Joy Acoustics

23 May 2013

Scoop of joy #11 - Honeysuckle

Childhood nostalgia again. Did you ever suck the honey juice out of these beautiful flowers?

22 May 2013

You're more beatiful than you say

Do you know you are more beautiful than you think you are?
I am sure you are and Dove is sure too. Today I am sharing with you a Dove on-line campaign that quickly went viral. The project is slowly revealing in the video and it is so perfect that I don't want to say anything more, just enjoy!

Dove's message: We should spend more time appreciating the things that we do like about us.
My message: Don't worry, be beautiful!

A nice video a day keeps the doctor away!
Aura

20 May 2013

J. Crew - Shiny Ponies

Hi, there! I'm back! Mommy me has left the building (last 3 posts were all about my kids). The fashionista in me is back with eye candies for you. So let's talk about shoes today.

Strangely as it may seem, Youtube knows me well cause today it suggested this nice video that's too good not to share it with you. Why:

it's all about shoes. Do I need to say more?!
Jenna Lyons is fascinating to me because of her work at J. Crew. You can find more about her professional life from Garance and about her equally interesting private life on dailymail
I totally share her shoe philosophy: leopard is a neutral
some shoes don't work out - they are the ugly dollies (I 'm sure you have at one pair too from an impulse buy)
traffic stopping, dog frightening shoes are also there - curious already?!
other than the above, colorful, shiny beautiful shoes - the shiny ponies. Ready to see them?

"There's a sense of sparkle in a shoe... I mean, you know, that little extra...Shoes are like fairies, that sort of magical piece that finishes everything" That says it all, why we love shoes so much. As if we needed an excuse...

And the Nikes there, I gotta tell you about the perfect pair I recently discovered. So, let's talk Nikes tomorrow, or is it too soon for another shoe talk?

xoxo,
Aura

19 May 2013

In dulcele grai romanesc/ Sweet Romanian

Casa e putin vraieste si mi-e tare lene sa ma apuc de treaba. O voi face dar, pana atunci, tot mai placut e sa va spun ce mai zic baietii mei.

Dupa cum va povesteam aici, ieri am ajuns acasa dupa miezul noptii. Tudor a adormit in masina iar Cristisor a rezistat eroic pana acasa, cand, in pat, ma intreaba, asa din senin:
"- Si de unde stim ce femeie n-are barbat?
- Cum adica?
- Adica care sunt casatorite, imi explica el putin iritat, eu trageam de timp si incercam sa-mi formulez un raspuns
- De ce te intereseaza pe tine?
- Ma intereseaza
- Femeile care au barbat au verigheta. Ii arat verigheta mea si-i explic ce e cu ea
- Adica fetele care n-au baiat n-au verigheta. Aha!"

V-a placut? Sa va mai spun una scurta, din alta categorie, ceva de genul "false friends":
Cu cateva zile in urma Cristi isi analiza o mica zgarietura pe picior:
"- Uite ce bubite am! Am si semnaturi!
- Cum adica semnaturi? Se vede treaba ca era cam tarziu si nu m-a dus capul sa fac singura "traducerea"
- Semne de la bube..."

Puiul mic, Tudorica, imi solicita inteligenta la maxim incercand sa ghicesc ce vrea sa-mi spuna. Azi, el a fost eroul zilei, cu primele propozitii imbogatite pe langa subiect si predicat:

Kity taie parul (cred ca va e clar ce ar fi vrut sa faca fratele lui atunci cand se plictisea cu o foarfeca in mana, noroc ca eram langa ei)
Pufi papa carne (Pufi e cainele nostru).

Voi ati avut conversatii interesante in weekend?

xoxo,
Aura

So, before cleaning the house I thought I'd better tell you some nice stories about my boys.

After a long night out, yesterday, right before falling asleep, guess what was on Cristian's mind:
"- How do we tell what woman doesn't have a man?
- Meaning?
- What women are married
- Why does this interest you?
- Because
- The women with men have a wedding ring just like mine and I explain a bit what this is.
- So the girls without boy don't have a wedding ring. Aha!"

Have a great week!
Aura

Beautiful Bucharest

As I write this, it's past 1:30 am but Bucharest is very much awake. Tonight Europe is celebrating the Night of Musems. We arrived home less than an hour ago after a busy afternoon. Because we had a family birthday celebration we had limited time to enjoy the musems so we were very selective. And of course we chose the ones that our kids like most.

1. The Fire Tower and its Firemen Museum

We had a pleasant surprise there cause, in addition to the Tower, a firetruck and an ambulance were expecting visitors with their doors wide open. Even I was happy about the hole thing so imagine how happy were the kids:

2. The Railway Museum

After a nice and long dinner party, around midnight we visited the Railway Museum. The highlight was the train circuit that I filmed for later entertainment to have it handy when the kids get bored.

I wander why not make it easier and sooner for everybody to enjoy the city like tonight. Bucharest was the same today as it is on any other day. What made it special were the beautiful people on both sides: the event organisers and the musems' visitors that were wandering the streets long after midnight.

Have a great weekend!
Aura

17 May 2013

Childhood nostalgia

This morning my childhood smiled at me though these beautifull white convolvulus and I smiled back sharing my joy with Cristian. As soon as I saw these in the yard of Tudor's daycare I felt nostalgic for those happy days.

I stopped for a while and told Cristian how much I liked them when I was a little girl and how nice the Romanian name of the flower is: swallow's little dress (rochita randunicii). It was a Matercard/priceless moment: enjoying nature's little wondres, sharing childhood memories with my son, answering his questions and taking pictures to remind me of all these.

What are the things that instantly remind you of your childhood?

A joy a day keeps the doctor away!

Aura

15 May 2013

Depeche Mode forever!

source:depechemode.com

You know: boys come and go but Depeche Mode has been a constant in my life for the last 20 years (this sounds like I am much older when, in fact, I will turn 33 soon- not young, not old, just perfect LOL)

Depeche Mode sings my mind and my soul like nobody else. They never disappointed me ( maybe a little when the 2009 concert was canceled, but I can understand that Dave was not feeling well). On the contrary, I fall in love with them over and over again with the launch of every new album, 13 times so far.

Anyways, I could say so much about Depeche, but who cares?! Better listen to them singing than read my blah, blah. I want to tell you one thing though, of which I'm certain: they were in my life before the first boy was and over the last 20 years they shaped the way I love among other beautiful things DM brought to my life. I know all about free love and the beauty of it and my husband should thank them for this...

Gotta go now: places to go, Depeche Mode to see LIVE in concert.

There are so little guaranties that life has to offer but I feel that Depeche Mode will stay with me forever. That's the beauty of being a fan.

What's your favourite band/singer/artist in the world?

xoxo,
Aura

14 May 2013

Father's day special, part II : The perfect father

I know, you know, nothing's perfect. Mothers are not perfect and fathers are not perfect either. But I know one father, Dr. Kelly Flanagan, a licensed clinical psychologist, that looks perfect on paper. That is because he put in writing a very touching letter to his daughter:

A Daddy’s Letter to His Little Girl (About Her Future Husband)

"...
Little One, it is not, has never been, and never will be your job to “keep him interested.”
Little One, your only task is to know deeply in your soul—in that unshakeable place that isn’t rattled by rejection and loss and ego—that you are worthy of interest. (If you can remember that everyone else is worthy of interest also, the battle of your life will be mostly won. But that is a letter for another day.)
I don’t care if he doesn’t follow his wallet—as long as he follows his heart and it always leads him back to you.
...
I don’t care if he is strong—as long as he gives you the space to exercise the strength that is in your heart.
I don’t care about the color of his skin—as long as he paints the canvas of your lives with brushstrokes of patience, and sacrifice, and vulnerability, and tenderness.
...
In the end, Little One, if you stumble across a man like that and he and I have nothing else in common, we will have the most important thing in common:
You.

Because in the end, Little One, the only thing you should have to do to “keep him interested” is to be you
Your eternally interested guy,
Daddy"

This may seem a little bit idealistic but it is also the fatherly love every girl would like to have.
Although nothing is perfect, the love we give our children should be close to perfect and most important, unconditional.

You can read the complete letter here and also the interesting conversation built around it (290+ comments).

Do you like the letter?

xoxo,
Aura

12 May 2013

Father's day special, part I : The coolest dad

Imagine that your father does something special, especially for you, every day! How cool is that ?!
A surprise that you know you will receive at lunch time to brighten up your day and make you cool at school in front of the other kids. Well this is happening daily for Evan, 15, and Kenny, 14 for the last 5 years cause their father illustrates their lunch bags for more than 5 years now.

David Laferriere is an illustrator and a graphic designer who turns his work and talent into daily little gifts for his kids. It all started one morning in an attempt to do something special for his boys.

“It was just a way to have fun with the kids,” David says. “And also start my creative juices before work. I had already been making their lunches, and I experimented with a few things.”

“They love it, and nothing makes me happier than hearing their reaction at the end of the day.” David says.

You can see the complete collection on Flickr and find out more about the coolest dad on Flickr's blog .

Today we celebrate Father's day in Romania. Happy day for all the fathers! I wish you give a little piece of your heart to your kids every day in your special way!

A joy a day keeps the doctor away!
Aura

P.S. There will be a special post tomorrow also dedicated to fathers, so stop by and enjoy.

Photo credit David Laferriere via Flickr

9 May 2013

Met Gala Glamour

Today I took my time to enjoy fashion at its best on fashion's Oscars. Met Gala formally kicks off the Metropolitan Museum of Art's yearly Costume Institute exhibit. This year's theme was "Punk: From Chaos to Couture". These are my favorite looks:

1. The blacks

Carey Mulligan - one of my favorites too