Shop Talk: Bye Bye boring bedding!

When it comes to my little monchichi, I prefer a mix of traditional and modern design...whether it be clothing, nursery decor or toys. When it comes to bedding, I'm a huge believer in modern designs and bright colors. So how about incorporating Asian heritage and culture as part of the mix?

Many thanks to our pals at Project Nursery for calling out this Lantern Festival twin duvet set as an option for your kiddie's bed. Not only is the set 200 thread count cotton percale, but it's also eco-friendly and made to Oeko-tex environmental standards (Oeko-Tex is a European certification process and ensures that certified textiles do not contain chemicals harmful to human health).

With vibrant shades of red, pink, green and blue, the designs celebrate the annual Lantern Festival that marks the end of Chinese New Year. The highlight of this event are the colorful lanterns that children parade down the street, as well as the various lion dances, dragon dances fireworks, and other celebrations. The many elements of the Lantern Festival are depicted in a bright and playful way on the duvet, with matching "Happy Dots" sheets and pillow shams adorned with little girls in traditional Chinese outfits to complete the look.

It's a great conversation starter and a fabulous way to encourage creativity and imagination with your kids....especially at bedtime, when some of you may be reaching for anything, and everything, to get your child to sleep. While I've got some time before my little one graduates to a kiddie bed, I may go ahead and scoop this up now. Join me, and splurge!

Got any other Asian-inspired nursery decor and design tips? Let us know!

Holiday Spotlight: Dragon Boat Festival

Growing up in Hong Kong, I remember vividly the annual Dragon Boat Festival. The colorful boats, the steady drumbeats, the roar of the crowd....and not to mention all the associated celebrations and great food that came with it! For those of you East Coasters, it's like Boston's Head of the Charles, but BETTER (no offense to those of you who might have ties to this event).

Also known as the Tuen Ng Festival in Hong Kong, the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a popular Chinese national hero. Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Mi Lo River over 2,000 years ago to protest against corrupt rulers. According to the legend, as the townspeople attempted to rescue Qu Yuan, they threw dumplings into the sea and beat drums to scare away the fish...and prevent him from being eaten.

As for the races, teams of 20-22 paddlers in elaborately decorated boats that measure 32+ feet, row to the beat of heavy drums. Each boat has carved and painted "dragon" heads and tails, with the drummers in seated in front pounding away.

Now to the best part...the food. Zong zi - sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves with various fillings that include egg yolk, meats or dates - are the traditional Dragon Boat festival fare. Zong zi is also popular at dim sum, and I still credit my pau pau (maternal grandma) for making the tastiest ones that I've ever had.

While the Hong Kong races are scheduled for Sunday, here's a sampling of Dragon Boat races and celebrations around the U.S.:

San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival
Lotus Festival Dragon Boat Races, Los Angeles
Boston Dragon Boat Festival
Washington, DC Dragon Boat Festival (already past)
Atlanta Dragon Boat Festival
Chicago Dragon Boat Race for Literacy
New York Dragon Boat Festival
Dragon Boat Races Austin (already past)

Ever thought of participating? Ever been to one of these events?

Holiday spotlight: Bun snatching, anyone?

OK, I obviously couldn't get it together earlier this week, but better late than never, right?!

I'm a big fan of holidays, especially when there's food involved. May 12 marked the annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival or Cheung Chau Da Jiu Festival, a traditional Chinese festival held on Cheung Chau island in Hong Kong. The event mark the Eighth day of the Fourth Moon, and it coincides with the local celebration of Buddha's Birthday.

Many variations of the festival's origins are out there...one belief is that it began as a fun and exciting ritual for fishing communities to pray for safety from pirates. Another story is that in the 18th century, Cheung Chau was hit by a plague, and villagers disguised themselves as different deities and walked around the island to scare away the evil spirits. Yet another story says the festival is part of an annual exorcism and fast.

Regardless of its true origins, the festival is extremely popular and attracts locals and tourists to its enjoy a week's worth of festivities. Enormous bamboo towers topped with white Chinese buns and effigies of three gods dominate the grounds near the Pai Tak Temple, where the main events take place. The festival ends with a large and colorful street parade featuring costumed children on stilts in a carnival atmosphere.

So let's get to the bun snatching, as part of the climbing of the bun towers. The last event of the week long celebration involves athletes climbing up the bamboo towers to grab as many buns as possible. The buns are then sold or given away to those who didn't join the bun snatching competition. While the ritual was called off in 1978 after an accident, it has since resumed in safer manner.