itty bitty fish

With some shiny beads, hemp twine and naturally holed shells onefish and I found at the beach last month, we made necklaces for his preschool classmates:

Onefish also made two very special necklaces [which he beaded all by himself] for his best friends, b-fish and e-fish. He was so good at [and had so much fun with] beading, I think we might have to ask Santa for some more hemp twine and fun beads this year. And, I might have to get a book on tying knots so we can make some seriously cool itty bitty pretties.

About a year [or two] ago, my brother and sis-in-law got me this cute little coffee press. I thought, “oh, how cute” and promptly put it away on a shelf. Well, a year [or two] later, I finally opened my Aeropress and took it on our beach vacation. I could kick myself for not trying it sooner. When used correctly, it makes the best. coffee. ever.

The key is using not-quite-boiling water and stopping the press just above the coffee grounds so that it’s only the air pressure that’s pressing the coffee. And, unless you want espresso, topping the [large] mug off with hot water. This itty bitty [and super portable] press really does brew a mean cuppa joe.

… three times the fun.

[carrot flowers, avocado slices, herb roasted turkey, sliced apples and spiced apple muffin]

Because, sometimes, dessert needs its own bento box.

A little pop-Buddhist philosophy for your morning [from this month's Parenting Early Years magazine]:

Give Thanks — No Matter What
Research consistently finds that regularly expressing gratitude is good for our overall well-being: People who do so are healthier, more successful at reaching their goals, more optimistic, and more inclined to help others. But what if your family is struggling, say with a job loss, and no one is feeling like they have much to be thankful for? “There’s nothing wrong with faking it,” says Robert Emmons, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and author of the book Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier. “It doesn’t have to be spontaneous or natural. Act grateful, and you’ll soon start feeling it.”

Seek Out Satisfaction in Your Choices
This advice goes to the heart of a key finding of happiness research: It’s important to learn to be content with how our decisions turn out. My children’s preschool teacher, Joyce Drolette of Bozeman, MT, sent the girls home repeating what turns out to be a powerful mantra for happiness: “You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit.”

Lose Yourself in the Moment
Okay, not every moment. But research indicates that happy people focus on moments of joy: those in the present, the past, and even the ones possible in the future.

and my personal favorite…

Focus On Your Circle
In an economic time when so many are struggling to get by, it’s easy to fantasize that a little more wealth or success is the key to greater joy. So perhaps there is no better time for this reminder: All the studies on the subject show that the key and consistent element in the lives of very happy people is close personal relationships. Period. “Human beings are meant to be together,” says Gregg Easterbrook, a father of three and author of The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. “Having good, supportive relationships is ninety percent of life.“

Not the b00bies. The bakeware. I love it. Silicone cups are wonderful for separating foods and flavors in bento boxes, but you can also use them to serve snacks [to the bitty ones or as mixed nut cups]. My favorite use for them, however, is actually, well… baking.

You cook at a lower temperature and for less time; saving energy and patience. And, you can bake healthy muffins in appealing wrapping. But the best part is that wrapping is recyclable! What’s not to love?

I’m guessing onefish never would have tried potstickers if it weren’t for these fun little bento picks.

As it was, he enjoyed them immensely; all the while making up stories about the [itty bitty] animals. You can find some cute picks like these here and here.

Things I have learned while attempting to make my first angel food cake:

* Do not lick the beaters. Raw egg whites are not so yummy. Even with lots of sugar in the mix.
* Do not cook the cake the suggested 37 – 47 minutes. Mine burned [slightly] at 25 minutes.
* Even [slightly] burned angel food cake tastes… off.
* Turn it upside down on a bottle immediately or your cake will fall.
* Wine bottles are too big for the standard angel food cake pan.
* Even if you ignore all of the above, your husband will [probably] still eat the entire cake.

I will be attempting Operation Angel Food: Part II later today.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I put together a couple bento sets for my niece [starfish] and both of my sister-in-laws. I actually had my camera in hand when starfish opened her gifts, and I was glad because she really liked them!

The nori cutter is from my own humble bento gadget collection. The only reason I didn’t include a nori punch in the gift sets is, well… seaweed [even decorative happy face seaweed] sometimes scares people who aren’t used to Japanese cuisine. But, they are so cute! [A sad side note: all three of my bitty bento cutters have gone MIA. I'm sure they are somewhere tragically obvious. However, until I find them, I will have to hand cut my nori faces.]

In case you want to give the give of bento [to yourself or someone else] I’ve put together a list [with links] of ideas which includes some of my favorite things:

[affordable] bento boxes, travel utensils & bags [jbox]
kids [taining] chopsticks [jbox]
egg shapers & rice molds [daniel's house storefront]
Japanese citrus peeler [daniel's house storefront]
Small cookie [for meat & cheese] cutters [amazon]
cute bento systems [laptop lunches]
vegetable cutters [a fave of mine!] [happy japan]
nori [seaweed] cutters/punches [happy japan]
mini soy sauce bottles [bento crazy]
gel-cool bento boxes [i love obento]

I recently gave some bento goodies to my sister-in-law(s) and my niece. Thing was, I ran out of wrapping paper for my husband’s sister’s [and aunts'] gifts. I went out on a shopping excursion the next day with plans to get more, but first I stopped by Old Navy to exchange a pair of pants. When I was in the checkout line, I saw these super kawaii reusable shopping bags for a buck a piece. That’s when the idea hit me – why buy more wrapping paper (which would just get thrown away) when I could use these bags to wrap gifts? It’s like a gift in an [itty bitty] gift! I plan to use reusable shopping bags from now on the wrap gifts. And, the best thing is, tons of store sell reusable bags for a dollar [or less than], so you don’t even spend much more money* wrapping this way!

[*If you don't have money to spend on wrapping, or are just interested in being extra environmentally conscious, the funnies from the Sunday paper work great for gift wrap!]

Please forgive the lack of updates. We were on vacation at the beach this past week swimming with the itty bitty fishies. [And some sharks and dolphins. Yes, seriously.] Since we’ve gotten back, onefish and twofish have been monopolizing my photo editing/blog writing time. I promise many fun updates this coming week. So, stay tuned…