Bringing You the Kooky Best of My B-Day Gifts

So, I had my family birthday celebration last night and felt compelled to show you come of my kookiest, and therefore most blog-worthy, gifts.

Although the bf doesn't enjoy the offbeat humor of Flight of the Conchords, he was sweet enough to give me season 2, "Born to Folk," on DVD. I hadn't seen it yet (we don't get HBO) and watched the entire second half (don't ask me why I started there) yesterday. It was just as kooky as I could've hoped. For those of you not in the know, the show is about two musicians from New Zealand, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement (real people, by the way - they play characters based on themselves), who move to New York in search of fame and fortune. But they don't find it. Clad in 1970s duds (think puffy vests, cowboy shirts, and sweatshirts emblazoned with wildlife), they're always looking for a good gig. And girlfriends (these two are laughably, heart-breakingly bad with women). They have this awful manager, Murray, who's also from New Zealand, and one fan-slash-stalker, a homely married woman named Mel. Anyway, the show is about their misadventures, all of which entail bursting into some of the kookiest songs, performed music video style, that you've ever heard. I especially love Bret's wacky sweatshirts. As for Jemaine, I find him kind of scary. But in a fun sort of way.

This here is a little something called Unicorn Wishes (according to the box), and is, in my opinion, a prime example of kitsch and kookiness. This gem of a kit was a gift from my sister (one of many) and includes a unicorn figurine, display stand printed with four-leaf clovers, four different backdrops (see here rainbow and sunset options), and a little booklet about (what else?) unicorns. I was delighted and amused, so much so that I already have the little guy perched in front of his rainbow on my bookshelf.

This gorgeous Betsey Johnson bracelet is from my mom. I adore Betsey, in part because her designs are synonymous with kookiness. I'd admired this bracelet but never imagined I'd own it. But Mom said that I'm always so busy making jewelry for other people that I should have it. Aw.