Creative Outlet

I'm thankful for the kind of a great creative outlet this project has been for me. I used to write on the go all the time because my mind just needed it, and this blog has managed to concentrate most of my writing in one place, giving it all a mutual purpose. I guess I kind of missed my past writing habits, but I'll soon be able to get right back to them and who knows, maybe somethign good will come out of it too.

Chair Enthusiast

I'm thankful for my chair design enthusiasm. It gets ridiculous at times, but it brings too much joy!

P.S. The photo above is taken in Milan. Milan must be one of the coolest cities when it comes to display windows of all sorts!

Full of Thanks

It's amazing to see the rise of various mission or daily happiness projects meant to spread the positivity that are documented online - i ♥ strangers, Operation Smiley Face, My Year In Haiku etc. Personally, I think it means that more people want to make this world a better place and they're starting with themselves... Inspiring, isn't it?

I'm thankul for coming across, being refered to or found by those amazing people behind these positively inspiring projects. Each such project is unique in its nature and each person behind it is someone you can get inspiration from. With that being said, I want to introduce you to another such person on a mission - Sandy and the 1000 Paper Cranes. Sandy was inspired by the true story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr, and what impressed me the most about Sandy's project is how serious she took it long before the project went public. The crane maker girl took enough time (a year or so!) to carefully choose the best 1000 positive and inspiring words to put on each of her paper cranes! Yesterday marked the release of the Thankful Crane pictured above, read more about it here.

Photo courtesy of Sandy.

Color & the Metro

Most trains in the Moscow metro are classic and not too modern, but we have a few types of newer ones too. Some of those newer trains of certain design feature yellow and orange handrails. They're my favorites - I'm thankful for those two pops of unexpected color, those ultimate mood lifters that are sure to provide you with some extra energy on an early working day morning!  

Each time I happen to catch one of the few trains that feature this 'clever' design it puts a smile on my face, and because those trains are rare it's allways a nice surprise.

GUM's Art Installations

I'm thankful for GUM Department Store's art installations. The idea is relatively new and it's such a good one - definately provides extra entertainment and artful education to one's shopping or cultural routine both for locals and Moscow's guests!

The photo above is taken during one such art installation dedicated to Moschino fashion brand and the history of its boutiques' best display windows worldwide. And if you know me, you know I just couldn't ignore the chairs!

Facebook Notes

I love writing my notes on Facebook. I love everything about it - from the moment I get an idea of what to write about to this very moment when I am about to click "publish"... I swear my heart almost stops for a moment!..

.

Now I guess I need to explain what the fuss is all about - after all, what's so special about posting stuff on Facebook, you may ask. For me, it is kind of special and a kind of big deal - my notes are personal and often representative of my creative writing style and a lot of times each such note reveals a part of me not many know. This is why. This is why I'm thankful for my own way of writing Facebook notes!

.

P.S. And this is also the reason why I take my personal Facebook account seriously. Should you want to connect via Facebook though, feel free to keep in touch via The 'Thank You' Project's FB page.

Multilevel Dreams

Having watched Inception on Friday, I remembered those kind of multilevel dreams I get to see sometimes - rarely, but they're so cool. Now let me try to explain just what kind of multilevel dreams I'm thankful for!

The whole "purpose", if I can say so about a dream, is for you to get a whole picture, to experience the same situation from a different point of view and then just gather it like you would a puzzle. Basically, it's like watching the same dream over and over, only you get to "live" in every character's skin each new time. thus getting a new perspctive on things You get to see and hear what each of them sees and hears and then, at the last "level", you're supposed to make everything right and use all the information you gathered and get out of a given dream situation alive. I swear I do see such dreams sometimes and they're super cool to watch.

Water!

I feel so thankful now for making it to the final 17 in the GOOD's Water Picture Show contest! And not just because being featured was something I dreamt of ever since I joined their website a year ago, but even more so for reminding me to give it up for water! I am sincerely amused I haven't yet done so until today. There were thanks for the sea world, for boat trips, for swimming pools, for bubble baths and showers even... High time I devote a thankful post to clear waters and the staple of life - drinking water! Please take a look at all the amazing water photography submissions HERE, and, if you like what you see, vote for my picture! To vote you need to leave a comment saying you're voting for photo #9 by Julia Osovskaya. Out of all people, you know I am the one who would be truly thankful, right?...

P.S. For more of my photos from the series entered for the contest, you can check out this thankful post or take a look at the event on Facebook.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Firstly, I need to say that for the most part I'm only drawn to authors who share the same sentiments as I do - it has always helped me better understand myself, as if seeing me with someone else's eyes and being able to judge what this person is really worth. Thus my favorite philosopher has been and remains the legendary Friedrich Nietzsche. I've just finished reading his book La Gaya Scienza a few days ago, and having read this work of his just further made me think of him as my little hero. I'm thankful to this world for bringing Nietzsche into it.

Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science - 341: The greatest weight.

"What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you in your loneliest loneliness and say to you: "This life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more; and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and everything unutterably small or great in your life will have to return to you, all in the same succession and sequence — even this spider and this moonlight between the trees, and even this moment and I myself. The eternal hourglass of existence is turned upside down again and again — and you with it, speck of dust!" — Would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? Or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: "You are a god and never have I heard anything more divine!" If this thought gained possession of you, it would change you as you are or perhaps crush you; the question in each and every thing, "Do you desire this once more, and innumerable times more?" would lie upon your actions as the greatest weight! Or how well disposed would you have to become to yourself and to life to crave nothing more fervently than this ultimate eternal confirmation and seal?"

Bottles of Joy

I've been really into nail polishes lately, meaning I've been falling for the most unexpected colors AND hunting them down till I got them. Weird and kind of unusual for me, but I can't not to be thankful for the joy the whole thing brings me. Yes to mint colored toes! Yes to cobalt blue nails!.. Now, onto the next little bottle of joy...

No Mean Muggin'

When it comes to design, I'm not only crazy abour chairs, showers or even eggs, I've long had a thing for mugs too. My own little collection really started back when at 11 I was presented with a mug that had a face with a sticking tongue sculpted on it by my school bestie. I still have that mug and have been known to be buying loads since... I'm not as crazy now and clearly see that most of those I own are not remarkable at all, but I still love a good mug when I come across one, so this post is to say thanks for mugs and cups designs and for how cheerful drinking from them makes me feel!

P.S. The one pictured is by Villeroy&Boch (the Flow collection) and, unfortunately, I don't own it.

SpanishFest at M'ARS

The SpanishFest expo at M'ARS Gallery was fantastic! And it's not just the Spanish designers' creations that we loved - the gallery people were so impossibly nice and friendly it felt like we were some place else, the gallery could as well have been lost somewhere in the midst of old European streets. Definately thankful for the experience and definately will be going back again and again. You can practically go alone and still feel like you're there with a bunch of friends, the guys are so amazing!..

P.S. Isn't this chair above by Jaime Hayon just awesome?!.

Laptops

Sitting here in my bed and thinking how cool is it to have a computer that you can take to bed with you. I'm not that lazy to sit on my awesome chair behind my desk, but when I'm not feeling well at all even this can be painful, so yeah, thanks for laptops!!

P.S. I'm fine, I really am. It's just that I happen to be a woman, and I happen to have some thing the very rough way.

Swimming Pools

I want to say thanks for swimming pools, because it's actually a very clever idea if you really think of it - some people don't have easy access to seas, ponds or rivers, after all.

Photoshop

I am thankful for photoshop and the like. Any gloomy day pictured can turn to be a sunny one!

Bright Ideas

I'm very appreciative off all these random ideas my brain gives out every now and then, because most of the time they prove to be some worthy stuff... Just sitting here and admiring the sight of one of such ideas that has been just brought to life. Let's say it's a wall decoration element.

Inner Yards

Can I just be thankful for all the cute little inner gardens out there? My blog, so I guess I can, ha. The one pictured is in Milan.

Flowers

I had a bit of an occupation change today at the office - had to help arrange (or rather arrange than help) flower bouquets for the upcoming Women's Day here in Russia (March 8th), and dealing with flowers made me think of this one super nice looking bouquet I had delivered to me to my workplace last year... from the anonymous, uhm, admirer. All this time later, I'm still thankful for it. I actually think it's the coolest looking bouquet I've ever gotten.

Accidental Matching

I love it when it happens! It brings such a sweet moment of silly outburst of delight and joy, that it's worth being thankful for!.. Seriously, I can't help but enjoy it when I just arrange something quickly only to realize how well it matches. The latest example of such thing is my weirdest ever dinner pictured above - I love how the plate's and the bowl's hemlines' trimmings are so similar, and how I happened to put my green grapes on the plate that features a drawing of green grapes... When I noticed, I just had to take a picture. Pure joy, ha!

P.S. The grapes are not THAT giant, it's just that the wine bottle is really small.

Little Joys of Life

I'm thankful for all the little joys of life and for being aware of what cheers me up and makes me feel happier. I was tagged by For the Fierce to do the "10 Things that Make You Happy" thing a while ago, and so here goes:

1) ambiance of the morning sun
2) nicely served big nutritious breakfast
3) getting text messages from certain people
4) new exciting opportunities
5) hugs
6) putting my thoughts into writing
7) traveling
8) being with the people I love
9) meeting new inspiring people and making new friends
10) putting together a perfect outfit

Not all of the above depends solely on me, but I do numbers 2 and 6 daily. What cheers you up and makes you happy?