bento box

I am crazy for bentos (at restaurants and for lunches)! If you brown-bag it for your kids' lunches or you're a zip-loc addict, you will get hooked on what you are saving in your pocket and saving the earth from choking on plastic. I love all the different designs they come in, but I especially loved this Kung Fu Panda one with a headband as the lock! I am sure that if I ever make it Japan, I will fill up one whole suitcase with bento boxes.

wood you

wear this wooden watch? It is 100% natural wood and hypo-allergenic. I wood.

mini countryman

If any of you are Mini fans, you would share your excitement with me over the new Mini Countryman. It's a crossover version of the Cooper and Clubman and most importantly, it's a four door! And yes, I would get it even though we have kids. It's all the more convenient with the 4 doors for accessing car seats. This is exactly how I want to build it.

for the tea lover

This is a perfect gift for someone who loves white tea. I love white tea (hint. hint.). Teaposy handcrafts this amazing flower that is embedded with tea. When you pour hot water over it in their clear teapots, it blooms into this gorgeous flower! Get it for someone this Christmas.

cookie swap 2010

Getting my bake on for our Cookie Swap...

thankful for bacon jam

Every Thanksgiving, I am always thankful for my family, friends and happiness. It's a wonderful American tradition for families to observe this. This year, Jonathan and I had a great time preparing for our feast together and there was no pressure since we didn't have formally invited guests. We just did an open house. We split up the sides and we did the turkey together. I do want to point out that the theme of our meal was bacon. It flavored everything so much, we thought it was our most delicious Thanksgiving to date! I got so into it, I made some bacon jam. What an incredible invention! I don't know if I made it right, but it sure tastes good...on EVERYTHING! It's spreadable bacon which punches everything up from toast with bleu cheese, sundried tomatoes, blt, grilled cheese to burgers! If you don't eat bacon, you are truly missing out.

ipad case

i haven't given into the iPad yet since they don't do flash :( and just tell me why didn't they put a camera in it like they did for the iTouch?? well, this case almost makes me want to get one.

velorbis

I got a beach cruiser last year and I didn't opt for a high end one. The last pricey bike I had got stolen so right now it's not an investment that takes priority - especially since Las Vegas is not a beach town, I am not Danish, nor do we live in a culture where biking is a main mode of transportation. I love to ride and since I love bikes, a Velorbis is my dream bike. It makes you want to move to the beach just so you can ride it everyday. Until then, I will admire it from Las Vegas. Sigh!

palm springs: a perfect getaway from las vegas

We spent the long weekend at Palm Springs, CA. We stayed at ACE Hotel which ended up being awesome and so kid-friendly! Their restaurant, King's Road, was excellent - I could eat there everyday. They also offer free use of their bikes so we went on a bike ride on a perfect day through various neighborhoods while touring the fabulous architecture. Fallon had a blast riding a long distance on flat roads. It was also perfect swimming weather! We ate delicious Mexican food, relaxed and had good old family fun. We went to Viceroy to take pictures of the girls and went to The Parker for lunch. I can't wait to go back and this time stay at The Parker.

join the tap water movement

Even in Las Vegas. Those of you who know me, I am religious about recycling, reducing, re-using. It is rare that I show up to eat without my trusty bobble or filtered water from home. We have an excellent home filtering system at home via Subzero which rates higher than any bottled water you can buy. And even if it passes only through our refrigerator, it's great water. If you've been to my house, you know we give good tap. I try my best not to buy bottled waters or use take out boxes (I have been known to take along my own plastic boxes!). Bottled water is such a scam :( When I do drink bottled, I have a weakness for Fiji and Smart water.

10 reasons why you should quit the bottle and do tap water - yes, even in Las Vegas:

1. 98% of Las Vegas water comes from Lake Mead which originates from the Colorado River which is very clean water to begin with? The 2% is from underground wells. Those of you who live in Henderson have the best water coming in and those of us in Summerlin (West) get 15% of our water from wells.

2. Tap water is regulated by the EPA not the FDA. City tap water can have no confirmed E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria. FDA bottled water rules include no such prohibition (a certain amount of any type of coliform bacteria is allowed in bottled water).

3. Bottled water is NOT regulated by the EPA. You are better off filtering your water at home than getting filtered bottle water at a restaurant (unless it's Fiji or smart water). The FDA only requires the bottled water to be as good as tap- not better, i.e., City tap water, from surface water, must be filtered and disinfected. In contrast, there are no federal filtration or disinfection requirements for bottled water.

4. It takes 3 bottles of water to make a plastic water bottle!

5. As much as 40% of all bottled water comes from a city water system, just like tap water.

6. You never know how long that water has been in that plastic bottle and how much plastic has been leached into the water. If you have been concerned about buying BPA-free plastic, you would agree :)

7. 60% to 70% of all bottled water sold in the U.S. is exempt from the FDA's bottled water standards.

8. Most cities using surface water have had to test for Cryptosporidium or Giardia, two common water pathogens that can cause diarrhea and other intestinal problems, yet bottled water companies do not have to do this.

9. City tap water must meet standards for certain important toxic or cancer-causing chemicals, such as phthalate (a chemical that can leach from plastic, including plastic bottles).

10. 38 billion water bottles are discarded into landfills every year, wasting $1 billion worth of plastic made with 1.5 million barrels of oil. You can get about 450 gallons of tap water for the price of 1 bottle of water.

Don't knock Tap. Filtering your own water could save you hundreds or thousands and save you from dumping plastic into the ground. Let's be fantastic, not plastic :)

topshop uk for usa

When I lived in London (90s), I truly honed in on my shopaholic skills. One of the drawbacks of living in Vegas is that the style here is slutty, am I right? Definitely not my style, but I am a Londoner at heart! This jacket reminds me of my days in the UK. My main places to shop were: H&M and TOPSHOP. Kate Moss has a line with them which has been pretty good. Glad they are sharing their genius to us Yanks. Cheers!

fall=football

Jon got me, Melissa and Fran OSU tickets for the Purdue game in Columbus for homecoming. It was the first time to be away from the kids for this long - 6 days! I missed them, but it was so fun to be able to romp around with Melis on campus and relive some college days! So much has changed. We won the game of course and we did a little bar hopping, went to The North Market and my old loft across the street, Jeni's ice cream, Short North, visited Easton Town Center to see some old H.S. friends and did some shopping. I also included a trip to Steub/Pittsburgh to see my parents. How I miss fall at home!

i heart crewcuts

Many of you have asked where I got Fallon's birthday dress last year (hot pink ruffles all over). It was from crewcuts,the kids shop at J.Crew. They do not have a store here - only 2 stores in the U.S. They have amazing kids clothes and I don't fret too much about spending a little more for a special dress. Their catalogs are oozing of, "I want this and I want that!" It all starts from the expert styling of Jenny Cooper, the head of design.

i'm baaaaack!

Yes, my blog has been dormant for a while. For 2 and half years. Here's a list of my excuses: I got into Facebook, Aspen sucked up my time, Plain Zane needed more attention and I just got plain lazy. Well, now I decided to resume since I get so many emails from people asking how the kids are, what the best diapers are, what's the best refillable ink cartridges, how do we recycle electronics, what apps am I using, preschool questions, best gifts for xmas, what to wear for a September wedding, organic choices, etc. Whew! Anyway, it's good to be back!