11 Days Until Mr. Bento - And My Birthday!

One of the things I plan on writing about on this blog is packing delicious and nutritious lunches, because it will motivate me to actually pack delicious and nutritious lunches.  Thus, I asked for a Mr. Bento for my upcoming birthday.

A Mr. Bento is so much more than a thermos.  It's going to let me bring tomato soup and grilled cheese to work and keep it nice and hot for me.  But more than that, I hope by having miniature meals throughout the day, I can control my appetite, avoid snacking and actually enjoy eating healthy (grilled cheese notwithstanding).

I expect my husband to pick up on my not so subtle hints and get me the Mr. Bento for my birthday, which means pretty soon I can start packing awesome lunches.  I had been trying to pack a fresh lunch more - instead of bringing a Lean Cuisine or spending lots of money at the office cafeteria - and have brought several small tupperware containers with me to work already.  The Mr. Bento will let me pack everything together and actually keep it warm or cold for me.

Also, there's a whole blog culture of bento eaters I've been following.  People who make cute, creative lunches with shapes and colors.  I doubt I'll get that creative, but you never know.

Now to plan my first lunch...

Book Review: Room: A Novel by Emma Donaghue

I've been in a bit of a book rut the past couple of weeks.  A combination of being too busy with other stuff and trying desperately to finish the awful-but-can't-just-stop-reading Outlander series kept me from my precious Kindle.  Luckily an Amazon gift card I received on Christmas made for the perfect excuse for me to shell out the bucks for Room: A Novel after it's been on my list to be read for months.

To put it simply: you must read this book.  I thought it would be tough to read an entire novel in the perspective of a super-innoccent five year old boy but the boy, Jack, has a sophistication that makes for a compelling read.  It's not unlike Mark Haddon's Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (also a great read) in that, in addition to the story you're reading, you're also reading behind the narration to see how this boy perceives the events unfolding around him.

I don't want to spoil anything by my description but the gist of it is this: Jack is five years old and lives in Room with his mother, who had been kidnapped before he was born.  His whole world revolves around his mother and Room.  He doesn't know that there is a greater world outside of Room.

Now go download it.  You won't regret it.  I raced through it in two days and look forward to a reread for my online book club eventually.

Forever 21 Splurge

Can you call something a splurge if you only spent $50?

I haven't been to Forever 21 since I was closer to 21 (sadly, it did not last forever).  No, scratch that, I went there to get something to wear to an 80's party last summer amid their unironic screen printed fluorescent shirts and plether skinny belts.  Everything was size negative four so I ran out of there in a huff and told myself I didn't want any disposable clothing anyway.

Rant over.  Okay.  Well I heard that Forever 21 actually has a bunch of stuff that does fit me for super cheap - jewelery!  I've been slowly building my costume jewelery collection.  I used to just (no joke) wear pearls on special occasions or my Tiffany choker for less special ones.  But then I woke up and decided to stop dressing like my grandma.

So off to the Forever21.com - definitely not braving the mall this time of year.  And to my delight, there were a number of pieces less than $2!  I hope it's not just cheap crap when it arrives.  I mean, granted, it's cheap, but I hope it's still wearable.  Here's my loot:

Love Necklace - $1.50!

Long Spherical Bead Necklace - $5.80.  I have a couple of shirts with gold in them that this will pair with I hope.

Turquoise Beaded Necklace - $5.80.  I've always loved turquoise.  I had a real turquoise necklace that I lost a few years back.  I have no idea if this big necklace will work on me but I love how it looked.

Rose Printed Earrings - $1.50.  I couldn't resist these vintage looking earrings for so cheap.  I only wear a total of four earrings right now so this will make four.

Nesting Doll Pendant Necklace - $5.80.  How cute is this, seriously?  I think I will lie and tell people I got it on vacation in San Francisco.
I think I got a few more things too.  I guess I'll be suprised when it shows up.

BTW: Hi, I'm Rory and this is my new blog!