It's Tuesday. Birthdays: Thomas Gainsborough, Sidney Bechet, George Lucas. (And a happy belated birthday to Stevie Wonder, who turned 74 yesterday.) What fragrance are you wearing?
The only thing I bake with any regularity these days is granola, so I'm doing granola ingredients this week, starting with coconut: Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess. Tea at the moment is Harney CTC Assam + Art of Tea Cardoz Legacy Masala Chai.
Reminder: 5/17 is World Baking Day. Do what you like with the theme. You could wear a gourmand, or you could wear any perfume with any ingredient you like to bake with (or eat), or ?? Be as creative as you like.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2024, where I'll try (but usually fail) to have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: the Flora Japonica Crane teapot by Tokyo Design is $68 at Royal Design.
That’s a beautiful teapot. I got out of the habit of baking because I was looking after my mother’s cats, and always had to clean so much before baking-the cleaning took all my energy lol.
SOTD is Histoires d’Oranger. I love this scent, and it’s easy to wear and just smells good. It’s a EDP, which I still think is unusual for L’artisan. It stays close to the skin but lasts all day.
Other than granola, I can’t think of the last time I baked. And seriously granola hardly qualifies! But it’s all I’ve got, ha.
In Guerlain Insolence. Decant thunked!
Happy Tuesday! 🌻
You smell wonderful; I love Insolence. Are you going to need it in your collection?
Thank you, MossyBerry! Insolence is a beautiful scent, but it is not a priority on my “to buy” list. Maybe in the future.
Was up long before the crack of dawn to drive someone to the airport, wearing vintage Vol de Nuit edt. I turned off the coffee maker with the mistaken idea that one extra large coffee would be enough. It wasn’t.
Oh, you smell great, hope you are recovering from the early morning.
Lovely photo! Goes well with my dragon candle colors.
On my way to an 8 hour meeting over an hour away riding in a the backseat of a dirty truck with a bunch of men who haven’t had coffee or breakfast. Fun times! I’m trying to gas them out with Shalimar MI. Probably should have worn l’Elephant to accomplish this in a more timely manner. 😉 Wish me luck!
Hope you all are well!😊
My dragon candle comes tomorrow!
I hope you love it! 🐲
Good luck!
Thank you!
Have fun! Better you gas them out than them gas you out, KWIM? Has your co-worker turned up?
IKWYM!! No, she is not coming apparently.
🍀
Hope that your ride wasn’t horribly odiferous. 🤢 And that 8-hour meeting makes my head hurt just thinking about it.
Hello.
Loooove gourmands so this week I’ll be smelling delicious!
Sotd is JM Ginger Biscuits.
Saw gorgeous purple cauliflowers on sale at my local supermarket. Purple is my favourite colour so I had to buy them. Seems like a shame I have to store them in the fridge rather than out on dislplay! (Same goes for our perfume I guess. Ha)
Years ago I was making pickles, and got the acidity not quite right. The cauliflower turned really bright phosphorescent pink lol. Bet the purple cauliflower is delicious.
That reminds me of those pink pickled ginger at sushi restaurants! Although most of them are pink from food colouring, some good ones made from young gingers have a natural pink hue.
Isn’t it fun seeing the different colored cauliflower? I noticed both purple and orange ones the last time I went grocery shopping.
It is! They make eating so much more fun!
I’m wearing Calligraphy Saffron from my decant grab-bag today. It is a favorite.
You lucked out! Or is everything in the bag good?
I used to love baking with our little neighbor girl, plus her dad had a sweet tooth so all the finished baked goods had a home. Since they moved away, I’ve pretty much lost my desire to bake. Plus the way we eat now we can’t eat anything sweet.
But I can wear delicious perfume! Today is Prada Candy for a light caramel icing, great on cinnamon rolls.
I’m not a baker but have read acceptable substitutions like using apple sauce instead of sugar.
There are some truly delicious sugar substitutes available now that also measure one to one with real sugar. I’ve used applesauce to decrease the amount of fat in baking, like half fat, half applesauce. It works well for some things, like a cake with fruits or nuts in the recipe.
Lately the only thing I seem to bake is meatloaf. I haven’t made cookies in ages either. Or banana bread.
Meatloaf sounds good, you just gave me dinner inspiration, thanks Jalapeño.
Glad to be of assistance!
In a tiny spritz of Douceur de Siam in the expectation that it will dissipate before I attend a scent-free conference. At least this year they let people know before it actually started, sigh.
I love this one so I know you smell wonderful.
I don’t really bake. Started a little after we got a new stove, but even now it is just ginger snaps so far.
So I am wearing Kenzo Jungle l’Elephant. I love the smell of cloves in ginger snaps.
Smelling wonderful, Glannys! It’s about to rain here, gingersnaps would hit the spot right now.
Someone here on NST mentioned it, so I’m giving the (now discontinued) Michael Kors “Michael” Eau de Parfum a try for the first time. It’s sweet, but not really sugary, so I wouldn’t describe it as a gourmand. The first few minutes have been lovely; I’ll see how I feel an hour from now.
I love Michael but have not worn it for years. You have to like tuberose if you go with this scent.
Love that teapot Robin
Thanks to a very generous NSTer I am in Opus X & swooning..
I have books waiting for me at the library..
The matching teacups are worth a look too!
We’re on the road (a little trip to Ottawa, where the weather is currently not co-operating with a vacation) so I’m limited to the little bag of samples I brought. Today I thunked my decant of CdG Cologne: Anbar, and I’m sorry to see it gone — it was the best of the series for sure.
I liked the vetiver in that series!
Sorry the weather is not cooperating.
I decided to wear perfumes named for or based on specific desserts or confections this week. I’ve started off the week with some samples of a couple perfumes Payard released circa 2010. All three of the perfumes they put out were done by Calice Becker, though they are limited edition or discontinued pretty quickly. Yesterday I wore Bergamot Truffle, which smelled very dated to me. It has that raspy vanilla, and maybe a little patchouli, that reminds me of the La Maison de la Vanille that was popular at that time.
Today’s perfume, their Lychee Mousse, works much better on me. And I’ve thunked the sample. I used my Ren Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash this morning so it made sense to wear a gourmand that featured rose.
NEVER hear about Maison de la Vanille anymore, and they were so popular at one time. Bergamot Truffle sounds good, too bad it’s not.
Wearing Ubar because it’s an Ubar sort of day. About to do some grocery shopping today. We were side dish wealthy but meat poor for a while. Now we are meat wealthy but side dish poor.
I love Ubar:)
house twins
What a gorgeous teapot!
I’m wearing two very different jasmines: Songes (Goutal) and Drama Nuui (Parfumérie Générale). The latter being a recent buy. They are both wonderful.
Nothing like a good jasmine 🙂
This cp should be right up my alley as I’ve always loved to bake, both sweet and savory. I put on my sample of Freckled & Beautiful which is orange blossom + pastry and really a lovely light floral gourmand. I might consider a bottle, but it’s currently (and often) out of stock. Today I’m rushing to get some gardening done and then a long-awaited haircut. Hope it’s a good day for everyone.
I like the name of the perfume, it sounds lovely. Enjoy your haircut! Mine gets done tomorrow and it’s overdue, I can’t wait.
were you asking about bagel prices? I forget now..but someone on NST was.
My son ordered a plain with strawberry cream cheese and it was 5.75!
Hope that your haircut turned out great!
SOTD = Diptyque Kyoto
Is tomato 🍅 a fruit or a vegetable? Whatever it is, I love its use in Kyoto! 😍
https://www.instagram.com/p/C69NCYIxNtt/?igsh=MXNqdHM0bm9iYjBmNw==
Does anyone here have a problem with their mailperson? I swear (figuratively) that he does whatever he wants to do with outgoing mail. I can usually just leave the mail prominently so no one can miss it. On several occasions, especially when there’s inclement weather, I discovered that it had been shoved back into the mail slot! I hate to complain because who knows what will happen to my incoming mail, a violation of which is a federal offense although USPS may be exempt from these sorts of things …
Ours has never taken outgoing mail. When we first moved here, I tried having it hanging out of the mail slot and the mail person ignored it, so I just have to go to the local mailbox. But…Canada Post. They’re not the best mail service in the world (I’d put them one step above the UK and a few steps below the U.S., and many steps below Germany).
I’ve haven’t had a letter carrier who would pick up mail from a mailbox for ages. I’ve had to mail letters by either taking them to the Post Office or sticking them in a mail slot in a communal mailbox.
Gaynor gave me a sample of Arte Profumi Bisquit which reminds me of those chocolate-rum balls, the type rolled in coconut. The chocolate is quite predominant. I am collecting my dog’s ashes today . I was talking to an elderly neighbour and we started laughing ( somewhat bleakly ) about the accumulation of ‘ ashes’ as you get older. She has her mother and two cats in her living room. I have ‘ shares’ of my father in law, father and mother, and soon my dog. I like having them near and sometimes let them know about the weather etc. but, at the same time, ashes seem the least interesting thing about them. What complex emotions we have.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/may/14/alice-munro-nobel-winner-and-titan-of-the-short-story-dies-aged-92?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Sad news about Alice Munro, terrific writer.
She was so fantastic. Glad I got my autographed copy of Selected Stories years ago (wore out the spine of my first copy).
Lucky you to have a signed copy!
I just saw that about Alice Munro…but also happy news that she made it to 92. She really was amazing.
Kanuka,
Same at my house and my sisters home. Ashes here and there.
Three dogs here, and Bertie Wooster added sometime this summer, I think. My parents wanted their ashes in the churchyard, and I was glad.
Sending you hugs, Kanuka.
We all grieve in our way, hope it will be a comforting memento of your beloved dog. I declined my cat’s ashes, felt I remember her most on my balcony.
It’s fascinating which things mean most to us, when someone we care for disappears.
I was at best neutral about my dogs ashes. I scattered them on one of her favourite walks.
I could not make myself get rid of her collar though, and when the car where we had spent so much of our travels together, had to go, I felt hopeless.
I love that you talk to the ashes.
I can understand your feelings re. Your car. I think I’ll plant a tree or something ( and then talk to it, haha).
Sending thoughts and hugs 🌹.
Poor you!
Sorry about your pup and all the ashes you are accumulating.
In other news I picked up some books at the library..I feel like I need to tell you this as you are sort of my go-to person
Glad you got the books. Report back please.
Oh my I just have no desire to have ashes around. I have a friend with many burns of her husband plus various cats. When we were at the funeral home my sister in law just asked for my brother’s ashes in a plain cardboard box. They made a plan for scattering them. I saw some rather nice pendants that have the person’s thumbprint and she might order one of those.
Urns not burns.
I’m not drawn to ashes, either and they’re in cardboard boxes, and 30ml test tubes ( for the parts of my parents). I think the problem is indecision, not being able to choose a place to bury/ scatter them. Too many options. I think Sprocket will end up scattered on the hill with a nice view/ smells. As for my mother and father, I can almost hear them laughing at the whole thing.
I don’t have any ashes. When it was time to say goodbye to my cats, I asked that their ashes be treated in a respectful manner. I have pictures and memories of them, plus ink pawprints that the vet made when they were euthanized.
I felt comforted when my pets’ ashes were returned to me, like they were safely home. But that urn is full now, and I’ll need to get a bigger one when Mila goes, hopefully many years from now. I’ve instructed my husband and his son that I want my ashes mixed with those of my pets and to dump the lot into the Seine river in France.
This summer I’ll be scattering my mom’s ashes in her birthplace, which was a logging camp town that no longer exists, so it’s basically a forest now. Dad wants to be scattered at sea and has already made arrangements, same for husband.
Smelling great in Phi Rose de Kandahar.
Went out to dinner in Manhatten Beach last night with two besties to celebrate my birthday. It was delicious and delightful.
Lovely teapot, Robin!
Indeed you are smelling great!
I am so behind, I am still spraying all the new things I received in the Swapmeet. Today is Soivohle Jasmine Summer. It reminds me of Wit.
I love to bake and like gourmand fragrances so the CP should be easy.
https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/food-wine/ginger-choc-chip-cookie
This recipe is from a local cafe and they are really good, chocolate and crystallised ginger biscuits.
Thank you! Two of my favorite flavors and I have all the ingredients.
Those do sound good! What is the texture like? Gooey or chewy or cake like?
Kind of crunch exterior then a bit cakey ( not chewy) inside.
That’s so funny since you swapped me for Wit!
I’m wearing rhubarb because I planted rhubarb in the garden this year and hoping I’ll get to bake them into a tart this summer. Antonio Alessandria Nuit Rouge on one wrist, and Aedes Signature on the other. The NR is rhubarb and cannabis leaf up top, sprinkled with saffron, and brown kid leather underneath. Somewhat sweet, in a fresh fruit way, not in a marshmallow way. The Aedes is fresher and more tart, and does not have the leather note that Nuit Rouge does. So they are cousins, related via their rhubarb & cannabis side, but where NR has a leather parent, AS has an incense parent.
Tea today is Clipper Ship’s Earl Grey Gardens, which is kind of like a standard earl gray with some Marco Polo tea mixed in.
Hope you get a bumper crop of rhubarb!
I enjoy baking when I’m in the mood for it, but I can’t make fancy things too often, when there are only two of us to eat them.
I’m not too fond of gourmand perfumes, but I do like baking spices – ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and such, so this is a great CP. I’ll wear Mon Nom Est Rouge from Majda Bekkali, it’s a lovely ginger.
Baking spices is a great idea Gaynor.
Apples, juice of a lemon and yogurt smoothie
What an elegant teapot Robin. My teapot is white and blue too but not as posh. Miroir des secrets today which is basically Angel with aldehydes, it always makes me smile at its incongruity but it works, well for me at least, that series was so good, I have another one too but wish I had them all and tonight it’s 100 Bon Myrrhe et encens, two favorite notes, it smells natural and resinous, and this one lasts, 100 Bon has lovely scents but as all naturals they can lack in longevity.
You and lillyjo are the resident experts on the TM Mirror Mirror perfumes.
😀 we both have Miroir des Joyaux.
None of my teapots are even slightly posh! I do have a coffee pot that came with my original wedding china (my first, short-lived marriage) and I never used it, not even once, ha. It has just decorated the china cabinet all these many years.
😀 It’s like if our china is too decorative we only display it and don’t use it.
I’m in En Passant today for the bread note. I really should bake bread more often…I have 3 sourdough starters that I feed regularly but rarely bake with.
Hi Twin! And thank you for alerting me to the bread/wheat note. I thought I was a cp fail today until I read your post😊
Hello!
For baking, I usually can whip up a good banana bread and I also really like Opal apples to bake with. Last thing I baked was an apple crisp using those and it was pretty good. Also made a good pie with them. I like to slice them on the thinner side for baking. Also, every once and a while, I will whip up a salted caramel peanut pumpkin pie I came up with(usually, around the holidays).
When I think of baking scents..Bois Farine comes to mind. I had a smaller bottle of it quite a while ago and believe I swapped it out..swap regret lol.
SL Chergui
Have a great Teapot Tues! I plan on having some Vitamin C Shine Tea by CS. 🍊
I regret not buying a bottle of Bois Farine myself! It’s perfect for this cp too.
Second day wearing EL Azuree Soleil Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche etc for the salt and beach notes since I just finished The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, about a British couple in their 50s who embark on walking the 630 mile Southwest Coast Path and ‘wild camping’ after losing their home and the husband’s diagnosis with an incurable disease. Didn’t someone here recommend this? Now I’m reading another NST reccie – Wilding by Isabella Tree. Both so mind-blowing and inspirational.
I started an NST recommendation last night, I Love Dollars by Zhu Wen…dark comedy.
Please report back once you’re done!
Tea of the day is Smith Coconut Swizzle. It’s meant to be an iced tea, but I like it hot, too. SotD J’adore, which I find cozy and sweet for a rainy day. I’ve gotten a lot done for my garden and have harvested some nice salad greens and cilantro. This week, I planted some tomato transplants, and direct-sowed my okra and lima beans. *If* my pokey snow peas will ever get going so I can harvest and clear them out, I’ll add some more hot weather veggies. A pileated woodpecker has been visiting my suet feeder, which is unusual. They are a most impressive bird, rather pterodactyl-like! 🙂 Hope everyone’s week is off to a good start!
Nice looking woodpecker. How cool!
Most of the woodpeckers I have seen look like some kind of alien critter in subtle ways. 👽
I had great fun meeting up with Coumarin for brunch and sniffing this morning. We shared some scents we brought and he showed me a beautiful pale green sweater he’s knitting now. After we ate we crossed the street to visit Aesop and Le Labo and we each got a little something. My purchase was a delicate hand lotion from Aesop and I’ll let him say for himself what he found.
I’m still smitten with my Hilde Soliani Orgasmo and might just wear it all week! The almond croissant binge!
I like baking but in Houston we tend not to use our ovens much in the hot weather, alas.
What a good outing. Glad you had some fun.
That sounds like a perfect meetup!
I wore a light spritz of Matcha Meditation for a day in the office today. Can’t say I’ve ever baked anything matcha flavored, but I have made a matcha and red bean Japanese dessert.
IIRC, Matcha Meditation smelled exactly like Green Tea Pocky to me. The resemblance was uncanny.
I’m wearing Cafe Tuberosa for work tonight.
My brother had his surgery and it did not go as well as promised. They were not able to get the whole tumor. He’s out of icu now, and hopefully tomorrow he will start feeling better. Also my SiL really has a knack for making a bad situation worse. ( I am sorry, I am just venting) I really appreciate everyone’s well wishes the other day.
Does it mean he’s going to be put on med, or maybe radiation?
Possibly radiation. It’s too soon to know for sure.
Wishing him the best care.
Oh lillyjo, I’m so sorry that the results weren’t what you hoped for, that’s hard. Harder with some family more than others. Hugs to you 🌹
He’s my little brother ringthing. I am just heartbroken for him.
Oh, I feel so sad for you. It’s like what I just recently went through with my little brother and a difficult sister-in-law. If you are the big sister you feel you should protect him. I hope that there will be some good alternatives that can be used once the situation becomes clearer. My thoughts are with you.
Thank you Calypso. I have been thinking of you often. My heart is also breaking for you.
Very sorry Lillyjo and am sending you scented hugs.
Thank you DeniseH.
I’m sorry to hear that about your brother’ surgery and outcome. Coping in that situation can be so tough.
Thank you Kanuka.
Very sorry to hear ((((lillyjo))))) 💐
Thank you Omega.
So sorry to hear that the surgeon(s) couldn’t get all of your brother’s tumor. I guess now it’s watch and wait to see how he recovers. Hugs.
Yes just waiting and seeing. It’s hard because I get my updates second hand.. so there might be things I don’t know.
True. There are things that can be omitted or misunderstood when getting info second hand.
Oh dear, sorry lillyjo.
I’m so sorry to hear this news. Sending you lots of hugs, and extra strength for dealing with your SIL!
Sending you a hug, lillyjo! I’m sorry the surgery didn’t go as planned.
I’m just catching up now after being away for a few weeks. I’m so sorry to hear about your brother’s surgery news. Sending you big hugs, lillyjo.
Gorgeous teapot today Robin!
Quick post. Had some annoying stuff to take care of this afternoon. Leftovers from last week. At least this particular thing is settled now.
SOTD = commando again, but wearing Dionis Verbena and Cream lotion on my shins. Might look for more of this one during the height of summer. Very green and refreshing.
Glad you were able to settle some annoying stuff.