Happy Holidays (and if you're reading this on Wednesday, happy Festivus for the Rest of Us)! We'll be back on Saturday.
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 santa tags (Lawn Fawn inspiration week) [cropped] by Elena Roussakis at flickr; some rights reserved.
Wearing another favorite holiday scent: Chanel Coco.
It is a sunny day and I am waiting anxiously for the next two days when temps will be in the upper 50’s! Yay! ?
Having a cup of warm eggnog and a thin slice of panettone.
Happy Wednesday everyone! ?
You smell phenomenal. Coco is a classic.
Thank you! It is indeed a beauty!
Is your Coco vintage-ish or fairly recent? I didn’t know whether that one had been ruined by reformulation.
I bought mine in 2009 and it smells amazing. I don’t know if it was reformulated after that.
Today is my 50’s day! Cold front and snow overnight though. You smell fabulous, of course!
Thank you, Lillyjo!
You are sending your cold front to me! ??. It will arrive on Saturday! We are expecting heavy rain tomorrow and Friday!
So for now, time to enjoy the day! ?
Well that’s not very nice of me!?
I owe you a warm front in the spring ????
?
Mmm, Coco, eggnog & panettone, a delicious trifecta! Hope you get more warmth!
Thank you! Very enjoyable trifecta for sure! ?
Only a thin slice of pannetone?!
Oh dear, I have to take it easy! So many holiday sweets at home now, that I am afraid of ending up with hyperglycemia! ??
Hold that line, PL67! I have had some queasy moments due to a massive influx of (specially wrapped and served) treats at work and in Harry and David gift baskets sent by kind relatives. I love those, but I put a couple things in the freezer so fast so I would not be tempted!
Ha! The freezer is a good idea! Thanks for the tip! I am overwhelmed with more sweets now! ?
My thoughts exactly, I usually have a huge slice
You smell amazing….
But sun…i almost forgot what the sun looks like. ?
Thank you, Jiji!
Sun has become a luxury here too! ?. I am almost forgetting what it looks like! ?☀️
I know! I feel like a vampire it’s been so long!
Oooooh, that panettone sounds delish! I thought about grabbing some when I was grocery shopping, but reconsidered.
It is never late to get some! ?
Wow, Coco, Egg Nog and panettone? What a treat! I love panettone with butter.
I’ve been good as far as holiday sweets go. I made a Gluten Free Dark chocolate torte with Grand Mariner/raspberry reduction and had a tiny sliver instead of a honkin’ big slice like I normally do. I feel rather angelic.
That torte sounds heavenly! I would have eaten it all immediately! Since I have been working from home my sweet intake has increased a lot. I am trying my best to behave now, before I get in trouble, but it is not easy!
I claim that dark chocolate is practically health food.
Coco is a perfect xmas / winter choice! Enjoy your panettone! I have slice for breakfast every day during the winter break.
Thank you!
You smelled great yesterday in Coco.
Thank you, KellyC!
Hi all! It’s been a minute!
I’m in And the World is Yours, which I honestly forgot I had. I was so delighted to find it in my minis box and am further delighted to see Luckyscent offers a 30ml bottle now. I’m on my second of the 10ml so there might be a bigger one in my future. I describe it as Alien with orange blossom which works out much better for me: I just can’t stand the grape soda jasmine in Alien. Plus AtWIY has a grain of cumiN which I just adoreeee.
As for Christmas plans, I’m laying low. My crazy immune system means I’ve been leery of even the most innocuous-seeming gatherings, and cases are on the rise again. I’ve even taken off all of next week as I know quite a few of my coworkers are traveling. My very dear neighbor and I might have a beer in the yard but otherwise….
I gave up sugar this month and though I’ve allowed myself a few treats, I’m going be be very strict over this last week. If I don’t buy it, I can’t eat it. ?
Stay safe all!
You smell wonderful! We’re laying low – no plans and no gatherings, it’s just not worth the risk.
Congrats on giving up sugar!
I hadn’t noticed the similarity between Alien and AtWiY. I like them both. I’m excited to do a side by side now!
For folks who enjoy Mugler scents, the website has buy 1 get one free.
Joining you in the crazy immune system camp! I’m glad you have someplace comfortable and good-smelling to lay low! My only visit will be to see my Dad, who literally sees no one except the grocery store cashier every 10 days or so. Dear Mr. Spicebomb is going to have to go out and buy the clams for my Christmas spaghetti and clams dinner, as I don’t even feel safe lingering at the store for long, and there’s always a line for fresh seafoods! I hope you get that beer with your neighbor! That sounds like a pretty good celebration to me!
Oh Marjorie Rose,
My dearly departed brother in law was pure Sicilian. And seven fishes was always on the menu for Christmas eve.
When he would come to Cali for a visit, Scomas and cioppino headed up the list.
Glad you are able to see your dad.
Cioppino! Heaven!
Thanks for the reminder about the seven fishes dishes. I have no Sicilian heritage, but I read about that and want to try that one of these day – cioppino in particular! (Codfish is one of my go-to meats, and my normally meat and potatoes DH has an odd fondness for shrimp!)
You smell great! I bought a whole bunch of those 10ml bottles, nice to hear they have a larger size.
No way am I giving up sugar, but good for you!
House twin! I’m wearing California Snow. I hope you enjoy your time away from work and get to have that beer with your neighbor.
Logged onto NST just now for perfume inspiration. Your post reminded me that I have (now have less) a smidge of Freckled and Beautiful left in my decant. Perfume quandary resolved. Check!
The grape soda jasmine in Alien smells like root beer to me!
You get root beer with Alien, while I get a ginormous jasmine-amber hybrid.
Wow, that’s impressive, giving up sugar during the winter holidays!
Your brave to quit sugar over he holiday period! Very impressive ? keep safe too.
Good morning! Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a long restful weekend. Christmas seems pretty dialed back because we are separated from family this year, but better days are straight ahead! Christmas 2021 will be a blowout!
I am testing Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule today…..WOW! This is simply gorgeous and full bottle worthy for sure. So many perfumes out there to discover; too little time and resources! LOL
I love Santa Majascule and have no idea why I don’t own it! You smell great!
I have owned Santal Majascule since it first came out and still have the original vintage bottle. I am wondering why I don’t wear it more often!
Same here!
I have been thinking about all the delayed parties that we will see when it is safe to hold them! I think we’re going to see some big combined birthday celebrations, etc!
Sandal Majuscule has been on my to try list for a bit… your post is further encouragement ?
No perfume yet this morning. I just put the butter out to soften, and a little later today I will start on my annual stollen baking. It’s a fair amount of trouble to make, but so worth it! That’s the only thing I have to do to get ready for Christmas. I got my shopping done, mailed the gifts to the out-of-state family, and we have a piece picked out to play for the Christmas Eve service (my husband is the church pianist, and I play recorder).
We got to see the “Christmas star” the other night after it seemed we wouldn’t be able to. It had been sunny earlier in the day, but turned cloudy late in the afternoon. We walked to the park down the street as we planned to wait and see. I don’t know if a hole opened up in the clouds, or if it was simply bright enough to show through them, but we did see it. We had seen it Monday, but I was glad to get a look at it when it was at its closest. I didn’t get out to look yesterday, but will look again this evening and any other days that the sky is clear enough. I would have liked to watch it the past couple of weeks to see them approach each other in the sky, but it has been rainy and overcast for what seems like forever, and only cleared up Monday.
I have been gathering together things to swap or give away, and will probably post some things next week.
I should add–we are having live church services, but with masks and social distancing. The services are also live-streamed, which we actually have been doing for years, so anyone who is not comfortable coming in person can watch at home. The live attendance has been low enough that there has been no problem keeping enough space between family groups. The place where I stand to play is easily at least 20 feet from the next nearest person other than my husband.
Do you have a good stollen recipe? I can’t for the life of me make any of the recipes I’ve found work. All the ingredients are fine, but the dough won’t rise. I’ve tried one that’s “authentically German” off the internet, and one from Seriouseats, and both have the same problem. I know the yeast is fine because yeast from the same pack made beautiful Thanksgiving rolls. This year’s stollen tastes fine (really, you can’t go wrong with homemade candied citrus peel and marzipan), it’s just flat, which frustrates me.
If the yeast is good, I’d be tempted to check the temperatures of any add-ins (not too hot) and to make sure the dough isn’t too wet. Adding fruit retards the growth of yeast breads, too, making rising time take longer and weighing them down, so it might be how much fruit, or how/when the fruit is added.
When you say “flat”, do you mean really not risen at all, or just that the loaf is not very high? I find that the dough rises fine, but it doesn’t rise high, it mostly spreads out, so it makes a wide, short loaf. I double the amount of fruit the recipe calls for, so that doesn’t seem to keep it from rising. I do put it in a warm oven to help it along. I turn the oven on to the lowest setting (about 175 F) for a few minutes just to get it warm, maybe around 100 F, then shut it off, and put the tray with the loaves of stollen in there to rise.
I use the recipe from my 1970’s edition of the Betty Crocker cookbook. I follow it as is, except for increasing the amount of fruit. It always comes out perfectly. Once I tried a different recipe, one that was supposed to be the “original” German recipe, and it was a disaster. The dough did not rise, it was heavy and dense, and completely inedible.
The dough just doesn’t rise, period. Both recipes I’ve used say the dough should double in the first rise, and it doesn’t. I left it out overnight in my first try this year, and it did eventually rise a bit, but then I wasn’t sure if I should use it given that there were raw eggs in the dough sitting all that time. (It probably would have been fine…)
I’m not expecting it to get very tall…as stollen isn’t usually…but maybe a bit taller than the height of the marzipan in the middle.
I’m a fairly experienced bread baker and usually don’t have a problem with it. It’s just stollen that’s stymied me. The ingredients were all room temperature when added, and the only fruit is crystalized citrus rind and sultanas, so it’s weird.
Still tastes fine, it’s just dense.
I think that Betty Crocker cookbook is still rattling around at my dad’s house somewhere — I should try to find that recipe!
I found the recipe online:
https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/stollen/8c0ce23c-1038-496b-8179-42b2190a0629
The only changes I note from my cookbook are the mentions of quick rise yeast (which I don’t think was a thing back in the 1970’s) and bread flour, a slight change in the mixing instructions (the old recipe says 30 seconds on low speed, scraping the bowl constantly, then 10 minutes on medium speed, scraping occasionally), and a reduction in the amount of butter to spread in the middle from 6 T to 1 T. When I use marzipan, I omit the butter in the middle anyway.
It may not be an “authentic” German recipe, although I don’t honestly know if it is or not, but it works. I’ve never had a problem with the dough rising using the BC recipe. The only failure I’ve ever had was about the first or second time I made stollen, and that was my fault. I didn’t bake them long enough, and the middle was still raw (I wasn’t using marzipan in the middle, but I often do now. When it is ready to bake, it gets decidedly puffy and spongy. I have tried both regular yeast and quick rise yeast, and it has been perfectly fine either way.
Thanks! I’m saving in my recipes and next year, I’m trying that one!
I’m just finishing up the batch I started yesterday. The first two loaves came out wonderful. I just put the second pair of loaves in the oven. I will say that sometimes it does seem a bit reluctant to start rising, probably because the house is cool this time of year, so I help it out by putting in a barely warm oven, or the warming drawer of the oven. I have never had it fail to rise, however.
Shalimar Souffle Intense from the decant/sample courtesy of the kind therabbitsflower. Will continue to refresh this throughout the day.
??? at my husband. I saw that his favorite SMN scent was close to empty, so I headed down to the store to buy him a bottle and added some aftershave. Not too long after I get home, we had a couple packages delivered. One of them from SMN. Sigh. He obviously replenished. And so close to Christmas! Who does that??? Debating just giving him the aftershave and save the scent for his birthday in the summer.
We will spend the day cleaning since close friends are coming for Christmas Eve. Ham, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole and Bûche de Noël from our local bakery.
Joining you, scent twins!
Is it possible that he bought you something from SMN, or is that not a house you favor? If it is for himself, I agree–you don’t replenish right before Christmas. If it were my husband, on the other hand, he would notice he was almost out, mention it to me, and then be genuinely surprised when he got a replacement bottle for Christmas.
I hope he bought you a present from SMN!
I just read a hilarious story on FB about a couple who bought each other the same bottle of perfume for Christmas. :-). I’d just put yours in the closet, maybe get a backup gift, then wait to see what he gives you. Unless he opens the SMN box in front of you and you see it’s his scent.
That is a hilarious story. I casually commented on the SMN box, and he said he ordered from them because he was almost out. So…highly doubt it is for me. Maybe he did, but he definitely ordered for himself. I’ll give him the aftershave and tell him he has a backup bottle. We made an agreement to be very frugal this year. I broke that pledge in getting him a bottle….best intentions but broken agreement….?
I did ask for Gabrielle Essence…a small bottle, so if he got something in addition to that, he also broke the rules. Sigh.
Hello all, SOTD is Shalimar Souffle Intense – perfect for the cool weather.
Shoes on and I’m out the door. On break after today and I can’t wait!
I got my bottle from FragranceNet the other day per your suggestion. I now remember that I did have a small decant of this one which I gave away to another NSTer then regretted it. ehaeheh So I am excited to have it come back to me.
No affiliation to FragranceNet but they really do have excellent deals on discontinued items and testers.
Excellent! I’m glad a bottle found its way back to you! FragranceNet has fantastic deals – I purchased Bill Blass Nude for .42 cents earlier in the year.
Any Shalimar is a good Shalimar
I totally agree! I am whipping away at my bottle pretty quickly. It’s such a soothing bed time scent.
Wearing no 19 edp today. Not too much longer before Christmas. Even though I dislike wrapping gifts, even if it’s the gift bag route. Wrapping just takes a while and that’s why I don’t like it. I am looking forward to having less crap in my closet.
Gifts wrapping is a task I do not enjoy much. I feel like taking vacation time after I am done. So exhausting, perhaps because I am usually running at the last minute with it! I have not finished mine yet, but I am also eager to free the space all those presents are taking now.
Gift wrapping is not my favorite thing to do. I love creating a gift basket though, it’s so much fun to coordinate items to put in the basket and stuffing it with goodies.
I usually work on gift baskets at the beginning of December. It requires patience and concentration that I don’t have as the holidays approach. But it is very enjoyable!
Yeah, I get that. I have the attention span of a squirrel.
I’m with you all. Not my favourite thing, but I’ve been trying to plug away in advance as my tween has gotten too smart and now knows where the gifts are stored. I still have a lot to do, though!
When I was that age, I knew pretty much where the gifts were stored, but I didn’t dare poke my nose in there to look through them. I was afraid if I got caught, my parents would take the gifts back to the store and I wouldn’t get them.
I still remember opening the dryer drawer as a kid and seeing presents in there. I slammed it shut, but still remember some bath oil bottle…
I think my parents stored most of them in their bedroom closet, where I had no business going anyway, or in the cabinets in their bathroom. Some of them, IIRC, were in the coat closet off the foyer, in bags so they weren’t visible. We were, of course, allowed to take our coats and jackets in and out of there, but we were not to look into any bags or boxes.
I almost stopped by the store to test CM intense , since you liked it.
You smell wonderful. No. 19 is on my 2021 list. Early in the fall down the rabbit hole I got a vintage edp mini in a random lot, which I have not used up yet. Back then, I did not know what I had….nor how much green notes would soon mean to me on my perfume quest.
For the first time, my street is organizing a luminary display for tomorrow evening. Naturally, the wind for today & tomorrow has kicked up to gale levels! Off to collect buckets of sand & bags from the ringleader. Have LED votives, so hope they remain unperturbed by weather.
Shalimar extrait to feel cozy.
I am loving the phrase “luminary display!!!!” I would have just said “Christmas lights,” but luminary display sounds so much fancier! I hope it is wonderful, beautiful and magical, and that the wind cooperates at least a little!
That’s a nice idea – I hope the wind dies down!
Oh, that’s a lovely idea! I’ve been trying to find local streets that are doing lights so we can replace our usual tradition of seeing the lights at the botanical garden and then going to dinner at the restaurant there. That’s considered an “event,” though, so even though it’s outdoors it’s cancelled.
In my hometown there’s one street that coordinates on lights every year, and we always drove there Christmas night to see what the theme was. There doesn’t seem to be anything similar where we are now, though.
The luminaries will be beautiful, even with the wind!
There’s one street in my town that coordinates the lights every year. It’s the same theme each year–Christmas around the world. Each yard has a painted cutout board representing some aspect of Christmas in a particular country, illuminated by a spotlight, and has the yard lined with white lights. Some of them just do that and no more, and some put lights on the shrubs, eaves, etc., but just having every yard on the block lined with lights makes it really pretty.
Oh, I love that!
I know 2020 is such a weird year but let’s not allow this to make our Holidays less festive or worse than before.
I’m making a traditional Christmas vegetables salad (the one with mayo) and crunch on some gingerbread cookies in the meantime.
Wishing you all a peaceful celebration!
I’m in Fugit Amor today and tomorrow I want to wear Grand Soir for the Christmas Eve.
Perfect plans – the food and the perfumes!
Infusion D’ Iris
Reading Angela’s Italian perfume book review I decided to check to see if I still had an Italian fragrances left besides the 1 or 2 I know of.
I was always up in the air about this Prada (and tried to swap it away once) fragrance because of its low silage on me and lasting power, but it seems to last more than the Chanel No 19 Poudre so far.
Mr L’s book has arrived. I spent 50 bucks on shipping. That is a cost of a bottle of perfume! The seller packed it in 3 layers of bubble wrap so it is safe and sound…
Congrats on book success ?
Wow, that’s expensive shipping, but at least you now have it in hand.
There was no other alternative if I wanted it here on or before Christmas..
Oh, thank goodness it arrived safely in time for Christmas! *whew*
Wahoo!!! Glad the book arrived in time!
Yay! So glad your determination and effort prevailed. ??
Glad to hear that you received the book! What an ordeal.
With only a few days left in 2020 let’s see if Mr L makes me wife of the year after he opens this present ?
He certainly ought to!
Yay the book arrived!! The shipping is painful but hope he enjoys the gift.
Yay on getting the book! You are wife of the year everyday!
HURRAY for a happy end to your book saga! ???✨
Three more hours of work before break!
I’m wearing NVC Ashoka today. Very interesting and meditative.
I haven’t picked my Christmas Eve scent yet. What’s anyone else wearing? I’m most looking forward to eating the French onion soup my husband only makes once a year. It’s delicious, and it’s one thing I don’t have to prepare!
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve had French Onion Soup! Sounds delicious, particularly since somebody else is making it.
I love French Onion soup. Yummy!
Love french onion soup too with plenty of gruyere when possible.?
Onion soup. Gruyere. Swoon. And it always makes me thinks of that charming Jacques Pepin talking about it on his show.
I love French Onion soup! Enjoy!
Oohhhhh French Onion Soup! Delightful!
YUM! French Onion Soup is a favorite item to order in restaurants.
2020 burned, but we can still smell good. Cepes et Tuberose is my favorite and I horde my tiny bottle but will wear some today. Visiting the charming and delightful Aftelier studio and meeting the perfume Goddess (and son) herself is a favorite memory. Merry Christmas!
I’m very grateful I was able to visit Aftelier before COVID as well. Her perfume museum is amazing.
Day three of staycation is going wonderfully. The days just fill up, don’t they? Yesterday I made a wreath and a terrarium, and I’ve been cooking endlessly and deliciously, and decorating for the holidays, and prepping seeds for the fall, and writing letters, and going on walks in the crisp, sunny afternoons. Goodness knows where I ever found time for work between these vital tasks.
I’m wearing Dior Mitzah! My decant is nearing its end, which saddens me because I think it was discontinued, so I’ll never be able to replace this gorgeous scent. Ah well, there are roughly 3B other scents out there for me to try.
Tasks (both enjoyable and not) are gaseous; they just expand to fill all the available time, I’ve found.
What a perfect way to put it
I have a lightly used decant of Mitzah which I would be happy to send your way…you can reach me at gmail where I am sherainsocal if interested.
That is so sweet of you <3 I sent you an email. Thanks!
Hajusuuri has compared Mitzah to Pacifica’s Spanish Amber, so if you have any of that, you have a reasonable smell-alike.
Oh how interesting. I haven’t tried Spanish Amber, but it might be worth it. (I bet it’s a lot cheaper, too!)
Now I feel bad for mentioning it, because Spanish Amber is also d/c’ed and going for crazy $$$$ on eBay.
Oh no!!!! Hahaha darn!
No SOTD, yet, as I’m still lazing in my pajamas and drinking my coffee. Speaking of coffee, I’m very sad to get an email from my coffee roaster saying they will no longer be providing my favorite, Single Origin Sumatra coffee beans. I need to find a new favorite coffee. I ordered smaller bags of Guatamala, and a couple different blends, and hopefully I find something new to enjoy as much!
Thank you all so much who very kindly boosted me up yesterday after my weird, medical realizations. . . this community is such a wonderful place. Where else can I talk completely off topic, and no one cares and everyone just gives love and support?!
Here’s hoping you find the perfect replacement coffee.
Thanks, LizzieB! I know, this is mostly a tea crowd, but coffee will always be my hot morning beverage of choice.
Ha, ha, Marjorie Rose, well said – I have vaguely realized how many tea-lovers are here. Always wanting on the bandwagon with fun people I try teas, but I am so on team coffee!
Wearing Modern Muse Nuit which was a blind buy based on reviews from Fragrantica where folks praised the vanilla.
Kind of a floral mash up of Midnight Poison and Angel so far but in a good way.
They categorize it as a woody oriental but I’d call it a floriental perhaps.
Have you ever tried La Danza Delle Libellule?. It’s a bit sweet vanilla. Let me know if you want to try some, I have a full bottle
That’s a good one! I want to try their Café Chantant as well.
I haven’t heard of that one..going on my list!
“Midnight Poison + Angel”? Hmmmmm, sounds intriguing!
Wait, but is it vanilla-y at all then?
Almost threw that one in my cart recently; is it blind buy worthy? I own and love Modern Muse.
SotD is Sticky Fingers. From a sample. Its yummy.
And it sure has that Bianchi signature (i call it ‘dirty powder’)
My xmas plans are not very exciting and to be honest…after these exhausting months I am not that sad about it.
We’re skipping the traditional family diner. Usually there ‘d be 8 adults and 4 small children running round in my parents house….but my mother is old and high risk (because of a medical condition) and my dad is ‘just’ old. We will probably video call instead.
And I will visit my parents alone sometime next week.
My mother in law (who has lost her husband two years ago in december) will visit us for a lunch.
And as an xmas present for ourselves…mr Jiji and I will have good quality sushi (take away) and a bottle of sake.
I’m also starting to appreciate the less hectic holidays! I actually got to sit and watch one of my favourite Christmas movies with my family yesterday. Usually they watch it while I’m frantically baking cookies for the after-school care providers and lesson teachers and school fundraiser bake sale, so I only see bits and pieces. This year, I’m not on a deadline, which is such a relief.
Oh and THANKS a LOT everyone for all the wishes yesterday! Thats sweet
?
A new job is always exciting, but in these working-from-home times, its extra exciting i guess.
Thank you for sharing your good news with us. In times like these, every bit of light and happiness is all the more appreciated.
I’m wearing California Snow today. Did some unexpected running around to get the dog ready to be kenneled tomorrow and Friday – my husband’s dad was just diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, so we’re driving up to see him for a day.
Thanks to everyone here for keeping NST a peaceful refuge. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.
So sorry to hear about the cancer. Sending hugs!
Very sorry to hear that news. Big hugs to you.
Sorry to hear about your husband’s dad’s cancer. Hugs!
Oh dear, best wishes for your FIL!
So deeply sorry about your father-in-law, Sistine. Keeping you all in my prayers.
I hope you’ll have a good visit, and sorry about the bad cancer news!
Oh no! Sorry to hear about your FIL. Hugs.
Oh dear! There are now MANY treatments for prostate cancer and so I hope your family can find one that is successful! It’s scary but my father and a best college friend went through it and came out fine! Yes wishes!
I’m sorry to hear about your Father in Law. Sending love and prayers to your family.
Oh, that’s a shame about your father-in-law’s diagnosis. Hugs.
So sorry to read this.
Best wishes for a lovely visit and for the doctors to find the exact right treatment.
Oh that’s terrible sistine. So glad you guys are able to go visit.
I’m in Rogue Derviche today. This definitely has some notes that I haven’t smelled in a long time. I wish I was in love with this, but I’m not. I like it, though. I have a sample set on the way, so I’m counting on hitting it off with something in that box! I really want to support Mr. Cross and his creations.
Making a few sweets today: lemon bars, ginger snaps and browned butter peanut butter blossoms. Might do a chocolate chip skillet cookie instead of one of the rolled cookies if I run out of steam!
I hope everyone is having a great Wednesday! ?
I really want to try his Jasmine Antique, have heard raves about it. I just made lemon bars too, yum. Love ginger snaps!
SOTD is Azemour again — it called when I opened the drawer.
Work has gotten VERY slow, thank heavens. Lots of little errands to run, I’ll probably do a batch of cookies, and I’ve got to start things for Christmas dinner (e.g., dry-brining the turkey). Plus, it was pointed out to me on Sunday that the cat does not have a stocking, which apparently is a serious oversight that no one has complained about for the last three years! So I need to finish knitting that — fortunately small stockings are quick.
Aww, a kitty stocking.
My dog has her own stocking too, people always comment on it as if it’s odd. But she’s a member of the family.
Yep! Her stocking isn’t as big, but she is a member of the family!
I need to go dog gift shopping in a minute – my daughter insists on it. Off to Petsmart we go. One year, my dad visited us for xmas and we used the dog’s stocking for him (or perhaps we actually bought it for my Dad and then dog inherited it?). In any case, the kids were sort of resentful that year that their grandfather took the dog’s stocking.
LOL! We headed out a couple days ago to the pet store for the shopping — got a big thing of treats and a groomer that fits on the corner of a wall for them to brush up against (with a much better name in German on the package — Massage-Ecke or massage corner, vs. their English equivalent of “Self-Groomer”). Didn’t realize it had catnip in it, put it on the stairs to take up later, and soon found kitty having an early Christmas, tearing apart the box.
Happy Wednesday and Happy Holidays!
SOTD Rose Jam Bodyspray.I forgot how much I love this scent!It is also so potent for a bodyspray,they might as well just have called it a perfume.
The second covid wave is upon us over here,and the area where I live has been declared a hotspot.I did my last shopping for the season today,the shops will only see me again in late January,apart from possible necessities(but those are deliverable as well)
To all who celebrate Christmas,may it be a joyful time of reflection and gratitude for all the good things in your lives.
XO?
Happy Holidays!
baci!
❤️❤️
Happy holidays!
Happy Holidays, my dear! Enjoy! ?
Happy Holidays! You smell fantastic!
I agree with you about the Rose Jam bodyspray! It is a (great smelling) perfume. Be safe, and be well!
Happy holidays to you, johanob!
Agreed that that “body spray” is as potent as a perfume
Happy holidays and be well!
Happy Festivus everyone!
I am frantically trying to finish all the pre-holiday chores (wearing Theorema) and will try to read through comments tonight. If anyone needs a quicker response to anything, just send me an email.
I’m just coming off of a Winter Solstice celebration and gearing up for Christmas Day…not too much left to do, so I hope your chores don’t wear you out. Happy Festivus, but no airing of grievances please, this year has been tough enough!!
Wait, I’m supposed to do pre-holiday chores?!?
Our house looks a mess. Dog fluff, dust, leaves, you name it. But…noone’s going to come inside, so….
Happy Festivus Robin!
Happy Festivus!
Happy holidays, Robin! Thank you for making this site great.
What Koyel said!!
Spent the day at home in Absolue Pour Le Soir.
We made pizza with radicchio, lardo and Gorgonzola for dinner, that was really good. I also finished my dress with the lipstick print.
Wow, all three of those things sound great.
that pizza sounds great!
That is a bomb-sounding pizza!
Gorgonzola on pizza sounds so tasty!
If you like gorgonzola on pizza, I do a pizza bianco with a very thin crust, topped with prosciutto, gorgonzola, very finely chopped rosemary and preserved figs (not too many, you don’t want it too sweet). When it comes out of the oven, I drizzle it with a teaspoon of the fig syrup.
Sounds great, will try this some time
Oh my! That’s sounds heavenly.
No scent yet, off for a mammogram….maybe some Wrappings later. Finished the last bake of the season and waiting for it cool down before wrapping it up for my darling neighbors. Enjoying the slower pace of this holiday season, even if it is keeping me from those I love. What a treat to find an unexpected package on my front doorstep with loads of goodies, including homemade peanut brittle. Let’s keep up the kind and hope for more of that in 2021.
Hope the mammogram went well! I have yet to have one but feeling nervous about it.
Don’t let it scare you–nothing to it! My mom had breast cancer twice, so I started early with yearly mammograms. I am now older than she was when she recovered from her second episode!!
Minor discomfort for taking charge of your health. Already got an “all clear for this year” so on the schedule for next December–my gift to myself. If your doctor recommends, don’t put it off.
Good for you getting the mammogram dealt with!
Thanks Jalapeno, all good for this year. I schedule it during my birthday month–a healthy gift to myself!!
I’ve got a reminder in Outlook to schedule mine. The last time I tried, they weren’t scheduling appointments that far out.
Wearing Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit from a kind nst-er, perfect for the holidays. It’s a sunny day, so will soon go out on a walk before the rains inevitably return.
Thanks to another nst-er who suggested the Hot Cocoa and Cream candle from BBW. Picked the last one up and it was not too sweet at all
That may have been me…I did mention it and bought 2 more a few weeks back.
Right now, I am working my way through their Sugared Cherry Crisp candle which is quite good too but probably sweeter and one would have to like cherry too. 
?
Sugared Cherry Crisp sounds amazing! So tempting.
Post shower and wearing a few drops of vintage-ish l’Heure Bleue from the bottle the postal carrier just delivered. I had a FB of this years ago, and ended up giving it away. It seemed that it started out well but then veered into something I disliked. Ever since I have regretted giving it away and wondered if I would have liked it once I had time to grow into it. I found a mini on the ‘bay, packaged in a box with the same design Guerlain used back in the mid 1990’s. The bottle is a replica in miniature of the iconic l’Heure Bleue bottle, so even if I still don’t like it, I will keep it for the bottle.
I hope you enjoy it. I just ordered a vintage bottle of Patou Sublime, crossing my fingers it meets my expectations.
I think I still don’t like l’Heure Bleue. I would describe it as Apres l’Ondee with Play-Doh. The first whiff was almost pure Apres l’Ondee, then the Play-Doh accord came through. Then the two factions battled it out for a while, with the Play-Doh ultimately winning. I like Apres l’Ondee, and I have it in both extrait and EdT, but I like it without the Play-Doh note addition. Oh well, at least now I know, and the bottle is lovely, so it will make a nice addition to my perfume miniature collection.
Well, I got my vintage Sublime and I don’t like it either. :-(. Not sure if the notes have altered or my nose has.
SotD = PHI une rose de Kandahar
Continuing my personal Tauer lovefest with PHI on both wrists. I smell like a spicy rose embedded in amber. Mr. Tauer creates perfume that is arr, everything in its place, a perfect form, an expression of beauty.
Yesterday I was struck by a feverish urge to make something. I’m knitting tiny mittens!
Made from fingering weight yarn, they’re about two inches tall plus a loop of braided yarn for attaching to whatever. Quick to knit, the cast on is just 18 stitches. So far I’ve finished two and started a third mitten. They will be tied to gifts for my family.
Happy holidays, fragrant friends. I hope the days ahead are particularly good to you.
ha! ART not ARR. Mr. Tauer is not a pirate.
I don’t know….I could see him in an eye patch with a sword!
He’s awfully jolly for a pirate!
hahahaha
made me lol!
agree! He could swashbuckle if he wanted to.
I love pirate jokes, arrrrr – and, I wonder if land-locked Swiss children may have just as many pirate adventures in their dreams?? BTW, Treasure Island is one of my favorite books. Well worth reading as a grown up. I get chills when I read the great lines: Chapter 7 as Jim Hawkins looks at the Treasure Map: “Sitting by the fire in the housekeeper’s room, I approached that island in my fancy from every possible direction; I explored every acre of its surface; I climbed a thousand times to that tall hill they call the Spy-glass, and from the top enjoyed the most wonderful and changing prospects. Sometimes the isle was thick with savages, with whom we fought, sometimes full of dangerous animals that hunted us, but in all my fancies nothing occurred to me so strange and tragic as our actual adventures.” Hmm, next time I read it, I will have to see if there are any scented references….maybe the gin that does in Billy Bones???
I’ve seen paintings by N.C. Wyeth that were illustrations from an edition of the book. This was at the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, PA, Robin’s neck of the woods, and not terribly far from where I live, either.
Yep, I am sure I have seen them at one point or another!
Yes; that’s the edition I have. They are iconic.
Those mittens sound so cute.
small = cute!
thanks, madtowngirl!
Ha! When I first read this, I wondered who/what would need three or more than two mittens. Mittens for kittens?
oh that’s funny! Mittens for Kittens could be my new favorite charitable cause.
You smell fantastic. The mittens sound super cute too!
thank you, cazaubon!
PHI always makes me happy. I followed with Tuberose Flash.
I wish I got rose from PHI. On me, it is all tobacco. ?
sometimes the rose in PHI disappears on me too. It must be a skin chemistry mystery!
Tiny mittens, how cute!!! You smell great. I should wear more Tauers!
a bug for itty bitty mittens has bitten me.
agree, more Tauers for everyone!
Fleur de Peau. Wow today flew by! It’s 4:20 already?
We finally got our Christmas tree yesterday. Yep, I think this is the latest we’ve ever gotten it but we waited until our college daughter was home so we could continue with our tradition of going to the tree farm and cutting one down. They were pretty picked over but we found a good one. ?
I got word today I can get my vaccine within the next few days.
Yay for the vaccine news, exciting! I drove by a tree lot today that still had many trees – all other lots sold out weeks ago.
Yeah, many here have been sold out for weeks. I was a little nervous we’d have trouble finding one. Whole Foods still had them in case we were desperate, lol.
We did Whole Foods this year, and I was pleasantly surprised at how fresh and great it was. Far better than the twice-as-expensive tree we had last year. But…cutting one down sounds like so much fun!
Yay for the tree! I got mine up late too. Are you under the snow warning? I’m only expecting 3 inches or so.
I don’t think so…just a blast of arctic cold for the next couple of days.? another reason I’m glad I don’t have to travel for Christmas!
In Coromandel, matching a Patchouli body oil I bought and then never used but now that I’m all out of Nivea and Target’s likely busy with last minute holiday shoppers, Patchouli will be the scent of the season!
We’ve had a “fun” medical week here – my daughter broke her elbow, and I got an emergency root canal. But – today we found out that the elbow fracture is such that no cast is needed at all, and I got seen really quick by the dentist and endodontist. We’re ready to roll for xmas, and apparently, I must now go and buy presents for the dog. Happy holidays!
On another note, does anyone else send out a sizable number of xmas cards and still always manage NOT to send cards to those people who actually send you cards? This happens every year to us.
Ouch and ouch! Sending healing vibes to you both.
Yikes! Hope that both of you are feeling better now.
I’m so sorry Eschmeling! How many times can we say “what a year this has been” ?
Take care and Merry Christmas to you!
Thanks for the well wishes. Really, we feel overall very blessed!
Oh no, sorry for your medical issues. Happy dog-presents!
Just found one this morning…I had it with the box and the cards, and somehow it got shuffled twice!! GRRRRRR.
Wow, glad you got all that sorted before the holiday!
I’ve been a bit AWOL lately I think because I am constantly exhausted. Might be a side effect of all those antibiotics recently. I got the stitches out in my hand recently (From accidental cat bite) and doctor said it looks good. However it is still painful and part of my thumb is simply numb. I will need a month of physical therapy. All this on top of somewhat usual Christmas stress just has me behind the 8-ball lately. Luckily our weather has been beautiful and mild. I’m so tired I didn’t even pick a perfume for today. Hope to get back on board soon.
Feel better soon, Calypso!
Hugs Calypso.
I would guess it is also partly from the actual injury, and partly from all the stress associated with your experience. Fighting an injury like that takes up a lot of the body’s resources and energy, and going through something like that is draining all by itself. Take it easy, and don’t try to do anything you are not feeling up to.
Thank you! Yes, I think I got PTSD being at the ER for 7 hours after all my visits there for hip issues and with my mom, and then 10 days of antibiotics really wreaked havoc on my system. All I want to do is sleep, sleep, sleep!
If you want to sleep, then you should sleep as much as you can. You’ve been through a lot, and your body is telling you it needs some down time to repair itself.
Sleep is when the body heals itself best. I maintain that it is actually not possible to sleep too much. You can lie in bed, of course, but if you really don’t need to sleep you won’t be able to.
Feel better Calypso and Merry Christmas to you!
I hope you’ll heal soon!
Hugs, Calypso! It was shocking what a dangerous turn that cat bite took. I hope you have lots of time away from work or other duties in the couple weeks!
Hope tons of rest is coming your way, Calypso.
Checking in on break. I ran alot of errands this morning. I sprayed Stash on my way out the door. I’m enjoying it more than I anticipated.
I will be around the next few days, but in case some of you won’t be
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
I love you guys!❤??
Song of the Day for you lillyjo:
https://youtu.be/MlzTET_8SQg
This sure woke me up this morning!
You are the Metal Queen, Jalapeno! ?
Merry Christmas Lillyjo!
Merry Christmas Adanst!
Merry Christmas lillyjo! Enjoy your holiday.
Late today. I was in the kitchen, helping with prep work for our Christmas dinner. We are making smoked pulled pork this time around, and tonight it was time to start soaking the wood and putting the dry rub on the meat. Mr. Jalapeno will actually smoke it tomorrow. Part of that is it takes 14 hours to cook (!!!) and part of that is impending bad weather for Christmas Day. So we will be racing a storm front late tomorrow evening. Wish us luck!
It will be much easier to reheat a portion of the pork for sandwiches on Christmas Day rather than waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting!
SOTD = Oriza L. Legrand Reve d’Ossian EdP again.
Sounds delish!!! Hope you are able to beat the rain and get that fire going.
Thanks jepster! As long as we have power, we’re good…
Sounds tasty! What kind of buns do you eat it on?
I picked up 2 bags of “Martin’s Potato Rolls” for this. They look just like hamburger buns.
Good evening!! Today I didn’t put any perfume on. This year I am soooooo wondering about this Chanel le lion everyone is talking about!! I also want to order some samples soon. I saw a whole Floraiku set for just $35. It seemed like a good deal and I haven’t tried anything of this line yet (only tried some Memo fragrances and loved them). I also love everything Japanese. But I love the Japanese FROM Japan:) floraiku line is inspired by Japan and its owned by the same people that own Memo and Hermetica. Someone mentioned that Floraiku fragrances seem “unfinished”, high quality but unfinished. Like they want You to buy several of their $350 bottles to layer them? Maybe rich people can do that!! But maybe they aren’t unfinished. Japan has a minimalist style when it comes to perfume, tea, homes etc. Less is often more in Japan. Japan inspired should be somewhat simple yet refined. Beautiful and subtle, delicate. Chinese inspired perfumes are a different story… rich and very full. Anyways just am thinking of getting the $35 set.
majokkobiachan, were you the person who was interested in black pepper scents? I managed to find my CdG Blackpepper decant, and would be happy to send you a sample if you live in the U.S. If so, give me your email address and I will send you a note to arrange mailing.
I had intended to make a gingerbread cake using one of my fancy bundt cake pans but I waited until the last minute to pick up ingredients. The lineup went around the supermarket – partly because of the panic as the Ontario government issued a provincial wide lockdown starting on the 26th. So no cake, but I have enough pantry staples to make a coconut white chocolate chip cookie.
Can anyone here recommend an olfactory version of a gingerbread cake? If there is already a thread on gourmande ginger perfumes, please direct me to it : )
Hi AntsyArtsy – someone mentioned Jo Malone’s Ginger Biscuit – though I think it’s a limited edition that is released on specific occasions.
Then there is Serge Luten’s 5 O’Clock Au gingembre (it didn’t work for me but many love it).
Lush has a ginger perfume, with a strong geranium note but it’s not a sweet food-ie ginger and is a bit harsh (I like it for opening my airways when I feel stuffy :D)
There is also Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria Ginger Piccante – there is someone here (I forget who) that finds it quite festive and bubbly. For me it’s a fresh and brisk scent that I like for travelling.
I’m sure there are many more but that’s what comes to mind!
Thank you for the suggestions. I am hoping to treat myself to a big order of samples for the first celebratory moment of the new year. The Jo Malone sounds perfectly edible!
I sympathize with the lines! No lockdown (yet) here in BC, but yesterday lines were down the street at all the grocery and liquor stores and the groceries were out of stock on many things. I stood in three lines to get the final ingredients for the next few days, and I hope not to have to go near a grocery for days now!
I wish I had persevered! Looks like I will do most of my fancy baking after Christmas. Happy holidays fellow Canuck!
BeauFort London “Lignum Vitae”, oddly enough – most of their perfumes are anything-but-gourmand, but this one is ginger-biscuit-and-lime.
Mmmm… ginger and lime sound delicious. Suddenly craving Thai curry ?
A kind person from here sent me a sample of Yosh Ginger Ciao, which I think is a very nice fragrance. I independently got samples of Demeter Fresh Ginger and Gingerbread. The Fresh Ginger is one of those wake-you-up scents, but I thought that and the Gingerbread fragrance were both pretty close to the olfactory effect of the real thing.
Demeter: pocket-book friendly!
You might like Etat Libre d’Orange’s Like This, it has a gingerbread vibe!
Some people think Chanel Bois des Iles has a gingerbread accord in it, although my nose doesn’t particularly detect it.
Miss the days when we could just go up to the dept store counter and give perfumes a sniff. The price of samples do add up.
You’re inspiring me to pull out one of my own fancy Bundt pans and bake something. I love those pans. I’m not a great baker, but they make me look like I know what I’m doing, now that I’ve mastered the perfect release technique.
Exactly! I like the a proposal each and every time. My fave is the Jubilee pan by Nordicware. Love the sculptural quality of their pans. Surprised it hasn’t inspired any of Frank Gehry’s architectural projects yet!
Popping in to wish everybody a Merry Christmas!
Commando, but after my shower this evening, before dinner, I will wear Serge Noire or Fille en Aiguille. SN reminds me of the three magi and FeA is simply festive.
Merry Christmas Amyitis!
Merry Christmas to you too, Amyitis!
Merry Christmas! ?
Merry Christmas!
Another Serge Noire fan here (we are few in number, I suspect). The dry down is simply amazing. So rich.
For those who celebrate the holiday, Merry Christmas! For the rest of us, happy feasting and relaxing day!
I’m wearing OJ Ta’if, which is perfect for the day. I smell gorgeous, a state that is firmly entrenched among the “few of my favorite things.”
Whoops. This was supposed to be a separate post.
You smell marvelous in OJ Ta’if! Happy holiday season to you!
I love Serge Noire but could not take Fille en Aguilles. Serge Noir is one of the rare perfumes that got a big compliment (I’ve told this story before) at a neighborhood potluck no less.
More of Monsieur Li’s garden..on first spray it smells like eating a creamsicle in a garden..ahhhh. I love you, Hermes lol.
Great description Omega!
Good morning on this Christmas Eve!
Wearing a few drops of Rose de Petra to start with.
I’ve already cleaned part of the house (I’m an early riser) and will soon start to cook some things, including my chocolate orange babka.
Glad to finally be off for more than a week. This is the first year in a couple of decades I’ve worked non stop, without any vacation. With all travel plans cancelled I did not see the point in taking any significant time off. But I’m tired and I need a break.
I’m also happy to have gotten my first Covid vaccine a few days ago. Hopefully I’ll have produced some antibodies by the time I go back to work in January.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you lovely people!
Happy to read about progress on the vaccine front. Babka sounds so delicious.
I’m so glad to hear you received the vaccine! Enjoy your day and your week off! Sounds like you really need a rest.
Merry Christmas! ??
Yay for the vaccine! I bet your babka is delicious!
Congrats on getting your first vaccine dose! That is great news.
So happy to know you got the vaccine! I have enjoyed seeing posts by healthcare workers as they get it. So needed, and so well-earned. Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve! ??
Wearing Clinique Wrappings, another favorite holiday scent.
Tonigh, I will be wearing Donna Karan Black Cashmere.
3 more hours to go at work and free for the rest of the week!
Mom and I will have dinner tonight with my sisters and their families. 9 people all together. We will exchange some presents today and hopefully on New Year’s Eve the rest of the presents that didn’t arrive on time. Tomorrow will be a relaxing day at home.
Having a slice of fruit cake with a glass of almond milk.
Happy Thursday, everyone! ?
You are smelling fantastic! Think I will join you Wrappings today.
Enjoy your dinner and have a wonderful time with your family tonight. Sending you hugs; I hope Santa is extra good to you this year!??⛄
Thank you, Gail! Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones! Sending peace, hugs and happiness your way! ??☃️
Merry Christmas, M! All the best to you and your family. ???
Thank you, NancyL! Merry Christmas to you and your family also! Enjoy the holidays! ???
Merry Christmas PL67! Best to you and your family.
Merry Christmas, Adanst! ??
Merry Christmas! Have a wonderful time with your family!
Thank you, Lillyjo! You too have a great time with your dear ones! ???
Enjoy your mom and family! Happy Christmas!
Thank you! Merry Christmas to you and yours too! Enjoy!
You smell wonderful today! Merry Christmas to you and your mom, PL67!
Thank you, Jalapeno! Merry Christmas to you and Mr. Jalapeno too! ??
Enjoy your week off! I’ll be doing the same! Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day!
Thank you! Keep enjoying the holidays!
? Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! ?
I’ll be in Ambre Loup today, because that powers through anything. Peanut butter toast with hot PG tips tea this morning. Burned the toast and hoping that’s not a harbinger of things to come!
I finished baking last night, so will drop off goodies to a neighbor very soon. We’re having roast turkey breast, green beans, stuffing (from a box, but it will be embellished), homemade cranberry sauce and assorted goodies for dessert. Hubby and I will be safe at home, watching 70’s rock documentaries, nibbling and exchanging gifts.
I found a recipe for homemade Irish cream, with ingredient swap options to make it a boozy horchata, but that little adventure will probably wait until tomorrow. ?
Your dinner sounds delish and your evening very relaxing! Curious about your homemade Irish cream. Enjoy!
Here ya go, pl67. The horchata variation is in the first comment on the “I made this” tab.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/12/homemade-irish-cream/
Thank you, Nancy! ?. I will definitely give it a try this weekend!
Merry Christmas Nancy and you smell lovely !
Thank you, adanst! Hugs! ?
Merry Christmas Nancy!
Merry Christmas back at ya, lillyjo! Stay warm!
Merry Christmas! Enjoy the dinner, and I hope your neighbour enjoys the treats!
Sound alike a delicious meal and wonderful holiday!
Wow! Enjoy your Christmas feast, and have a Merry Christmas!
On my way over!
You are welcome anytime! ?
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! My family is Danish-American, and Christmas Eve was the BIG DAY growing up–when we had a big family dinner and opened all the presents under the tree. This year will be much quieter than that, and I’m ok with it. My family is healthy and warm and everyone has enough to eat, so that is good!
SOTM Slowdive. Probably because JadainGA mentioned honey the other day.
Hope you all have a wonderful day!
Merry Christmas Marjorie Rose!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!?? ?
Merry Christmas Marjorie Rose!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Marjorie Rose! ??
What a treat to open this up tonight and see all the well-wishes!! Merry Christmas everyone!
I have a whole perfume plan for the next few days – including today through New Year’s. It’s dark here (PNW) and super foggy this morning, chilly and likely rain coming. So I’m planning a couple of Fendis, both Theorema and Fendi Fendi, also POTL Luctor et Emergo, Mitsouko and VC&A Bois d’Iris, then dshperfumes Lumiere (such a lovely name) lotion for the nights. We’ll be doing lots of cooking and celebrating, game-playing and movie-watching. I am making cinnamon rolls this afternoon which will rise overnight in the fridge and then add an egg breakfast casserole to be made tomorrow morning plus grapefruit halves. (Mr. SP is in charge of dinner, which he makes tonight so we can relax and enjoy delicious leftovers tomorrow.) I hope everyone has wonderful holidays or even just a little time to relax for themselves. ♥
Sounds really lovely, and admire your scent organization.
Have you ever played Password? One of my all-time fave games.
Wishing you &your family wonderful holidays as well.
We haven’t although we play Code Names which sounds similar. I love word games, but my sons prefer strategy games like Catan which can go on for hours – I prefer shorter games, esp as hostess who needs to jump up and get things done occasionally!
The Settlers of Catan used to drive me crazy. My niece and nephew were into it when they were younger and the few days I visited that’s all they wanted to do all day every day!
That game has caused several arguments that I know about…
Sounds delicious and wonderful!!
You will smell wonderful; I think I want a perfumed plan! And I want to play a few games. Have not done that in ages.
I just got to work and the roads are yuk! Where’s my green Christmas?
I’m wearing Coco because it’s perfect.
My daughter is making me nuts with her “I can’t sleep because I’m worried I won’t get what I want for Christmas anxiety ” every year she gets what she wants, but every year she gets Christmas insomnia.
Wish me luck today!?
Very good luck to you, lillyjo! Thank heavens we only had some rain last night followed by a minute dusting of snow.
It was the rain before the snow that made the roads bad. I think my snow total is probably 1-2 inches. But it iced up.
Good luck, Lillyjo! You smell terrific! Coco is perfect for the holidays!
Thanks! It really is perfect!
Poor girl! Is she on the younger side? I can somewhat sympathize!
She’s 17, but has some disabilities. Christmas time and her birthday really get her over stimulated with excitement.
I hope your shift passes quickly, lillyjo! You smell wonderful. ?
Thank you! 4 hours to go!
Drive safely and have a great holiday!
Thank you!
Good luck, lillyjo! Have a safe drive back!
Thank you!
Luck and hugs sent to you!
Thanks! I’m home now. Yay!
Wish I could give you my Green Christmas, lillyjo! Drive safe!
Me too jalapeno! It looks like winter will be non stop for me for awhile.
??!
The small # of gifts are wrapped and under the tree. Showered and covered in Shalimar body lotion and sprays of Shalimar Souffle d’Oranger. We are attending in-person services tonight at 5 pm. (25% capacity and advance registration)
About to vacuum and do some final straightening up before my husband starts his potatoes and green bean casseroles. He picked up the Bûche de Noël yesterday from our local bakery. So very pretty. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJMEnpYJp_A/?igshid=yl9noxnbcgl1
The Bûche de Noël looks so beautiful! Merry Christmas!
Ooh, that Bûche looks amazing. Merry Christmas LizzieB!
That looks delicious! Enjoy the service.
Enjoy your service! Merry Christmas!
Yay for going to a service! I am sure it can be done safely!
FREEBIE ALERT: I was going to wait until next week, but when I saw just how much stuff I had to give away, I decided to do a sort of 12 Days of Christmas thing. Call it The Twelve Days of Freebies (Plus Two). I plan to list one thing each day starting today and going through Epiphany on January 6, so 14 days in all. If something doesn’t get claimed on the day I list it, I will relist it along with the next day’s new item(s) until it is claimed.
1. The 12 Niche/Indie Samples:
l’Artisan Four d’Absinthe
l’Artisan l’Eau d’Ambre
l’Artisan Mimosa Pour Moi
l’Artisan Navegar
l’Artisan Piment Brulant
l’Artisan Thé Pour un Été
Byredo Flowerhead
Byredo Seven Veils
April Aromatics Agartha
April Aromatics Purple Reign
Providence Perfume Company Sedona Sweetgrass
Providence Perfume Company Drunk on the Moon
The Byredo samples are 2 mL sprays and the April Aromatics samples which are 2.5 mL sprays. The PPC Drunk on the Moon is a spray vial; it looks to be 1.5 or 2 mL. The rest are standard 1 mL dabber vials. These have only been tested a time or two, so they are mostly full. If you want these, just email me at the address you can find by clicking on my gravatar. I do plan to ship them before next week.
Typo: I meant to say “I do NOT plan to ship them before next week.”
In fact, I will probably ship them in batches, so I will wait until I have several to send at once. I may not reply to emails right away, but I will check from time to time.
What a cute idea and how generous! Happy holidays to you!
Just to clarify in case there was any ambiguity: The 12 samples listed are ONE item. I will have another freebie to list tomorrow, and so on.
That’s an awesome idea! Very much in the Christmas spirit.
What a kind idea! Merry Christmas!
I’m wearing MKK today, I think it smells like Christmas. I finished watching Mozart in the Jungle the night before last and I think I will watch it again over the next few days. All the cast are excellent, but Gael Garcia Bernal is exceptional. Plus, I love the detail–in one scene, Roberto takes off his shoes and he is wearing mismatched socks. Suits the character perfectly.
You smell great, I love MKK.
Popping in quickly to post that YAY! The pork is done! ? It went on around 3 this morning, and came out of the smoker shortly after 5 this afternoon. We beat the incoming weather! It’s still resting, so I haven’t tasted it yet.
SOTD = YSL Rive Gauche EdT, courtesy of MossyBerry. I’ve been parsing this one all day. I could swear I sometimes smell a Noxema-like note in this every so often. Like it very much!
I bet your pork is delicious!
Thank you! We did some “quality control” sampling earlier tonight. ? Nice smoke, and good seasoning. We might have taken it out a little too early, though.
Oink oink – glad you beat the weather. It got windy earlier this afternoon, stopped and is kicking up again!
Merry Christmas Eve!
Yeah, I had a bit of wind around 3-ish this afternoon. Still no rain here. It’s taking its sweet time arriving.
Merry Christmas Eve to you!
Rive Gauche! You smell fantastic. I would sneak sprays from my sister’s canister when we were young.
Glad your pork is done, it sounds wonderful. Hopefully all you need to do tomorrow is enjoy the day!
Rive Gauche is one of those late 60’s – early 70’s green scents that make me very content. I must have smelled something like it back in the day and liked it.
I have a bit of cooking tomorrow, but easy stuff. I’m glad we got the oink done today!
Merry Christmas jalapeno!
Merry Christmas lillyjo! ??✨
Doesn’t LT call this the “Reference Rose”? And for good reason!
I don’t get any rose from Rive Gauche at all. There are floral notes in there, but very well blended. So nothing stands out and waves at me.
Merry Christmas, Jalapeno: you smell marvelous!!
Thanks to you!
Eeermm…making picnic baskets?
I have spent the day sampling, so a huge mish mosh of various scents. Could not find my Relique d’Amour sample, so need to keep digging. Will have a good wash and put on Nuit de Noel.
Merry Christmas cazaubon. I bet you smell amazing! Sampling sounds like a great day to me.
Same to you Gail! I see Vancouver Island got some snow, hope you did too. Montréal is having torrential rains. :-0
Thank you! We did end up with snow a few days ago (plus rain). It’s a bit of a mess right now.
Merry Christmas Cazaubon!
Le Lion today.
Took a nice 2 hour hike yesterday then one of my hub’s friend’s came over for dinner. I made a beef pot pie and a nice salad. It was delish.
Just straightened the house up earlier today. Didn’t eat much other than snacks but now I am making pepperoni rolls. It’s a West Virginia thing- big yeast rolls filled with ground pepperoni and cheese. I also like to add a little roasted chopped green chile- so good! I don’t make them often because they’re time consuming but they’re delish and make my husband happy! Currently waiting for my dough to rise.
You smell great! Enjoy your pepperoni rolls!
Thank you!
Ooooh, those pepperoni rolls sound yummy! Especially with the green chile addition. ?
Oh my gosh! So my impatient hubs made me open a present early lol. His way of thanking me for making one of his favorite foods tonight….Osmanthus Interdite! Yay!
Yay! Were you expecting it, or totally surprised?
Well it was on my Lucky Scent wishlist so not totally surprised haha. But I mean, I have a pretty big wishlist on there so never know what he will get. He’s good about supporting the perfume habit but he has no desire to keep up with what I like or anything lol.
Nice good scent. I think I had that one but sold it several yrs ago
I had a decant that I thunked a few months ago and have missed it enough that it made it to my FB wish list.
SOTD = April Aromatics Vanilicious EDP
A comforting scent and guaranteed to delight everyone, even those who can’t smell it (I sure can and scent-phone BIL can’t)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJMucP2hIFY/?igshid=1e99dyhlq0523
I met up with family bubble sisters, BILs and nephew. We did take out from a local restaurant and there was so much food I have enough for 4 more meals!
Christmas will be low key primarily due to nasty weather we’re expecting. I hope I don’t lose power but if I do, I know I won’t go hungry (peanut and/or almond butter sandwiches, anyone?).
Merry Christmas Eve!
And this was breakfast for lunch yesterday, thanks to ideas from NST:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJhKufhkZt/?igshid=1q18n9ayyyzb1
Weather has been strangely quiet for me all afternoon into the early evening. Not that I’m complaining!
Hope that we both keep the power on.
There was a rain and wind racket and we lost power. As near as I can tell, it was between 3 and 4 hours. Based on text messages from PSE&G and my alarm clock, it was 3.5 hours.
Things went crazy here last night around 9:30 or 10. Loads of wind and rain, plus a few power flickers. Mr. Jalapeno slept thru it all.
As far as I know, we kept power on, but it was touch and go for a while.
You smell yummy and your breakfast looked good too. Hopefully you’re not getting heavy rains. All quiet here on the western front, had a spectacular sunset. Merry Christmas Eve!
Thank you! We got heavy rain and wind but I went out to the deck this morning and so far, everything is still intact!
Hoping you don’t lose power! Glad you enjoyed some family time!
Thanks. We lost power but at least it was while I was asleep!
Merry Christmas Eve Hajusuuri!
I laugh every time you mention the scent phobe. Remembering the test he failed ?
Curious to know this story!
I think it’s all an act for this 1 BIL. One time I made the mistake of applying Weleda Skin Food inside a car and he rolled down his window – fair, since it is quite fragrant, but who can dislike the fragrance? Anyway, the next time I was in their house, I deliberately picked a fragrance-free hand cream and I made a show of opening and applying it. My BIL started to wrinkle his nose and skeddadled. I showed my sister what I used and asked her to smell it – really, nothing – so she knows that my BIL was faking being scent-sensitive.
That’s hilarious!
That is hysterically funny! Strictly speaking fragrance free should smell of the ingredients and just not have fragrance added. But then I think there might be others that add chemicals to suppress the natural smell of the ingredients too! I think the labels differ somehow but can’t remember the details… In any case, it seems like BIL may have drama queen traits
Thank you, lillyjo! He sat next to me at another table (there were 3 card tables) and he did not say one word about the perfume ?
*Snort*
FREEBIE LISTING:
The 12 Days of Christmas (Plus 2)
On the first day of Christmas, I’m offering for free
One bottle of Lush Rose Jam
1. One 30 ml bottle of Lush Rose Jam perfume. This was from the limited edition issued in 2013. I bought it new during the online sale. I have only sprayed it a few times, so it is nearly full.
And from yesterday, the sample assortment which I have renumbered as number 0:
0. 12 Niche/Indie Samples:
l’Artisan Four d’Absinthe
l’Artisan l’Eau d’Ambre
l’Artisan Mimosa Pour Moi
l’Artisan Navegar
l’Artisan Piment Brulant
l’Artisan Thé Pour un Été
Byredo Flowerhead
Byredo Seven Veils
April Aromatics Agartha
April Aromatics Purple Reign
Providence Perfume Company Sedona Sweetgrass
Providence Perfume Company Drunk on the Moon
The Byredo, April Aromatics, and PPC Drunk on the Moon samples are larger spray vials (around 1.5 to 2.5 ml); the rest are the standard 1 ml dabber vials.
To claim, please contact me at the email address you can find by clicking my gravatar.
Dibs on rose jam
Merry Christmas guys:) no sotd yet but I am using up my Cashmere Mist sample up quickly lol.
Oh sorry about that oops
Merry Christmas Omega!
Merry Christmas, Omega! ??
The Rose Jam has been claimed. The samples are still available.
Merry Christmas and dibs on the L’Artisan Fou D’Absinthe sample.
Dibs on the samples!
The samples are now spoken for as well. Another freebie coming up tomorrow (and each day through January 6).
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I’m spending Christmas morning in TF Violet Blonde, sipping a latte and enjoying the twinkle lights around the fireplace.
You smell wonderful! Merry Christmas and hooray for lattes and twinkle lights!!
Thanks MossyBerry!
Merry Christmas SheriG!
And to you and yours, Jalapeno!
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and happy Friday to everyone!
I slept in later than usual this morning (8 AM). I have always thought that a sure sign that you are a grown up is when you have no trouble getting to sleep on Christmas Eve, but I actually did have trouble falling asleep last night. Does this mean I have reached my second childhood?
Breakfast this morning was some of the stollen I baked yesterday along with a cup of coffee, eaten leisurely while browsing through this thread. I am definitely enjoying getting to wake up naturally rather than to the noise of an alarm clock.
Tonight the hubby and I will have our annual Christmas dinner for two. The main course varies from year to year, but the first course is usually my homemade cream of mushroom soup, and dessert will be lemon pudding, using one of the lemons from our tree.
The tradition is that it is just the two of us, with the dinner eaten by candlelight, using the good china, with the house lights off, mellow Christmas music playing, the cats restricted to one room where they can’t insert themselves into the meal, and with the TV, phones, and all other noise sources OFF. We enjoy the meal and talk about pleasant things only. We reflect on positive events from the year past, think about all the good things we have, commemorate another year together, and look forward to what is to come. It is sort of like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s all in one. Maybe it sounds corny, but it is very meaningful to us. We have done this since our first Christmas together after we got married, and it’s almost like there is the special secret place we go to for one hour once a year, where we continue an experience and a conversation that we left off a year ago. Even in this crazy year of 2020, there have been positive things that have happened for us, and we need to remember that.
Merry Christmas! What a wonderful tradition you and your husband have!
That sounds like an incredible tradition. And your meal sounds amazing too!
That is a beautiful tradition.
That’s a fantastic tradition! Enjoy your wonderful evening!
I love that tradition! Enjoy!
Aw, love your family tradition! Merry Christmas!
?!
How lovely! I hope your dinner was as nice as it sounds. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to my fragrant NST friends! Just popping in for now; will have to catch up on y’alls’ wonderful menus and festive goings-on later. Beautiful day here: in the teens but sunny with occasional snow sprinkles. A lovely house wren landed on my kitchen windowsill to peck around and give me a pointed look about the empty suet feeder, so I took the hint. There was a lovely hush and just a little wintery wind whisper in the trees while I loaded the feeders. SotD Queen Latifa which is my sister’s favorite so even though she is far away, I can be reminded of her. I also dabbed some Aftelier Cuir Gardenia on my hand. Perfumed Plan for 2021 is fewer vintage and more indies. I still have vintage mania, but I have learned to shop my collection, kinda sorta.
Merry Christmas MossyBerry! It’s great that you found a way to connect with your sister. And I love Cuir Gardenia!
Cuir Gardenia was an early find, back when I thought I would never spend as much on perfume as….well….Donetella would understand. Merry Christmas, hajusuuri!
Merry Christmas MossyBerry! ?
A very Merry Christmas to you, too!! =^v^=
Merry Christmas! My birds always hover and let me know it’s time to fill my feeder as well!
Hope you had a very Merry Christmas, too KellyC!
Merry Christmas MossyBerry!
You too Jalepeno – hope it was very merry and you have time to bask in the glow for the rest of the weekend.
Had a gorgeous sunset last night, today is sunny and bright. Wearing MCG Exultat as I get ready to bake some butter tarts for husband’s birthday tomorrow. Merry Christmas all!
Merry Christmas! Those butter tarts sound delish!
Merry Christmas Cazaubon and a very happy birthday to your hubby!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas and happy birthday to your husband!
Merry Christmas cazaubon! And Happy Birthday to Mr. Cazaubon tomorrow! ??
You’ve been blessed with a couple of lovely sunsets. Merry Christmas and happy birthday to Mr. C!
Sunsets, butter tarts, and husbands! Perfect.
Merry Christmas! I am wearing Chanel No.5 L’Eau from my gorgeous red bottle!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOmRnnhVxX/?igshid=71xo5r9tmc0
And here’s a special Christmas decoration treat on the main reason for the celebration.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CJOpWemhTKv/?igshid=171x2befcaj4
I’ll be posting a 1-2 more today and one more tomorrow. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas to you Hajusuuri!
Thank you, adanst. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Merry Christmas, Hajusuuri! ?
And to you, too, pfl67. I hope your get-together with family went well!
Merry Christmas!
I love all the pictures!
Marry Christmas! Love the nativity scenes!
I liked that red bottle release, very classy looking:)
Merry Christmas hajusuuri! Perfect bottle choice for today, IMO. ?
Hope you have a wonderful holiday!
Merry Christmas, NST friends! I’m wearing a bit of Baccarat Rouge 540. I’ve FaceTimed with family, and now the cat and I are settling in for a nap.
You smell wonderful and I was pinned to my chair by a cat nap yesterday. I have a sample of BR540, and my take is a wonderful ambergris bomb. But the reviews of it vary so much (and that price…) that I never thought of getting more because: batch variations!?!
Merry Christmas, fearsmice and cat!
You smell wonderful!
Merry Christmas, FearsMice! If your cat will allow it, give him/her a cuddle from me.
Merry Christmas everyone! I’m wearing Vetiver Tonka. Many thanks for your kind wishes for my FIL above – it really means a lot.
I hope you all get something splendid and that you are all blessed with good health.
Merry Christmas Sistine!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas sistine!
Merry Christmas all. I just sprayed on Kelly Calèche extrait (I think I still prefer EdT). Santa came through with a bottle of Gabrielle Essence, but I decided to wait to wear it.
The husband did give me some SMN items…two candles (rose and freesia). And we decided we will take the bottle I got him at the store and see if he wants to try something new or keep as a BUB. He was thrilled with after-shave balm.
Last night’s dinner after church was postponed. The daughter got word a friend she was with on Sunday evening tested positive, so she quickly made an appointment to get tested. Results came back this morning. Negative! So, they’ll come over this evening instead. My husband has started cooking.
Merry Christmas LizzieB! Great news that your daughter tested negative. Enjoy your evening together!
Oops…I was unclear. Not my daughter. Friends’ teenage daughter.
And thanks!
Merry Christmas! Hope your dinner is wonderful!
Merry Christmas LizzieB!
Well Santa hubs must have been trying to make up for the lack of travel this year (we usually take a few trips- my favorite thing is travel) because he spoiled me this Christmas! In addition to two other amazing items, I got TWO FBs and also a Santa Maria Novella bath oil and also the rose water spray! I’m wearing Chameleon- one of my FBs.
We had a Dijon salmon and a traditional Swiss fondue with some roasted veggies, sliced green apples, and homemade crusty bread. Wine also of course. Now stuffed and lazy on the couch!
Great gifts! I know you’ve been wanting chameleon for awhile.
I let a “squeeee!!!!” when I opened it lol. I’m obsessed with the bottle and box also haha
I love the Chameleon bottle, too!!
Wow! Nice haul!
All of that sounds lovely! Fondue is on our post-Christmas menu. I’m with you on travel — I love it, and we had to cancel what was to have been a big family trip to France this summer to celebrate two graduations, two big birthdays, and one big anniversary. Oh well, Paris isn’t going anywhere, it will wait for us. My husband and I are so glad we were able to enjoy some wonderful travel in 2019 thanks to his job. Merry Christmas, and here’s to future travels!
Kudos to your husband. And yum on the salmon and fondue. We used to do beef fondue for Christmas Eve, but I love, love, love traditional cheese.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate.
We were pretty low-key here. I set up and decorated two little artificial trees yesterday, and we had a few presents, some of which I gave myself. (lol) Mom said she’d give me the book The Rose Rustlers. Dad read through the field guide to the birds of Pennsylvania. I called his brother and sisters, and we talked to them. All agreed with my wish that 2021 would be a better year for everyone. We talked to my brother by phone, also.
Merry Christmas!
Low-key Christmas twins!
I texted my brother earlier today, since he has to work tonight and didn’t have time for a call today.
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
We opened presents this morning, and I made a ham for an early dinner. It’s frigid out today, glad to be staying home. Sotd is Anna Sui Fantasia Mermaid. A gift to myself, found perfume math free at Marshalls. It’s nice, a little beachy.
Can I just say that I want to buy that for the name alone- “Fantasia Mermaid”…are you kidding me?! How great is that name?!
Have you seen the bottle? It’s awesome, although looks cheaper in person. I got it for 7 dollars!
Looking it up now!
Merry Christmas lillyjo! Did your daughter find something she wanted under the tree this morning?
Oh my gosh, Jalapeno.. she was up at 3 am wanting to open them. I gave her a couple of small things, and told her she had to wait until morning. It’s been a long day!
LOL! My parents used to bribe my brother and me with “OK, you can open one present on Christmas Eve, but then you guys have to let us sleep in on Christmas Day!”
It worked. ?
Aweee I love her excitement lol!
a friend of my daughter told us last week that she did the same thing once – accidentally got up at 3, thought it was xmas morning, woke up her brother….
?
Bless you! I hope you got some down time yesterday after all the excitement!
Stopping by to wish all NST’ers a very Merry Christmas!??. Yesterday I went to the forest in Clinique Wrappings and today I’m eating gingerbread in a pine forest in Guerlain AA Winter Delice, my traditional Christmas Day scent.
A very quiet Christmas for us this year with very scaled-back traditions. But I still made my Polish mushroom and barley soup for the two of us last night and baked kołaczki. We had a brief but wonderful socially-distanced visit with my son and his family earlier today – truly the best gift this Christmas! (Plus he made homemade pierogi and brought me some.). Getting ready for dinner tonight, Mr. Laila is grilling a bourbon-glazed beef tenderloin for just the two of us.
Perhaps I’ve been living under a rock, but this season I discovered two Christmas songs I was unaware of previously that stir my soul with the true meaning of the season. They have both been performed by numerous artists and I’ve enjoyed listening to the various versions. Should you be so inclined, I invite you to listen to two of my favorites: Simon Khorolskiy’s Epic version of ‘I Wonder as I Wander’ https://youtu.be/zF3zb4Hbmhk and Dolly Parton’s live version of ‘Mary, Did You Know?’ https://youtu.be/5JAW_7BAs-g. Joy and wonder and hope! My wish for you this season.
Merry Christmas Laila!
Thank you! Back atcha ?
Merry Christmas! Glad you got to see your son! The food sounds delish.
And my grandkids! I swear they both a foot since I’ve seen them.
Meant to say, ‘grew a foot taller’!
Aww! I video chatted with my 5 year old nephew and he looked soooo big compared to when I saw him over the summer! ?
“I Wonder as I Wander” is one of my favorite Christmas songs.
I discovered this by accident when it was being played in a classical music performance recently and was introduced as an Appalachian Christmas Carol. Ever since we stumbled upon an Appalachian music fest in its foothills on the way home from vacation, I love this music. And so I discovered John Jacob Niles and this song he played on his handmade dulcimer; it’s hauntingly beautiful and is still my favorite version, but Simon’s epic version, both in the music and magnificent nature setting echo the inherent majesty in this simple song and sends shivers down my spine.
I LOVED Having both my sons home and happy too!
Merry Christmas everyone! I’m wafting the holiday themed Elf-Fulfilling Prophecy by Smell Bent. We’re watching Die Hard and relaxing. I talked to my mom, dad, and brother earlier as they’re all together today, so that was nice. We’re keeping our holiday meal low key this time, so the boyfriend will make a root veggie hash with chicken sausage for dinner. We also received a few different gift baskets, so we’ve got snacks and sweets galore. My mom had also sent a little pine and red roses arrangement, so that was nice and festive to have around.
Merry Christmas! Root veggie hash sounds delicious.
Merry Christmas! ITA with lillyjo… that root veggie hash sounds yummy.
Your day sounds wonderful!
Merry Christmas NST! A quiet day for me, plus a late start. I stayed up last night to watch Christmas Eve Mass.
Got some wonderful news today for Christmas! Two of my friends (the newly-weds) are going to be an Aunt and an Uncle next year! Due date for their niece or nephew is early July.
SOTD = Amouage Jubilation 25 EdP, from the sample stash. Ohhhhhhhhhh Myyyyyyyyyyy! Gorgeous. Stunning. Exquisite. Wowsers.
Yay for your friends! I love being an aunt!
They are so excited! Can’t blame them one bit.
Merry Christmas, Jalapeno! You smell awesome!!!!! Jubilation 25 is a perfect beauty!
Merry Christmas perfumelover67! And thanks for the perfume compliment. Jub 25 stopped me dead in my tracks right after I sprayed the sample.
That good?! What does it smell like?
I get floral notes and incense, among other things. There’s a lot going on, yet it doesn’t seem like too much (if that makes any sense). “Symphonic” would be a good adjective for this perfume.
I can’t think of another perfume that it smells similar to.
Ooh, I must pull out my Jubilation 25, haven’t worn it in ages! Merry Christmas!
Hi everyone and Merry Christmas! Or Happy Solstice and others! I had a nice day and managed to make my traditional cookies for the holidays, a delicate crumbly cookie with pecans and topped with tart lemon icing. Took some out to Mom but could not get a booking for a window visit as they were all full. I’ll go soon instead. Also took her gifts and a loaded stocking. It was a beautiful day, cool but clear. I wore Memo Marfa for today. My hand still hurts and I keep taking pain meds for it. Yesterday I wore Coco and felt very smashing all day! I got so many delicious treats as gifts from relatives, I am going to be expanding a lot very soon unless I ration myself. Kitties got two stockings full of very nice treats. Enjoy the weekend!
Merry Christmas Calypso! I hope that your hand is getting better. Do you have another doctor appointment for it in the works?
Thank you! I am seeing my surgeon again in one month and in the meantime am supposed to go for occupational therapy three times a week. Due to the holidays I don’t have that booked yet, but hope to soon.
Merry Christmas Calypso! I’m glad you were able to make your cookies.
How nice that you were able to take gifts and goodies to your mother! My beloved father in law is in an assisted living facility in another state, so we had to be content with a phone call as usual. But we are so grateful and happy that he got vaccinated against COVID a few days ago! Best gift we could have had, as we’ve been very worried about him although his facility, remarkably, has had NO infections among residents or staff.
I’m sorry your hand is still so painful, what an ordeal! Good luck with the PT. Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone who celebrates! I meant to check in more than I did over the past 3 days. My mom came on the 23rd and we have been pretty laid back here, but did do most of our traditional meal on Xmas eve, including my favorite clementine cake with chocolate ganache. This morning my husband made my favorite banana walnut buckwheat pancakes, then my mom, husband and son went off to walk at Longwood Gardens and I had the house to myself for a few hours. Tonight we had leftovers since as usual we made too much food yesterday.
We did not have many presents but we just opened them in bits whenever anybody felt like giving somebody a present, so that was nice too.
So a nice quiet Christmas, and it was really nice to have my mom over since we have seen her so little this year. We zoomed or facetimed with lots of other family. Supposedly the sofa I ordered in July will finally be delivered tomorrow, so that will be my big present.
Merry Christmas Robin!
That sounds like a wonderfully relaxed and restoring day! Can’t believe you have waited so long for the sofa…. I hope it’s good for napping on!
Happy Christmas to you and Oakland Fresca ?
Merry Christmas! Sounds like some lovely family time.
Merry Christmas, Robin! Keep enjoying having your mom around and finally the new sofa! ???
Merry Christmas, Robin! We are enjoying newly reupholstered furniture that turned out so well. We rearranged our living room too so I know how nice you will feel when the new sofa is in place!
Yay, that’s lovely! I had 2 chairs recovered this year too, but the couch was beyond hope
Happy Boxing Day, NST! For several years, we hosted a Boxing Day open house, but of course no such ting this year. Christmas Eve was very nice, though weird for us — our church normally holds four separate services and all our kids have sung in the youth choir, so we are usually there for at least two of them, but no live services this year. They streamed two pre-recorded services, one with a modified children’s pageant and the children’s choirs and the other a traditional Lessons and Carols service with the adult choir and chamber musicians. So we were at home, but we watched both of those, which got us in the spirit. I made our traditional evening dinner of lamb stifado.
Christmas Day was also peaceful; the kids jointly gave us a new fire pit, which was so thoughtful! We gave my husband a new gas grill and built-in gas line to go with it so he doesn’t have to mess with propane tanks. He any my son are planning to learn how to smoke beef brisket. I received the Slow Smelling set from LuckyScent, DSH’s gift set of Heirloom Elixirs (highly recommended), and Jo Malone’s Christmas Cologne sampler. The kids got various wish list items; and our dog Lucy really got a haul: new memory foam crate pad, new harness that can be buckled in a car, new toys and treats, and best of all, pet health insurance.
Our living room and dining room are still scenes of demolition, so we ate roast lamb, roast potatoes and parsnips, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce on the good china in the family room part of our kitchen. All was well. Merry Christmas, everyone!
What a wonderful day – that DSH nudged my lemming.
Well, happy Day After Christmas, everyone – is today Boxing Day? The U.S. doesn’t celebrate that, so I’m going off some sale-related emails. I suppose google or wikipedia would confirm, but I’m too lazy.
SOTM is Le Dix, in both EDT and dusting powder forms. The rather ancient gift set ordered from that site which shall not be named finally arrived five days after its original ETA – good thing it wasn’t meant as a gift! All of its contents were in reasonable shape for something as, er, venerable as it is, so I count this as a successful purchase.
Glad you got it intact!
That is a great description of so many purchases from That Site Which Shall Not Be Named (you made me LOL with that) and, really, it’s why I am always lurking there! Merry Christmas, SheriG. I will have to dig out a micro mini I have of Le Dix from a lot purchased from….you know…..
Dinner again last night with same friends from Christmas night, but this time at their place. Delicious pork loin and roasted root veggies. We gave them different scented candles, which they each loved – I will say the Volupsa Sparkling Rose is a gorgeous one. I wore Shalimar Eau de Cologne.
Met up with a friend today to sit in Central Park in the cold eating a fresh pistachio croissant. She had some apple almond concoction, which she declared delicious. Wearing Kiss Me Intense with some added sprays of Angel Muse on my scarf. Then did some wandering – I bought a metallic red lip gloss at Sephora. And..she ended up with Chamade EdT from Bergdorf’s. They were out of the pure parfum. I scored an enabler pin, as well as a bunch of samples, which was wonderful. Hoping all the walking and fresh air will make me sleep well.