We set a record this weekend: we went to four estate sales and didn't buy anything. Which got us debating and deciding what is an estate sale, because 2 of the houses didn't qualify in our opinion. (We pulled these assorted addresses from a list of the local paper's, so estate sales were listed differently than garage sales.)
One house was a young family obviously in the process of moving and had all their crap out in the front yard, and you could go into the living room and see the old-timey piano (which was pretty cool, actually), but you couldn't go anywhere else. That is not an estate sale!
The other one, after we visited we were creating this whole backstory: stylish anorexic bobblehead mom and her bobblehead daughter wanted to sell ex-husband's stuff (because they got the house and some of his stuff in the divorce), but couldn't muster the carbs to lug the furniture out to the driveway, so they called it an "estate sale" so they didn't have to move from the couch after the filling lettuce leaf they had 3 hours before. Yes, we amuse ourselves It was a few pieces of totally overpriced furniture, and when I asked if they were selling the house they said "no." So it wasn't an estate sale or even a moving sale! Rip-off!!
So our new rule is: if there aren't other cars in front, we're not going in. The first place and the last place totally passed that rule; the last place a bunch of cars and had so much stuff, we couldn't even look through it all. Most of it wasn't great, though, and the lady in charge wasn't giving any deals (even thought it was 3:00 on a Sunday) and at one point someone asked about the shoebox full of old postcards and she said they were $1 each! Ripoff!!!
The first place was awesome: a local actress from the 1930s who built this beautiful house on a hill in this cool hidden part of town. We were having total Hollywood Hills flashbacks -- the house was seriously beautiful, gorgeous floors and ceilings and archways and staircases. There was almost nothing left to buy, but I was so jazzed to be able to walk through it, it was this great house and they had pictures up of her in her heyday. I left dreamy-eyed
That's what I like: seeing a cool old house, that people lived and loved there. I like taking a piece of that back with me -- not like a vampire, but an appreciator.
DH and I kid each other about music tastes -- he managed music retail stores for over 10 years and his tastes run the gamut, while I'm more in a rut. I grew up listening to one of the biggest "college rock" stations in the country, KROQ in LA, so my CDs are a ton of Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Siouxsie, Cure, old U2 and REM. He likes those too (how irresistible is a man with a Kate Bush CD? ) but makes fun of me for listening to nothing past 1987. But I do! The most recent CDs I burned off iTunes to play in the car are Killers and White Stripes, but he says they don't count because they "sound retro."
I listen to some things he's brought home -- I like the Chemical Brothers, Twilight Singers (Greg Dulli from Afghan Whigs' new band), Beck and Fatboy Slim. But Radiohead? Flaming Lips? (I just typed Flying Lips, that's how out-of-touch I am ) They're arty and I don't get them.
We've been together so long that it's just a part of our relationship; he's more diverse in music than I am and if he talks about something enough I'll try to listen to it. But I'm stubborn and like my old skool stuff. Now where's my Adam Ant?
We recently spent some money fixing a couple of broken components -- we debated about whether it was worth it, and decided the repairs were cheap enough compared to buying something new. We have to laugh, though, at how we ended up with the latest in 1990s technology, among other decades:
--one repair was the minidisc recorder. Minidiscs were a Sony-only product when CD recorders were still prohibitively expensive. Sony did release albums on minidisc (Simon & Garfunkel, etc.) but these weren't in the US very long, they were more popular in Japan, and it was only Sony/Columbia artists. The best part was recording whatever onto blank minidiscs, like concerts off TV
--the other repair was our combo CD/DVD/Laserdisc player. Laserdiscs started in the early 1980s, the precursor to DVDs except record-size instead of CD-size. We have about 100 laserdiscs and it's nice to have one player hooked up to our big TV that plays laserdiscs and DVDs
--of course we have a couple of record players, with a couple of boxes of records. We have a Victrola from probably the 1940s, it's a record player in a nice wooden case with an AM radio with tubes. It needs a needle though, and I have no idea where to get one
--we have a couple big boxes of cassettes, boxes of videotapes, a wall of CDs (600? I haven't counted recently), the DVDs are overtaking another set of shelves, and don't get me started on the books
What are we supposed to do with all this stuff? It seems passe now to have "hard copies" of things -- you're supposed to buy your iPod and download everything. So are we just dinosaurs for keeping all this?
A big one with Salon III:
Rose Moon -- Bulgarian rose, tea rose, violet leaf, opium poppy, Bois de Jasmin, patchouli leaf, honey, blue lilac, balsam, woodruff, and lemon peel. -- I knew I would most likely want Rose Moon, as I love the BPAL rose blends. This does sound nice, I’m just hoping the Bois de Jasmine does not mean JAZZZMIN!! that will amp and overpower. I’m pleased to see blue lilac too, that’s one of the few single notes I have tried and it’s really lovely.
Blue Moon -- Mugwort and bay, for psychic sensitivity…Juniper, for divination through dreams…Orchid and galbanum, for complexity, wisdom and noscere…with a potent lunar-charged blend of exquisite Asian woods, moonflower, Madagascan ylang ylang, Florentine iris, Greek cypress, davana, green tea absolute, palmarosa, cucumber, Clary sage, melilot trefoils, wood aloes, and pale creeping buttercup. -- I knew I would most likely want Blue Moon too. I have a sniffie of the previous Blue Moon and while the initial ingredients are the same the “base” differs slightly. I still see cucumber and wrote down that it smelled like a “perfumed cucumber, clean and refreshing.” It looks like this will go away, then be here for the next Lunacy update too.
Tamamo-no-Mae -- soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo smoke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha. This one sounds nice too, hopefully light and pleasant for the summer.
Gemini -- Lavender, benzoin, orchid, and frankincense. Unfortunately lavender goes very antiseptic-herbal on me a lot of the time. No thanks.
And a quick run-through of Salon III:
Bat -- Dusty amber, grey musk, red orchid, moonflower, night-blooming phlox, stock, honeysuckle, English ivy, toadflax, and purple salvia. Amber usually means “smells nice but disappears,” and dusty amber seems even more vague.
Cleopatra -- Accords of peach kernel, hemlock, aconite, and belladonna, with bitter almond, saffron, honey, myrrh, hyssop, frankincense, and palm. I like the BPAL Hemlock, but really disliked the BPAL Belladonna, plus almond is not a favorite and peach = plastic.
Death and Life Completed -- Grey amber, carnation, lemon balm, hydrangea, Chinese peony, white sandalwood, cypress, juniper, cedar, hibiscus, and African daisy. Carnation, nooooo! Too spicy on me.
Fox Fires -- Weeping cherry, watery bamboo pulp, nettle tree bark, green tea incense, soft musk, rice wine, and Japanese tree lilac. Another Asian-themed that sounds nice.
Kiyohime -- Salty ocean spray, red kelp, black plum, lychee, sea moss, green musk, hachiya, plum blossom, and matcha. Salty ocean spray = box o’ laundry detergent.
Love and Pain -- Lavender, Balkan tobacco, black musk, dark vanilla, and golden copaifera. Everything sounds good except for that darned lavender.
Macbeth -- Lightning-charged ozone, steel, myrrh, mugwort, colophony, ajowan, and leather. Lightning-charged ozone = “mountain spring” scented box o’ dryer sheets.
Mad Meg -- Fire-scorched earth, black mandarin, cinnamon bark, bitter almond, sage, vetiver, and balsam of peru. Cinnamon bark AND bitter almond? Ugh.
Madonna -- Hyssop, pomegranate, Angel’s Trumpet, Indonesian patchouli, iris, white orchid, and frankincense. This sounds interesting, I love dark fruit blends.
Monna Vanna -- Russian rose, mimosa, gardenia, bois du rose, parma violet, calla lily, red currant, ambergris, and bourbon vanilla. Roses are usually good, plus a dark fruit bonus.
Philosopher in Meditation -- Smoldering woodfire embers, Galen’s Kyphi, and Abramelin incense. I love incense blends, but I’m afraid the woodfire embers will be eye-wateringly strong.
Schlafende Baigneuse -- Skin musk, white cream, honeycomb, yellow rose, King mandarin, chrysanthemum, golden amber, honeysuckle, and wide-throated yellow monkey-flower accord. This sounds beautiful, except I’m nervous about the white cream curdling on me.
Smiling Spider -- Bitter clove, black musk, mahogany wood, and patchouli. I like the sweet clove of Madrid, but this sounds too dark and masculine.
Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree -- Cherry blossom, blue lilac, lavender monofloral honey, white sandalwood, and Asian pear. Yay for honey and blue lilac! Sounds very pretty.
Sunflower -- Sunflower bouquet, black amber, creeping black moss, wilted greenery, and scorched, dry stems. Sunflower sounds unique and this blend sounds interesting.
Sunrise with Sea-Monsters -- Ocean mist, kelp, ambergris, amber, white pear, osmanthus, freesia, and seafoam accord. Is it laundry day again?
In conclusion: since I ordered Lady Luck Blues on the 13th, and since Blue Moon will be around for the next Lunacy, I’m ordering Rose Moon and Tamamo-no-Mae!
I caved today and ordered bottles of Chokmah and Nahemoth, unsniffed and completely swayed by reviews and recommendations of other forumites. Especially filigree_shadow, darn her encouragement! With the collective references to Snake Charmer, Hellion, Snake Oil, Smut and Bordello, I had to give these a whirl.
My only worry is that the update on Friday will be glorious with lots of LEs I will want to purchase. We'll see!
Wow, another huge update! Let's see what we have here:
Crow Moon -- meh, too many flowers
Oborot -- too much pine & woods which don't work so well on me
Fire Pig -- now this one sounds interesting! There are a lot of ingredients, but it may work together like 13 does. Luckily it's hanging around so I can read a few reviews before next month's update & order
Enraged Groundhog Musk -- "Cranky groundhog musk," hee! Sounds like Vice with additional musk, yummy
And the Carousel! I have just one Gaiman collection at home, of the Death stories (1995 or thereabouts), but I've read other Sandman storylines from that time period. It sounds like he had some input with these, which is neat!
Bilquis -- great googly moogly, another honey blend that sounds divine
Mad Sweeney -- I love the boozy blends, but the straight-up wood not so much. Waiting for reviews
Mama-Ji -- probably too spicy for me, especially with my skin occasionally breaking out in rashes
Mr. Ibis -- this sounds interesting too, with the papyrus and musks and white sandalwood. I'll watch for reviews
Mr. Jacquel -- usually amber as the main ingredient means it will smell nice but disappear. BUT Haunted is just amber and musk and that one lasts and lasts and is a big fave of mine, so we'll see
Mr. Nancy -- this one sounds weird, cookies with a bay rum cologne? It's so crazy, it just might work
Spider -- another cologney one, probably too masculine on me but I'll want to read reviews
In conclusion: I ordered Chintamani-Dhupa, Svadhinaopatika and Enraged Groundhog Musk
I held off on ordering from the HUMONGOUS update last week until the Lunacy release. When I heard it was Kindly Moon I figured it may be too twee for me, and sure enough it's sounds like way too much floral so I'll pass.
I was only going to order 2 bottles because I ordered the Schwarzer Mond bottle last week -- trying to keep to 3 bottles/month so we don't go broke. BUT! DH asked me last week what I wanted for my birthday and I said the usual "I don't care," and then it hit me: why can't my gift from him be a few bonus bottles from the Lab? Yes, after 15 years you start running out of "perfect gifts" to get each other.
So I placed my biggest order ever: 5 different bottles! Well, I ordered the Pumpkin Patch last year, but that's different because that was a full set. I'm getting Creepy, Pumpkin Queen and Punkie Night from the Halloweenie scents, and Brides of Dracula and Dr. Seward from the Dracula scents.
Now I'm up to 3 outstanding orders. How'd that happen?
June 1 is Marilyn Monroe's birthday! She was born June 1, 1926 (the year Rudolph Valentino died). I tried to post a live picture but failed, so here's a link:
http://sourballs.org/icon/marilyn_small
She liked teh smellies too! Her favorite was Chanel No. 5, but she may have liked BPAL for the sheer decadence.
The last hour of work, from 4:30 to 5:30, ran the gamut of emotion.
Low: this huge project I've been working on for over 6 months has blown up in my face. The vendor that we selected and that I've been emailing and sending stuff and basically being on-call and totally available to them, called and said due to a backlog of projects they're very behind and guess what? Since we're obviously not as important as other clients, we were selected to be put on the back-burner and instead of completing in May it'll be November. Oh, and they technically haven't "started" anything -- they've asked me for everything under the sun, but that's been it on their end.
I've rarely heard my boss curse like that -- not at me, at them, but I feel like crawling into a hole. I'm so frustrated and embarrassed, I could burst into screaming tears right now thinking about it. I'm trying to console myself, that we haven't paid them anything yet and if Boss Lady says "screw them" we will go to the second vendor and start all over with them, not a huge deal. This is how business works. But I really felt like things were going OK and to be blindsided like this means I don't know shit.
ANYWAY.
High: my forum raffle prize arrived today! I won a decant set of Single Notes: Blue Lilac, Carnation, Coffee Bean, Freesia, Light Myrrh, Sweet Pea, Tomato Leaf and White Rose. According to the Reviews section, Tomato Leaf and White Rose were unreleased. I've never sniffed a SN -- they were discontinued in October 2004, about a week after I placed my first order. I don't think I have a sophisticated nose at all, so it's been interesting to sniff these "pure" notes and see how they translate into the blends.
Unfortunately I've had crazy skin allergies and haven't been able to wear anything in a week. The Masque gave me an ugly rash on the top of my hands & wrists -- I apply there because I've had breakouts in the past and the skin is thicker on the top than the bottom. So it's been boring and stinky Benadryl cream instead of my nice smellies. Last night, since the rash was disappating (not itchy, but still lots of red bumps) I put on Black Phoenix on the bottoms of my wrists, and this morning woke up to a rash there! Not itchy, but definite red bumps. Grrr.
So eventually I want to test and post reviews. They smell amazing in the imps, and I can see how they have such a rabid following. It would be great if LE bottles could be released of some of these.
I think I'll do a BPAL-centric entry with current favorites. I first found the site in September 2004, and did my usual hem-and-haw browsing. I try not to be an impulse shopper as I could get in some serious financial trouble. I finally placed an order in October 2004 and received it in December: a 5ml of Perversion and a 6-pack of imps. Oh Perversion, you cheeky thing! What a great first scent to get, and I was immediately hooked.
I started purchasing off the forums and eBay on top of placing orders, but cut that out soon after (see above re: trying not to go overboard). So I place monthly Lab orders for no more than 3 bottles, usually on Lunacy dates, and of course swap whenever something good pops up. No bankruptcy yet!
Here are my current loves, in the order of the bottles hanging out in my box:
Perversion
Bordello
Dead Man's Hand
Corazon
Port-au-Prince
Wanda
Shub-Niggurath
Alice
Tarot: The Star
Snake Charmer
Gypsy Queen
Dia de los Muertos
Sugar Skull
Haunted Palace
Pink Phoenix
Rose Red
O
Parlement of Foules
Smut
Antique Lace
Black Phoenix
Midnight Mass
Yeah. That's a lot, and that's less than half of the total bottles (most of which I like but aren't madly in love with, unlike the above-listed ones). I am utterly hopelessly smitten.
I mention in my About Me that we have a house with a bad attitude. I opine this because since we've bought the house we've needed foundation work, a new heating/AC system, plumbing work, and now gutters. We were hoping to put this off, but a few weeks ago we had quite a bit of rain: 10 inches in one day. Yes, 10 inches of rain in one day. The gutters were literally falling off the house with the weight of the water.
So we hire someone to replace the gutters, who of course reveals rotting wood called "fascias." So this weekend has been another guy to replace the rotting wood. They bring down these pieces which aren't really wood, they're pressboard! Like a bunch of pieces of wood molded together. This has been on our house, rotting and falling away, for 35 years. Ugh.
In general, I like our house. It was built in 1968, and the neighborhood we're in everyone still has the "original" house -- no one's done the tear-down-and-put-up-McMansion yet. We have a funky ranch layout which we love. These repairs aren't fun though -- it's not a fun new bathroom or great kitchen; it's gutters. No one gets excited about gutters. Gutters are boring and not fun.
Another big one:
Aries -- this actually sounds like a nice combination, but I’m concerned about the black pepper and dragon’s blood overpowering everything else. I’ll read the reviews instead.
Ides of March 2007 -- I don’t really want cologney scents, and the reviews for the previous version made it sound too masculine for me. But this was a favorite for many and I’m glad old favorites pop back up.
Ostara -- another blend of a bunch of cool-sounding ingredients, but there’s a lot of florals and I think I’ll order Fire Pig instead for my “spring fling” with fruit instead of flowers.
Pink Moon -- this was a huge debate for me before the update, as I have a sniffie of the last Pink Moon and was really waffling on ordering a bottle if the formula was the same. The previous version reminded me of Love’s Baby Soft with extra flowers. However this version is different and carnation, while sugared, goes way too spicy-strong on me most of the time. Too bad.
Roux-Ga-Roux -- pretty cool concept (a Mardi Gras curse!) but too many plants.
And more cool General Catalog blends:
Calico Jack -- while I would love to order this for the name/image alone, I’m sure all I’ll get is detergent. I’ll read reviews to see if it’s more complex.
Poisoned Apple -- this reminds me of the Snow White ride at Disneyland, it was considered a scarier “dark ride” that everyone rides through in those pod-type cars on a track. At one point you turned a corner and there was a mannequin of the Wicked Queen dressed as the Old Woman and she’s holding out the poisoned apple. Soon we realized if you reached out far enough you could quickly grab the apple! Yoink! So many of my high-school friends had little souvenir plastic apples. Sorry, Disneyland workers, who had to replace the apples! ANYWAY. The red apple with the hemlock sounds good, as I really liked Hemlock by itself.
Bien Loin d’Ici -- red musk, honey, Moroccan spices, everything sounds good, can’t wait to read reviews.
Croquet -- nice fizzy citrus, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pink lime
The Dodo -- This one might be nice too, we’ll see *eyes cassia suspiciously*
Knave of Hearts -- Roses? ‘Nuff said
Queen Alice -- err, what’s sandy cider and wooly wine? I won’t get this because of the carnation anyway.
51 -- cool, an alien scent! I definitely want to read reviews of this one ( X-Files theme)
Squirting Cucumber -- wonder if this is similar to the previous Blue Moon? That was very fresh cucumber-like on me.
Voodoo Lily -- cool name, but I don’t like straight-up floral much except for rose.
Brown Jenkins -- this sounds pretty nice, another lighter incense-type.
The Deep Ones -- another detergent one, probably. But what does crushed coral smell like?
In conclusion: I ordered bottles of Fire Pig, Boomslang and Western Diamondback
I have a few stop-down TV shows: Sopranos, Intervention on A&E, original CSI, and Most Haunted on Travel Channel. It's a British show that up until a couple of weeks ago runs around England (with occasional jaunts to Ireland and Scotland) to spend the night in a haunted house, pub or wherever. The first half is the best part, they go into the history of a place and grab a psychic or two to find hot spots. The second half are the vigils, where people will split up and sit in different places with night-vision cameras and freak out over every little bump. The second half is kind of a drag, unless you like hearing people stare bug-eyed into darkness asking, "Did you hear that?"
BUT!! The past couple of weeks they've been in America! Southern California to be exact, my old stomping grounds. I'm mad that I missed the first episode on the Queen Mary, but the next episode was at the Whaley House in San Diego and I really liked seeing the house and hearing the stories.
I'm so excited, because tonight they are at the American Legion Hall in Hollywood, where my sister got married a few years ago! What a crazy place. The ceremony was on the ground floor, where they have a two-story atrium with a balcony all the way around. Next to that is a theater that was way spooky. Upstairs was a crazy-ass library that I'm sure will be referenced in the show -- that's where we were dressing and doing our hair. Then the basement was a ballroom and a separate bar area and that's where the reception was. It really was a great place to have a wedding, because you didn't have to drive from the wedding to the reception afterwards.
I don't remember anything weird happening, other than before the wedding Dad and I were hanging lights from the balcony in the atrium -- they were red and white Christmas-type lights wrapped in white tulle. Of course everything worked great as we were hanging them up, then just before the wedding one rope went out. Then afterwards I remember going upstairs from the ballroom and they were on again. Probably nothing, right?
I thought I'd be heading down to my boss' house, but she emailed me last night and said she had a haircolor appointment that will suck up the morning so don't bother. So I caught up on a few little things, but then the afternoon became eerily quiet. I went for a walk and came back to no emails or messages. I watched Dr. Phil (while cleaning up in the kitchen & den), and no one called or emailed.
I think people are unofficially planning tomorrow off -- Boss Lady will be going until noon and her kids get up, then she's off too. Tomorrow's going to be dead dead dead. You know what that means: shopping! I'll probably place an order for the Villainess update. I should decide what to get Mom for her birthday next week. I need a small clothes and shoes update, so I'll poke around.
I should also do practical things, like vacuum and hang up a couple pictures that we bought frames at Michaels for and I've put the pictures in. If I'm really motivated, I should lug out the sewing machine (it must weigh 50 pounds, my grandma's old one) and finally finish my sleepshirt -- with cute bacon-and-eggs fabric! I have a pile of fabric that I've bought to make shirts and pillows and I should finally do something. Or take the embroidery silk I bought at an estate sale (a big bag, probably 50 spools, for $3) and add a design to a shirt or sweater.
Or, knowing me, I'll do none of the above
I'm getting all screwed up with these three-day Lunacy updates -- I convinced myself it would be live on Monday, and yet when I stumble to the computer on Sunday morning there it is! Not that I'm complaining, heh.
Wolf Moon -- I had a bottle of the previous Wolf Moon (the first Lunacy I ever ordered), and while it was nice it ended up a little too men's-cologney on me and I swapped it away. The previous one didn't list any notes, so it may be a completely different blend, but with the pine and juniper it becomes a no-no
Lycaon -- this sounds really interesting, a lot like Schwarzer Mond, but I'm a bit concerned about the "blackened" myrrh -- I don't want something to smell burnt on me.
All the new Salon scents sound great, just like in Act I. These seem to have a lot of thought put into them. I would like to order imp sets of both eventually, but I'll wait until the job situation sorts out.
And the Resurrected scents are still here! I told myself if I was re-employed I would splurge on a bottle of Glasya, but alas, nothing's happened so I thought I would miss it. Now I can order! Plus Glitter! I'll take this as a sign that I should order these while they're here.
In conclusion: I'm ordering Carnaval Diabolique, Glasya and Glitter. Yay!
So, I have a job. I'm an HR admin for an orthodontics company -- saving the world from crooked teeth. This means I send payroll to be processed, get everyone paid and signed up for medical, dental and life insurance. We have stock options and I prepare the agreements and keep track of all of those. I work for the General Counsel (in-house attorney) helping with contracts and litigation.
In general, I like my job. We have a main office, but Boss Lady and I are in a different state and work out of our houses. I'm at her place 2-3 days/week, and at home the rest of the time. It's very flexible, in that I can run to the grocery store and do other errands if I'm caught up. I love that aspect -- I can be free for an hour or two, in the middle of the day! If it's busy, though, and we're working on a big project I'm expected to be checking email constantly and by the phone.
Because it's a sales company, everyone's very outgoing and energetic. I'm told I have a pleasant phone persona and don't mind answering questions on the phone or emailing all day. The company is doing great (as far as I can tell, but I don't see sales figures). I feel fortunate that Boss Lady (whom I worked for previously) liked me so much she wanted only me for the job. It's exciting to be working for such a young and growing company -- I sometimes compare it to the Lab, in that things seem to have taken off with demand.
What's no-so-great about it? Boss Lady can be abrupt and demanding. She likes me to make calls for her, then stands next to me and corrects me during the call if I've misunderstood something. Look lady, if this call was so important to you, and you don't have anything else to do at the moment, why aren't you on the phone?
Other people can be demanding too, like I have nothing else to do except answer their vacation time questions over and over. Seriously, our policy isn't that confusing, and no you don't get all your vacation time for the year up-front. I don't care that "every other job you've had" did that -- that's a stupid way to do things, because if you left a week later we'd owe you that unearned vacation time. Does that make any sense to you? Go sell something.
It's not an exciting, artistic job, but with DH's job we can pay the bills and have fun money left over. What more can we ask for?
I splurged and bought a Photoplay from November 1926 that I found in a soon-to-be-closed antique and collectibles store. I love reading the articles and ads, and there was a perfume ad for a company called "Cheramy New York: Perfumes of Youth." They must have spent a pretty penny on the ad, as almost the whole magazine is in black-and-white except for the occasional ad pages in color (the other side of the color page is Palmolive soap). The best part is the breathless prose:
The Last Ecstatic Moment with Lovely April Showers
When you have on a good-looking new frock. when you know that coiffure, make-up, and every detail is just right; when instinct tells you that admiring glances will follow as you pass; then approve the finishing touches before a long mirror and add assurance with springlike April Showers!
For April Showers, the perfume of youth, will lift imagination to heights of ecstacy -- give you joyful thrill of life and youth and conscious power .... It is a breezy fragrance; friendly -- eager -- young! You will love the rare, capricious charm of April Showers in perfumes, powders, rouges, jewel-like little compacts, and other necessary toiletries.
-----
Holy crap, where has this been all my life? I want heights of ecstasy! I need a joyful thrill of life AND youth AND conscious power. I don't even know what exactly that means, but I need it! I too want to be friendly, eager and young -- not surly, tired and old like I am now.
That does it -- I'm going to spray assurance on me and everyone else around, whether they want it sprayed on them or not. Oh, and I'm going to start saying "rouge" too.
OK, so we got a new DSL modem. It's working great, except it poops out every half-hour or so. It'll just die, then come back I'm seriously tempted by darkity's reminder about cable, but other than the burps things are working fine.
Back to BPAL: I've been so impressed with the last couple of orders I've received. The Maelstrom scents I tried were great -- I have bottles of Berenice, Masque and Montresor, and Montresor is an all-time favorite on the level of Perversion, Morocco and Hellion, my favorite dark blends. I was tempted with Tell-Tale Heart too, and will maybe sniff eventually.
Monster Bait: Closet is great too, really nice sweet & fruity.
On Monday I got my teeny April Fool's order of Underpants, which is wonderful While it sounded extremely foody, it's a beautiful sweet vanilla scent. As if to reiterate the vanilla, the Lab sent a frimp of Antique Lace with it, which I previously tried and liked so much I already have a bottle, purchased when it came back in stock.
What a surprise to get the update today instead of Thursday! This morning as I'm hopping in the shower I'm thinking, "3 more days until the update, then I'll place my next order. What'll it be?" Pretty exciting thoughts for the shower, hmm?
I'm so pleased to see the grapefruit scents back! Thanks to the lovely MichelleM at the last Meet-n-Sniff I got to test Baobhan Sith, which was very peppy and went on my Big Bottle list, but since it was DC I wasn't expecting to ever find it. I barely got to test Cheshire Cat last year, as I took a new imp to work and then dropped and broke it, but what I tried smelled nice. And all those Mad Tea Party additions! That's one of my favorite sections; King of Hearts, Mouse's Tale, Tweedledee and Tweedledum all sound great and I'll be keeping an eye out for reviews.
On top of that, the planets aligned and I received last month's order today. I love seeing that little red, white & blue box on the porch. I received Monster Bait: Closet (a creamy yummy blackberry), The Masque and Montresor (which I had sniffed before, thanks to the lovely jj_j at our last Meet-n-Sniff, and knew I wanted bottles before they disappeared). Plus frimps, all from the A's and B's, 4 of which I've never tried. I love that aspect too, to be able to receive random scents that you wouldn't pick out on your own.
What is it about these little glass bottles of smellies that is so fascinating? Sure, I place orders with lots of companies online, but nothing compares to the excitement of seeing an update, deciding on orders, and anticipating these oils.
I placed my monthly order, but it was for the Seamus statue with Hellion. The LEs on this update weren't tempting enough; Dragon Moon sounded OK, but dragon's blood goes quite floral and strong on me and tends to overwhelm. I haven't gotten into the Celestials. And I tried everything I wanted to in the Carnaval Noir series and have bottles of my favorites: Midway, Snake Charmer and Gypsy Queen. So what better time to invite an imp into my home, holding a 10ml no less?
I didn't post after the Carnaval Diabolique update because I wanted to wait for Chrysanthemum Moon to place an order. So now that Chrysanthemum Moon is up: HOLY CRAP! What a great update! I'm truly blown away by the size and scope of CD, and that there are more scents over the next year to look forward to. The art! The descriptions! The potential wonderful smellies!
I didn't think I'd like Chrysanthemum Moon, but sure enough I read the description (linking to CD, natch) and decided to go for it. I also ordered bottles of F5 and Mme. Moriarty. CDs I would like to try in upcoming orders:
Carnaval Diabolique -- what the heck will opium smoke smell like?
Gennivre -- I haven't tried much of the tea blends, and this sounds nice
Midnight on the Midway -- sugared incense?? This I gotta try!
Xanthe -- this might go on the back-burner just because of all the fruit. I love the fruity blends, but more so when they're paired with something dark or boozy (like Perversion or Bordello)
And the GC additions were great! I want to try:
Caliban -- ugh, it's been so hot here and I've really been trying to find a nice summery fun blend to wear, as most of my BPAL bottles are dark and brooding. So salty seas, wine and tropical ferns sound great
Cockaigne -- milk, honey, sweet cakes and wine? Yes please!
Death of the Gravedigger -- snow and soil sound intriguing
Les Bijoux -- skin musk and honey? Yum!
Lyonesse -- so many favorite ingredients, like vanilla and amber and musk, but with sea moss added? Weird and cool!
Port Royal -- see above re: summery scent
I actually "cast a spell" today, but it wasn't anything serious. I was reading the TAL threads thinking there may be some rules with oils that I wasn't aware of, but from what I gleaned there weren't -- it's respecting the spirit in which oils are created, and belief in thought, and how there isn't good or evil power, it's simply perspective.
So I got a round votive candleholder in blue glass, one of my favorites. I filled it with coarse salt, because I wanted to anchor a thin candle and it felt natural. I coated a green candle with patchouly oil (that's how it's spelled on the vial) and thought about how grateful I am that finances are going well -- we both have full-time jobs, the house isn't falling apart, our cars aren't asploding -- and put the candle in the salt. After it was lit, I put it on top of the checkbook and stood for a minute, just listening to the house hum around me. There's so much I want to do with the house, but I need patience to have the money to do it.
That was it! The rest of the day was OK; I'm still breaking out in rashes from my BPAL applications, which is pissing me off, but I feel good about us and our personal situation. We'll see!
Hey! What's happening? I feel elderly as I have never blogged. So I'm testing!
I guess I'm pretty happy in general, as opposed to my blog title. Matt Groening (pre-Simpsons) used to have a little comic in LA Weekly called "Life in Hell" (maybe he still does? I haven't checked) and there were a few collections that were published in the '80s with such titles as "Love Is Hell" and "Work Is Hell." One of his strips was the 9 types of couples, and DH and I fit the mold of Sourballs vs. the World, i.e. "can you believe the crap that is on TV?" Hence the title of my blog and DH's website.
We started dating in January 1991, when I was 20 and he was 25. I know! That sounds like I was a baby, but of course I didn't feel like a baby because I was so effing mature. Heh. We got our own place in July '91, and my parents were pretty accepting considering their 20-year-old was moving out with some guy she knew for a year. But here we are, 15 years later. Things turned out fine, Mom.
valentina's post got me pawing through the laserdiscs and DVDs for favorite movies in general, and I must babble about Defending Your Life. Albert Brooks wrote, directed and starred in a movie all about what happens after you die. It's a mix of Occidental/Western religion and Buddhism with some bureaucracy thrown in, because we all love that! Woo!
While I don't like everything Albert Brooks does, he's so dry and smart in this one plus it makes you think for days afterward (or years, but I'm slow ). The premise is after you die, you go to Judgment City and you have to "defend your life," and here on Earth we have to prove we weren't conquered by fear so we can move on to the next level. You're assigned a defense attorney and during your trial you're shown scenes from your life and the attorneys argue before a couple of Gods/judges about whether you faced your fears.
One scene is when he's 10 or so and is confronted by a bully at school, and he backs out of a fight. The prosecutor said he was afraid -- getting hurt, looking foolish -- while the defender argues that "he wasn't afraid, he was showing restraint!" Hee!
So what's my fear? Number one is probably not being able to to support myself -- living on the street, no money or security, where every person is a potential predator and enemy. So am I facing my fear, by working and trying to save, or just avoiding it?
*Edited for spelling, duh
I've felt strange because nothing's been happening with the job situation. Nothing. I'm there through this week, and then I have no idea. I haven't heard back from my previous job, even after leaving a message last week. I'm not in panic mode, because between the bonus, severance and vacation time I have a few months of money, but I'd much rather save than spend. I'm glad I get to vent here.
Of course, that hasn't stopped us from going to estate sales! We haven't bought much -- an old radio cabinet with the radio removed, very art deco '30s that we want to put records in. DH bought a mini-fridge for the garage for $15. I bought a sewing book by Better Homes & Gardens from 1961 for $1.50. I found a 1950s red record tote to carry 45s -- my mom has a couple (pink? blue?) with the same exact graphics, so I was pretty jazzed to find one full of records and in great condition for $12.50.
My sister's husband and his band blew through town on Thursday. We realized between all the CDs we have, we've never seen him play live. He writes his own stuff and arranges other songs in a jazzy lounge vibe. We had a blast going up to Denton to see him and another jazz band play.
I've had a spate of aggressive sales-type people call for all manner of things: pitching a payroll service, hiring them as a salesperson or a Director, etc. I try to be pleasant but firm, and it's in one ear and out the other. I especially like when they try to get people's phone numbers and I guess I'm supposed to be all, "Oh, here's everyone's personal numbers, just because you asked for it."
I'm especially impressed with the lady today who seemed to be eating during the entire call. I don't know how she managed to interrogate me, write everything I say down and eat what sounded like a burrito. Really endearing.
My biggest fear is that I'll lose my temper and they'll end up being hired, and forevermore see me as that rude girl in HR who's nasty on the phone. Heh.
