Mancandy Monday wishes Happy Birthday

Today is the birthday of a beautiful friend of mine. She is a fantastic friend, a capable cook, an astounding actress, an talented teacher, a performative personality, a fashionable female and a warmhearted, wonderful, wise woman. And because today is also mancandy monday:
here's to you, Nin! Happy Birthday!

source: alexalexalex

and this one, too:

via flickr user sine stesie

Scrumptious Sunday

Life is uncertain ... eat cake now

Fab Friday Five: Procrastination is the name of the game

This one is for my friend S who's working hard on her doctoral thesis. You go girl! I feel with you.

Right now, I'm back at working for myself again which takes a lot of selfmotivation. And sometimes leads to elaborate forms of procrastination. Here are my top five activities when procrastinating:

1.) Cooking/Baking:
Rather than cleaning up the apartment I raid the pantry and challenge myself to cook or bake something delicious with what is there. Of course that leads to spending more time cleaning up afterwards... but it's well worth it.

2.) Reading
The lure of a good book (or for that matter a really bad one too) seldom fails to lead me off the path.
My latest moment of weakness. Evil twins, a "forced" marriage and a deep dark trauma from the past. Vintage Mills and Boon never fails to deliver.





3.) Redecorating
It usually starts with the intention of just a little cleaning up. Now, I have taken apart my desk and fashioned a new one with stuff I had lying around. I'm also thinking about painting a wall in my bedroom. What do you think of this color?

 

4.) Watching tv-series on my computer

I'm a happy camper since I found out how to watch American and Britisch series in the original because seriously the German dubbing? It sucks. 

Now I'm just waiting for September when the new seasons of HIMYM and Big Bang Theory come up again. 

via flickr user cherrily under creative commons license

5.) Chatting via facebook or skype
Right now one of my favorite pastimes...

It's Monday. Time for Mancandy.

I have the sneaking suspicion that some of you only drop in here on mondays. Yeah, I'm on to you. I know who you are... and since I know you, I have sometimes tried to cater to your tastes. As we know there is no accounting for taste, so if you have suggestions or requests feel free to let me know.

And speaking of taste I wonder, do most people have a "type"? (Is Hugh Jackman a type? If so, then yes, I have a type.) Or is it more the small things, the single characteristics that make someone attractive to you? Like his or her height, the color of their eyes, the breadth of their shoulders or their bra-size? From a purely physical point of view I must say its both for me. There is a certain type of guy that makes me take notice and take a closer look. But there are also little things, certain traits that make my heart flutter. 

The big question is though: Is there chemistry? No matter how close he comes to my type or how many adorable traits he has, if there is no spark, there's no future. That would even go for Hugh Jackman. Probably. If I ever met him.

And you know, that spark is largely influenced by personality. I would even argue that most of us have a certain type we like when it comes to personality. I for one do. So is the ideal guy the one that combines most of the physical and personal traits of your type? And if you can have only one, what would win? Looks or personality?

I'm not so sure. It's easy to say I choose personality over looks, but isn't physical attraction a large part of a relationship? And by saying that looks are important, I don't mean that the guy has to fit into a mainstream beauty formula. I would wager that a lot of the things I find attractive in a man are not what the fashion and beauty industry tell us to find attractive. They are not even what my girlfriends find attractive. 

It took me a long time to figure out that there is no such thing as a general standard for what people find attractive. That sometimes people find something about you attractive that you have never even considered or that you yourself find downright unattractive. But then attactiveness is not beauty. Keats may have a point. But if beauty is truth, I prefer the little lies that make someone attractive and interesting. 

One of those little things are freckles. I adore freckles, they make me melt...

So ladies (and gents) for your viewing pleasure. And because I couldn't choose. And because it's been a long time.