Monday, December 13, 2010

Big Ol 100th Bento Blog Post

Cue the marching band! Bring out the dancing girls! Today marks my 100th Bento Blog Post! I am so happy to share this milestone with you. I started on this fun bento journey in April this year after spying some amazing bentos created by Sheri of Happy Little Bento online. I wanted to try bento lunches for myself, and incorporate the wonderful produce and artisan foods of Sonoma County. So far, I have made some great friends, learned new recipes, found a great outlet for my creative nature, and donated to the Redwood Empire Food Bank to help the hungry in my community. For every bento blog post on Sonoma Bento, I donate $1 to my local food bank. I was inspired by Susan Yuen of Hawai'i's Bento Box after I saw how she donates to her local food bank. We are so lucky to be able to create nutritious and cute lunches with a variety of delicious and seasonal foods. It is important to me to remember that not everyone has this same luxury. I encourage you to find a way to give back as well. You can donate to Redwood Empire Food Bank online, or choose to help the hungry and less fortunate in your own community.

Woohoo! In this bento: purple rice (naturally colored-it's a mix of Purple Forbidden Rice blend and white sushi rice cooked together) with a provolone and cheddar cheese 'cake' and nori and cheese candle, plus cheese 'confetti'. In the upper compartment: steamed broccoli, a radish, glazed mochiko chicken pieces, and roasted acorn squash from Ma and Pa's Garden.

To celebrate my 100th bento blog post (and coincidentally I also made it to 20,000 hits on my blog today!) I am giving away some cool stuff. You can win this cutie bento box plus the Angry Onigiri Bento Box Strap (made by me)! (The box in this photo is my bento box, but you will win an identical, brand new one.) See more cute bento box straps in my online etsy shop here.

One of my favorite bento making tools is my microwave steamer. I use it all the time for broccoli, edamame, dim sum, and other items that need to be steamed quickly. You will win this brand new one!

You will also win this craft punch to make cute faces from nori, and a set of three veggie cutters.

Here are some darling animal shaped picks that you will win, to make your bento box lunch very kawaii!

And last but not least, your very own copy of my Sonoma Bento 2011 Calendar! It's filled with adorable bento box photos along with monthly tips for making cute and nutritious bento lunches. You can order your own copy at zazzle.com to send to friends!

So how do you win this amazing pile of goodies?!? Glad you asked. There are a few ways to enter, so please read the directions carefully. This contest is open to EVERYONE. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. GOOD LUCK and thanks so much for following my bento adventures.

1. This part is Mandatory. You MUST be a follower of my blog. To follow my blog, simply click the Follow with Google Friend Connect button on the right side of this page, or click the Follow link located at the upper left corner of the blog. Leave a comment telling me that you follow the blog and what your Google ID or Blogger ID is.

2. Mention this giveaway on your own blog or twitter account for a second chance to win. Just post a comment here with a link to where you mentioned my contest.

3. Follow Sonoma Bento on twitter. Leave a comment to let me know that you follow me on twitter.

4. Follow Sonoma Bento on facebook. Leave a comment to let me know that you follow me on facebook.

5. For a final chance to win, leave a comment here telling what winter foods you like to pack into your lunches.

Please leave separate comments for each of your entries. Entry deadline is Sunday, December 19th, 2010 at 11:59pm PST. Winner will be selected randomly from entries. Good luck!
 

113 comments:

  1. 1. CHECK! √ (my whole name)
    2. CHECK! √ (http://bit.ly/haiduR)
    3. CHECK! √ (I follow you on Twitter!)
    4. CHECK! √ (I follow you on Facebook!)
    5. Winter foods? HUGE fan of all "Cucurbita", or squash. Spaghetti squash, pumpkin, zucchini, butternut and acorn squash...Yum. I also love creams of any kind - spinach, cauliflower, carrot, broccoli, etc. And last but not least, any of the usual Christmas dinner items - turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes.....I'm really hungry now. LOL!

    HAPPY 100TH, SONOMA BENTO!!! :)

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  3. Congrats on creating so many beautiful, seasonal and local bentos and so many smiles along the way, SB! Awesome giveaway! I love following your blog...some of my fav winter bento items are squash, mushrooms and dark leafy greens of all kinds.

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  4. Congratulations on your 100 bento post! 20,000 hits too? that's awesome! I am already a follower on your blog. =)

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  5. I'm liasol on google & I'm following you! (OK... forgive the million comments to come.) :)

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  6. I mentioned it on twitter here: http://twitter.com/liacreates/status/14442893167038465

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  8. The winter food I like to pack into my bentos are soup stuff (to keep me warm), noodles, jook, and corn chowder. mmMmm yum!

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  9. @liacreates is your newest twitter follower!

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  10. And finally... I love any kind of squash. Winter food is all about comfort so some nice pumpkin or spaghetti squash totally hits the spot!

    Congrats on your success!

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  11. Awww, (*tearing up*) Sonoma Bento reaches 100! So happy and proud of you!! You have reached out to the community and shared bento love with those around you, which shows the good heart you have. We are fortunate to have you in the bento community and are enriched by the organic and local focus you share with us in your bento and your blog.
    Congratulations! Still have a plan to meet up with you in 2011! ^_^

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  12. First time visitor on your blog. I found you through a search I have that has the word Sonoma Blog in it. I'm also a Sonoma County blogger. I have a thrift blog and a food blog. I'll make sure to add you to both of my blog rolls.

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  13. My favorite winter foods is a thermos of brown rice and tamari sauce. With that I love a nice kale salad with Annie's ginger dressing.

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  14. WOW! Congrats Michelle on your 100th post! I'm enjoying your bento making and your blog so much. Hope can see more in the future, all the best (^.^)

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  15. hi congrats!!! I like to put in my bento sesame chicken and rice (prepared sushi) or onigiri and some vegetables

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  16. I'm a follower with google connect. (Turns out, I was already a follower with Blogger too!)

    I love your bentos- especially how you incorporate so many fresh ingredients. I live in an area where we are lucky to have so many farms providing fresh foods and it's depressing to watch all the families buying overly-processed foods for their lunches when they could easily buy local produce that tastes twice as good!

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  17. I blogged about your giveaway on twitter, although I'm not certain how to pull a url for that to post here. (I'm a total noob at twitter!)

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  18. And my favorite winter foods to pack- I mostly make bentos for my children, so I love to pack small treats for them. We don't do a lot of candy at our house, so it's nice to hide a mini-candy cane under a sandwich or give them a mini-pot pie from my freezer stash.
    For my husband, I love to pack stews and donburis.

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  19. Hello! I love this giveaway.
    1. I follow you on blogspot. My google ID is amoebabutter@yahoo.com
    2.I mentioned you on my blog here: http://sarahbuttersamoebas.blogspot.com/2010/12/bento-lovin.html
    3. I follow you on twitter (amoebabutter)
    4. I mentioned you on twitter here: http://twitter.com/amoebabutter
    5. I follow you on Facebook (Sarah Sasspot Burns)
    6. In winter I really love to put mini candy-canes in my bento. I also love to cut whole-wheat sandwiches (the whole wheat is to get a gingerbread looking color) with cookie cutters like angels and gingerbread men.

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  20. I followed you through GFC, username is Bhevarri!

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  21. I mentioned your giveaway on twitter: http://twitter.com/Bhevarri

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  22. I followed you on Twitter, my name there is Bhevarri!

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  23. I also followed on Facebook, my picture there is similar to this one, and name is Anneliese

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  24. Lastly, for winter I like to pack more peppermint flavored goodies, as well as yummy leftovers from special dinners! I also love to theme bentos with winter related motifs like snowmen or snowflakes <3

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  25. Congratulation!!!! Wow, you are so fast. I start making bento in last year, but I haven't reach 100th bento. I'm enjoying your blog so much. Keep bento-ing! ^^

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  26. I am a follower of the blog and have my fingers crossed....... I can't buy bento stuff where I live so this would be awesome!!!

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  27. And I follow you on Twitter. =)

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  28. And finally - I love using winter squash in my bentos. I also love love love ochazuke! So delicious and warm!

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  29. congratulations! 100 bentos, that's awesome. I started about two years ago - not sure exactly and I haven't done anywhere near 100 yet! Love the fun bento. And LOVE the giveaway! Of course, I am a follower so thank you for the chance to win :)

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  30. for winter bentos I enjoy packing more candy and treats for my daughter. It's really the only time I do.

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  31. Yeayy!!! Congrats SB for the #100 bento! Your progress is reall fast especially since you started it in April hehe :D

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  32. Congratulations!!! I am totally a Sonoma Bento devotee! I'm a follower too, lol!

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  33. This is incredible! Happy 100th!! I admire your tenacity and creativity. Here's to 100 more!

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  34. I'm a follower of your blog! My Google ID is Alice Wang!

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  35. I'm also following you on Twitter! My Twitter handle is Alicelily.

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  36. I mentioned your contest on my Twitter here:
    http://twitter.com/alicelily.

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  37. Winter foods I would pack into my lunches include beef curry, pomegranate, chicken potpie, and hamburger macaroni. I'd also treat myself to a peppermint latte :)

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  38. You know I'm a follower! If I followed any more closely, I'd be a stalker.

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  39. Winter is all about the pumpkin and/or sweet potatoes. Barely a day goes by that I don't have one or the other. Dish I'm taking to tonight's neighborhood party: pumpkin enchilada casserole.

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  40. Hey Sonoma-san :D My best wishes for your 100th Bento! <3

    As you know, I am a follower of your Blog, my ID is Ty.
    I also follow you on Twitter as Tenshi_Kuroi and on Facebook as Tamara Wagner ^^
    I also mentioned you in my blog: http://ty-thesweetlife.blogspot.com/2010/12/wieder-mal-ein-giveaway-entdeckt.html
    And lastly, what do I like to pack into my lunches...well, I don't have any idea what exactly would be 'winter food', but these days I take almost every day a mandarin with me, plus I really like vegetables in general to feel a bit healthier in the cold ;D

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  41. Congratulations, Michelle :D! Here's to lots of bentos to come!

    I've been a follower for a while - my Google ID is sternenblumen :).

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  42. I'm also following on Twitter (as Flowerstar) ^^.

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  43. And on Facebook as well!

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  44. And I posted about your giveaway here.

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  45. Last: My favourite winter food to put in my bento are citrus fruit - oranges and tangerines! I love them, and they look so pretty in my bentos ^^.

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  46. Wow..congratulation for 100th post! I enjoy reading your blog and sure I will see more in the future :)

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  47. Just stumbled across your blog! TOO cute! I am now a Google follower

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  48. I am now following you on facebook :)

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  49. I am in FL and our winters are not so bad. With that being said it has been ridiculously cold here this past week. SO I have been doing lots of soups. Tomorrow will be chicken n' dumplings :)

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  50. And tweeted:
    http://twitter.com/shannoncarino/status/14436434366697472

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  51. And now have you on Facebook! (Didn't realize you had a FB!)

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  52. For winter foods, I love meatballs and rice (sweet & sour or Swedish, not with red sauce). Or soups. I'm a huge winter-soup person. My mom promised me pea soup the night we get to Canada.

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  53. I follow your blog! btw, your cheese confetti is GENIUS!

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  54. 1. I follow your blog via the RSS-Feed on Dreamwidth. You can see me as a subscriber on Dreamwidth info page on the feed ( http://sonomabento-feed.dreamwidth.org/profile ) or the sonomabento-feed in the Feed-subscription part of my own profile page ( http://martyna.dreamwidth.org/profile ).
    2. http://martyna.dreamwidth.org/44935.html
    3. No twitter for me. Don't own.
    4. I follow on FB. Same name as my nick and then with W.
    5. Winter foods... this is a tough one. I'd definitely say Clementines, but those, of course, cannot constitute a full meal. I have never tried pumpkin, though I'd be curious to. Winter food for me might be potatoes and something cheesy, because it fills you up so wonderfully! Though I must admit you can't see it in my bentos so far, since lately I've rarely eaten outside of home. Oh! And a good curry rice with lots of potatoes and even more of carrots is just so wonderful in this cold time! :)
    I'm babbling.
    One last thing: I was linked to your post by Flowerstar's Dreamwidth entry, for what it's worth. :)
    Okay, last, last: Congratulations on your hard work on bento, 100 bentos - wow! Keep up the good work! :)
    (Sorry for the many smileys. Weird night, tonight.)

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  55. 1. I follow your blog via the RSS-Feed on Dreamwidth. You can see me as a subscriber on Dreamwidth info page on the feed ( http://sonomabento-feed.dreamwidth.org/profile ) or the sonomabento-feed in the Feed-subscription part of my own profile page ( http://martyna.dreamwidth.org/profile ).

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  56. 2. http://martyna.dreamwidth.org/44935.html

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  57. 4. I follow on FB. Same name as my nick and then with W.

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  58. 5. Winter foods... this is a tough one. I'd definitely say Clementines, but those, of course, cannot constitute a full meal. I have never tried pumpkin, though I'd be curious to. Winter food for me might be potatoes and something cheesy, because it fills you up so wonderfully! Though I must admit you can't see it in my bentos so far, since lately I've rarely eaten outside of home. Oh! And a good curry rice with lots of potatoes and even more of carrots is just so wonderful in this cold time! :)

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  59. Hello Sonoma^^ Congratiulations on your 100th post!

    I'm a follower of your blog, my google ID is mysli@hellokitty.com

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  60. I also made a post about the Giveaway on my blog, you can find it here: http://myslivieh.blogspot.com/2010/12/giveaway-sonoma.html

    (And I don't have twitter or facebbok so can't follow you there..)

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  61. Uhm.. and I don't know what winter vegetables I'll be putting in my bento the next month - I'm taking whats at home (which means, what my parents are buying). But I connect mandarins to winter, and I love to take one or two (or more XD) with me to university (even if I'm not making a bento). And I'm thinking about a bento with curly kale and bregenwurst.

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  62. Following your blog... count me in for the raffle. http://ukinaka.blogspot.com/

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  63. I have also informed my readership, who mostly enjoy their anonymity, of your contest on my blog. 2nd entry ;) http://ukinaka.blogspot.com/

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  64. Added you to facebook! Oo, isn't all this connected-ness exciting for advertising. http://ukinaka.blogspot.com/

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  65. Winter foods for my lunches: humus on toast, root vegetables -- just about any of them make me smile when its cold, vegan split pea soup with carrots and cabbage in it, my home-made wassail (non-alcoholic). http://ukinaka.blogspot.com/

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  66. I post a comment about your blog: http://www.bentonono.com/2010/12/sonomas-100eme-bento-cest-la-fete.html

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  67. I follow you on twitter! (Bentonono) And I'm posting your giveaway in a few minutes!

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  68. And something I'll ALWAYS love to eat during winter time is ICECREAM! It may sounds weird, but I really enjoy having Icecream when it's cold!
    But OK, I can not pack Icecream in my lunches, so I guess I'll better stick to something really simple but that always pleases me: smashed potatoes... :-)

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  69. Hello Sonoma,
    I follow you (estelle.calim)

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  70. I have retwitte your message also...

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  71. Pretty sweet rewards! I'm following.

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  72. Oops. My blogger account is in my name. I have also followed you on Twitter.

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  73. I retwitted your message. Hope you get more people to join!

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  74. And last entry, my favorite thing to pack is mashed potatoes. They get all warm and cozy, especially with some cheese mixed in. That's the kind of food I want when it's snowing/windy/20 degrees F outside!

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  75. Hello! I love this giveaway.
    1. I follow you on blogspot. My google ID is mamariana26
    2. I follow you on twitter
    3. I mentioned you on twitter here: http://twitter.com/handmademariana
    4. I follow you on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/SonomaBento/posts/184119274931473
    5. hi congrats!!! I like to put in my bento sesame chicken and rice (prepared sushi) or onigiri and some vegetables

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  76. Hello.. I'm following you with google friends: Jessica

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  77. I told my readership about ur giveaway: http://kirschrot.org/2010/12/bento-gewinnspiel/

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  78. ATM I totally love to eat sweet potatoes but it could change everytime.

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  79. Congratulations on your 100th Bento Blog post!! I'm a follower through google, anita7601.

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  80. I posted about your give-a-way on my bento blog and added you to my blog list (honestly, I thought you were already on it but when I realized you weren't, I added you!)
    http://bento-logy.blogspot.com/2010/12/give-way-alert.html

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  81. Congratulations on your 100th post!

    I'm a follower - ckruest!

    www.bento-logy.blogspot.com

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  82. Hi! I follow your blog - SupaGuru

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  83. My favourite winter foods are squash and certain seasonings. makes everything taste like christmas!

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  84. Congrats! You're a positive force in our bento community and I appreciate the bento-love you share and the focus on local foods.
    I tip my hat to you.

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  85. where I first read the post.After reading this post I’m really thinking of going ahead and doing all of Moncler them…

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  86. I am a new follower! Great giveaway!

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  87. I love to pack leftovers. They seem to work for my busy family all year long.

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  88. i like to pack tiny tamales :) ahh i love mexican christmas

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  89. Blogged you at http://billedeaux.blogspot.com/2010/12/super-cute-bento.html

    Erika B

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  90. I'm new to bento, but I love cabbage salads, sauerkraut, sausages etc., so I imagine that alot of those will get packed. Also, who could beat a nice winter salad?

    Erika B

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  91. First of all congratulation for 100th post and i am your new follower. This blogs really interesting.
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