book club bonanza!

Last October I wrote up Target's Ready. Sit. Read! book club promotion, but I never got around to the follow-up, which was the awesome stuff that we got for signing Emily up! I was shocked to get a huge box that contained a whole load of stuff, all illustrated by J. Otto Seibold (of Olive, the Other Reindeer et al). First came out the heavy cardboard backpack, with everything else stuffed inside. Parts to convert the backpack into a jetpack or angel wings (or bird wings? not sure), stickers, a book, an electronic bookmark (very cool), door hanger, and book club flag. I'm not sure if they are still sending it all out (they didn't say when I signed her up that she'd get all this stuff!) but it's worth a try. (I'm tempted to get someone to sign up at their address so we can stash extras for Emily!!) Photos of the swag are up at flickr (although it'll take a wee bit of time for that link to be working, I think - in the meantime, click on the photo above and just go backwards through the photos).

super-cuteness

Notice that I did not say "super-cuteness!!" because I just noticed that I've had an exclamation point on every entry for a month. Yeesh! Anyway, this is a wooden puzzle, called "Magic Mushroom" that we got Emily for her birthday (her first wooden puzzle, and she loves it. Well, she loves taking the pieces out, anyway). I spotted it on moolka.com, and fell in love with it and its companion puzzle "Magic Tree" right away. I was happy to see that there was a design credit on the packaging, because I love the art. It's by Nadia Berkane, who I can't find much info on, other than some listings on amazon.fr which appear to be a totally different style (or by a different Nadia Berkane?) and a site with baby items illustrated by this Nadia Berkane which are adorable. I want them all!

Does anyone else know anything about this artist? I love her work and would love to find more stuff by her. That, you know, is actually available for purchase to us Americans, that is...

leaf pie!

This is one of my all-time favorite treats, leaf pie. I first had it at the Takashimaya Tea Box many years ago, and since I don't come across it often, it's one of my most longed-for treats. My favorite leaf pie of all time is the one on this page, which is the one I had at Takashimaya. But these were pretty good - "Chef Tool" brand, bought from the big Xmas gift display at Mitsuwa. And, half of them were chocolate! That was a new one on me. I think I'm going to be sticking with the classic version though. More leaf pie photos here.

Miyazaki goodness!

Timely news: the huge tribute to Ghibli studios going on at TMC this month to celebrate Hayao Miyazaki's 60th birthday starts tomorrow! Every Thursday, a set of films will be shown in both their official (Disney) English dub, and in the original (subtitled) versions. Of special note are the films that haven't been released here yet: My Neighbor Totoro, Whisper of the Heart and Only Yesterday. (Totoro and Whisper of the Heart are scheduled for a March release, and my guess would be that Only Yesterday comes out in the fall.)

But even bigger news - if you are a Miyazaki/Ghibli fan you probably know all about the amazing Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka, Japan. But did you know that they worked on an exhibit that is currently touring children's museums here in the US? The exhibit Jump to Japan (now in St. Paul) includes lots of Totoro goodness, including a Catbus kids can play in, statues and more (and, unlike the official museum, photo-taking is allowed), along with loads of other neat non-Miyazaki stuff and hands-on activies. Kids (and parents) can try out a tea ceremony, go to a "manga store", try their hand at drawing manga and doing animation, and lots more. It's touring through mid-2008 (we are planning to take Emily after her 2nd birthday!) and is a must-see. It's part of "Go East", a whole group of exhibits exploring various Asian cultures, most of which unfortunately won't be coming to a museum we can get to. Check out the tour schedule for all 7 exhibits here (pdf file!)

Some extra Miyazaki goodness from flickr: totoro cupcakes! a totoro monument (?!) totoro+baby=unbearably cute. totoro bread (I couldn't eat it!)

Happy New Year!

Wow, that month went by fast. Things got busy, (more than a bit stressful) and most of all - our internet connection has been a royal pain, we've barely been able to get online in ages. (Looks like it's partly fixed, when I finish the job we're currently on I'll try and suss out the rest of the problem.)

Also coming once this job is turned in: my tie one on entries, cutie cupcakes made for Emily's birthday (no, she didn't eat any!), Miyazaki goodness and more! Also trying to fix a bunch of techy things, like set up a Technorati Profile for me and one for Evan. Anyway, hope your holidays were great and your new year even better. See you soon!

snow fun!!

When I posted about Bon Bon Panda last night, I went to check the link at jay is games and discovered another time waster -- SnowDays! Cut your own paper snowflake and see the work of others. Two things I learned so far: look at the little dots in the snowstorm, they're paper flakes you zoom in on too (I suppose it's obvious but it took me a while....); and, I suck at cutting out flakes in flash. In the real world, I'm actually good at it. But I'm terrible at these. Might be because I have a trackball and not a mouse. But anyway. It was still fun! And the most snow I'm seeing this month, most likely...

panda fun!

A while back I came across this Bon Bon Panda flash game, I have no idea how. Anyway, it quickly became a House of Fun addiction! Evan of course got obsessed enough to beat it one night (20 levels in all, "nothing exciting happened" he said, but then again we've been playing the Korean "bootleg" version so the official version might be different), but I haven't gotten near the end. Cute and fun, but easy to walk away from if you have to stop playing. Enjoy!