When I want to take a photo of an object, I always place it next to my windows with white curtains and use the natural sunlight, not flash. The white fabric filters the light just right, so the shadows are soft. It casts a beautiful glow onto things and people.
I love the glow of light coming through the curtains in this photo of my daughter. (taken by my hubby)
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orange chicken and saran wrap riceballs bento
I haven't been posting much, we've been busy getting our house ready to sell. After much cleaning and decluttering, I'm ready to blog again! Sorry for the lull.
My daughter requested plain rice balls, or onigiri, for lunch. I made them by scooping rice into a piece of saran wrap, wrapping it up and twisting and forming into a ball. Easier done than said. Orange chicken is from Trader Joes. When making bentos, I like to balance out the colors. Adding a little bit of green or red always does the job. Of course it looks pretty that way, but it's healthy too.
cereal memories
i only have the fondest memories of cereal. my mom didn't let us eat cereal like lucky charms or fruit loops, and don't even think about coco puffs. but i ate it at my friend's houses every chance i could.
"granola puffs" was a cereal made in the 70's that my mom thought was healthy enough. it was the treehugger's version of lucky charms. my brother and i devoured it, and the box only lasted a day or two. i remember sitting on the couch, eating my granola puffs, and my dog bowser sat in my bowl. he got up, his hairy doggy butt drenched in milk...and i kept eating my remaining granola puffs. it was that good.
while digging around in my closet, i found this framed cereal art. i bought it in the mid 90's at z-gallerie. i have no idea who made it, it's not labeled. if anyone knows who made this, let me know. under each cereal, singled out in all it's glory, has the date it was created, and the company who made it. nothing is more beautful. except maybe if they had included a granola puff.
general mills has recently released vintage style boxes of their top five selling cereals: wheaties, honey nut cheerios, golden grahams, kix, and lucky charms. they've been spotted at target. they are also selling vintage tees for $5 a pop.
bento box artist spotlight: shinzi katoh
I fell in love with these bento boxes designed by shinzi katoh. His illustration style is vintage, yet fresh, cute and colorful. The top 2 bento boxes hold onigiri, or triangular shaped rice balls. They sell some of his products online at sugarcharms.
cute bento sandwich molds
i bought these sandwich molds from mitsuwa, a local japanese supermarket. i tried them out and here are the results. these have got to be the cutest cheese sandwiches in the entire universe, it's making me all weepy.
organizing books by color
I had a little fun organizing our bookshelf by color. I wonder what my librarian aunt would think? Prior to this our shelf was a jumbled mess of books. Functional, but ugly. I thought I'd try making it pretty by adding some of my favorite things I found around the house. I really wanted to add my daughter's african print elephant toy that she never plays with-- but she grabbed it back from me, rolled it in her blankie, and slept with it all night. Hopefully, she won't notice the birdcage toy.
the blue handbag with the hawaiian girl is by patch NYC
the birdcage is a toy I bought for my daughter from Big Lots for $7
painted rock houses we found at a fishing & tackle store in Felton, CA
teapot is by eva zeisel
kokeshi dolls from japan. the taller one is from the city of shiroishi.
pizza bento
Mama mia san! This is my daughter's lunch: 2 slices of pizza, half a nitrite free hot dog, tangerine, edamame and carrots. When packing a bento, I usually start with the main item. And then fill up the gaps with the other stuff from the fridge. I keep in mind the space I have to work with. Hence, this isn't a "turkey leg & pizza bento". Speaking of turkey legs, did you ever eat the giant turkey legs they sell at Disneyland? Had one for the first time last night. Tasty! Brings out your inner cave person.
Happy Girl's Day
Hinamatsuri, or Girl's Day, is celebrated today in Japan. It's a day to pray for young girl's growth and happiness. So in honor of girl's day, I'm giving away a free, that's right, free happy girl's day greeting card! Please download happygirlsday.pdf
, print, and cut out, and give to your favorite little girl.
