Cheer one: It's been legitimately cold here for the past few days and on Friday it even rained, which of course meant a rare chance to wear my Muji rainboots without looking like a bad-weather wannabe. I took them, along with my neglected umbrella, out for a long autumn walk. Except for the annoying way my socks kept inching down further and further into the boots as I walked uphill, it was great.

Cheer two: I've gotten in the habit of buying a one-pound kabocha at the Hollywood Farmers' Market and incorporating it in meals throughout the week. A cold-weather recipe I started making in Japan, where there's a kabocha around every corner, is kabocha gratin -- basically sliced kabocha tossed with cream, bread crumbs and cheese and baked until it's soft, gooey and delicious. Even anti-pumpkin Rob is a fan.

Cheer three: I'm listening again to Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen, the three books in a young adult series by Garth Nix I discovered last year, about a mythical kingdom where young people (mainly young women) are charged with the task of keeping the dead from returning to life. Smart, eerie and imaginative, the audiobook has the added bonus of being read by Tim Curry. It's my favorite thing to listen to on chilly days when all I want to do is curl up under a blanket and knit the day away.

Lunch boxes: they're cute, portable and full of food. What's not to like? For over five years I used a metal Sanrio lunch box for all my food-toting needs and in Japan I used small bento boxes with a bottom section for rice and a top section for everything else. I had been vaguely thinking about getting a new post-bento lunch box when I spotted the Aladdin Lunch & Go at at -- where else? -- Target, the place where sort-of-needed items become necessities. I liked the slim design, the no-leak seal and the built-in cooling pack. It was $12. I bought it.

I'm a believer in the benefits of bringing your own lunch, both for health reasons and because I'm a cheapskate. I also like to snack throughout the day, but can't stomach the chips, cookies and other partially hydrogenated wonders on display at work (except for the occasional Oreo and what-have-I-just-done stack of sour cream and onion Pringles, shh...), so I'm often toting a bunch of little things along with my lunch. The hard-sided Lunch & Go is a big improvement over the series of small, mangled shopping bags I had previously been using to carry my lunch, and nearly as roomy. The icepack slips into place on either side of the interior and makes it easy to keep your most perishable items cool. Most importantly, the lunch box itself is slim -- a Capri cigarette to other, more Marlboro lunch carriers -- and fits nicely inside my tote bag without making the whole thing too big and unwieldy to carry over my shoulder, a huge plus when commuting on public transit. The leakproof seal is equally appreciated, as I constantly fear my container lids have given up and released their contents to the world.

Now all I need are more containers that will fit inside. Aladdin sells a salad set designed to fit perfectly within the Lunch & Go, but, um, who eats just a salad for lunch? Not me! I'm thinking a couple small, flat, rectangular containers will complete my lunch box lifestyle. Also a reusable spoon and fork set. And maybe a water bottle....