It’s the weekend, and we’re repeating a poll we’ve done for the past few years around this time. As always, answer as few or as many as you like, or just talk about something else.
1. What fragrance are you wearing today?
2. What’s your favorite holiday (any holiday) food, OR, what’s the best thing you cooked in 2024? (Feel free to share or link to a recipe!)
3. Did you make any perfume-related resolutions for 2024, and if so, did you stick to them?
4. Possibly related to #3, what’s the next fragrance you are itching to buy?
5. Share something wonderful with us! It can be anything — something delicious you ate, a great movie you saw recently, the last good book you read, any fabulous news you recently received — really, anything…
Note: top image is frosty holly [cropped] by liz west at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hello and happy weekend!
Sotd is Lipstick Rose.
My favourite holiday food is stuffing with gravy if desserts don’t count!
I am itching to buy Guerlain’s year of the snake perfume.
Great movie lately has to be Wicked. Wicked is my favourite musical and the film exceeded my expectations.
You smell fabulous!
I LOVED the stage production of “Wicked,” so I’m a little wary of seeing the film. But yours is not the only rave I’ve heard, so I’ll probably break down and go see it.😊
My 30 something son – who is usually seeing action movies – liked Wicked, so I am thinking it really is good. I saw and liked the theater production as well.
I remember taking my middle school aged kids to Mama Mia. They complained all the way there that they were going to hate it. By the drive home after the show they were singing ABBA songs on the back seat.
Smelling wonderful!
Vintage Dior Eau Fraiche
Marzipan
My son is the chef in the house
No, at least I don’t think so
No, can’t think of anything, I have gifted goodies to explore
I’ll have all three human kids and all three feline grandchildren home for the holidays and I’ve talked my son into making chicken paprikash for the first time
So nice you have a son that will do the cooking!
It certainly is !!!
Oh, Chicken Paprikash! Excellent.
😁
Enjoy having the entire family gathered together for Xmas!
I’m back in Broken Theories this morning because I enjoyed it so much a couple of days ago. Planning to decorate the house for Christmas today — we don’t do a tree (except for the miniature tree my mom made almost 50 years ago), but I assemble little vignettes of ornaments in bowls, or hanging from ribbons, on the mantel, etc. It’s fun!
Meanwhile, the rest of my poll responses:
My favorite holiday food … hmmm. Hopefully desserts count, because my favorite things to eat around basically any holiday are the desserts. Pumpkin pie with whipped cream at Thanksgiving is a strong contender, and shortbread cookies at Christmas.
The only perfume-related resolution I made this year was never to buy anything unsniffed. Broke it twice, for Au Delà Narcisse and Ambra Aurea. Absolutely no regrets!
I have no perfume-buying yens at present, but give it a moment. 😂
Something wonderful … well, I made Mr. G rewatch Love Actually, because Christmas, you know, and after kvetching a bit he settled down and enjoyed it. The movie itself is wonderful, but my DH sitting still to rewatch one of my favorites is also a rare and beautiful thing.
Now that you mention it, those shortbread cookies sound pretty good.
Yay for desserts, yay for the husband watching one of your favorites. All good things.
Glad that your perfume blind buys worked out!
I’m wearing Orto Parisi Cuoium this morning, a lovely dark leather.
My favorite holiday food…probably seafood of some kind (always on Christmas Eve) or cream puffs. Although I love cream puffs any time. I don’t have any perfume resolutions or longings at the moment, except for TF Cherry Smoke in travel size. One of these days he’ll release it.
There is much wonderfulness here–I was told Bertie Wooster had “weeks” to live in May, and he is sleeping beside me right now, my sister and I had a great time in Japan, I am going to France in April, and I found a hair stylist who cuts my thinning wavy hair beautifully. I am so lucky.
Aw, go Bernie! 💖
All good things, foxbins.
I have not had a cream puff in ages, but I must have a sweet tooth today because all of these desserts sound so good.
You have a lot of wonderful things going on in your life!
It’s nice you have so much happy news, especially about Bertie Wooster!
Yay for Bertie Wooster!
Something wonderful happened yesterday: my visit to a peony farm and the neighbouring heritage rose collection. The rose farm is a passion project , fifty years in the making, tucked in a little valley . It’s the biggest collection of gallica roses in the country and it was amazing to see specimens such as the Lancaster Rose ( War of the roses, Tudor) or the Holy Rose ( which dates back to Egyptian times) in flower and hear the histories. The roses I most loved were the ones he had found and collected ( cuttings) from derelict farms, homes, schoolyards, and roadsides in remote parts of the island…roses that people brought with them from Scotland, England, China when they came here around the time of the gold rush. These would have originated from someone’s garden back “ home” and nurtured through a three month sea voyage, then planted in a remote corner of the world as a reminder of a place most would never see again. One rose was taken from Skippers , near Queenstown, and it had survived all these years with no “ care” , just living in the wild ( modern roses wouldn’t be tough enough to do that). Anyway , fascinating. Wearing French Lime Blossom and off fossil hunting this afternoon ( fossicking in the sediment for leaf fossils). Happy weekend
Glad you had such a good time at the peony and rose farm. I was wondering how it went.
That does sound wonderful!!
I would love to smell those historic roses!
Oh, my, what a wonderful experience to see all those roses! And what about the peonies”
Love roses. I also love that people had the drive to transport and nurture plants across decades and continents. Sadly, the desert southwest US is not kind to roses. I am going to have to settle on some tough “landscape” varieties.
Love the photo, Robin! Quintessential Christmas!
1) Nicolai Le Temps d’Une Fete from the ever generous Sample Sea. Lots of sample thunking going on over here.😃
2. Probably would have to say my mom’s Holiday Turkey and Stuffing. She always hit it out of the park on the big holidays with her cooking and she loves to host. I have no memory of her ever using recipes and she didn’t own any recipe books that I can think of. Natural talent, I guess. That talent was not passed down to her children. 😀
3. I made ZERO resolutions and I kept every single one!
4. Since my sniffathon at the fancy mall, I’ve decided on my next big purchase. However, starting a No Buy in January and will try to ride that horse for at least three months. Then I’ll reevaluate.
5) I’ve had a very unsettling few weeks, but from a wider perspective I’m still upright, mostly continent, and 95% in my right mind. So, I’m considering that a win. Sometimes you have to adjust your expectations and be grateful you can get yourself out of bed each morning.
Have a great weekend!
So regarding #4, what will be the next big purchase? Also, curious which mall you were at.
If I haven’t gone there before I may need to seek it out if I get down in that area soon.
It was the big one in Scottsdale, don’t remember the name of it, but it has all those highfalutin’ high dollar stores- LV, Gucci, etc…I was just walking through Neiman Marcus and did a drive by of the perfume section and realized they had EVERYTHING! I’ve never has access to all of the Chanel and Guerlain lines, as well as so many others. But it was on my way out and couldn’t spend as much time there as I would have liked. I may go back, but it’s an Uber ride to the other side of town and back, so it adds up. The perfume I immediately fell for-do not pass go, do not collect $100- was Coromandel. They had both the edp and the extrait. 💸💸💸 It’s calling me just like the One Ring called to Gollum…its goal is to corrupt my bank account! 🤣
I am guessing it was Fashion Square. Coromandel is certainly a good one.
I’m very curious about the Coromandel extrait, Deva! Were you able to test them both?
No, I only sprayed on paper. The extrait wasn’t open (I don’t think) and I only saw it as I was getting ready to leave. I was surprised because I didn’t think they made it in an extrait? I have BdI in extrait, but I know they discontinued them and there’s just some left over stock floating around. I’m 99% sure the label said Coromandel…I’m going to do a search…
Ok, they do have it in Extrait in the Chanel site. Just double checking myself. If I do get back there, I’ll see if I can compare both and let you know. The extrait is cheaper then the edp, which I find interesting.
I read about the extrait coming out a couple of years ago and have been meaning to try it. You’re right that it did not exist originally.
Would you like me to send you a small sample? I’m going to the States in a few weeks and could drop it in the mail then. Send me your address to luanne.teall @ the gee mail. I probably have it but I can’t remember your “real” name.
I would have been sorely tempted to get that Chanel extrait you came across. None of them seem to be in stock on the website.
Totally twinning with you on #5!
Definitely a win on #5.
My grandmother baked bread and pies without a recipe. Since then, I have never had pie crust anywhere near as good as hers. I did watch her and I think I understand some of the keys, but it would take a lot of practice to get it right, and I’d weigh 400 pounds before I got there. 😸
1) a cheap amber paste I bought at Whole Foods 🤣. I love it, it lasts ALL day and was about $7. Who doesn’t love that?
2) a week ago we had some friends over and I made classic cassoulet from scratch. It’s a 2 day process. It needs a crowd as you just can’t make it for a couple. Cassoulet, green salad and later cookies, coffee and liquors by the fire. Very relaxed. Lots of laughter.
3) Never buy unsniffed!
4) So far I don’t have the itchies. That can easily change.
5) I got to see an early screening of Queer starring Craig Daniels. It is fabulous and I predict not only will he be nominated for an Academy Award, I’ll go out on a limb and say that he will win. Go watch the trailer!
I made cassoulet ONCE, so now I’ve done it and will never do it again. I am not a cook! Glad you had a nice evening with friends.
I make it once a year. It’s too rich, and time consuming, to do more often. I even order special beans lol.
We had a traditional cassoulet when I was in France at a restaurant in Carcassonne. I thought it was what we (in the US) call a casserole. Then I learned a cassoulet is a a type of casserole but not every casserole is a cassoulet. It was delicious and very filling. It was kind of a dreary chilly day and it really hit the spot. 😋 But yeah, a LOT of work!
I’m glad to hear that and do want to see Queer. It’s wonderful that Daniel Craig is now free to stretch his very considerable acting muscles. Not a lot of mainstream actors would have been willing to tackle that role.
1. I’m wearing “Une Rose” from Frederic Malle. Of all the rose perfumes I’ve ever known/sniffed, this is probably my favorite. (I adore Nahema, but the Malle suits my skin better.)
2. My favorite holiday food is a century-old secret family recipe for butterscotch. Simple ingredients, but very tricky to make. It is the taste of Christmas for my family.
3. No real perfume resolutions beyond trying to be mindful on eBay. Alas, I’m easily tempted by vintage/pre-reformulation bottles.
4. I’d love to find the parfum version of Bois Des Iles, but it’s mighty scarce.
5. I’m notoriously grumpy when it comes to movies, but I can heartily recommend “My Old A**.” (It’s on Amazon, I think.) It’s a coming-of-age story, but unlike the gazillion others out there, it’s actually really sweet, funny, and deeply moving. What a surprise, and what a find! Not perfect, but perfect for me right now.
Daniel, is butterscotch a hard candy or soft like a caramel? My mom made a hard candy like Werner’s at Christmas. Always a favorite.
It’s got a crunch, for sure, but it’s much closer to a brittle than a hard candy like Werther’s. Absolutely addictive stuff.☺️
Une Rose is gorgeousness. Is your bottle new-ish or very old? Asking because wonder if it is the same as it used to be…
Robin, it’s not very old – maybe seven or eight years? I’ve never tried a “vintage” bottle, but I’m crazy about mine. Incredibly beautiful and layered, and it lasts like an extrait.
Thanks! These days though, that’s nearly vintage, could easily have been reformulated since.
I have a bottle of the rechristened Rose Tonnerre and I find it lovely. I think the Karanal was restricted so the perfume has been reformulated, but I still enjoy my bottle a lot.
Thank you Coumarin! It had even slipped my name that they renamed it.
I am hearing pretty grim things about the formulas at Malle these days though. I’m trying to decide if I need to pull the trigger on anything! 😅
I recently went down the vintage perfume rabbit hole on eBay. Trying not to go crazy there!
Good luck!🤪
1. BBW Noel Vanilla Bean lotion with D&G Devotion.
* Lilyjo-The Vanilla Bean works well if you don’t have any more Lemon Pound Cake.
2. Well, my husband would tell you the best thing I cooked/baked was pecan pie. He liked it so much for Thanksgiving that he convinced me to make him a second one.
3. If I did, I don’t remember it. I probably didn’t as I normally don’t make New Year’s resolutions.
4. Nothing, but that could change at any time🤣
5. I can’t think of anything. I am just content with life right now and that is a good thing.
It is absolutely a good thing!
My husband loves my pecan pie and has put in a request.
I don’t know about your recipe, but mine is easy as pie-pun intended😉
Will you be making a pecan pie for Xmas?
No, I don’t think so, but he has been hinting about another one.
What a lovely picture, Robin.
10 hours sweet sleep. Turned the heat on for a few minutes this morning for the first time.
Post shower my Christmas gift to myself – Jorum Boswellia Scotia to feed my need for incense.
I haven’t cooked or baked anything in years but my sister sends me her fabulous banana bread every Christmas. I am awaiting my delivery this week. I do love stuffing and mashed potatoes and can eat a bowl, no problem.
Watched the documentary Superman about Christopher & Dana Reeves. Have my ticket for A Complete Unknown for Christmas Day, yay!!
Stuck to very low buy year and have sold or gifted over 50-60? bottles.
Bought Babycat and BdE and Guiac 10 – from duty free and Tokyo ll store and was gifted Ambre Nuit.
And yeah, I retired this year!!
Isn’t it nice being retired? It takes some getting used to, but am so happy I retired early.
It is nice, Kris. So many things I used to have to get done and worry about and people who made me crazy and I will never miss that part.
The future is still unwritten ~
1. Peau de Soie by Phillipe Starck today. It reminds me of the Alaia perfume but less bombastic and a hair more androgynous.
2. My favorite thing I made this year was mole while staying with my two best friends this summer. I made it with cauliflower and potatoes.
https://www.seriouseats.com/mole-aproximado-mexican-sauce-recipe
3. My low buy was not so low, but life is too short. 😂
4. I’m going to Paris in two weeks, so I’m thinking a Lutens and… Who knows? 😇
5. I’m reading this really engrossing book of Korean short stories. They’re a bit eerie and mournful, but I’m really enjoying them.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/at-night-he-lifts-weights-kang-young-sook/1142117181
Paris – how exciting! How long are you staying?
Honestly only a few days. We tacked it onto the end of a river cruise.
Might you be escorting back a bell jar or two? 😀
Honestly, I’m not sure! I have quite a few and I’m not sure if I need another specifically.
Thank you for that book suggestion!
Oh I can save it for you if you’re interested!
Yes please!
I’m really taken with them. They have a sense of loss but in a way I’ve never read before.
Thanks for posting that mole recipe link! Time for me to bookmark it.
It was so good! I have dried chilis at all times now.
Right now I’m sniffing Krinos from Angelos Créations Olfactives, one of my samples from Luckyscent. It’s a musky floral which doesn’t appeal to me and I wondered why I’d ordered it – I didn’t! I’d ordered a sample of Karikia, a tobacco scent. That’s the first time that I can recall that I’ve been sent the wrong sample.
So far, the sample I like most is Hiram Green’s Tryst. It’s a bit sharp to start, then settles into a rich honeyed floral.
I think my favourite festive food is my mother’s chocolate meringue dessert, which I’ve raved about before, but more generally for the time of year, it’s cherries. It’s early in the season and we’ve eaten kilos of them already.
My only perfume resolution was to try and be a bit more restrained, and I have succeeded in buying fewer FBs than average – not necessarily a lot fewer 🙂 .
I’m always itching for something, but I’m trying to put everything off till April, when I go overseas.
Something wonderful – the approach of summer, our weather is often rubbish but I’m ever-optimistic.
What a shame they sent the wrong sample!
But yay for summer.
Today I’m wearing Guerlain Vol de Nuit EdT from one of the Op Art boxes — old enough that the bottle has a blue tax stamp on the bottom. This was a refill spray bottle intended for one of Guerlain’s fancy gold-tone metal cases.
Favorite holiday foods: there are so many, but I do love the Ghirardelli chocolate peppermint bark that one can only find around Christmastime.
No perfume resolutions. I am itching to buy Oud Extraordinaire from Ensar Oud. I got a sample earlier in the year when I bought their Japanese red rose oil, and now I need more Oud Extraordinaire to layer with the rose.
Something wonderful: I’ve become fascinated with old black and white films from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, especially pre-Code films (late 1920s-1933).
I’m currently watching the 1933 film “Man’s Castle,” starring Spencer Tracy and Loretta Young. Left homeless and facing starvation, a young woman takes refuge among the eccentric denizens of a Great Depression era New York City shantytown.
Also, I bought a Hypervolt GO message gun like my physical therapist has — this is so much better for releasing knots in muscles than foam rolling or anything else I’ve tried. Highly recommend!
Does anyone else here love old black and white films?
LOL, that would be a massage gun, not a message gun. 😸
Sometimes I need a “message gun” for my sciatica pain
We have a lot in common. I was wearing Vol de nuit yesterday. And I love peppermint bark. I eat some everyday !!! Being a movie buff, I support your interest for old movies.
That being said, we differ in the oud section. I don’t like it.
I am wearing PC Amber Ylang Ylang by Estée Lauder today, and a bit of Tangier Vanille on top. Same perfume.
Happy holidays.
You have great taste, rebieFR! 😉
WRT oud, there are so many different variations, whether natural or synthetic. This one is cultivated and quite mild. Interestingly, they say that durian trees are increasingly supplanting aquilaria cultivation, being more profitable — on one level it’s kind of amusing that a perfume and incense ingredient is being replaced by the ultimate stinky fruit.
Are you saying Tangier Vanille and EL PC Amber Ylang Ylang are very similar? 👀
Good morning.
I had no idea about the durian. Fascinating. I will try to smell the oud oil you mentioned.
Oh yes, for me, PCAYY and TV are the same perfume. It was revamped in the Aerin collection.
There are so many good old Christmas movies, notably on Max. Christmas in Connecticut is very good.
Have a lovely Sunday.
Rebecca
Love old black and whites
Can watch Mildred Pierce over and over.
Barbra Stanwyck. Bette Davis.
Also love my Therabody Thera gun. Got it when I started working from home. It’s great.
You know, I haven’t watched Mildred Pierce yet, thanks for reminding me — looking forward to this treat!
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/nov/16/my-favourite-film-sunrise?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Have you ever seen Sunrise , a silent movie from 1927? Amazing .
I haven’t watched any silent films but I’ll give this one a try.
Man’s Castle sounds like something we’d enjoy, Chez Mossy. Have you seen Of Human Bondage with Leslie Howard and Bette Davis? It is very pre-Code in its themes.
I forget if I’ve watched this one yet, but I’ll make sure I do. I know it’s a classic. Thanks!
Donatella forgives, purchased Liaisons Dangereuses by Kilian. It was on my long list.
Reading Empire of the Summer Moon and learning so much about Texan history and Comanche Indians.
Oh, that’s a great book! 🙌
Congratulations, lovetosmellgood! Liaisons Dangereuses is one of the greatest perfumes that no one ever talks about.
Thank you!
Lovestosmellgood, that is such an amazing book. I still think about it a decade after reading it and have given it to several people..
In answer to the poll:
1. I am swanning about in L’Occitane Immortelle del Corso thanks to a generous holiday perfume fairy on this site. Thank you!!!
2 & 5. Gonna change ‘best thing I cooked’ to ‘best thing I ate’ and that was some chestnut cake in Rome. Italians love their chestnuts in the fall and the bakery near where I stayed had this lovely rich dense cake/bread, no eggs or butter, just chestnuts and/or chestnut flour, olive oil, sugar. I think it was probably poverty cake from the South, nothing fancy about it, but ithe flavors were intense. We just don’t do chestnuts here in the U.S. or at least in L.A. I’ve never seen a guy roasting chestnuts on the street for sale. But I do love them. Yum!
3. Resolution is one bottle out for each bottle that comes in. Or maybe 2 out for each one. I am determined to declutter whether via swaps, gifts, or sales. Luckily i have many people around me who love perfume as gifts. And yes, I did stick to it.
4. I have no plans to buy anything, heh heh. Most of my purchases are impulse driven. But if a few Profumum Romas fell into my lap, I would not shoo them away. I’ve sampled this house and liked it a lot and there are several I have my beady little eye upon.
You used to be able to easily find roasted chestnuts in NYC. No idea if you still can. That cake sounds amazing.
I recently saw roasted chestnuts at Costco, of all places. They were in a shelf-stable package and not in the Food Court (lol).
1. Organza Indecence
2. a) Thanksgiving stuffing with celery, onion, dried cherries, apple chunks and lots of fresh sage. I don’t know why I don’t fix it more often.
b) German sour cream twist cookies. The family clusters around the cooling rack like a flock of vultures and eats them almost as fast as I can remove them from the cookie sheet. Cooks.com has the identical recipe to the one I inherited from my mom.
3. I vowed to give a good wearing to everything I own a bottle or decant of before I decide whether it stays or goes and so far so good.
4. I have a couple of samples arriving maybe Monday, and have given myself permission to buy something new, but only if I really love it.
5. Yesterday it was a big hawk in the backyard with a vole in its talons. Today it’s the number and variety of birds at the feeder. I know it sounds incredibly syrupy but sometimes being able to find wonder in the mundane is all that gets one through.
I did the “wear a different perfume every day” a few years ago. It was rather fun! I think it would take me a lot longer now….
Itching to try these cookies!
Finding wonder in the mundane is a gift that not everyone has, how nice that you do 🌹
I’d never heard of those cookies before.
Continuing the CP with Spezie de’ Medici because it has ginger and I didn’t get to wear it yet this autumn, loving my little bottle of concentrato.
Marrons glacés, hands down, followed by mince pies with mulled wine to drink
I was successful with my low-buy but this quarter is a fail
The Kerosene line interests me somewhat but I’m fickle and I fulfilled several wants this unrestrained quarter
I bought a new casserole to cook with over the holidays.
So glad to see a sighting of Spezie de Medici!
Congratulations with your Low Buy!
I’m wearing Nicolai Vanille Tonka on a very wet, gloomy Sunday.
My favorite thing that I cooked this year is an Italian soup that I made up to use up some spaghetti sauce. I have made it a lot this fall and tweak it a little every time.
My wonderful thing is that there was another perfume party yesterday with my young friends and it was so much fun! I took along some Montale samples to share and I fell in love with Serge Lutens L’orphelin. Haven’t I ever never tried this one before? I don’t remember. It’s available at decent prices online, it might be my next buy.
Another L’orphelin fan here. I agree the price is right on this one!
I adore L’Orpheline.
I’m another L’Orpheline fan, and have a bottle I bought a year or two ago.
IIRC, I liked L’Orpheline quite a bit when I sniffed it.
Day two in Atelier Cafe Tuberosa, one of my very first purchases of a current release. I got a travel spray at Sephora, and later found a good deal on the FB on Ebay. CT is a cozy and festive scent for me.
Glad you found a FB! I wonder if Atelier will ever expand out of Asia.
SOTD = Chanel Comete
Yowza! This is from the most recent split and wowee! If there is ONE bottle I may need to buy, this could be it! I’ll wait though because I want the Guerlain snek bottle a little bit too much at this point.
Also…I practically lost a day yesterday. I woke up thinking it was Sunday. I planned to do laundry (which I did) and to check to see what goodies Target has on sale. My brain did not compute that I somehow could not get into the online service AND why is the Target circular still not showing the new week’s specials, then it dawned on me that I must have slept through the day! I didn’t but it felt like I did!
And finally, would you compliment a stranger? This article is too girl-focused but evokes good feelings. I had previously complimented others … not often but I had done so with most of it a compliment on, you guessed it … perfume!
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/style/compliments.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hk4.-QtR.ZBv2GXrTSeXn&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&ngrp=mnp
I think I went in on the same split as you and am also really enjoying Comete, although it’s got a little too much of that Chanel signature vibe to it for me. So I won’t be pulling the plug on a bottle–I’m happy with my decent-sized decant.
We’ll have to see about pulling the plug!
I have definitely been complimenting people more recently, mainly other women. This is partly because I like doing it, and partly because I think people in the DC area depressed and apprehensive now, and if I put a little light into someone’s life, I will.
I only hesitate if the person is a different ethnic group from me. I think there can be a bit of awkwardness in that circumstance.
Ha! I’m trying my best to understand your comment re: hesitancy in complimenting someone not of your ethnic group.
I compliment all kinds of people for all kinds of things! I take no prisoners. Without exception, my compliments have been met with a genuine smile or a shy, “Really? Do you think it looks okay?” Yes! Yes, I do! I think you’re rockin’ it! 😀
I love this!
I really liked Comete too, but I think I have enough other nice iris scents that fit the bill without splurging on a bottle.
One cannot have too many iris perfumes! That said, I don’t know if I will pull the trigger on a FB of Comete.
I tend to agree with you there. I think I have six different iris perfumes.
I lost a day this past weekend, too. Sunday felt like a Monday to me.
Yes, I have complimented strangers. Not necessarily for perfume, since I rarely encounter that.
Interesting!
I spent a nice morning looking for fossils on a shale roadside cutting yesterday and found a couple of nice leaf specimens ( probably about 10-15 million years old). It’s a place I’ve been many times and the number of specimens seems to be dwindling compared to 20 years ago ( probably the site is better known now). It was dusty work but growing on the hillside were Californian poppies and thyme and briar roses so it was nice ( but hot). People cycling and driving by must have wondered what I was doing up the bank, as it’s literally above the road. I don’t have any perfume resolutions. I’m a bit put off by the high price of perfume these days. Wearing Eris Delta of Venus today ( Gaynor sample stash!).
https://sites.google.com/site/theotagorockandmineralclub/fossicking-sites/bannockburn-fossils
Where I was, for anyone interested in fossils
I’m sharing this with a friend who will be interested. I like how the map has the term “fossicking area.”
As a child I used to love fossil hunting. I had them all in a shoebox. Someone must have thrown them out at some point as I have no idea where they went.
Greetings from the Philadelphia Airport where I’m having a glass of wine while waiting for my flight back home. This has been a whirlwind visit with some sad and some very fun and memorable parts. As it turned out, my younger friend Kristin and I were too late to be able to see our other friend here before she died. Her doctor had thought she had more time but she did not. After consultation, we decided to keep our travel plans anyway, and I’m so glad we did. We were able to spend time together reminiscing about our dear friend, and on Saturday we went to her house and met her local friends who had been caregivers throughout her treatment and final days. We also were invited to take some items with meaning for us. I took a tiny Acoma Pueblo pottery cat because my friend and I had visited there together and both loved cats, plus a small dish she’d bought when we visited Korea and went to the pot of a very fun, wonderful potter. In the evening we were invited for dinner at her good friends’ who cooked a fabulous meal and we also were all able to share memories. I did hear some sad stories but am trying to think of her life as a whole. We may also have a memorial for her at an upcoming conference in April in Philadelphia. On top of those things, Kristin and I went shoe-shopping this morning at a rather fancy store selling Italian shoes, and each bought a pair, and we knew full well that our other friend would have approved, because she always loved shopping! Besides being accomplished and precise, she was also fun and always dressed very elegantly.
As far as the questions: I am wearing Le Labo Myrrhe 55, in part because I bought the small bottle and it’s good to travel with. My favorite holiday food is probably these cookies my grandmother made that are light and made with powdered sugar and cornstarch, rolled in pecans, and topped with lemon icing. I’ll make some for Christmas. No, I didn’t make any perfume resolutions. I should not want to buy anything more since I did buy several things recently, but I’m sure I will think of something!
Condolences, Calypso, but I’m so glad you were able to make the trip a meaningful good-bye to Kristin — new shoes and all.
So glad you were able to have such a loving tribute to your dear friend.
I’m very sorry that you have lost a good friend. It was nice that you could spend time with her family and share memories with them.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Calypso. Sounds like she was a very loved friend who went too soon. Please look after yourself.
Best regards,
carole
Aw Calypso. I am so sorry to hear that you missed seeing your friend one last time. But it sounds like you did some lovely things to commemorate her life and your friendship. Hugs.
So sorry for your loss. At least you “made up” for it by doing things you know she loved!
Today I’m wearing BPAL Snake Oil from a dabber. I’ve had this maybe 15 years now? A crazy long time anyway. It reminds me of tincture of benzoin and discolored my skin a bit on application. It’s old and unctuous, thick and billowy. Its smooth and sexy but doesn’t get into other peoples spaces. Lovely stuff but probably not for the faint hearted.
Gosh, is BPAL still around? Somewhere in this house I probably have a baggie of even older BPAL samples.
Seems like they’re doing well as a lot of things on the site are sold out. They fill a nice niche in the world of scent and I hope they keep going strong. Their website is an education on everything eclectic in history, religion, and folklore.
Very late getting back here, but glad to hear it. So many older indie brands are gone.
I started the day wearing Liis Rose Struck. I meant to select Liis Bo but picked the wrong vial. It faded out – one of my complaints about Rose Struck – so I used Fugazzi Angel Dust which is incense musk if that makes sense. Neither of these is on my wish list for now.
I don’t know if I have a holiday food. I am trying to perfect my sticky toffee pudding for Christmas. Last year I did a variation in the crock pot with dates. I need to work on that. The pudding came out well but I messed up the sauce. I made a Banana Ice Cream last year that was wonderful.
I really don’t have any official resolutions. I was trying to stick to 3 perfumes a year but I failed. I think my job frustrates me and I react by buying perfumes, since using scent makes my day to day drudgery better. Maybe when I am retired, I will cut back.
I will buy Perris Monte Carlo Nosy Be Ylang Ylang in 2025. It is almost a sure thing. I have at least one other wish, Stairway to Heaven by Jul et Mad. Rest is to be determined.
No specific wonderful news but I am still healthy and doing my activities and that counts for something.
I have that perfume and it’s a real winner! I also ADORE their Patchouli in that line. Patchouly Nosy Be, I think they call it.
SOTD Casablanca
Holiday food homemade real mincemeat pie, with bison meat, beef suet, Granny Smith apples, figs, dried cherries, slivered almonds, a little brown sugar, lemon and orange peel, lotsa spices and a big slug of apple brandy. I will make that up tomorrow and let it sit and meld until I bake the pies the day before Christmas. Just the way my grandma used to!
Those pies sound like a labor of love!
The hardest part is collecting the ingredients! I went to three different stores and finally ended up ordering the orange and lemon peel on line, no one it town has any this year. I yelled at all three grocery stores, but I guess I just need to plan on making some of my own in the future. Apparently Christmas baking is more of an aspirational thing rather than an actual thing, these days. 🙂
You just chop up everything, simmer it in a big pot for a couple hours, pour it into quart mason jars and stick it in the frig until you are ready to bake pies. I never bother to make enough to have to pressure cook it to keep it long term, since, like I say, one for the party and the other is all mine, and that will hold me until the next year. Adorable hubby prefers apple pies unadulterated by spices more exotic than a little cinnamon, or brandy and suet. He just wants ice cream on it. Pie crust is not my forte – I use Marie Callendar’s deep dish frozen pie crusts when I am ready to bake them after a few days of letting the flavors blend. 🙂 Yum, yum!
Those mincemeat pies sound amazing!
My mom used to make mince pies like that – and my dad made the “hard sauce” to dollop on top. (Butter, powdered sugar, booze — dad used rum, but maybe brandy or whiskey is more traditional?) Delicious.
Mincemeat pie is a top-five holiday treat for me. Yours sound wonderful!
1. I wore CSP Amour de Cacao.
2. My favorite savory dish we’d have at Christmas are my mom’s cabbage rolls. She made them with sour cabbage and bacon. My favorite Christmas cookie is a shortbread. When we were kids, our neighbor made the most beautifully decorated shortbread. Thankfully I have her recipe but I’ve never been able to match her icing skills.
3. I wanted to remain on a low-buy this year; which I’ve mostly kept to. I purchased a few things here and there but not too much.
4. Nothing that I’m itching to buy at the moment.
5. I bought my garden flower seeds last week; mostly different varieties of zinnias. They should be sent in late January. I’m trying to make a hummingbird-friendly yard for 2025; they were such a delight last summer, that I have to do what I can for them. I also purchased my seed-starting peat pots so that I’m ready to go.
Smelling fabulous! Zinnias are wonderfully cheerful and uplifting. Not only will the hummingbirds come but also a myriad of good insects. I’ve watched a guy in IG who is educating people right out of their clean cut manicured lawns and showing homeowners how beneficial natural grasses and flowers are, as well as beautiful. It’s kind of like “If you build it, they will come.”
Thank you, Deva! I have a few plans for my yard. We added raspberries, daylilies and irises last year in the fall. There was lavender, perennial geraniums, columbines and sedum here already when we moved in. The bees were buzzing all summer in those plants.
Sadly there is also a non-working fountain here that’s cemented into the raised bed. It failed as a large flower bed that I tried to hide with bulbs last summer. In the fall, we noticed that there was evidence that a bear was using it as a toilet! Several times! Ugh. We laughed so hard afterwards since its raised up off the ground. Trying to imagine the logistics of that!
Guess that answers the question “Does a bear 💩 in the woods?”
I’d be sorely tempted to rent a jackhammer and get rid of that non-functional fountain. Yuk!
I did say that just last week! It’s an awful eyesore to me. Great minds!
Your garden plans are great, good luck.
Thank you! I believe it was you that also recommended an olive tree? I found one in the early fall, and planted into in a large pot that’s now overwintering in the garage. I think it will be a wonderful addition to my yard, especially for the scorching dry heat we get in summer.
My yard is full of gravel, so it’s a big work in progress to add life and green things!
1. Sotd is Ganymede from the swapmeet this weekend. I like it and don’t find it as overwhelming as some others.
2. This year’s favorite holiday foods are a toss up between the NYTimes Melissa Clark’s Ultimate Pumpkin Pie (made with Butternut Squash!) and her Maple Bourbon Pecan Pie. I’m going to make the NYTimes magazine’s Sunday recipe for Sticky Date and Pecan Pudding for Christmas dinner because it’s easy and doesn’t require crust😀)
3. No resolutions made but I am buying a lot less perfume. It finally caught up to me, having “enough” perfume period but also enough of my favorites in various categories, not being interested in a lot that’s coming out these days and being more selective about the ones I still want (eg. the next Eris fragrance, certain Serge, Chanel when I can grab it at a discount…)
4. Hoping that rumors about Antonia’s Flowers coming back are true, SL Fourreau Noir, vintage finds…
5. Gratitude for good health, family and especially Mr. allo💕
P.S. And NST!!!
Love this whole post! 😀
I love yours too!
Great post, allo!
😊
My perfume plan for this morning is a trip to the dump ( refuse centre?). Household waste is collected once a fortnight so I keep missing the date by being back home so today I will take a load in to the landfill. When I was a kid there used to be “open” dumps ( landfill) and I can remember holidays were we visited dumps fossicking for treasure….my mum was always on the lookout for things like old shops tills ( cash registers) , brass scales, furniture etc. It was great fun. We never found anything major or valuable but did come up with bits and pieces, like silver cutlery or wooden toys, ceramics. Anyway, today will be much more managed. Wearing Diorling for the tip trip….probably not what Monsieur Dior imagined when he was creating it.
Nothing wrong with wearing a sophisticated frag to lend panache to one’s mundane chores 😉
Yes! In fact if I waited to wear my sophisticated fragrances until I was doing something sophisticated or glamorous, they would not be used very often! 😆
1. Wearing NEZ 1+1 Ambre à Levres today. (And yesterday was L’Artisan Dzing! to continue the ginger theme.)
2. I like lots of holiday foods. I am looking forward to Christmas breakfast when we usually have an egg strata and homemade cinnamon rolls (I especially like these: https://www.feastmagazine.com/recipes/breakfast/green-chile-strata/article_f7c1e238-2dde-11eb-a18b-0b089553282e.html
and Molly Wizenberg’s cinnamon rolls: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cinnamon-rolls-with-cream-cheese-glaze-241631)
3. I think I had a resolution for a low buy. But really, I’m always on a low buy. Until I see something that I must have!
4. Hoping to pick up a partial bottle of Lutens Un Bois Vanille at some point.
5. We get to babysit our grandson on Wednesday — he’s so much fun!
That egg strata sounds very tasty! 😋
Yes, we love it! I always look for excuses to make it.
You smell wonderful and what time shall I be there for Christmas breakfast???🎄😋🎁
Be here by 10:00a.m. And bring some of that Sticky Date and Pecan Pudding! 😉
Will do!
Today, Monday, SOTD is Tam Dao, which is my useful get things one in a soothing steady way scent these days! Finally getting into the Christmas spirit just a bit, I got a nice poinsetta on sale at a big box store while looking for stove gasket cement for my wood stove. Happy Holidays, we need more Peace and Good Will around the world, but let that start at home, yes? Ample good will!
Very late reply but second your wishes for peace and good will!!
1. Fille en Aiguilles today since it’s something I typically wear close to Christmas. I should be thunking my decant before the end of the year.
2. I love most holiday foods, with a special love for pecan pie, green bean casserole, and stuffing.
3. No resolutions, I think. If I did make any, I’ve forgotten them!
4. I’ve been making a good number of impulse purchases lately, so it’s anyone’s guess what is next! High on my list for large $$ purchases are Vero Profumo Rozy Voile d’Extrait and PG Arabian Horse. Then there’s always the random deals I find on eBay, Mercari, and Facebook groups. Sigh.
5. I have a week of vacation next week! Work is stressful right now so I’m looking forward to some down time at home relaxing. I’d like to read, take at least one bubble bath, some walks during the day, watch fun things, etc.
Ack, I’m with you on the impulsive perfume purchases! Need to rein that in STAT!
Enjoy a relaxing vacation.
1. Monday’s SOTD = Iris Underground Absolute Oil Parfum by Soivohle. I picked up a bunch of these a few years back when they were on close out, and have been enjoying them quite a bit.
2. Favorite holiday food? Depends on the holiday. But I am absurdly pleased to have found wintergreen candy candy for Xmas this year! I like them much more than peppermint.
3. Perfume resolutions for 2024? Probably made some. Definitely did not keep any.
4. Next fragrance I am Jonesing for? At least a couple Tauer perfumes: Golestan and Heraud. Possibly Le Maroc pour Elle and LAdDM too.
5. Something wonderful? I had lunch with 2 of my favorite cousins on Saturday. The 3 of us hadn’t gotten together since August 2023. We’re hoping to do that a little more often…
Anything Iris must smell good!
I love that you got together with cousins!
The Soivohle perfume oils are performing much better in Colorado than they did in NJ. The iris is an elegant, lightly powdery thing.
Not too many cousins left on my Dad’s side of the family. And they tend to get together only for weddings and funerals. Nice to just have a casual meetup.
Glad you could get together with your cousins.
Me too! 🥰
Ugh, that’s should be “wintergreen candy CANES” up above!
*sigh* Today is not my day for catching typos!
As a kid, I loved the cinnamon and the wintergreen ribbon candy at Christmas.
Did you ever come across cinnamon candy canes? They were scarce even way back when. Now that the fruit flavored candy canes are around, I never see them.
How nice that you had a visit with your cousins. I see mine maybe yearly and now that their parents have been dying off the last few years, I’ll probably see them less often.
Our local candy kitchen makes homemade ribbon candy and big candy canes, my favorite being clove. Wintergreen is great too.
Never came across clove in ribbon candy. But occasionally gumdrops used to come in that flavor.
Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen old-fashioned gumdrops in a while…
Holiday greetings to my NST friends! I hope you have all seen at least one beautiful display of lights and decorations, had a favorite warming drink (or cooling one for the Southerners), and had a visit with family and/or friends!
1. SotD Fumerie Turque, from the sample stash, current version. Instant love. I had an idea of non-incense smoke that kept me from trying this, but I should have known M. Lutens and Mr. Sheldrake often create what I never knew I’d love.
2. I always love dark fruitcake. Right now, I am finding that avocados grown in Mexico must have had a great year. I’ve been eating them like crazy for the last month and they’ve all been beautiful – no strings or brown yuckiness.
3. I did a, for me, quite successful low-buy over the course of the year. I’ve got exciting travel plans for next year, and I’m keeping my powder dry for Heathrow Duty Free! Details to follow!!
4. Comete. Maybe. But a visit today to SL’s website found that Fumerie Turque seems to be on clearance or something. I am *NOT* a fan of the gratte ciel bottles (thought I did like the original ad for them). However, I’ve come to accept that I am somewhat of a bottle collector and, hey, I’ve got my Bell Jar, so I caved and got FT today.
5. I am going to London, with a side trip to Malta, with my sister. We are very close though she is an avid traveler, and I am a stick in the mud. Being under her wing, I can look forward to the National Gallery, a Shakespeare play, some WWII history and ancient artifacts (the Phoenicians have always fascinated me and I suspect they brought cats to Europe so who does not want to learn more about them?), and maybe some good pub food with folk music playing in the background. Sis has been to Malta and thought we should go. I learned it is a popular vacation spot for the English and the Italians, so flights from London are not pricey, and English is the other official language after Maltese.
How exciting about London and Malta! What time of the year are you going?
Mid-March. Not an ideal time for planning what to pack, but I am working on my fashionable layers! 🙂
I think I shared your reaction to Comete. I may just come home with a bottle in March!
Excellent job finding avocadoes that aren’t stringy or bruised with grody brown spots! I switched to premade guacamole earlier this year because I couldn’t find decent avocadoes.
A trip to London and Malta sounds amazing.
Sometimes the citric acid in commercial guac stings my mouth! I don’t know if our area just happened to have a good supply chain, but sorry your area (which ought to be getting good produce) has a miss. I see dollar signs flying away when I think of all the icky avocados I’ve pitched in the garbage or compost heap before this recent good run. 🙁
I am so excited about the trip – and about sister-time!
Weird thing is, the avocadoes here were pretty good back in April. Then they just became YUCK! Really strange.
Fortunately, I haven’t had any problems with Costco’s guac. And it comes in individual portions, so much less food waste that way.
What a fabulous trip! And your sister sounds like the perfect travel partner.
Re: your SL purchase, I see that the gratte ciel bottles are tagged with “Holiday Offer” but I don’t see the offer itself. Was there a discounted offer along with the fact that they’re on “clearance”? Thank you.
SOTD = 4160 Tuesdays Tempest Rose
Crowd-funded and a beautiful spicy rose!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDqI6gBRTOv/?igsh=NDlvemx1azJteHQ2
In other news, I just found out today that one of my split packages may have been switched with someone else’s. If you got Imaginary Authors Dipped in Chocolate versus Lush Sticky Dates, please let me know via email so I can make it right, with your help, of course. Thanks.
I am spending the day in NYC tomorrow (Tuesday). Wish me luck!
Good luck with New Jersey Transit and the NYC day trip!