Saturday is National Cookie Day and the seventh night of Hanukkah; Sunday is Repeal Day and the eighth night of Hanukkah.
Here, we're just doing our usual open thread poll. Talk about anything you like — the fragrance you’re wearing today, the best fragrance to wear while baking (or eating) cookies, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer…
Note: the Hanukkah sugar cookies ("Classic Hanukkah sugar cookies are beautifully decorated in holiday colors for a gift that’s just as beautiful as it is tasty!") are on markdown, $17.50 at Dylan's Candy Bar.
Speaking of cookies! Axe has a bad reputation but they have a couple of (fairly) recent scents that are surprisingly inoffensive. I bought the shower gels because I couldn’t resist: Sneakers and Cookies is a vanilla leather vaguely suggestive of A*Men, Skateboards and Fresh Roses a woody rose. Are they complex and interesting? Of course not — they’re five dollars a bottle. Are they actually okay-smelling? Why yes they are! They make for a very nice shower experience. I couldn’t tell you what the lasting power of the body sprays is like, but the scent of the shower gels is gone within minutes, which is actually kind of a selling point as far as I’m concerned.
Speaking of soap! For those of you in Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart (such a seventies name) has a house brand of hand soaps for Christmas and they sure are nice. Peppermint Twist actually smells like butter mints —peppermint and vanilla and dairy — and Toffee Twinkle smells like caramel, more or less. I think there are lotions to match? There’s a third one called Mistletoe Kiss which I didn’t even smell because I doubted it would be my thing, but the other two are on my bathroom sink for the holiday season.
And I am in Bois 1920 Vetiver Ambrato, which is of all the line’s scents I’ve tried the one I would be most likely to own a full bottle of because it is beguilingly cool and warm at the same time, a quality I love.
You smell great, Vetiver Ambrato is a really good scent.
Sneakers and Cookies – what a fun name!
2nd that.
Thanks for the Shoppers tip! I’ve been Delicious Delights and when Arlene was visiting Wimmipeg she had unbelievable luck with the local Shoppers $20 shelf. Envy!
Bought these shower gels for my 18 year old son. Read somewhere that they actually weren’t half bad! For those seeking the wacky and sublime: https://www.everymanjack.com/collectors-edition-body-wash?utm_medium=shopping&gclid=CjwKCAiAwKyNBhBfEiwA_mrUMrwJAsWP43aga8Uk9MbJwdaa5T8W_wpLA2Jdyq4qdbgzIVeRYiZOdRoCPhUQAvD_BwE
Surprisingly inoffensive- only in perfumista land could this be taken as an actual sort of recommendation-made me laugh!
Thanks for the tip on Shoppers! Last year I got a Live Clean apple hand soap there that wasn’t bad. I found a peppermint hand soap that my daughter loved at a local independent grocery, but they haven’t yet had it again this year. I may need to try that butter mint one!
LOL, I love your aside about Shoppers, and am *glad* they kept the ’70’s name, LOL more!!
I still bemoan the cheap glory that was Old Spice Amber. I still have the body spray, but I really loved the deodorant. Black currant and amber.
Traversée du Bosphore on this grey cool Saturday. Off for a doggie walk in Balboa Park at 10am with the Papillon club, then tonight is our local Christmas parade. 🙂
Have fun!
You smell perfect and that’s a perfect day.
That sounds like a delightful Saturday.
Have a wonderful weekend. I hope things are going better for you these days.
Thank you, I am starting to have some better days.
Sounds like a great day!
It sounds like you had wonderful day!
11 hours sweet sleep without moving.
No cookies here, 20 pounds lost. Back to pre covid fighting weight!
A box from DSH arrived last evening smelling of all good things holiday like without the calories.
SOTD post coffee, NYT and shower will be Caravan Spice.
Having lunch tomorrow with a friend I’ve not seen in more than five years. A long lunch!
Fun! meeting up with friends is my main plan for this month too.
Congrats on getting back to the pre covid weight, apsara!
thanks! I have spent a lifetime putting it on and taking it off.
I hear you. I just started on trying to get rid of the Covid weight. I’ll use you for inspiration.
20 lbs! Congratulations! That’s a great accomplishment.
Have a wonderful lunch with your friend.
Good on you! Enjoy your lunch , what fun.
Congratulations on accomplishing your goal!
Great news about your success in weight loss! Do report on your DSH favorites! I went with the new Tauer for my niche splurge this month, but I had my eye on some of Ms. Hurwitz’ creations.
Yay for pre-COVID weight and a long lunch!
Congrats on both the long lunch with a good friend, and making your weight loss goal!
December is my Tidy up the House (and life) Month, so I am giving it a good go this weekend. Defrost the old chest freezer, clear off every surface, and disinfect everything. Where does the stuff come from? SOTD for this endeavor is Amber Oud, soothing and activating at the same time….Taking a bunch of before pictures now….
Going to try to do the same this month too. First, write up the To Do list to end all lists…
We are doing some serious cleaning today too, turns out, but then we’re off to get a tree 🙂
I’m doing tidying here too. With three pack rats in the house, it has to be dunged out regularly. I can only throw out my own stuff, but it does help.
I’m cozying up in Cuir Ottoman this morning. Gotta get my Christmas gifts to the out-of-town relatives boxed up today, and start the decorating process (which means moving a lot of junk in the garage out of the way of the decorations bins). Will be fun! ?
I really envy dark winter Christmases. It’s kind of hopeless here because it isn’t dark until 9.30/ 10pm and so the tree lights don’t get to sparkle and cast bright lights …plus I’m in bed by nine so there’s that, too.
LOL — we usually head to bed at 8 in wintertime! It IS dark here long before then so we do get to enjoy some holiday lights, and I feel for you having the seasons upside-down, as it were. We get the “too light late at night” blues here at Fourth of July (which of course is just a U.S. thing) when we have to try valiantly to stay awake long enough to watch fireworks go off. ?
Bed time twins, although it’s pretty much all year-round here. A former co-worker said she went to bed at 8; I laughed until I tried it. It’s so fabulous to stretch out then; I love it!
As Sheri said, we have to stay up until 10pm for fireworks here in the summer. :-). It was fun but weird to be in a bathing suit at the beach on Christmas day in South Africa.
You smell great!
Thanks Kelly!
Doing a white flower sniff-off this morning: Boutonniere on one arm and Camelia Intrepide on the other.
What were your sniff-off results? I love Boutonniere, but I’ve never tried Camelia Intrepid.
CI has beautiful top notes while B is Too Much in the bwf department at first but dries down beautifully. Might try B with a spritz if CI on top.
Hello Fragrant Friends, and happy National Cookie Day. How appropriate that it falls on my birthday this year–no cake, just lots of homemade cookies, please!!!!
Just a spritz of Regime des Fleurs’ Dove Grey–smells icy and lovely. Bought some greens, holly, and ribbon to make a swag for the front door….may have to key up the holiday tunes. Have a great weekend everyone!!
Happy birthday jepster!! Hope you do get all the cookies.
happy happy Bday!!
Happy birthday, jepster — have a wonderful day!
Sounds like a perfect birthday.
Happy Birthday, jepster!
? ?? Happy Birthday jepster! ???
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday! I hope you have a healthy and happy year.
Have a wonderful birthday and a great year!
Many happy returns.
Happy birthday! Hope it’s a great one!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday! ??
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday! I too love all cookies ??. Hope you had a great day.
Happy birthday!
Happy Scented Birthday, jepster! I hope that you had a fabulous batch of cookies to celebrate.
Happy birthday weekend jepster!
Happy birthday!
I woke up at 7 and it was dark out! It’s still overcast and gloomy, with rain (more rain!) forecast for all day. I’m wearing Safran Troublant and I’m going to run errands. Might read later if I’m done early, and there is a ginger cake recipe from the NYT that I’ve been meaning to make.
I bet I added that same cake to my online NYT recipe box! Sounds perfect for our gloomy rainy weather.
I woke up at 5 am and spent forever wondering when the sun would appear. You smell great!
We had it ( the sun!)
Please send it back to San Diego! We are plagued by cold fog.
I adore sticky ginger cake. And love your perfume, too.
You smell great!
Ormonde Woman today. What a gorgeous fragrance. I waffled too long and missed their generous 30% off for black Friday, but next time… And to be clear, I wasn’t waffling about the fragrance itself, just the various things that claim my wallet contents.
National Cookie Day is right up my alley. I baked molasses crinkles a couple of days ago and today I am making Baby Cakes (mini cupcakes, so I guess that doesn’t count as cookies, oh well) a Dorie Greenspan recipe from the NYT. I want to bring them to a casual engagement celebration tonight and I thought more people would be likely to eat a mini cupcake than a slice of a larger, fancier cake.
*And for those who bake – I’m frosting them with the BEST raspberry frosting which is from an Eric Kim recipe in NYT using dried raspberries (actually goes with a different cookie recipe, but it’s so great). Ping me at my screen name above if you’d like recipes.
There were so many deals on Black Friday. I didn’t buy any perfume, but I sure made a mental list of houses to check next November!
Your baking sounds amazing.
Oh gosh your baking sounds great! And you smell so good!
The codeine has kicked in. Missed my 1 AM dosing and then had to wait to eat something before I could take my medicine when I woke up. At last. Calming down. Minus 3 wisdom teeth but thankfully doing okay. Not sure I’ll need the strong stuff again, but I was not in a happy place a little earlier.
So here’s my APB. Pixel sent me a sample of her ELDO’s Antiheroes. I want it. Any clue how I can get my hands on a bottle in the US without selling a kidney? The US ELDO website does not sell it.
In other perfume news, I was gloriously wafting Enchanted Forest the other evening (sample also supplied by the wonderful Pixel) and my husband, who nods and smiles and says every perfume smells “a little like flowers?” had a complete “hell no” response to the Vagabond Prince offering. He hated it. Ah well. Fortunately, there are millions of others he likes.
Give The Perfume House a call, they stock ELDO. I have no idea if they have Antiheroes, but it’s worth a try.
Called them. Was told it was not available for the US market anymore. Wonder if it has some banned ingredients. Sigh!
Have the woman who shops for others in France (can’t think of the name of her business, but others will know) mule it for you? Will take a while, but could work.
Suzan Becker?
I’m glad your starting to feel a little better. Enchanted Forest was a hard pass for me – it did not mesh with my skin well at all.
Aww, yuck. I hope you have a bag of frozen peas handy. Those teeth leave such huge craters. I hope you find your perfume. I will have a look for it here.
There’s one 50ml bottle of Antiheroes on eBay right now. It’s priced a bit higher than their 50ml are sold for (I think), but it’s probably a fair price. A tip is to add it to your watch list, as I often receive an offer from the seller to buy it at a discounted price within 24-72 hours of me adding it. Not every time I watch something, but it’s worth a try to see if you get a discounted offer.
I have a partial 50ml bottle here somewhere I could send you, will try to dig it out.
????
Ugh, so sorry! I hope you feel very better very quickly. And if you like tamales, I can highly recommend them (and homemade eggnog) as good post-wisdom-teeth-removal food — barely need chewing, delicious and nutritious!
I’ve been consoling myself with bowls of eggnog ice cream ?!
Yuck on the wisdom teeth removal. That was worse for me than a root canal was. Hope that you heal easily and quickly!
My biggest advice on wisdom teeth is to take the food regimen carefully. I made the mistake of chewing something a bit too tough too soon, and my jaw really ached and spasmed. Those jaw muscles need recovery,
No perfume today because I’m staying with a friend who is sensitive to scents this weekend. No cookies either, but we did split a TJ’s mini panettone for breakfast. Looking forward to playing a fun concert tonight featuring an excellent soloist playing Wlad Marhulets Concerto for Klezmer Clarinet.
For perfume news, my mom wants to try wearing perfume again now that she’s retired and not worried about bothering people at work. I gave her a sample of Cuir Beluga that I got with my last Guerlain order. She really likes it and now I’m mentally kicking myself for starting her on something with that kind of price tag….
On the upside of cultivating mom’s expensive tastes, now you have a scent-split buddy?
Excellent point!
SOTD = The American Perfumer DSH Colorado
Like meredifay, I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my 2nd bottle! This is a very seasonally appropriate perfume with pine resins! Speaking of which, I saw a NYT gift guide that offers making perfumed oil out of your done with the season Christmas tree – how cool!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXEctWDO0uw/?utm_medium=copy_link
And here’s Day 4 from The Guerlain Beehive – a Turkey Rose soap!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXEd1PZuZR0/?utm_medium=copy_link
In other news, I finally replaced my mini Keurig. The older one behaved for most of the week but I cannot stand not knowing how it will perform every morning. I now have a bright red one. I also have to decide if I will donate the older one regardless of the fact that it was a Jonathan Adler special edition.
Other musings:
I’ve come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t be surprised when I see someone’s picture on any media and find out how young / old they are. Case in point, with GM in the news for the trial, her picture was in the NYTimes with the caption that included “In 2013 …”. If she’s 59 now, she must have been 51 in the picture. Let me just say she looked way older than her 51 years despite access to the best skincare regimen. One other, not to be named person on Instagram, is probably in her forties, at most, and could even be in her 30s. She talks about makeup often which I would then assume also means she takes care of her facial skin. Anyway, it could just be luck of genes but her skin and lines look like she had never worn sunscreen and gets daily exposure to strong wind. Maybe I’m just being petty? Do you compare yourselves to media personalities?
I compare myself to fish and am always pleased to see that their skin is more scaly than mine.
LOL but are they media personalities? ?
I was going to say Flipper but, of course, a mammal. So….Jaws? But a shark, no scales. I think you’ve got me there unless I can come up with a famous salmon or cod.
We have Charlie the Tuna here who is the cartoon spokestuna for Chicken of the Sea. HIs complexion is perfect.
I’m with you. 🙂 If I were to compare myself to a celebrity, I look better than Clint Eastwood.
???
I think Iggy Pop is my role model
LOL! Honestly, given all he’s seen in his life, I think he looks decent.
Ha. Stole this from someone else— but I like to think of myself as in shape, in the shape of a shapely pear. So, between pears and fish, we are a-okay!
Whoa. That makes GM only six years older than me, and I thought the difference was greater. (With my family history of melanoma, I have been a sunscreen champion for my whole adult life. I guess that’s the silver lining.)
Who’s GM?
I’m assuming we’re talking about Ghislaine Maxwell?
?
As they say about cars, it’s not the years, it’s the mileage. It had to be a psychologically traumatic life she led, no matter how the trial comes out. Just thinking about that guy for a minute makes my husband look like the best thing that ever happened to me. I cannot image being attached to someone with that level of perversion. Hmm, this may not be appropriate! If you want to remove this post, Robin, please go right ahead.
I agree with this comment ? %!
Unless someone else tells me why it might not pass the comment policy, I’ve no problem with it. I think saying Jeffrey Epstein is perverted and Ghislaine Maxwell has had a psychologically traumatic life — that does not strike me as a particularly political statement or likely to start a heated argument?
I have a relative who sends me updates like, “Whoa, did you know that GM and Hilary are best friends and used to do sleepovers?” and I say, “Ugh, who told you that?” and the conversation devolves from there, so I don’t have a good perspective. Some people can make anything political. Thanks.
Well, that is true, but here we are trying to make as few things political as possible…but hate to get to where we cannot even mention any public figure, esp. given that the discussion here is really about her skin.
I think people who smoked for many years sometimes look older for their age than I expect. Part of the mileage, as meredifay says above.
This is so true!
Yeah, as my husband says, she looks like she’s been ridden hard and put away wet. 😉
Exactly.
LOL ?
OMG. Haven’t heard that old horse world phrase in a while. A great friend from college who grew up in horse country in New York used it.
I do compare myself to celebrities that are around my age, and do not have noticeable plastic surgery. One thing that irritates me is how they can still wear high heels! I could not do it even if you paid me.
I usually just look at people’s faces and determine if they’ve aged well or not.
High heels? Never for me!
Makes you wonder if some people have had collagen shots in their feet re: wearing high heels. I’ve heard that it was a thing a while back. Creeps me out to the Nth degree!
I think about the high heels, too – foot pain is not worth it for me.
So it’s a baking and booze weekend! Sounds good to me. Since I don’t really drink much alcohol at all anymore, I’ll make brown butter bourbon snickerdoodles in observance. ? ?
I’m in Miller Harris Fleurs de Sel today. Not at all sure about this one yet. Starts out very salty. We’ll see where it goes! ?
Sounds like a great plan! We had some brown butter left over from our Thanksgiving meal, and last night my husband used it instead of regular butter to make Brussels sprouts à la Julia Child (score the bottoms; parboil; rinse in cold water and slice in half; sauté until nicely browned). YUM — I love sprouts cooked that way, and the brown butter made them even more delicious.
Oh, that sounds wonderful. I’ll bet that treatment would work on other veggies….I have some carrots that need a higher purpose…
That’s a good idea. I bet parsnips would work, too. (I am a fan.)
I’d love to get that recipe sometime!
Ask and ye shall receive! ?
https://yestoyolks.com/2020/12/08/brown-butter-bourbon-snickerdoodles/
Nouez Moi arrived yesterday and I am happily wearing it!!
Yay!
Went to Dune yesterday and found myself in an audience of under 13 year olds which was really nice, made me feel ten years younger. I haven’t read the book so had to do that thing of relying on the more handsome/ prettier the actor, and the less authoritarian the costume the more likely the character is to be “good” …thus Timothee Chalamet is more handsome than the Colonel Kurtz-like Stellan Skarsgard ( rising out of the dark water image was nicely Apocalypse Now ) , and therefore the “goodie”. Both good in their roles but not as good as TC in The King, or SS in everything else ( except Pirates of the C). Loved the mother, Jessica, and the fact that she was the most interesting character, by far. I thought the design, sets, location, effects were great and the tension was also there. Bit of padding in the plot with the loyal friend/ hero Duncan…bit cliched as he fights off the enemies while the others escape. Love the sand, seriously, loved it…so relentlessly dry and I missed trees and greenery. Hope Zendaya gets to do more than meaningful/ knowing half-smiles in Part 2. Really glad I saw it and my son is going back to re-watch it today. I would give it 7/10 and I think that would be higher if I’d read the book first. Hope Ede doesn’t disown me…I did enjoy it but not a ‘love’(I think I’m making it worse, now). Wearing Cristalle , the greenist perfume for Sunday. I did enjoy it.
Thanks for the review, I like Stellan Skarsgard.
I need to watch it but am not enthused. Thanks for your rundown. We never compared notes on Power of the Dog, which I just watched. I was very confused by the ending. After some friends weighed in and I re/watched parts of it, I liked it more.
There was some great cinematography in Dune, really stunning compositions and images . I saw a trailer for some Marvel movie (Spider-Man?) with Benedict Cumberbatch and he had the same accent and voice as he used in Power of the Dog i.e everywhere/ nowhere American. I liked Kirsten Dunst best in PoD, especially the dinner party/ piano playing scene.
Commando, still getting over the tummy upset from earlier in the week. No fever or aches or anything else; we are trying to figure out what we ate that went wrong.
Has anyone used a luggage shipping service? I am very good at packing light but 4.5 months away, plus the need for a professional wardrobe and some equipment for teaching, means that we are considering shipping one large suitcase to Ireland (IF we get there). Ot will cost more, but not necessarily a LOT more, than paying to check one extra bag on Aer Lingus. It will also make the bus trip from Dublin to Galway easier. I spent a couple of hours yesterday reading up on such services (on ConsumerReports, TrustPilot, and travel blogs) and getting quotes. Thoughts, recommendations?
No advice on luggage shipping services, per se. Although one time Mr. Jalapeno and I sent our dirty laundry home from a trip via USPS, since we didn’t have room in our suitcases then. We had a bunch of souvenirs…
In the US, at least, it is usually cheaper to USPS or FedEx-ground a large box to yourself than it is to ship a suitcase. I don’t know about overseas but I would look into it…you can probably do without the actual suitcase if you’re there that long.
Ideally, you leave the box with somebody and they ship it for you a week later or something, and then later you do the same in the other direction.
A lot of the luggage services ship via UPS, FedEx, or DHL, anyway. I have to go to our local UPS tomorrow to return some merchandise, so I’ll ask them for a quote. Good idea, Robin! And we have a close friend here who ships regularly via UPS for business; I bet we could leave our box with that person as part of their regular pick-up.
Good luck!
Christmas came early for me, delivering a bunch of skin care and my Tauer Minis to the post office yesterday. Appropriately, my SOTD is Tauer’s Au Coeur du Désert and oh my! It’s lovely! I like it better than the original LDDM, although I tried that one years ago so my memory might be hazy. This one is more my style, if I can be said to have style, which is really pushing the envelope. ?
Today is my Monday and I’m finding more and more difficult to get into work mode. However, I’m am doing my part to beautify a tragic world by wafting wonderfulness wherever I go. It’s a small thing to do, but every little bit counts.
Thank you for your fragrant service. 🙂
I hope you get a turn on the massage chair!
Did you order your Tauer from Tauer? I placed an order, and got a sweet email the next day saying that there were all kinds of delays and don’t worry if the tracking number shows no activity. However, I checked it today, and it was at our regional main PO with deliver scheduled for tomorrow!
Slow Dance by Byredo
Started ? Aristotle & Dante dive into the waters of the water ?
Going to a show tonight ? First one since 2019
Do let us know how it went!
Hope the show was fun ltsg!
Wearing Erik Kormann Eau de Fröhliche #2 in honour of Christmas and cats!
We got up bright (well, not bright) and early today to drive out to the Christmas tree farms — much earlier than anyone should ever get up on a Saturday. Given all the discussion of shortages and the fact that even in a normal year most of the farms sell out in a weekend, I was prepared to do gladiatorial battle, but it turned out to be quick and easy. And the rain turned to snow as we drove into the Valley, so that helped get me out of the early morning / battle with your neighbours grumpiness.
And…no cookies here. I still am not *quite* in that Christmas headspace.
Glad you got your tree without having to elbow people out of the way. I wonder if the shortage is more acute south of the border?
We had no problem getting a tree yesterday. We did pay more than usual though!
**FREEBIEALERT** – CONUS and NST regulars only please
springpansy and I have joined forces to combine our hajusuuri traveling sample boxes and a few extras.
Mystery Box #1
Mystery Box #2
Ping me at l e sl i c or t he l l AT geee male Dotty commy
I’m in Boucheron Boucheron (vintage on one wrist and probably 90’s version on the other).
Making chicken soup from leftover rotisserie chicken and the whole house smells good.
Nice on both counts – perfume and food!
Speaking of food, your ginger cookies were divine!
😀
I was preparing Christmas packages for my friends today. Not really in Holiday spirit yet but it will come at some point.
But I felt a bit festive so I chose to wear MFK Grand Soir.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXEB66uoz1N/?utm_medium=copy_link
You smell festively fabulous!
No cookies for me at the moment. I’m cutting down on sugar, and hating every moment of it! I’m trying to avoid going from prediabetic to full blown diabetic. BTW, all the people who say that the sugar cravings go away after a few weeks of cutting back are lying. If I had a dollar for every time I have thought about cake, pie, cookies, candy, or ice cream in the last eight months, I would easily have enough to pay cash for a brand new car.
My last blood tests showed almost everything going the right direction–blood sugar, A1C, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL are all down, which is good. I just wish sugar could actually be good for you! Or if only kale tasted like chocolate cake! I can’t just cut something out of my diet altogether when I like it as much as I like sweets, so I allow myself an occasional sweet treat, but it is far less than I used to eat.
To offset the lack of sugar somewhat, I am indulging in non-carb treats. I have the Keurig, Yves Rocher, and l’Occitane advent calendars (the Luxury one this time), in addition to a few of the more traditional type with windows to open or ornaments to hang on a tree. I like that the l’Occitane calendar is designed as a chest of drawers that can be reused to store small items (jewelry, craft supplies, perfume samples) rather than just having to be thrown away.
When I was trying to cut back on sugar, I a lot of sweet fruit to retrain my tastebuds. It did work. But I still need dark chocolate.
I have been eating a lot of fruit, but my tastebuds refuse to be retrained. I still want the cookies and cake, I just don’t eat them much. If it hasn’t changed by now, I doubt that it ever will. Anytime I am sitting around with a dreamy, faraway look in my eyes, I am probably fantasizing about cake.
I hear you. And the cravings sneak up. Countless times, mid chew on a slice of cantaloupe, I think what I’d really like is a chocolate and marzipan candy! Sigh ??♀️
The local grocery store where I do most of my shopping had some really spectacularly good cantaloupes this past summer. Those were about the only fruit that could displace my cravings for other sweets, although I still needed a little chocolate. There really is no substitute for chocolate! Other fruits–apples, mandarins, grapes, peaches, berries–are good in their own way, and it helps, but it doesn’t get rid of the cravings, just reduces them a bit.
Speaking as a fellow sugar lover (and with a background in nutrition), I think it’s also about retraining ourselves on the definition of a ‘treat.’ If we can get to the idea that sugar is not a treat, but other things are, we are partway there. So I love your Advent calendar ideas!
No, sugar is still a treat, and always will be. I have come to conclusion that I will NEVER stop wanting it, no matter what.
My sister has gone from a keto diet, which worked for a couple of years but she just couldn’t sustain the no carbs at all thing, to trying the modified fasting thing. Since September she has gone from 217 to 176. , and she is steadily dropping a pond or two a weeek now. She says that her metabolism has stabilized, she doesn’t get cravings anymore, and her energy level is high and stable. She drinks coffee with MCIT oil or cream in the mornings, has some salad for lunch and eats whatever she feels like for dinner. Sweet things taste too sweet and bread tastes too yeasty to her, but she will eat a potato or sweet potato sometimes. I am trying to psych myself up to try it, but not eating until noon seems outrageous to me. Being hungry is why I get out of bed in the mornings. Lol.
My sister tried the intermittent fasting (not that she needed to lose weight) and it exacerbated a gall bladder issue that she needed to have the gallstones surgically removed.
Yeah, I could never do keto. I probably wouldn’t last a week. I don’t intend to try the intermittent fasting either. I am not always hungry when I first wake up, but I get hungry by 9 AM, and there is no way I could wait until noon to eat anything. I have tried coffee with cream and no sugar, and it just tastes odd to me. Coffee with no cream or sugar tastes thin and sour. I put one teaspoon of sugar in a cup of coffee and just wish it could be three or four. I can’t overdo the leafy greens; they upset my stomach something fierce if I eat too much of them. I can have a salad as part of a meal, but I cannot have salad as an entire meal, unless maybe if it has a lot of meat and cheese in it, and even then I want a little bit of something with carbs–some crackers, or a roll, or something. No carbs = hunger an hour later, and too much lettuce = indigestion for the next 6 to 12 hours. I have been doing low sugar and reduced carbs, but no way can I cut them out completely. I am not wanting to do anything that I cannot maintain indefinitely, say for the next 30 years or so. I have no interest in fast weight loss. I didn’t put all the weight on in a few months, so it doesn’t make sense that I would need to lose it that fast either.
I think genetically humans are supposedly hardwired to like sweet things because they represent a quick energy source. Reducing sugar intake is a good idea and you are right to choose something that is sustainable for you. I could never do a keto diet because I love carbs and digest them well. I have never been overweight and my diet is mostly carbs. So you need to do whatever works for your body.
I had read that that the only taste preferences hardwired into us from birth are a liking for sweet tastes and a dislike for bitter taste. Supposedly, the reason is that most things that are sweet to the taste are safe to eat, while many things that are bitter tasting are toxic. After all, a baby’s first food is milk, which is sweet to the taste. A high sugar diet may not be good for you in the long run, but chowing down on sugarcane, honey, milk, or sweet fruit will not cause you to keel over on the spot. Many bitter substances can indeed kill you outright, so it makes sense that we would be programmed to avoid them.
Have you ever tried using monkfruit sugar? It has no artificial tastes whatsoever. I can smell the chemicals or what not in all the other sugar substitutes. Monkfruit sugar tastes just like sugar.
Also, if you eat fish, salmon helps.
I love the idea of all your advent calendars! I didn’t know about the Keurig one so may hunt it down (maybe on sale!).
I’ve eaten my share of salmon these past months. Salmon is actually my favorite fish. I can’t say it has had any effect on the sugar cravings. I do have some monkfruit around somewhere. I have tried it as well as stevia, and neither one tastes like real sugar to me, although they are both better than the synthetic sweeteners. My palate is not easily fooled.
I can’t stand stevia either. Have you tried baking with monkfruit sugar?
I use swerve. It’s the best I have found for coffee.
Not yet. I think the only way I have found monk fruit sweetener in any of our local markets is in individual packets, not in bulk. I just don’t care to have to open dozens of packets to make a cake or something.
I knew someone who made a sugar sub out of dates once. Not sure if it’s healthier though.
National Cookie Day?! I’m compliant without even trying — we’re making my grandmother’s molasses-pecan cookies this afternoon to share with a friend who has kindly offered to drive our Christmas tree home to us in his truck tomorrow.
Thanks for the well-wishes yesterday! The fire ecology outing went well; only complaint is that it’s pea-soup foggy today so we had to do without the beautiful (and educational) vistas and skip the picnic lunch since everything was too wet to sit on. Little Biscuit knocked it out of the park by hiking 5 hard, steep miles with barely a complaint, and being super patient about his mama giving a bunch of spiels to a group of strangers along the way. Now we’re home in our warm, dry loungies and feeling very glad to be done with the extroverted part of the day.
Hiking in thick fog has it own charms, though! Yay for “The Biscuit” too.
It does — it makes everything so quiet and tender, plus I like being out in the weather no matter what it is. And then, coming home and putting on dry socks and cashmere snugglies and eating cookies just floods me with gratitude!
Wow! 5 miles for a 5 yo (is he?) is quite an achievement! Yay you!
He’s 6, tiny for his age but mighty within and without! We’re trying our first Sierra backpacking trip next summer.
Wonderful!
Another beautiful late fall day here, but today’s domestic duties had to be mostly inside. Our dryer needed a new motor which took about a week so laundry was piling up. Gardening ended yesterday with some work where an old yew bush died, at the sunny end of a hedge, so I am making a new flower bed there. The only big fail for gardening this year was not deciding on what my fencing will be for my new backyard corner vegetable garden. I wanted to do something attractive, but my dear neighbor can’t really see, nor do she and the children venture near, the back corner where out yards meet. This makes me want to pound in some field posts and wire and be done with it. In other news, I felt very discouraged when I realized I’d received my first spam voicemail and a separate spam text that were supposed to be wrong numbers, thereby exploiting one’s goodwill to respond informing the devious sender. Both had to do with elderly people falling and/or being in a nursing home. That is so evil and wrong. But I just knew they were fake, and did the research that confirmed this scam. On the bright side, SotD was Embruns d’Ylang for my booster shot. It was very uplifting as I worked today; I may do a respray soon because it has faded. Off to read comments!
Congrats on the booster! The scam call and email are so … scammy! When I traveled with the Newark Museum, a good number of my fellow travelers were people of a certain age. One of them got scammed with a story of her grandson being arrested for something, etc. I wonder if she was more susceptible because not too long after that incident, I heard that she was exhibiting symptoms of dementia.
I think the gangs do target old people so as to find the ones with cognitive issues. I just remembered a few more people that had that happen; the families could not do anything because they trusted the scammers over their relatives.
What a coincidence! I got my first spam text message today. P***ed me off! ?
I get them all the time. Exhausting. Although I do very slightly enjoy the ones where for a small fee the person will release the millions owed to me from a bank in Nigeria, or Kazakhstan, or Malaysia. Turns out, I have relatives or just people who trust me with their millions, all over the world ?
I haven’t had those recently–just lots of people very concerned with my car’s extended warranty. The ones I am tempted to mess with are the ones promising me that they can lower my mortgage payment. Since my house is paid for, and my mortgage payment is zero, does that mean that they will actually give me money to live in my own house?
Congrats on your booster!
Thanks, Vee – I was relieved to get it done, but it knocked me for a loop starting about 12 hours after I had it. I tried just sleeping until I realized I should take ibuprofen and that and sleep got me back on track.
I assume you mean a COVID booster? I had mine a couple of weeks ago, and it knocked me for a loop as well. It wasn’t as bad as the original shot. I had the J&J back in March, which was brutal. This time I got the Pfizer. I didn’t have the severe joint pain I had with the J&J, but starting about 20 hours after the shot I just started to feel sort of achy and tired, sort of like what often accompanies a cold. I also had a pretty bad headache. Ibuprofen helped some, but mostly it needed time. I had the shot on a Friday evening, had the worst side effects Saturday evening into Sunday, and felt mostly better by Monday. I say mostly better because I would start out the day feeling OK, and then just sort of run out of energy around 2 PM and spend the last couple of hours at work just waiting for quitting time so I could go home and crash. Overall, it took about a week to feel normal again.
Ahhh…bringing back memories of the scammers who plagued my mom. Hers were sweepstakes ones. The few times I spoke to them, I’d mess with them. They either hung up on me or would start cursing me out. Horrible human beings. I got so I’d simply inform them they were thieves and liars.
Those are horrible – I know two families whose elderly relatives lost everything to “sweepstakes.”
I get so many spam/scam texts & voice mails… what scum! A friend of my dad’s with dementia was scammed out of $100,000. There aren’t enough bad words to describe this kind of evil behavior.
There must be something going around with the laundry machines. Yesterday morning, I went into the laundry room to check on the awful noises I heard coming from there. The dryer has been squealing lately and acting funny, but it turned out to be the washing machine. The room was hazy and there was smoke coming from the machine. Yikes! I shut it off and unplugged it. Once I was satisfied that I wasn’t going to be dealing with a fire, I made a trip to the laundromat to get everything washed, then visited the appliance store to look into getting a new set. They are being delivered Tuesday. At least I got my money’s worth from my old set. I had had them since March 1990, and I estimate they lasted for around 9000 loads, so not too shabby.
It was unseasonably warm here today, even for us; no need to wear even a light jacket while running errands! Picked up a reframed piece of art, as part of our ongoing reassembly of our house; I’m delighted with it. My husband and I created a “gallery wall” in our living room, to incorporate a couple of pieces I inherited from my mum, and it looks wonderful. Progress! Because of his knee surgery and the absence (at college) of our son, we haven’t hung lights on the house this year, but I did get enough candle lights to put in the front windows that face the street, and they look suitably festive. Hubby put up our favorite inflatables — the station wagon from Christmas Vacation; and a bevy of Minions. I think we’ll go look for our tree tomorrow. Next holiday decorations will be our usual outside wreaths on windows and front door.
You can tell we do all our own outdoor decorating, because things go up in stages, not all at once!
Our neighborhood is known for its Christmas decorations. If Halloween is any kind predictor, this Christmas the streets will be a riot of lights and figures. I think the world is ready to celebrate—celebrate life if not the end of the pandemic or peace. I’m Jewish, but my husband is not—so we always have a tree (which I enjoy!). This year I’ve been noodling on Etsy looking for a wreath as well!
Will your son be home for the holiday?
Gosh I’ve been MIA for a week or so! We had a great Thanksgiving and fun with our friends who came to visit. I will say, though, that between my girlfriends visiting and then other friends for 5 days over Thanksgiving that I am happy to be without company this weekend lol.
I’m in Loukhoum today and it’s hitting the spot.
Glad your back! Nacho looks like he’s doing well!
Enjoy the peace.
Glad you are back!
I have had a bit of health issues the last few days so haven’t been really wearing perfume.
I did manage a spritz of White musk smokey rose for work today. Fingers crossed I can sleep well tonight. Last night I had nightmares.
Sorry to hear that you’ve been dealing with health issues AND nightmares! I will send you furry kitty snuggles for good bedtime thoughts. ??
Here’s your cure:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXEkGGDuKpI/?utm_medium=copy_link
I’m sorry about your health issues, lillyjo. Hope you get some good rest last night, without the nightmares.
Blergh! Hope you feel better soon.
I hope last night was restful.
Hope you will get some good rest today; I am sorry you had to go to work, too, but I know your boss appreciated it!
Hope you feel better soon and no more nightmares! I had a funny dream last night that I was supposed to be serving a cheesecake for a dinner party, but the guests had already arrived and I had barely started, then realized I didn’t even have the right ingredients! LOL. Kind of a baking nightmare but I wasn’t overly upset.
Up early on Sunday. Tooth (or lack there of!) pain keeping me awake most of the night. That and that I learned, because he made some reference to it in an email to my husband about something else, that my father is in the hospital. I’m an only child, and my father has remarried and lives in Singapore. So, anyway, got through to the hospital and the ward he is on, but it turns out they will only give information to one person about his case—and that is his wife. The short of it is that he had surgery in the wee hours of this morning, or late on Sunday in Singapore, and is doing well. But goooooo ooooo ooooo lly. TMI I know. I’m in cherry pop aka Bvlgari’s Amarena this AM. Not cheering me up exactly, but feels civilized for an uncivilized day. Plan to binge watch more Downton Abby.
Abbey!
I’m so sorry! I’m glad he’s doing well, but my goodness, what a complicated and difficult situation! And boo hiss to the lack-of-wisdom-teeth pain. Take gentle care of yourself today — Downton Abbey sounds like an excellent plan.
I’m sorry OF. I hope you can talk to your dad soon and the tooth pain goes away.
Yeesh. What a situation to be in. Hugs, if you can handle them.
I hope today will bring more and good news about your Father!
Sending you hugs and vibes. May you and your dad both feel better asap.
So sorry to hear about your dad but glad he is doing well after the surgery!
Hope someone will get you more information soon Oakland Fresca!
I pressed repeat today with Au Coeur by Tauer. Delicious stuff, this!
I must be caught in a time warp and ended up back in the 80’s because I heard a group of tweens belting out Careless Whisper by George Michael yesterday at the park. They were giving it 100%! ? I’m randomly hearing this song everywhere lately.
Ok that is just weird!
Question for the NST: Do you save the boxes that your perfume bottles come in, and if so, why? (I.e., to block light? ease of storage? resale/swap value? something else?)
I have boxes for about half of my bottles because I stack them, but I am reorganizing and hoping not to have to stack anymore, in which case I would save space by tossing the boxes. But I am worried I am overlooking a reason to keep them, so I’d appreciate hearing other’s thoughts on it.
In a cloud of Skandinavisk scents from the Sniffa event today. Luckily they work well together; sometimes I end these events smelling like a cacophany.
Main reason I keep them is storage ease.
I started saving my boxes about 5 years ago. I was using them to display. I stopped doing that though, and I really should get rid of them.
I’ve kept the majority of my perfume boxes for ease of storage and a bit of protection against bottles banging together. I keep perfumes in the dark at all times to protect against light degradation.
I started keeping the boxes for ease of storage when my collection began to overflow the dresser drawer. I think a boxed perfume has more appeal in a swap, too. Overall I don’t like to keep boxes for things but for perfume it makes some sense.
I do save the boxes and keep most of my perfumes in the ones I have. I’d rather display all the bottles but I’ve kept them for protection and also (as mentioned above) in case I want to swap or sell.
I throw away the boxes, no room to store them. If the box or perfume is extra special, or I think I might want to sell it, I keep it.
I attended that Sniffa event, too! Very fun, and I loved the sample package. I’m currently wearing 12, “Freedom to Roam.”
I enjoyed the Skandinavisk event as well! I tend to keep the boxes to make storage easier.
I save boxes (flattened, and in big Tupperware tubs in the attic) in case I decide to mail one to somebody. We moved unexpectedly last year and it was a godsend – I had the boxes to safely pack almost 100 full size bottles of perfume. No breakages or leakages.
Hmm, this is interesting and very doable ?
Sunny yesterday, so I dragged my husband away from college football for a few hours to get our tree. Wore Shalimar MVP. ❤️ Then went to a local Christmas concert. Used my new Guerlain red lippy and then realized masks were required. ?
Woke up to snow today, which has been pretty steadily falling the past hours. Good reason to decorate the tree and get the Christmas Village up. And, a good day for Angel Muse.
For anyone wanting to enjoy a little snow and squirrel action….
https://www.instagram.com/elizabethbrittainchurm/p/CXHCetEukVg/?utm_medium=copy_link
LOL about the lippy. Enjoy your lovely snow!
So pretty!!!
Hi All,
Have gotten Covid. We all know about the symptoms, but, the one that perfume peeps dread is here. No sense of smell minus this dusty, moldy, stench I can’t get rid of.
Even my heavy hitters have nothing.
Bonus: Saving $$$.
Taking a longer break from posting. My vision isn’t great.
Be well and smell good!
Oh dear, I’m so sorry to read this. Take care of yourself and sending tons of healing vibes!
Thanks, love the vibes!
Oh, no, Annie! I am sending you healing vibes, too.
We will all make an extra effort to hold up your end as it relates to fragrance purchasing, because we’re your perfume peeps.
Feel better, soon.
LisaD,
Don’t make those joints hurt laughing! You are my perfume peeps?!
Oh no! Sending healing vibes and no long term effects!
Hajusuuri,
Thanks and crossing my fingers with the no long term. I’m really concerned with the fragrance?.
Aiyiyi! So sorry to hear this, AnniePerfumes! Hoping that your recovery is swift and complete. I will think of you when I wear perfume this week.
Jalapeno, thank you and spritz like Hajusuuri! With Poison! Or a doozy!
Oh man, I am sorry to hear this. Sending you all the healing vibes I can. Get well soon!
Thanks Sistine. I love healing vibes. No hospital. Please!
Oh no! I hope you feel better very soon, and that your sense of smell comes roaring right back!
Isabella, you are reading my mind.?. The ? is nothing to some, but you guys get it.
Sending healing vibes your way. I hope you recover quickly.
Thanks, Vee. I’m sure I will. Just the breathing and heart, honestly are the absolute worst.
Thanks, guys. You really understand and are so kind. Everything will be ok. I’m just over and out till I’m feeling a bit better.
❤
I hope you are better soon AnniePerfumes! Please pop in some time and tell us how you are doing, we are all rooting for you.
I’m catching up late. I hope you are feeling better soon, Annie Perfumes. Sending you healing vibes and good thoughts.
I wore Incense Pure today. What a lovely scent.
Hope everyone has a restful evening and a great Monday morning.
And you too sistine!