Bonjour, bonjour mes petites! Kaixo, even! HOORAY, it is Thursday, which of course means the weekend draws ever nearer, but even more excitingly, it’s time for Things I Love Thursday! If you’re new to iCiNG — hello, readers from Next magazine! — here’s how it works. Cast your mind back over the last week, & start making a list of the things which have been making you smile. Then write it all down & submit it as a comment.

The premise is simple but the impact is epic. It’s so easy to get caught up in what we don’t have that we lose sight of all the wonderful things surrounding us. Your list can be as wild & ridiculous as you like, veering from your love of ghost stories to your deep appreciation of clean socks. It’s all good & it’s all welcome!

So without further ado, here’s my list!

Going to Canada next week! Aaaaahhhh! I have never been to Canada & I have heard such good things. I’m going to Toronto (it has just worked out that way, even though I want to visit Vancouver & Montreal so much!) to stay with a friend of mine & take it all in. I’m not sure how long I’ll be there — maybe a week, maybe two, maybe more — but I think we should probably orchestrate some kind of nonpareil meet-up, oui?! Also, please give me your tips about what I should do while I’m there!

Jess from Sugadeaux — She is my favourite Australian bar none, & every time we hang out we have such a great time. She is doing a tour of the States right now, & just rounded out 5 days in New York City. Last night, at the end of our 4th consecutive day of shopping, I slept for 12 hours. The girl has endurance! We “reviewed” cupcakes, suffered blisters & braved arctic winds, all in the quest for the perfect pair of shoes. It was quite epic, to be honest. She left for Boston this morning (boo!), but she is guest-baking at Sugar Mama’s in Austin next week! You need to be there — Jess makes the best cupcakes I have ever tasted (& I’ve done the legwork!).

Louis Vuitton bunny ears! I love them very much. I really didn’t want to take them off. Ever. The whole thing was very exciting to me because Madonna wore them just the other week, & she is one of my idols. I also love Louis Vuitton for throwing parties, feeding me & being so very, very charming to me in every way imaginable. For real.

OkCupid is awesome. Even if you are way too cool & in demand for internet dating. It is still a good time. Go check it out. I’ll see you when you resurface in three hours!

Changing my mind — I do it all the time, & I have to say it’s very liberating to be able to. That’s the thing, you see: just because you planned to do one thing doesn’t mean that you have to do it if you’ve decided it’s probably not the best choice. Like when I was going to go to a show on Friday, but decided to go on an impromptu date instead. Or like how I planned to go to Minneapolis for Soundset, but after weighing it up, decided it made way more sense to stay in New York, clean out & vacate my apartment & go to Canada instead! (Don’t worry Minneapolis, I will see you another time!)

Honourable mentions: Extreme excitement about Bibio’s Ambivalence Avenue album coming out in June; Helmut Lang (sometimes I wish I could wear grey jeans & a loose white tank all day every day but I know I would get bored in about 3 hours); Remix After All, a Daft Punk remix album, P.S. it’s FREE!; beautiful weather; mani/pedis by sweet girls (hot pink fingers, royal blue toes!); royal blue in general actually, I think it’s my new “thing”; turning pantyhose into stockings; staying up past sunrise on cute late-night dates; new shoes (I know, I know); people playing Jimi Hendrix in the warm night air; Kid 606; my natural habitat; Alexander McQueen (still makes the best shoes ever); answering emails in the park at night; anyone who plays xylophone in public; taking the day off; Godiva’s dark chocolate & raspberry chocolixir thingy — totally incroyable; being cruel to people who visit; sailors everywhere (Fleet Week! “Ladies, seamen, 12 o’clock!” “I pray that when I turn around there are sailors, because with her, you never know!”); buying Jem earrings ($2.50!); Russell Simmons (I still think Do You! is completely brilliant); mega-excitement about finding a new apartment when I get back to the city, & being a Nubby Lover forever. (Not to mention, Nubs — the real one, not the one which comes wrapped in plastic — has been so good to me this week, & I can’t wait to show you what we just dreamed up!)

“Follow your bliss & the universe will open doors where there were only walls.” — Joseph Campbell

Don’t be shy, little starburst! Join in, let us have it!