My Favorite Things: May 2012

I've decided that this blog is pretty well dead by now....I'm considering how I'll write my farewell post as we speak. But I needed a place to store all the favorite things in my day, and since I had so many happy things today, The Tulip Bulb has been designated the dumping grounds for the images.

First I have some sweet new "Thank You" cards. Aren't they tres magnifique?

And then there's Mademoiselle Foo Foo keeping watch over the house by staring out the window all day.

The realization that my hair is getting LOOONNGGG. Finally!

(And it was in dire need of a good brushing when I took this pic!)

A springy new scarf (scarves are all the rage in Ireland right now, and I'm hooked).

Silly little cousins who are just cute as can be.

And sweet little sleeping babies.

Little Giantess

I'm flabbergasted.


Have you ever seen this before? It's from 2009, but I think it's phenomenal. France's Royal de Luxe street theatre company, The Berlin Reunion, created a performance that lasted several days for the people of Berlin. 1.5 million people showed up to see the giant marionettes in a performance to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a performance in which the uncle (Big Giant) and his niece (Little Giantess) are separated by a wall and must find each other. Incredible!


See the story of the Big Giant and Little Giantess here.

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Prost!

I love vintage ads. There is something so pure and artistic in the advertisement. And that includes beer ads. Check these out (see more by clicking the link at the bottom of the post).




















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the bird and the bee

I've fallen in love with two songs lately.


The first is "Again & Again" by the bird and the bee. The video has a retro feel and a sad-sounding yet hopeful melody that feels a little other-worldly. I'm addicted and actually find myself waking up humming this song because it's so hard to get out of one's head.



They also do a lot of covers, which I really enjoy, like these:






The second song I'm crazy about is soooo retro sounding I can barely contain my excitement about it! "When They Fight, They Fight" by The Generationals. I couldn't find a music video made by the band, so I used this quirky one made by someone else instead.




Happy Listening!

Bearded Champ

Aaron always finds the most interesting articles for me to look at, and this is one of the most....unique. The topic? The World Beard & Moustache Championships. Begun by Germans (of course) in the 1990s, the championships have been held every 2 years since 1995 all over the world. "Germans are traditionally known as the most competitive group on the world facial hair scene" said the "moustache maverick" Michael "Atters" Attree. 

Ole Skibnes says, "You can't just judge the size of the moustache -- you have to see if the hair is well-groomed, see if it suits the person, see if it makes them look good."

This man's beard is patented!

And did you know there's a Beard Team USA? And they are hardcore, too! Apparently the man (Michael Atree) who emceed the World Beard & Moustache Championships in 2007 declared beards "hideous," which of course has become front page news to Beard Team USA.


"I have my moustache because I bloody well can," says Attree (shown below). "Plus, the ladies do love a good old smasher stuck on them."

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Capturing Personality

I am totally inspired by many amazing photographers, thinking to myself, "I could never do that" or "That's such a novel idea...how incredible to think of creative things like that." Ben Van Hook is one such photographer. He photographs people the way they really are, bringing out every bit of their personalities, as though you wonder what they're thinking about, but also knowing exactly what they're thinking about. My goal with my photography is to always capture the personality of the subject, but Ben Van Hook's photography just blows me away!


I am utterly smitten with his stop motion film, A Fair Film, created using over 40,000 of his colorful, beautiful photographs. 




To see more of Ben Van Hook's work, go to www.benvanhook.com.

Hair

When we were in New York 2 years ago, we were astounded by how my hair had changed. It was shiny and healthy, just like it used to be when I was younger. I said that it must be the city water, because we have well water. But we also found out that the hair rinse in the hotel was amazing! It was like a Fountain of Youth for hair!


So the other day I came home to find out that Aaron had bought me a pre-birthday gift....40 bottles of the hair rinse from that hotel! And they're regular size bottles, not the travel size....I won't have to buy another bottle for 10 years! Ha ha!

Another Sign of Spring

It's been horribly cold here, and I'm terrified that we'll go from freezing to unbearable heat and completely skip Spring. But I saw another sign the other day that it's hiding about....

Stay strong, Spring....we'll see you yet!

A Different World

Erik Johansson is an amazing artist from Sweden who takes pictures and then digitally manipulates them. It's absolutely incredible. How wonderful to live in such a world of imagination!

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For more unbelievable images, go to Mr. Johansson's site here.

Earth Day: Free Pine Trees!

Lowe's was giving away free white pine trees yesterday for Earth Day, and we got two! I'm so excited to watch these little guys grow.

Easter Mail

Anja, my dear friend from Germany, is so sweet...she sent me a lovely Easter gift in a cute little box, and it arrived just in time!

 

Thank you, Anja...you're the best! Frohe Ostern!

Easter Babies

Who doesn't love a cute Easter baby?







Have a happy and blessed Easter!

Easter Egg Tree

My dad emailed this story to me, and I think it is just the perfect thing for Easter!

In Saalfeld, Germany, a retiree named Volker Kraft decorates his apple sapling with 9,800 decorated eggs. He started with just 18 eggs in 1965, and now the 75 year old man plans to paint 200 more hollowed out eggs for next year to make it an even 10,000 and stop at that. The Easter Tree drew 13,000 visitors last year, and you can purchase a painted egg for approximately $7.10.

What a lovely ambition, and a wonderful way to celebrate the season!

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