I'm Obsessed with Kawaii

Recently I decided I want to purchase a bento box. The problem I'm having is that there are so many awesome ones out there that I can't decide on which one to buy. The other problem I have is that many of them are shipped directly from Japan and so that means that the shipping cost is greater than or equal to the price of the bento box. I just can't swing that. I've got a bunch bookmarked on the eBay that I might purchase. That is unless one of the hundreds of Asian stores here in Mpls don't have what I'm looking for. My goal for tomorrow is to walk around Nicollet and see what I can find.

While searching for the perfect bento box I came across a website that sells an enormous amount of kawaii stickers, stationery, and other goods. Some of these "other goods" are strange Giant Plushy Microbes. I'd heard of Parasite Pals, but never these.

Hey! This one looks familiar! Remember when I had that awful, terrible stomach problem? Well, I should purchase this cute little fella to remind me of that wonderful time! He's Helicobacter Pylori and he made my life a living hell for almost a month. Awww...how cute!




I'm not actually going to purchase it, but it did give me a good laugh. Instead, I've filled up my shopping cart with awesome kawaii stickers. Because for those who know me know I love stickers. I always have and probably always will. Japanese character stickers make me laugh. Especially ones that have English phrases translated onto them. I have a cute little sticker of an airplane in the sky and it says "Happy Drive!" along the top! HA!

I'm a sucker for all the crazy Japanese cartoon caracters, especially chococat, badtz maru, and monokuro boo. The Wan Wan Puppies crack me up, too. I am obsessed and need them all. It's a good thing I have restraint. It also helps that I'm on a pretty tight budget.

god help me if I find kawaii stuff in Ottawa! It will be the end of my bank account as I know it.

Uptown Art Fair

I spent about an hour at the Uptown Art Fair this afternoon. I was not impressed. I was hoping for more non-professional type people (like me) with booths, but it was all people who charge $100 or more for everything in their shop. So that kind of made me sad.

I did see a couple of cool paintings and sculptures. I really wanted this painting, but it cost $447. Um, no. There was one with a red background that I thought would look awesome in our living room, but sadly, that one was too expensive as well. Maybe it's so expensive (even the repos) because those are swarvoski crystals scattered all over it? I don't know.



I really loved this one, too, but it was too pricey. You can click on the picture to see more detail. It says "A date with mr toilet will teach him never to BITE ME".



And the booth with all Day of the Dead stuff was my favorite. The detail on these boxes are just amazing. AMAZING. You have to click on the photos to see the detail. I wish I could have bought one. One of these days...





I pretty much walked through the whole fair and didn't see anything that I really loved or could afford. I ended up buying a piece by the same artist who painted the shoe above. It's a martini glass with a red background and a few crystals. It was a repo and still cost me $30. It will look great in our livingroom, though.

On a totally different note, I'm craving chinese dumplings/steamed buns. Must be because I watched the Anthony Bourdain No Reservations episode where he's in China trying to find the best dumpling. And if you're interested, here's the Anthony Bourdain Wiki! He's awesome.

I have a lot to do between now and Tuesday when I go back to work. Yes, I was asked by the temp agency to help out again at the place I temped at from January to June. I am not in love with the place, and the commute really bites, but I've not been able to pay bills for the last two months so I agreed to go back. I have a shit load of stuff to mail out and I have to figure out lunches for the week. After seeing/reading about a friend's bento box and bento lunches it makes me want to get one. It just seems so convenient.