Back to school!!

Wow summer has gone by so fast!
I remember as a child it seemed to go on forever, and now you blink and it's over.
Ah well, on the plus side, it means regular bento making for me : )
Oldest daughter is starting 9th grade this year so I guess I'll have to start making more "grown up" themed lunches for her. (in her Stitch bento box, of course..)

For any of you looking for any new bento supplies, I have some cute new puppy smile design items in my store, and I am also having a giveaway for back to school. Any order placed before August 15th is eligible to win one of the following bento sets. All you have to do is add the word "school" to the notes of your order to enter. The winner gets to choose which set they want.

I'll be posting new bento pics once school starts, so check back later this month : )

Birthday Bento

Yesterday was the baby's 2nd birthday! I can't believe he is growing so fast. His lunch included his favorite red monster, Elmo.

Lunch consists of chicken breast, cantaloupe, mango, blueberries, & raspberries, mini pb &j's cut into a rabbit and bear, and a baby bell elmo, made with swiss cheese and nori accents. He picked the nori off and ate it first : ) Pooh (another favorite, he had to get included also) is made from american cheese.

And of course, to go along with the day's theme, he had an Elmo birthday cake. I considered buying an a special Elmo-shaped pan, but decided it would be super easy to make using a round cake pan and 3 cupcakes. So here he is!

and the cupcakes his sister decorated:

Long time no see..

Hey there! How's everyone been? I have FI-NNNALLLLY settled into our new house, moving back to the US from Japan has been quite an experience. Hopefully now life will be a little more "normal" now ..as normal as it can possibly get.. lol

Sadly, I have to admit, much of my bento collection is still in boxes, I've unpacked most of my accessories, but I'd say 60% of my boxes are still packed away. (much to the delight of the husband..) haha . I was reminiscing over each box as it was unveiled, telling the husband where each bento box came from, as he was slowly inching up the basement stairs behind me. He couldn't believe that I could remember the story of each box I own.. But that's not just me is it? I'm sure most people know where each of their bentos came from, and how much it was, right? Right?

I actually told him that I would only keep the ones I could fit into a large pantry cupboard, and I would give the rest away (am hoping he doesn't remember that conversation) : /

Anyway, I am hoping to start posting more on here now that life has settled back down. The baby is almost 2 now, so he will start getting his own cute bentos in some of his many many boxes... : )

Oh and I almost forgot, here is a picture of my Jelly Belly bento box, i was recently asked about it, so here it is...

Cherry Blossom Bento

so pretty and Spring-y : )

Once again, this isn't a new bento, but with all the snow we have been getting lately, I have been yearning for spring..

The upper picture is from last spring, it is a cherry blossom tree from our neighborhood in Japan. It inspired me to make the bento shown here. This is actually the lower tier, made of sticky rice and hard boiled egg dyed with food coloring and sesame seeds for detail. The tree branch is made from inari zushi skins. For some reason I couldn't locate a picture of the top tier, probably just as well, I'm sure it wasn't as cute as the lower half. : )

This was made in the koi bento box, it holds an enormous amount of food, there's like 2 cups of rice in this thing and it still looks like it could hold another 2 or 3 cups!

Grown Up Bento Lunch

This bento is meant for an adult, or at least someone with "grown-up" taste. : ) The lower tier is karaage (fried chicken) with crispy fried green onions and rice. The upper tier is assorted fruit and potato salad- yum yum ^_^ I love this bento, it has the cutest elephant on the lid, and a great half-moon shape. This technically isn't a new bento, but I don't think I've ever posted a picture of it before. We've been in a bit of a transitional stage in our lives and I haven't had a chance to make many bentos.. sigh. On a positive note, husband has been offered a job in Washington Dc so we are now house hunting! I can't wait to get settled in, I really miss my bento collection!

Egg Salad Bento

Hello everyone! Yay! Another school year!! I hope you all had a terrific summer!

I have been taking a bit of a break over the summer from making daily bento lunches, and I didn't photograph very many at all : ( But now that school is back in session, I will really, really try to be more dilligent at posting on here!
This bento is egg salad sandwich on crustless wheat bread- which can be be purchased with the crusts already cut off, how great is that? That way I don't feel wasteful when I don't use the crusts : ) Plus, it's a great time-saver, bonus for me..

Also included is an ice-cream cone shaped egg which I dyed with food coloring, mini grapes, potato salad and blueberry wafers. Oh, and orange natchan of course ~_^ It's the cutest little can of sugar water ever!

I didn't have room in the carry bag for the can, so I rolled it in the placemat and tied a handle for the daughter to carry, and hopefully try to keep it cold.

Curry Rice Bento

Well, this bento is actually from a couple of weeks ago, I just never had a chance to post it. I have still been making bentos a couple of times a week, but I have been so busy I haven't been photographing them. I promise to try & post more often. (^_^)

This particular bento was my lunch, it is curry fried rice in the lower tier, and in the upper tier broccoli with kewpie mayo, curry-filled nan bread purchased from a street vendor-it is sooo delicious, I buy it whenever I see the vendor set up (which is rare, and most of the time it's sold out by the time I get there :(

In the divider cup, lower half has karaage and fried green onions, and the upper half is fresh strawberries dusted with "strawberry cream" flavored powdered sugar. I love the ideas they come up with here in Japan, especially when it is related to food!