealing, houses small amounts of a lot of different foods, and keeps the food separate. As the mom of a picky 3 year old I am constantly thinking of ways to make new food fun for her. She hates most meat, balks at the thought of new things, and likes a lot of variety. So for me creating a Bento box lunch is more than worth the effort. Here is a great collection of pictures of these wonderful lunches and if you want to see a great blog about them go here to Wendolonia! This is one of my favorites from the picture pool:

Well with summer right around the corner it only means one thing... the dreaded hunt for the perfect bathing suit. Last summer was a no brainer- I was very pregnant and was going to look like a beached whale in whatever I had on so who cared what the suit looked like? But you pay a price for that peace of mind the summer after having a baby... your beach bod is not so hot and you are even more self conscious. So when I came across this swim suit at Target thanks to a great blog- Tangled and True - I dashed to the store to see if the suit was too good to be true. I can't wait to sport this sassy zebra print at the beach this summer! It is pretty, flattering, and under $50! Check it out!!

Now, I want to share another great Etsy find- beautiful canvas bags by MellisaVest. We are busy switching over from plastic to canvas in my house, and I love how easy canvas bags are to wash after a long day at the beach. These are different because they are almost artistic in their graphics and make you forget that it is a canvas bag! Love them!!

Finally I want to share a website called Plants Free for Life. After the sticker shock of the prices of little posie pots I was definitely interested in learning how to propagate my own plants. Especially since my neighbor is the original garden lady! There are tons of greenhouses in the area, but there is no reason that it should cost $15 for 10 little bitty plants that are just going to die over the winter... causing you to have to plant all over again! This website shows you how to start your own plants from cuttings to division. How cool!

This is my Gabby with a handful of worms that we dug up in the garden, ready to go to the area with the strawberries

Ok, I know I usually do more, but it is a beautiful day here in Cleveland (and you know we don't get many of those) My garden is calling and we are finding worms for another fishing trip... pics about that later! Have a great holiday weekend everyone!!!

PS: I just caught up with the premiere of So You Think You Can Dance- LA Auditions... good god! It was the return of The Good, The Bad, and The Naked! Four words: KEEP THE CLOTHES ON!!!