Media Monday: Swell Season

Well it's Tuesday again. Must be time for another Media Monday. Haha.

I first heard Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova sing their beautiful song "Falling Slowly" while watching the Oscars a couple of years ago. The song was so haunting I remember stopping whatever I was doing to just listen. And thinking, "Wow, these kids are good." Later that night they won an Academy Award for Best Original Song! Well, I'm pretty sure we added the movie ~ Once ~ to our Netflix que almost immediately. It's a cute movie, but the soundtrack is what's really entertaining. I think they actually made the movie around the soundtrack! Anyway... these days the couple have joined forces with Glen's old band The Frames and the accumulation equals The Swell Season. We saw them in concert last year in Oakland, which was terribly exciting. They are very charming and gifted people. Very down-to-earth. Being partly Irish doesn't hurt either. =0)

You can sample their current CD on their website, but don't miss sampling the soundtrack of Once (Falling Slowly, Lies, When Your Mind's Made Up).
Cheers.

Reusable Grocery Bag / Tote

I am so excited to be releasing my new line of reusable grocery bags! This is something I've been wanting to do for quite awhile. I had such fun picking out the fabrics and designing them. I wanted to offer something eco-friendly in a style that anyone would be proud to carry to the grocery store or farmers market. These bags would even be great as an everyday tote or a book bag at the library! ;)

Each bag is totally reversible, with a patterned fabric on one side and a solid on the other. I've used a heavier weight, so it's durable, and the fact that it is two-layered really adds to its strength. It's also top-stitched around the edges to help keep the seams from wearing out. These are designed to last!

So (just in time for Earth Day!) I am hosting another GIVEAWAY!!
One lucky winner will receive one of my new stylish reusable bags in this bright summer~loving orange bohemian print with a brown reversible side. You can check out the listing here.
Directions to enter the giveaway are below. Good luck everyone! Thanks for participating! =)

HOW TO WIN:
Your comments on this blog are your entries
**You must leave an email address in your comments so I can contact you if you're the winner!**
1. Mandatory Entry (this must be done before other entries) - Become a fan of Lil Hipsters on Facebook, come back and comment, confirming your name!

Extra Entries (must have mandatory entry completed before you can gain extra entries).
~~Leave a comment for EACH additional entry!~~
2. Visit Lil Hipsters and tell me your favorite item in the shop.
3. Follow my blog publicly - confirm your name in comment.
4. Grab my button and leave a link of where I can find it - 3 entries (leave three comments!)
5. Email 3 friends telling them about this giveaway and sending the link  (I'm trusting you on this one) - 3 entries (leave three comments!)


This giveaway will end on April 24, 2010 and is open to US residents only. I will select a winner using a random number generator and I will email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to my email before I select a new winner.

4/20 UPDATE: I will be drawing the winner at 9PM PST on April 24th. Any entries after that will not count. Thanks

Just for fun...

A friend of mine just submitted a video to the Aflac 10 second challenge. I have to say, it's quite brilliant. If you are interested in quirky unique art, or in stop-motion video, or in ice-dancing badgers, you should probably check it out.

You should probably check it out anyway. Don't forget to vote! Today's the last day to do so...
http://apps.facebook.com/aflac_prod/promotions/view/?vid=411&ref=mf

Thanks for supporting indie film artists. Hehe.

Inauguration of Awesomeness

OK. It's time for my first installment of a little something I like to call

*Media Monday*

I know what you're thinking - "Charity - How can you start something called Media Monday today. It's a Tuesday."

Well, I was gonna start it yesterday, but the epiphany came to me a little late in the day. I usually can only guarantee same-day service on epiphanies if they happen in the morning... and I don't want to wait til next week... because I'm too excited.

Back to the matter at hand.

Media Monday was originally gonna be Music Monday, a place where I took the opportunity to share with you some of my favorite albums or songs, usually by little-known up and coming or indie bands. Mostly because mainstream just gives me a headache and I like to share art - even the musical kind.

But then I thought - I like movies too. What if one Monday, I'm all like "Man, I wish it was called Movie Monday instead of Music Monday, so I could share this awesome flic I just saw."

That is how Media Monday was born. The best of both worlds...

Anyhoo. If you're my FB friend, you've already got this link from me. But I just really heart this music and kinda want to share it with the entire world.

Always been a Zooey Deschanel fan. Have you seen Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy yet? DOH. I'll have to save that for another week. ;)

Anyway... I bring you:

She&Him 

You can sample some somgs here

You know you're a mommy when...

...every little thing you eat becomes a meal for two.

I had this delicious streusel blueberry muffin that I got at the Starbuck's drive thru . I had pretty high hopes for this muffin. I purposefully did not devour it in the car, even though I was really hungry, because I wanted to save it for later, when I could take A Moment and savor it... alone... without those blue puppy-dog eyes staring up at me and that syrupy sweet "please" sign.

No no no. He was in the car. Awake. I couldn't let him know what treasure I had in my possession.

So...(surprisingly) everything went according to plan. I took the loooooong way home, he fell asleep in the car listening to Swell Season, I carried him upstairs to his crib, and ever-so-quietly unloaded the car-load of groceries. Then, on the other side of all this glorious accomplishment, I pulled up a kitchen chair to Sit and Eat. Muffin - check. Iced americano perfectly sweetened - check. Peace and quiet - double check.

Then, as I began to unwrap the beautiful pastry paper from the moist delicious muffin, with the gooeyish (but not too gooey!)  blueberries, a funny thought came to me. "My son would love this muffin. What a treat it would be for him. Which part should I save to give him later." I struggled with whether to save the muffin top or the muffin bottom. I ate the bottom first, deciding to be nice and save him some of the top. But then I started eating the top. And it was so yummy and so strueselly... that it became quite apparent half-way through the muffin - my son was not. getting. any.

How funny it is that everything I eat, I assume I'll be sharing. Well, momma's gotta have something all to herself sometimes... and that's ok. =)