Pink Blog

Apparently in Japan you need to shape your eggs. I think this is a fabulous idea, actually, because who doesn’t want something edible and adorable? It’s really easy to use – insert a freshly boiled egg, close, put into fridge for five minutes, then open and remove your shaped egg. This particular one is Hello Kitty, obviously; I’m sure other shapes are available but this one is what I found cute.

Back to bento we go! Here is an attractive pink bento box from J-Box. This is the “stacking box” style known as jubako, and the individual parts can be used separately, or if you have a big lunch you can bring the whole thing. It’s only six inches across, which seems kind of small – an American dollar bill is six inches long. I don’t know how well everything fits together but it’s really cute. And I’ve always thought bento boxes would bake great jewelry boxes, too…you could keep just about anything in there, really.

If yesterday’s Hello Kitty bento cups were a little too much for you – maybe you don’t like Hello Kitty? – you can still get pink bento cups with these heart shaped models. When you drop the Hello Kitty branding, they’re only $2.50! Otherwise they’re identical to the other cups – silicone, reusable, microwavable, etc. The J-Box site mentions that they help reduce trash, so I assume the usual bento cup is something disposable – paper maybe? If anybody knows, feel free to chime in.

Nespresso Essenza. When only a $200 pink espresso machine will do.

For your lunching delight:

• Pink “Goth Style” Bento Box (pictured here)
• Lace and Butterfly “Goth Style” Bento Box
• Sakura Square Mini Bento Box
• Sakura “Koban” 2-Tier Bento Box
• Deluxe Pink Bento (soft sided)

Here’s another way the Japanese have fun with lunch – little food-shaped food cases! This one is shaped like onigiri, a Japanese rice ball. It’s pink with cherry blossoms on it, which the Japanese call sakura. But you don’t have to keep onigiri in this, of course – it’s suitable for holding any food. It has locking clasps and is microwave safe, but it probably won’t fit in most bento boxes because of the size. It’s cute though, I would definitely be willing to pay $9.50 for it if I didn’t already have a Hello Kitty soft-sided lunch box.

The Japanese are brilliant when it comes to jazzing up their lunches. The only American who can compete is the woman behind Vegan Lunch Box! In addition to having 80 million different bento box styles, the Japanese also die-cut their vegetables with Hello Kitty Vegetable Cutters. Take a peek at this picture and you’ll see what I mean by die-cut vegetables…little Hello Kitty faces cut from carrots and so forth! I’m not 100% sure how it works, but if somebody decides to pay the $7.50 for it, let me know how it works out!

The price is right on this adorable apron – under $30! Of course it’s highly unlikely anyone will have the Donna Reed dress it should probably be paired with, but I think it will be perfectly nice over a pair of jeans and a t-shirt too. The vintage inspiration is just adorable, and of course if you really want, you can wear it with nothing at all.

Now is a great time to buy this cotton candy maker – or fairy floss maker, since you’re buying it from the UK! I say great time because, well, the pound is not doing so well right now, and what used to cost $60 now costs $40. Of course I’m not sure that you’re going to be spending your money on something like a cotton candy maker right now, but if you were, this would be a good time to do it! Use plain sugar for white cotton candy, or add food coloring for other colors.

For those of you who don’t – ahem – eat ice cream out of the Ben and Jerry’s pint with a spoon, there is the Cuisipro Scoop and Stack. I don’t keep ice cream in the house myself, so it’s been a long time since I’ve used an ice cream scoop, and this is apparently the latest in – er – ice cream scoop technology. (Can you tell I’m trying to write this with a straight face?) You can stack your ice cream as high as you want, at least until it topples! It seems to fit a regular cake cone (the square-bottomed kind) perfectly. $15.