Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a great holiday! We certainly did, and it was way too short. Many friends postponed holiday dinners and get together till after the holiday, and I thought these Fortune Cookie Soaps are perfect hostess gifts to start the new year clean. They even come in a little cute take out container. Can’t go wrong with it.
This set of blocks is totally perfect to raise our bilingual babies. Each block is embossed to give it a classic look inspired by traditional blocks. They are handcrafted in Michigan of Basswood grown in the Great Lakes area and printed with non-toxic inks.
This beginner Mandarin set has 32 character blocks. Each block has the character alone and with its English equivalent, a stroke grid to learn how to create the character, and a number and a picture with its pin yin equivalent. There is also a puzzle side for this set… a map of China, the Chinese flag and a yellow dragon (responsible for bringing the seeds of writing to the Chinese people).
Hooray to celebration the continuous awareness of the Chinese language! These blocks are available at Uncommon Goods!
I love wearing slippers at home, and I’ve been noticing most of my Asian friends wear slippers at home too. Maybe it’s an Asian thing? Anyway, I always need a new pair, especially for winter every year. It’s never too early to start a holiday wish list. This year maybe I will go for something as whimsical as this pair of Sushi Slippers from Uncommon Goods.
Many of you who have been following our blog know that we at My Panda Paws are somewhat obessed with chopsticks! Chopsticks are made from many different materials, from bamboo and plastic to silver and ivory. In ancient times, chopsticks are part of a family heirloom, past down from generation to generation.
Anyway, as more and more Chinese families are living overseas, the need for non traditional chopsticks found it’s way into the market place. I found these colorful fork chopsticks at a department store recently. They are designed/made by the French company Pylones. From first glance, they look like any ordinary chopsticks with pointy tips. When look closely, instead of a square or round top, these chopsticks offer two-pointed forks on top, so they can easily be used individually as an appertizer fork. In addition, these chopstick forks are longer than any average forks on the market, it makes reaching for that oh-so-yummy dish all that much easier! Think fondue fork!
Pylones make these in 10 different colors, so pick your favorite color or mix and match, you can’t go wrong with these cool and functional fork chopsticks!
I am in love with this Buddha butter dish. I wonder if the butter contributes to the big belly of this Buddha….oh wait, Chinese cooking usually doesn’t use butter! LOL. Buddha Butter Dish available at GAMA.
Princeton and Tiger, what do these two have in common? It turns out, Princeton University is celebrating the Year of the Tiger early (2011) with some fantastic items. On their site, and on sale (double great) is a t-shirt with the Chinese character Tiger calligraphied on the front. The colors are either orange with black writing, or black with orange writing. In addition, there are mugs and hats in the Tiger line. What a great find to kick off the week!
Ok, if you went to Princeton or are familiar with the University, you know the University is known as the Princeton Tigers, so I think it’s pretty nifty that they tied in the school mascot and Chinese New Year to create something special for both! Go Princeton Tigers!
Lunch Box – 便當 – biàn dāng
Traditionally, 便當, consists of rice, meat, and vegetable. However, in recent years, anything that can fit in a lunch box and eaten for a meal can be considered a 便當. For me, coming up with ideas to pack for lunch is always hard, especially my 2 school age kids have very different taste pallettes. Here are some ideas that have worked in the past. If there are anything you do for your kids’ lunch boxes, please respond as I would love to get more ideas!
Too keep the lunch boxes cool on hot days, I put in a frozen gogurt, juice box, or cheese stick. On cold days, I use a thermo funtainer, such as this Disney Cars one, available at most Target stores, to pack mac and cheese or chicken noodle soup. In addition, I also found this really cool Dinosaur sandwich crust cutter from the grocery store this week, and my 5 year old is over the top with his dino grilled cheese and ham and cheese sandwiches, all WITHOUT crusts!
Wow – didn’t think I would ever find this, but check out this vintage Chinese Palace Lantern. This is one of the traditional lanterns that I would see in Hong Kong when I was little. Very pretty. Available at JaysTreasures.
In keeping with our Back to School theme for this week, here is another excellent find for your lunch bag!
According to the manufacture, the Kid SIGG Bottle is a smart, safe and stylish step up from the world of plastic sippy cups. Kids SIGG’s are durable and leak proof. Designed and manufactured in Switzerland from a single piece of aluminum, the innovative Kids SIGG Bottle 0.3L is surprisingly rugged and crack-resistant. The special liner ensures great taste and easy washing out – even after you realize it’s been under the car seat with grape juice in it for a week. Sigg water bottles are available in many stores, including Whole Foods, but this cute design is available at getgreen.com.
Just in time for back to school! September 7th for my family in NJ. Ok, I know for those of you in other states, you’ve already started school, and may have gotten everything on your supply list, but one can never have too many pencils and colored pencils, right? Plus, these are manufactured with recycled Chinese newspapers so they are environmentally friendly:-)
The colored pencils and regular pencils come in a set of 12. The colored ones are packed in a handy tube while the regular pencils are packed in a box with the stamped green recycled symbol and green eraser. These cool supplies will sure make headlines in your child’s pencil box!
You can find them at Barnes & Noble as well as fredflare.com.
