Lunch for Friday, April 29, 2011

By special request here is a list of ...

Things I wish I had bought first
Single tier box
Decorative picks in animals shapes and flowers, not just any generic shapes I could find
Nori face accent punches

Things I have purchased that I probably have too much of
Silicone cups, really how many do I need? Baking ones come in packs of 12 so I have so many extras.
Nesting bento boxes, yes they are cool but most are too deep/shallow to be of any real use.
Plain picks, I ended up purchasing cocktail picks at a craft store in the beginning and have more than I need.

Things I see used but I doubt I would use
Rice shapers, I usually use the plastic wrap method and shape rice with my hands.
Pocket sandwich cutters, I have a large round one but you have to use such fresh bread or it will fall apart
Sausage cutters, not only are the sausages available here too large but I was able to recreate this with just a knife at one time.


I finally purchased a bento set that I have had my eye on for some time.  I kept looking at it online but the price was way more than I felt comfortable spending.  So I went to searching for it on eBay.  And finally a few weeks ago it showed up.  I was very happy that I won this and I paid about half of what the retail price was including the ridiculous amount the seller charged for shipping.  Score!  And I am unable to find it online now as well.  It came in on Monday this week and the minute I opened the outer box all I could smell was cigarette smoke.  Gag!  So I pulled everything out and started washing all the components and sprayed the bag down with Fabreeze.  Gross but things can be washed.  Then I started playing with the bag and noticed that the drawstring button didn't look right.  I looked in the bottom of the box and saw an extra piece.  It was the button and it was beyond repair.  Oh well, this still did not affect the containers.  I finally gave feedback to the seller and gave them a neutral rating.  Yes it stank, yes it was broken but I still was happy with the purchase.  The seller commented that my neutral rating was unfair and that I should have contacted them.  Really, unfair?  I could have given negative feedback like my co-workers suggested.  And what could they have done if I did contact them?  Apologize?  It still would not have fixed the item and they don't have another one.  I felt I was being more than generous with what I gave them.  Ok stepping off soapbox now.

So here is said bento set...

Beautiful isn't it?  I fell in love with the bag.  I knew I wanted to add a thermos type bento to my collection and all the other bags that they come with just didn't do it for me.  It seems the thermos types are mostly the same inside but it's the bag that stands them apart.

Inside my thermos I have leftover spaghetti from last nights dinner that I heated up this morning.  I will see how warm it stays at lunch.  In the smaller container I have some strawberries, honeydew melon and a grape.  The larger container I have a mini sweet pepper, grape tomatoes, portabella mushroom, a Babybel cheese, broccoli and some baby pepperonis.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  And all of you and your kids that are not feeling well get better.