Happy Holidays! We'll be back on Thursday. In the meantime, feel free to talk about whatever you like: what perfume you’re wearing today, what you're cooking (or eating) over the holidays, anything at all.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: top image is Holly Holidays [cropped] by Wenjie, Zhang at flickr; some rights reserved.
Happy Holidays!!!
I will be in charge of the holiday feast this year and that means one thing, dessert is starring a major role! I made one NY cheesecake, one 3 layer fudge cake, one hummingbird cake and loads of cookies. I have enough until 2025.
Sotd is EL Pleasures Intense.
That all sounds delicious!
Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas!!
Yum! A 3 layer fudge cake sounds amazing!
Saved you a slice～
Oh my. That much would last us until, oh, St. Patrick’s Day or thereabouts. What is a hummingbird cake?
https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/hummingbird-cake-2/6d9d69c2-94c2-466c-a969-268eb1439319
Hummingbird cake is like carrot cake in texture but is made with tinned, crushed pineapple and shredded coconut instead of carrot. It’s so easy to make , and lasts well.
Wow — thank you! Sounds very rich, but delicious.
Verrry yummy 😋
I want to try that, but I never bake. 😸 The cream cheese icing is my favorite part of carrot cake, but now I’m very curious about dried pineapple flowers! Are they crispy like rose petals, or more in the dried fruit direction?
There is definitely a chew with pineapple flowers.
A perfume reference to intense pleasures is perfect to go along with the culinary ones you are offering your guests!
Nice!
It’s one of my happy scents. Plus it smells lush enough for a big party.
Merry Christmas Happy888! Enjoy your cake day!
Thank you and I wish you a merry Christmas too!
Happy Holidays to you as well! Wow those desserts sound so good, I’m drooling right now. 😋
We have a space for one more guest. 😉
I was hoping you would ask! 😍
Have a wonderful Christmas.
Happy Holidays!
That sounds like a lot of work, but my guess is that you enjoy it. Sounds fabulous.
I do love to bake. It’s all worth it when I see people enjoy the food.
That is a lot of desserts – fabulous!
Loooove desserts!
Wow to your dessert spread and happy holidays!
Happy holidays She-ra!
Happy (Sweet) Holidays happy888cat!
Wishing you a merry Christmas 😀
Happy holidays to you and your family Robin!
I’m in Livre Blanc for the cp. I tried 3 of these Olivia Giacobetti scents last summer and this was the one I liked the best. I ordered a bottle from Zara that got cancelled the next day because they were out of stock. I’ve been watching the usual reseller for a bottle and was able to purchase one a couple of weeks ago for a decent price. It was nowhere near the $155 that someone has a bottle listed for currently. That’s highway robbery considering Zara had these 100 ml bottles marked down to 15.99 at one point. I’m in many sprays, because it does fade, but it’s a very work friendly scent and I’m happy to have found it.
I’m at work for a half day today, headed home at lunch time. My other half is off today, so volunteered to head to the grocery with our last minute list. Sending him for groceries is a bit like getting one of those white elephant gifts at Christmas. I never know quite what he’ll come home with lol. I don’t mean this as a complaint because I’m happy to have one less task on my list, more of a humorous observation. Tonight we’ll eat my beloved granny’s Swedish meatball recipe and open gifts.🎄
Merry Christmas to you and your family Madtowngirl!
Thanks lillyjo! Merry Christmas to you and your family also! I think you also work today(?), hopefully you have off tomorrow!
Another 7 hour’s and I get 3 day’s off. Woo-hoo!
Merry Christmas, Madtowngirl! Enjoy those Swedish meatballs and memories of your grandmother.
I can relate to sending the DH to the grocery store. Love your “white elephant“ metaphor.
Happy Holidays.
Oh, I have not had Swedish meatballs for years so that sounds so good to me. Now add a little lefse with it and maybe some lutefisk and I would be in heaven!
Yum for swedish meatballs and merry Xmas, MTG! 🎄
Happy Holidays madtowngirl! Enjoy the family time!
Hope your husband came up with interesting choices 😉. Merry Christmas.
Thank you!! We did our celebration last night so today is for relaxing. And cleaning up 🙂
Hope your swedish meatballs were fantastic, that is one of my favorite things.
Happy holidays to you all! I’m wafting Ambra Aurea again this morning, and it really does evoke Christmas — the only thing missing is the smell of evergreens, and I only have to step outside to add that. Our little back forest has pines, hemlocks and firs, and they are all happily soaking up the rain. We’re not cooking anything this year, but we ARE trying out a third replacement espresso machine in our ongoing, desperate attempts to replace our Old Faithful, which is about 10 years old and has started making a worrying wheeze-whistle-groan noise. The first replacement was a total fail — made intermittently terrible coffee and leaked water internally somewhere. Back it went. The second (the one we’re currently using/testing) is better but a bit too complicated and very fussy — I call it the Prima Donna. The third just arrived yesterday and has yet to be unpacked. It is supposedly the closest Mr. G could find to our Old Faithful, so I’m hopeful.
Good luck with the new machine. I hope that it’s works beautifully and the instructions are easy and not a complicated chore.
Thanks! I just unboxed it and did some preliminary investigation. Some good, some disappointing, and there will be some programming to be done. Luckily Mr. G loves that kind of thing. Looks promising!
You smell wonderful, SheriG! Happy Holidays to you!
So sorry about your coffee frustrations. Sounds similar to ours. We tried super automatic ones and found out that after 2-3 years, the coffee wouldn’t taste very good anymore. We were on our third, and then threw up our hands and switched to Nespresso pods. Not looking back – I love them!
Our current potential replacement is a super-automatic, which has many, many choices that we will never use, but we have managed to find settings that fairly closely approximate our daily coffee drinks. The one we had to send back, that failed so spectacularly, was also a super-automatic, which is mostly why I don’t trust the current potential replacement to operate properly for very long. 😆 Our Old Faithful was a semi-automatic where we had to exercise some skill in foaming milk but which produced the espresso portion of a latte very reliably, and the newest potential replacement is also a semi-automatic so the overall process might be more what we’re familiar with, but as foreshadowed above the build quality on this third potential replacement leaves a bit to be desired. I feel you on the pods, but it will be a very frigid day in YKW before Mr. G agrees to that format. Sigh.
Oh, big sigh on that last bit. For us, the super-automatics were overkill anyway, since we hardly ever made fancy coffees. The pods are expensive, yeah. Unlike the other popular pod version, however, you can send them back for free, and the company recycles them. This won me over.
Happy Holidays Sheri! Enjoy your new espresso machine!
Thank you! Hope to.
Happy Holidays SheriG!
Thanks lillyjo!
Happy Holidays and good luck with your new espresso machine SheriG!
Thanks J! We haven’t fired up the newest one yet — too many other things absorbing our attention. But soon, or at least as soon as Mr. G gets around to the required programming. (I would do that, but he would only tell me I did it wrong. 😆)
I don’t know what price range you are looking at, but I will share that we have had terrible luck with Breville. We bought it (the Barista Express, I think?), used it happily f
Ugh. Small screen.
Used it happily for three years, and then it gave out. Very hard to get repaired in the U.S. and the part that failed was not readily available anywhere. Turns out this failure was common and much discussed on forums — and when I posted a caveat emptor follow-up review on Williams Sonoma (store from which we purchased it), they wouldn’t publish it. It was a $600 machine. Three years is not good enough.
We now have a basic, much less expensive DeLonghi and a standalone burr grinder (Cuisinart IIRC). Both have held up beautifully. It’s not the Ferrari of espresso makers, but it makes a good coffee, takes up little counter space, and…knock wood…is going strong after five or more years and minimum four espressos per day, of six or more.
We’ve been switching between DeLonghi and Gaggia for all of our latte lives. Haven’t tried Breville, and now probably won’t. 🤣
Happy holidays, a good cup of coffee is crucial, hopefully this machine is a winner.
Coffee is definitely essential to a good start on the day. Plus it helps with headaches — what’s not to love?!
Leaving in a few minutes to work a short shift at work today. Wearing Eau Premiere to get me through the day today.
Glad it is a short shift. You are smelling divine.
Hope it went well yesterday Dawn!
Happy holidays and merry Christmas – whatever you’re celebrating today or soon!
Today, I’m wearing Fragonard Lilas, although I might switch to Celine Zazou later, as there won’t be a post tomorrow.
So, Fragonard Lilas, 2024 release #2 (see my review of Callisto in the weekend poll). I naively expected something along the lines of En Passant – a green, watery lilac. And it is a realistic lilac when I smell it from the sample: lilac blossoms with green leaves.
However, once I spray it on myself, it transforms into a lilac-y generic floral, reminiscent of a body lotion, air freshener, or deodorant. It’s not a terrible scent, but it’s not something I’d be interested in wearing. That said, I might actually enjoy it on someone else.
Thanks for this review. I have it in a cart, and now will be taking it out. Happy Holidays Glannys!
Thank you and the same to you, lillyjo!
Try to get a sample or test it in store, if you can. Victoria from Boisdejasmin liked it. I also wonder if maybe I should retest it in spring, when it’s warmer.
Merry Christmas Glannys. I hope you have a peaceful day and spend Christmas with your family and perfumes!
Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!
My friends works for a store that sells these Fragonard perfumes and he gives me TONS of perfumed towelettes. The Lilas is just as you describe, rather simple and generic. I wasn’t impressed by Narcisse either. He always puts them in a beautiful promotional tote bag that I use for my knitting. 🙂
I have said it before but Lilas Exquis is one of my favorite lilac perfumes. Not natural per se, but a bit like entering the Fae world. It just shimmers iridescently.
Happy holidays, Coumarin!
I had a sample of Lilac Exquis a long time ago. It was pretty. Maybe I should try it again.
Merry and hopefully peaceful Christmas Glannys. Any treats for your cat?
Merry Christmas!
Kora thanks you for thinking about her! 😺
I’ll give her some dry chicken – she always likes this treat.
Merry Christmas, Glannys, to you and your family. Thanks again for all your great layering ideas a couple weeks ago *and* for news about Kora. I was just thinking about your kitty (I didn’t remember her name) when I read Aurora’s question =^v^=
Happy Holidays Glannys! Always good to hear how you are doing.
Lilac flowers smell wonderful in real life, but I haven’t come across any perfume that really captures lilac.
Thanks for the Lilias review too…never got around to trying that one. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Glannys! 🎄
Happy Holidays to you Glannys! I hope it is a silent night for you.
Wishing you a very happy holiday season, and peace and warmth.
Bob wishes Robin and all NSTers very happy holidays~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8qE6WQmNus
Am copying Dawn in Eau Premiere.
It put a smile on my face.
Many thanks, put a smile on my face too!
Happy Holidays!
Let the celebrations begin.
I hope 2025 will be a great year for everyone.
For the first time in a while, I am not hosting so I am very happy about that. We are invited to my sister in law this year.
Planning to wear Nuit de Noël.
Happy Holidays Hera!
Happy Holidays Hera!
Hope you have a lovely Xmas NOT hosting! I hosted last night so can relax today…and hopefully eat VERY little since I overdid it yesterday.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, and hope everyone is enjoying some down time and even days and days of vacation! For the CP, in addition to the best perfumes I’ve smelled in 2024, I am going to wear samples that were gifted or from splits from various lovely NST’ers. Today is Misia, the original edt. What a delight it is. I don’t think I really gave it an outing at the time I was gifted it, because I was specially interested in the samples of No. 22 and Bois des Iles that I also got! Those were also a treat, but this violet-lover has nothing like soft and elegant Misia in my collection.
Oh you smell lovely, I have a decant of the EDT too, I also have the EDP, EDT is more rose-forward I think, the EDP more violet.
Did you get leather from the edp? A review on Fragrantica mentioned that, which gave me pause. More violet I am okay with. 🙂
I don’t get leather in the EDP, it’s good too, less rosy, more violetty, make-uppy.
Thank you for the mini-review. I’m thinking I will like it too, then.
You are smelling wonderful in Misia. That is a great scent!
Happy holidays, MB! 🎄And Misia is beautiful…you smell great!
Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to you MossyBerry!
It’s 6am Christmas morning and the sky is flushed pink . Outside it’s warm and muggy and quiet; just me and the birds. We spent a couple of hours swimming in a backwater in the Clutha River yesterday. It’s a big river , fast flowing but a very soothing shade of green and lined with weeping willows and poplars. Where we swam there are lots of tailings, left by the gold miners from the 1880s. Now, the huge heaps of shingle are covered in wild thyme, in purple flower and vipers blugloss , a bright blue flower. Happy Christmas! Have fun.
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/dredge-tailings-listed-category-1-historic-place
For history buffs!
Happy Christmas Kanuka.
Happy Christmas to you! Hope you have a Christmas smoothie tomorrow
😄🍊🥭
Merry Christmas to you!
Happy Christmas. I hope you have a great day
Happy Christmas, Kanuka! 🎄
Merry Christmas. Hope you have a fun holiday break
Happy warm Christmas Kanuka!
Have a fabulous. Christmas and I hope the snow stays away
Hope you have a perfect Christmas Kanuka!
You too. I hope you can relax and enjoy the day.
Happy Holidays, everyone!
I’m continuing my nostalgic tour of old-school “masculines.” Yesterday was vintage Drakkar Noir, which holds up remarkably well. Today I’m in vintage Halston Z-14, a lemony, mossy, leathery fougere. Rough and assertive stuff. I can sense my chest getting hairier by the minute. Curious if the drydown softens into something interesting.
You might grow a moustache by the end of the week! The Perfumed Hulk!
Halston, wonderful.
Halston is a great one!
Happy Holidays Daniel!
Please do report back on the drydown!
I’m sorry to report that it didn’t get more interesting; it just got quiet. This is a really old bottle, so that might have something to do with it. I’ll certainly give it another try – definitely a classic of its time.
Merry Christmas everyone. I am cooking sweet potatoes this evening but first I’ll prepare the mulled wine. I spent the day in Ambre et Santal but tonight it’s Elixir des merveilles, very Christmassy with all that savory orange. It took me years to finally acquire a bottle, the story will be in Donatella quarter.
Merry Christmas Aurora and you smell very nice!
Thank you Kris, have a wonderful time tonight.
Thanks. Going to mother-in-law’s and it is very foggy here. She lives about 25 miles away so it may be slow going.
Merry Christmas Aurora! Looking forward to the EdM story.
It will be a long list😉
You smell very festive! I may spritz that on this weekend.
Thank you, glad you will wear it too, it suits the season so well.
Merry Christmas Aurora! I had to smile at your mention of sweet potatoes. They are one of the few veggies that my brother will eat.
Congrats on your perfume find!
Merry Xmas Jalapeno. Glad I share a veggie love with your brother.
He enjoyed the broccoli and roasted baby potatoes this afternoon, too. Next up, cauliflower!
Still going through my CSPs in order for no reason at all. Today it’s Vanille Cannelle, pretty Christmasy for some people (I think it’s considered a Christmas thing on the British Isles by those who don’t realize how completely universal and seasonless cinnamon is in North America), and tomorrow is Vanille Orange: I might stack the two, because orange and cinnamon seems very Christmasy indeed — I used to make a very popular mulled red wine with brown sugar, a stick of cinnamon, and an orange studded with cloves.
Went out to get a few last grocery items before everything shuts down for the holidays to come (the 26th is Boxing Day in Canada, so all the stores will be closed then, too), and it’s kind of a madhouse, not that I expected anything different. Glad to be home and away from it all.
Merry Xmas Pyramus, you have quite a collection of CSP.
Layering those two seems the way to go!
Have a wonderful Christmas.
Happy Holidays, everyone. Wearing Chataignes du Bois by DSH to get myself into the holiday spirit.
Happy holidays jks.
Hope that did the trick! Happy holidays.
Happy Holidays and merry Christmas Eve
I am in Typical me.
Almost done with Empire of the Summer Moon, and then Cher’s memoir next on the stack.
I am really enjoying learning about Texas history and the Comanche Indians.
All Texas school children have to learn Texas history in middle school. But EotSM added some facets I hadn’t learned before.
I didn’t grow up in Texas so I am learning for the first time. Enjoying immensely!
Happy holidays, LTSG! 🎄
You too! I hope you get whatever your heart desires
Happy Holidays LTSG!
Happy Holidays to all!
SOTD is Coco Noir. I like this for Christmas Eve.
No cooking for me tonight, but I did make an egg dish, cheese potatoes and blueberry muffins for hubby and me for tomorrow. We will have a quiet day watching football.
Enjoy the football and it will be a nice spread for the two of you.
We like it. I occasionally make it for us as we can enjoy it for a few days.
Good scent for Christmas and nice on the planning ahead!
Happy holidays, Kris! 🎄You smell great.
Thanks, She-ra!
Happy Holidays Kris!
You too Lillyjo!
You smell wonderful – Merry Christmas and I hope your teams win!
My team doesn’t play until Sunday, but still good NFL teams playing tomorrow.
Happy Holidays Kris! Best of luck to your football teams!
My team doesn’t play until Sunday, but still good teams to watch.
Enjoy your tasty breakfast and football watching!
Thank you Allo!
Happy holidays! My beloved and I are at my mother’s house for a couple of days. We’ve opened our presents and the turkey is in the oven. We’re going to visit relatives for lunch, and our contribution is the turkey and a dessert – our family’s traditional chocolate filled meringue (or pavlova, as New Zealanders and Australians call it).
I’ll be wearing Guerlain’s Myrrhe et Délires, which isn’t particularly Christmassy to smell, but is on theme 🙂 .
Happy. Christmas Gaynor. Ihope the turkey was tender and the pan perfect
Pav not pan
A chocolate pavlova sounds wonderful! We had too many desserts last night and I have asked my niece to hide all the cookies for me so I don’t eat any more today 🙂
Merry Christmas Gaynor!
SOTD = Fzotic Lilac Brûlée
So this morning I woke up to unexpected snow! Who knew because I was hoping for warmer weather to melt Friday’s snow and BAMMM, more ❄️! Anyway, it turned warmer so clearing it out was slightly messy although relatively easy.
Lilac Brûlée is a gourmand’s gourmand. No hint of the lilac but certainly the rhubarb. The vanilla, sandalwood and whipped cream were really nice!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DD-ebDyxhfC/?igsh=eDhzdjc4MHpjOWpn
Also pictured is a tiny blue-eyed owl 🦉 from an IG friend – so cute! Also, also, I got a really nice owl ornament from Santa! I will feature it on a post but if you are Santa 🧑🎄 🎅, please be kind and let me know it’s you!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and whatever you celebrate!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, hajusuuri! 🎄Haven’t tried Lilac Brûlée yet but I do enjoy a gourmand’s gourmand. 😍
Merry Christmas hajusuuri! Sorry about the snow. It wasn’t me! Lol.
Check out THIS Christmas owl~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WDmamNwv5c
😳
Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to you hajusuuri! I would happily take each and every bit of snow that you are getting!
Happy Holidays hajusuuri!
I don’t smell any lilac in Lilac Brulee either. I like it but I think I’ll see if a masculine friend likes it better.
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone. Today I’m in Chanel Paris-Venise body lotion. On the weekend, I inadvertently broke the lid of the matching shower gel. I couldn’t fix it; somehow when I tried to snap it back on, there was a small piece of plastic that broke off. So now the shower gel is at the top of the list to use up. Might as well use the lotion and eaux as well.
Just made a Shepherd’s pie for tonight. We’ll have leftovers for after tomorrow’s celebration. I’ll make spinach dip tonight before bed do it’s ready for tomorrow. Heading out for a walk for some fresh air. I overslept today and missed my morning yoga.
I hope everyone has a peaceful, relaxing evening while waiting for Santa to arrive!
Merry Christmas Gail!
Shepherds pie is something I want to try and make this winter.
Thank you, lillyjo! I can send you the recipe I used if you’d like. I hope you and your family have a lovely Christmas!
I have made shepard’s pie with lentils once- good, but not the same
Ooh, could be good though. I use lots of lentils too!
Happy Christmas Eve/Christmas Day Gail!
Shepard’s Pie is excellent when done well. 😋
Thank you, Jalapeno! I’m hopeful that it’s good; it’s from the Cook’s Country Cookbook. They tend to have some great recipes. Luckily I had the ingredients on hand.
Merry Christmas Gail!
Thank you, Kris! Merry Christmas to you and your family. I hope you have a lovely day.
I bet the shepherd’s pie was delicious.
It actually did turn out really good. Merry Christmas, Aurora!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! Last-minute scramble today to find someplace to have Christmas Eve dinner before church. Most places are closed and the few nicer ones that are open are booked up. Wound up going with a pizza place that has an excellent thin crust. SOTD is Guerlain Patchouli Paris. Obsessed with this one since getting my split (thanks, Hajusuuri!).
Happy Holidays!
Tell me more about your SOTD! Sounds lovely
A dry patchouli with some rose. I can smell it wafting from the decant bottle on my bathroom counter with this little voice calling, “Spray me!”
Merry Christmas Sapphire!
I saw the display for Patchouli Paris but had already spritzed something else. Will remember your recommendation and circle back next time.
Merry Christmas! I could eat pizza every day so that sounds good to me. Also, I know you smell fabulous!
We often had non-traditional Christmas and Christmas Eve meals at home when I was a kid — if my grandmother wasn’t visiting, nothing was off the table. It’s not so much that we were adventuresome eaters or iconoclasts as that my parents were always tired, money was often tight, and hamburgers were a lot easier and usually cheaper than Traditional Meal X, Y, or Z. Those are good memories now.
Merry Christmas, Sapphire! Glad you like Patchouli Paris!
I am wearing (was wearing, it’s gone now) MPG Ambre Precieux. Tonight I am departing from my usual Christmas Eve seafood feast and having gyoza instead, I really want dumplings, and I am making a blueberry maple compote for tomorrow morning’s pancakes. I’m also sending holiday wishes of joy and peace to you all. 2025 is rushing towards us!
It seems like the last half of 2024 went by in a flash. Enjoy your gyoza!
Sounds like a perfect meal.
Joy and peace (and delicious gyoza!!) to you foxbins!
Hello and Happy Holidays!!
Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season:). Still wearing Rousse SL:).
Happy Holidays Omega!
Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays Omega!
Happy Holidays Omega! You smell wonderful!
Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Holidays to all the lovely NSTers! 🥰
I will wear PdN Vanille Tonka tonight which I find super Christmas-sy w/ all the cinnamon. 🎅🏻🦌 I am quite lucky to have an aunt who loves to cook, bake and host. We typically just bring gifts and wine…and I am good at picking out both. 😇 🎁🍷
Merry Christmas She-ra!
Merry Christmas, lillyjo! 🎅🏻🤗
Sounds like a lovely evening! Merry Christmas to you!
I associate vanilla with you
Merry Christmas She-ra!
Merry Christmas, Jalapeno! 🎅🏻🤗
Merry Christmas She-ra!
Merry Xmas, you smell lovely.
Thanks, Aurora…Merry Christmas! 🎅🏻♥️
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, plus Boxing Day and Kwanzaa! 🎄🎁🌟
It’s a quiet Christmas Eve for me and Teflon kitty. I’ve been listening to a local radio station that has been playing nothing but obscure Christmas carols since midnight this morning.
“Suddenly It’s Christmas” made me think of lillyjo and the other NSTers who work in retail. I’ve also heard songs from the Muppets, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Band Aid, Ray Charles, Eartha Kitt, Burl Ives, and The Pogues. Been enjoying it a lot.
I haven’t been Whammed! yet, either.
My brother and I will be having Xmas dinner tomorrow afternoon. We’re doing surf and turf again. I had to go to the grocery store yesterday afternoon to pick up a few things. The first store wasn’t bad at all. However, I didn’t get everything on my list and decided to try a second, larger store on the way home. MISTAKE! The parking lot was full. No stopping there.
SOTD = still in AG Encens Flamboyant.
Merry Christmas to you and your brother, and of course Teflon kitty! Walked by the grocery store this afternoon. I’m glad we didn’t have to stop in.
Thanks Gail! Pretty sure the grocery stores here were even worse today than yesterday. And Costco was a no-go over the weekend.
Sounds like a very cozy Christmas Eve with TK and obscure Christmas Carols. I’m listening to a similar station. Who knew there was a Star Wars Christmas album? I hope you enjoy your Christmas dinner with your brother tomorrow.
Ha!! I heard something from that Star Wars Christmas album earlier tonight! I remember the infamous Star Wars Christmas Special, and how I convinced my family to watch it.
There’s a reason it’s only been aired once.
A very good reason.
Did anyone say Star Wars”?
This is perfect:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEA8ys6Rnlr/?igsh=ZzFzdWE0cnVlNDl3
Too bad you didn’t see Yoda!
Merry Christmas Jalapeno!
Retail Christmas is officially over. Let the clearance season begin! Lol.
Merry Christmas lillyjo! I wonder how crazy the stores will be tomorrow. Those gift cards gotta get spent!
Happy Holidays my friend! Enjoy your time with TK and your brother tomorrow!
Happy Holidays Kris! Teflon was licking the tip of my nose at one point this morning. It tickled!
Merry Christmas Jalapeno. Enjoy the Xmas dinner with your brother. The two of us have pretty amazing brothers.
Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day, Aurora! Glad we were both able to spend the holiday with our respective brothers. We got lucky with them, for sure.
It isn’t Christmas in my house without a Pogues singalong in the kitchen 🙂
Merry Christmas Jalapeno!
Hah! I love that, Robin. I am always singing the Figgy Pudding song at our house around the holidays, which reminds me so much of Dickens with a bit of an edge “We WON”T! go until we get some,” so husband called my bluff this year and made a real figgy pudding with a caramel sauce and everything. Very rich and amazing.
Oh good on him! I bet it was delicious too.
Merry Christmas Robin! I heard a beautiful version of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” by Annie Lennox. Gave me goosebumps up and down my arms.
And that’s my favorite proper Christmas song (Fairytale of New York being my favorite improper Christmas song). I will look for that version. I love the one by Sarah McLachlan and Barenaked Ladies.
I love the public radio stations at Xmastime that play obscure carols. I want to record the whole thing to play back at leisure but I never do. heard one by James Brown yesterday “Let’s Make Christmas Mean Something This Year.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0IoJnf0K6c
I also really like country and soul versions of classic holiday songs.
There were some really great songs. It was nice hearing ones that my Mom used to play on the stereo console way back when. Stuff like Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra.
Merry Christmas, jalapeño! I hope the lunch with bro was as wonderful as you expected!
Merry Christmas hajusuuri! Lunch was a little late, but neither one of us were on a set schedule, so it was all good. A bit of excitement when the steaks flared up on the grill; that was rather impressive! I’m still learning the quirks of my brother’s oven, though. Should have the roasted baby potatoes dialed in next time…
Glad you can have a quiet day with your sib! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and sweet Teflon-kitty. Muffin got her roasted turkey tid-bits under the table at lunch, which resulted in a very happy kitty. 🙂
Thanks MossyBerry! I brought leftovers home, since the steaks were gigantic. Wondering what to do with the leftovers now.
Happy Everything to All NSTers!🎄🎶❄️🎁🥂🌹
Wearing 1932 EDT today.
A NYTimes recipe for an “easy” dessert (sticky date and pecan pudding) took me hours to prepare because date molasses/syrup was sold out everywhere and I decided to make my own. Everybody else must have seen the same recipe😬
Hosting a family gathering tomorrow and looking forward to seeing everyone. They’d better like the pudding!🥰
Happy Everything back atcha, allo!
Shopping for ingredients is a big PITA this time of year!
Happy Everything allo!
They will love the pudding!
Thank you, lillyjo! I hope that you enjoy your Christmas and time off!
Happy Everything to you too! Your pudding will be wonderful. Your perfume sounds fabulous. It made me think of 31 RC. I haven’t worn that for a while. May need to get it out.
I love green fragrances this time of year💚
Have a lovely gathering.
Thank you, Aurora😊
I feel your pain, Allo, and wow, what an undertaking to make date molasses from scratch. We here are partial to pomegranate molasses and eat it over oatmeal and with yogurt. But I digress…My son and I went to 4 different stores yesterday looking for sweet rice flour so he could make mochi, which he made at Thanksgiving to loud acclaim. He usually comes to our place to make it as it requires a mixer he doesn’t own, and I didn’t realize I was out of sweet rice flour and then was under the mistaken impression that it was widely available. Regular rice flour as well as any other grain you can think of is but not the sweet rice flour the recipe calls for. Usually I stock up on boxes at Asian supermarkets but that always gives me a false sense of security – oh, I bought so much, there’s bound to be another box in the pantry. Finally I told him to just bring ice cream and himself and he can make mochi at the next family gathering so that’s what he did. This should be a prelude to saying I wore a rice-infused scent yesterday but I was too busy (20 people for dinner) to do more than grab whatever was nearest, which was a sample of Erris Night Flower, which luckily has good strength and sillage that lasted through making a turkey and the gravy. Reminds me a lot of Shalimar with animalic musk and spices and a very sexy and well-blended tuberose.
I was at the Tysons Corner Bloomingdales yesterday as the result of a strange desire to experience full-on holiday shopping frenzy and immediately found myself in the epicenter, which turned out to be the perfume counters. All staff were deployed to the perfume section, where young couples and gaggles of friends searched for signature scents or the latest status scent for their perfume wardrobes.
Bloomies seems to have every notable brand, and the diverse young crowd were shopping the expensive stuff, such as Maison Francis Kurkdjian. I don’t know if this was a function of internet buzz, of if popularity depended primarily on which brands the store had decided to array on the most accessible tables and staff so that it was easy to sample and buy.
For example, I saw D.S. and Durga, too, for example, but tucked away in a corner with no easy way to sample.
Not tucked away at all, but unstaffed were Cire Trudon candles. The Versailles x Trudon collaboration in its heavenly turquoise packaging was front and center, and I fell in love with this scent.
“Four hundred years after the Versailles gardens were first planted, Trudon has called on its know-how as a Living Heritage Company to capture an atmosphere as refined as it is imaginative, that of a gigantic garden created entirely to entertain a king, his court and his friends. In 1664, Louis XIV inaugurated the first in a long series of “pleasures” at Versailles.” 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵
If you’re near a Bloomies, they had five or six different candles under bell jars, which made it easy to sniff the throw. I also loved Ernesto, and plan to go back on a quiet day to contemplate the others.
Sounds like you had fun shopping.
I have been thinking about that Versailles candle since I smelled it in a gift shop last fall! I may buy one eventually.
Tysons Corner must have been a zoo yesterday!
Mr. Skal and I went to the Christmas Eve service in the 704-year-old church around the corner. It is the first fully, exclusively candlelit service I have ever attended (at home, we hold lighted candles, but only for part of the service — not for 80 minutes!). Just beautiful, and we also had the astonishing sight of completely empty streets in the city center — Christmas lights blazing overhead. Four hours earlier, when I was doing the last of my shopping, the streets (and pubs and shops) had been packed.
Fragrance! After a solid week of anosmia (sinus cold, not COVID), I’ve been trying to drain as many of my travel sprays as possible. Thunking 28 La Pausa was easy (so many sprays, so little lasting power). On Christmas Eve I wore Roísín Dubh, in homage to Galway and Cloon Keen, and that will be my choice today, as well.
We have friends visiting from the U.S. and they are handling all the cooking. It has been a treat! We all went to a concert on Sunday by a new-to-me band, The Whileaways, and they are fantastic. They are more or less a Galway band and are excellent musicians, vocalists, and songwriters. Here is a link to a Christmas-themed song:
https://youtu.be/GSlCJQ73ld4?si=jDOx_Q0WeRfBRHhY
We leave Galway tomorrow and fly back to the U.S. on Friday. I have lots of complicated feelings about this transition, and will deeply miss this beautiful city and the many real friends I have made during the two semesters we have spent here.
Safe travels, I understand your feelings.
The candlelit service sounds so lovely!
Safe journey home, skalolazka, I am sure it will be hard to leave.
Safe travels – I have really enjoyed hearing about your stay, which you certainly made the most of! Your stories made me want to visit Ireland very much. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Have a safe and uneventful trip back to the States, skalolazka!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Whichever-Holiday-You-Celebrate to all NST’ers!
Boston and New York join Chicago today as my DIL’s family is in town to join ours in celebrating Christmas. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen them all and I’m really looking forward to it, especially having 2 small children since my grandkids are almost all grown-up now. My son is doing all the cooking (yay! yay!), I’m just bringing the traditional opłatke wafers and I made Cioci Flo’s kolaczki. I’ll be wearing Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Winter Dèlice layered over BBW’s Gingerbread Latte as my Christmas Day scent.
Wishing you peace, love, and joy however you choose to celebrate this special day🕊️❤️🤗!
Merry Christmas Laila!
Merry Christmas to you, too, lillyjo. Enjoy your quiet day at home with family. – that’s the best!
Merry Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa to you, Laila!
And to you, too, and holiday purrs to Teflon Kitty from 😻😻and 😻
Had a nice get-together yesterday with Mr. Mossy and one of our long-time friends at our favorite Indian restaurant. “Taste of India” had their yummy buffet open and lots of other people were there having Christmas Eve gatherings, too. The food was all nice and freshly made, with good chutneys, relishes, salads, and desserts on the side. We went late and sat long, so I am going to do a mid-day meal today, too. I decided Friday that I would fix a turkey breast and all the trimmings. We did already have our pie for breakfast. 🙂 SotD finds me smelling spicy in Aedes de Venestes Oeillet de Bengale, from a generous NST’er’s decant. I’m putting it in the line up to thunk. I’ve really enjoyed it and it is perfect for today.
Sounds like a lovely day yesterday. And you smell so good in that spicy carnation🌸
I love pie for breakfast!
Happy Holidays MossyBerry!
Haven’t had Indian food since I moved from NJ. Might have to change that in 2025!
And it’s Christmas Day! Thank you, everyone, for your kind wishes. I hope you’re all having a wonderful time. I slept like a log, but unfortunately, there were attacks during the night in Ukraine, leading to the return of power outages.
Anyway, on to 2024 release No. 3 – Celine Zouzou. I don’t have much to say about it. It’s a musky tonka vanilla. I pick up some woody notes at the beginning, but the dry down is mostly vanilla and musk. It smells nice and comforting, but in my opinion, there are better vanillas out there, especially considering the price tag. Personally, I think the best vanillas are Guerlain SDV and Diptyque Eau Duelle. Compared to them, this one feels too tame and a bit boring. That said, I don’t dislike it. If you can’t get enough of vanilla, it’s worth a try – it’s not bad.
Keeping you and yours in my thoughts and prayers, Glannys, stay safe and hopefully celebrate the season. Special holiday purrs being sent to your furbaby from my 😻😻😻.
Thank you! 😺
Safe safe and well, Glannys!
Thank you!
Teflon kitty sends wishes of safety and warmth to Kora kitty and her humans. 😸
Thank you, Jalapeno and Teflon!
https://youtu.be/1DTwLqR071M?feature=shared. Lol.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!
After working last night I am spending a quiet day at home with my family. I’m making a ham. I usually get a spiral ham but accidentally got the other kind I’m sure it will still be fine.
The snow here is slowly melting so yay for a green/ brown Christmas!
I wore Dior Addict last night and today is Guerlain Angelique Noire. I must be on a vanilla kick.
Merry Christmas, lillyjo! You ARE on a vanilla kick!
I also wore Devotion 2 days ago. I will see if I stick to vanilla tomorrow.
Merry Christmas!
A very Merry Christmas to you, lillyjo!! You smell wonderful!
Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays lillyjo! Glad to hear that the snow by you is melting.
SOTD = 4160 Tuesdays Tempest Rose
So wonderful and perfect for Christmas! Also shown is the other owl from “Santa”; no clue as to the giver although sometimes it’s good to leave it as a mystery, unless of course you want to put yourself!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DEA28_5Rbeu/?igsh=MWI0M3JoNGt1NmkwdA==
I came back from lunch with my sister and BIL and will have the leftovers for dinner unless I want to dig into my cornucopia of Omaha Steak goodies!
That owl is beautiful!
Your new owl is absolutely stunning!
Happy holidays all! I went with Lush Sticky Dates body spray today, thanks to hajusuuri’s split. I don’t smell too far off from the pecan pie I ate last night.
Happy Holidays!
Also Lush usually does half off Christmas gift sets the day after. I’m going to see if they have any sticky date ones left over.
Oh good idea, and thanks for the reminder! I hope I can snag some goodies during their Boxing Day sale tomorrow. Some years I have good luck, some not so much. It also seems like you might need to use their app to shop the sale this year in case you didn’t see that in the email they sent a day or two ago.
Happy Holidays to you, TRF!
Thank you! You too, Jalapeno.