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dawndie

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  1. dawndie

    Update!

    By dawndie,

    I'm as giddy as a schoolgirl with this update. This was the first one in almost 2 years where I was actually online and then noticed Beth's announcement. It was exciting! Like a rollercoaster, woo! *bounces in chair*
     
    The Salon scents that sound great are And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt and Death of Sarandapal. Both have honey, which due to my love of O are tempting. Plus Litha sounds nice, but it sounds like something with the specific goal of annoying my allergies with all those plants So I'm on the fence, but I have a couple weeks to decide. I knew Lotus Moon wouldn't work because lotus is bubblegummy on me, and paired with pine it became a no-no
     
    This was a great end to a craptastic week.
  2. dawndie

    Sixth Sense? part 2

    By dawndie,

    As promised, here's part 2 of DH's experiences, where he lived in what he suspected to be a haunted house.
     
    After he and his brother got out of high school, they rented a house with their girlfriends. This was a narrow, tall house near the University of Cincinnati, 3 stories with a basement and a great view of downtown. Weird stuff started to happen, but DH thought it was his imagination at first and didn’t discuss it with anyone until much later.
     
    The “second” floor (third floor if you counted the basement) was a large den area with an open staircase going up to the bedrooms. If you were sitting watching TV, the windows facing downtown would be on your left, and the stairs would be on your right. DH would see over and over, out of the corner of his eye, two figures running up the stairs. It looked like a woman with long dark hair being chased by a large man that looked Samoan. It would happen day or night, whether you were by yourself or with a bunch of people there. In fact, DH knew it wasn’t his imagination when others brand-new to the house would “see” it and snap their heads towards the staircase.
     
    The den had carpeting on the walls (yes, it needed redecorating, but they were college kids!) and DH had some “flats” which he stapled to the wall way up near the ceiling. Flats are 12x12” prints of record albums that stores would use in their displays. Every so often one of the flats would be lying on the sofa or the floor, but it didn’t fall off – it wouldn’t be torn, the staple holes were intact and the staples would still be attached to the wall. It was like someone took out the staples, took the flat down and put the staples back in the wall. DH said this happened to the Talking Heads the most often.
     
    Other physical things would happen too – this was the late-1980s and DH and his brother had a huge collection of cassette tapes on shelves in the living room. DH said on many occasions he would go to the living room to get a specific tape and it would be gone. After a search of the house he’d give up, only to have it appear later (sometimes hours or days later) in really strange places like the empty dryer or his sock drawer. One missing tape later appeared at the top step to the basement, where DH would have certainly stepped on it while searching.
     
    DH had a boombox in the bedroom with a big dial tuner to change radio stations. Sometimes if he had it on and would leave the room, when he got back it would be changed to some weird talk or religious station. This only happened when he was alone in the house.
     
    I asked him after all these experiences, “Weren’t you freaked out?” He said no, it was more annoying rather than scary, except for the last night (below).
     
    The worst night he experienced was after he and his girlfriend broke up, and everyone else had moved out of the house. He was there by himself for one night, and the next morning he was flying to California to visit his parents (he ended up staying, got a job and met me). He was lying upstairs trying to get some sleep, but the moment he lied down and shut his eyes there was a *sigh* next to him. Then all hell broke loose downstairs – stomping in the kitchen, drawers and cupboards opening and being rifled through and slamming shut. He bolted down the stairs, thinking someone was in the house, but the instant he got to the first floor the noise stopped. After making sure no one was in the house he went back upstairs, but the same thing happened again – breathing next to him, then all sorts of commotion downstairs. Finally he gave up and went out to his car to try to sleep.
  3. dawndie

    Update!

    By dawndie,

    I logged on today thinking there would just be a Lunacy blend and that's all, and there were all these others! I already had my order planned, and since I bought a bottle of 13 I was only going to buy 2 bottles, Quincey Morris and Wilhemina Murray. Now I'm pondering changing that
     
    --Bitter Moon -- the ingredients list reminds me of Chrysanthemum Moon, but with extra flowers. I'll pass
    --Purple Phoenix -- this one I'm torn about, as some of the ingredients sound great and others (violet, fig, lilac) haven't worked in other blends. But who knows?
     
    What a surprise to see more discontinueds released! I actually squealed a little when I saw Glasya -- this was a frimp in one of my first orders and was discontinued soon after I got into BPAL. It's one of those magical wonders, in that dragon's blood and civet are "yuck" on me, but Glasya is this beautiful dark incense that doesn't morph. I even put some on today to help me decide, and I still can't decide! *grr*
     
    The other DC's were never tried and I'm not jonesing for any particular one, even though Glitter has a loyal following.
     
    Decision time: I'm ordering Quincey Morris and Purple Phoenix. While Mina Murray sounds nice, it's been compared to Alice and Parlement of Foules and I have bottles of those already. I think I'll be happy with my Glasya imp, as I have a bunch of other BPAL-incensey blends that I including Snake Charmer and Mme. Moriarty and Hellion -- those seem to have an extra "oomph" included.
  4. dawndie
    I was out of town for a week so I couldn't hop on much. But it's the Lunacy and time for another order! White Moon doesn't sound like my cuppa joe, so I placed an order for the Trick or Treat Inquisition! I made a plea to be Tricked and I hope I get either one of those oils, they sound great, and the Treat oils sound a bit too sweet and foody. So we'll see!
     
    The good news was that we had a really fun road trip -- we went to Ohio to see friends and DH's family and drove back to Dallas over a couple of days. On the way back we stayed one night in Memphis, which was a blast! We've driven through the city but never stopped. Beale Street was like Vegas without the casinos -- a ton of bars and restaurants and stores bursting with Elvis stuff and a great voodoo store called Tater Red's Lucky Mojo.
     
    The bad news is I'll probably be out of a job in a month. No big drama, our product line was purchased by a competitor and everyone gets a nice severance payment. I'm a little down, though, because we had a great bunch of people and I really liked this job.
     
    But more good news! I'll probably head back to my old job at the law firm. Today I finally told my good friend who's still there, who said "YAAAAYYYYY!" when I said my job would be ending. Thanks for the support, dude! I liked my old job too and hope that I could come back, but it's still a bummer, you know?
  5. dawndie

    Weather and sewing

    By dawndie,

    I'm taking a little break from sewing -- yesterday I made pillows for the living room sleeper sofa (Ugliest in the World, but it's nice to have a queen-size sleeper). We hide it under a cheapy slipcover. Today I'm working on finally finishing a sleepshirt with bacon and eggs fabric. Today's the perfect day to sew as we got a huge cold snap, or ARCTIC BLAST OH NO EVERYBODY PANIC according to the local news channels.
     

     
    I feel sorry for the saps who have to shlep out in the cold just to stand there for the "live spots," but then I laugh and laugh as they're trying to fill time and describe how cold it is Ooh, look at the ice I'm holding! Brr!
     
    But it's been snowing most of the day which is unusual for here. Grass and roofs are covered, but the streets seem fine. I made mushroom soup which was good
  6. dawndie

    All the time in the world

    By dawndie,

    This was the 2nd week of unemployment; I have several resumes sent out, and a placement service sent me to another law firm where I've gone through a couple of interviews and will hopefully hear something on Monday or Tuesday. I know it's funky timing with the holidays coming up, so I'm trying to relax while waiting.
     
    In the meantime, I've actually completed a project: I reupholstered the dining room chairs. It's not a huge deal, because they're rattan and basically consist of a seat cushion and an attached back. Here they were before:

    The seat cushions on a couple chairs were really wearing through. Here they are now:

    You can't see the fabric well, but it's coffee brown with light green and blue circles. It reminded me of our funky lamp from Pier 1 that DH hardwired into the ceiling (which has a green center, but it looks yellow/orange in the picture).
     
    While we're in the dining room, I'll give you a tour. Here are the souvenir plates recently acquired in estate sales; Darkitysnark motivated me to hang them up where they can look swell:

    We have Six Flags Over Texas, Disneyland, Ohio, Hawaii, New Mexico, Hollywood, California, Wyoming, New York City, New Orleans, Victoria BC, Winchester Mystery House, Tennessee and Kentucky. I have an Arkansas one too, I need to get another plate hanger.
     
    Well, that's the tour of the dining room!
  7. dawndie
    The past couple of weekends have been great. Last Sunday was a little cottage with a bunch of cowboy art and memorabilia. I got a signed Roy Rogers and Dale Evans postcard -- I talked to the woman running it (her dad's place? not sure) and she got it in a lot from an autograph dealer friend, so as far as she's concerned it's legit. I love it and want a cool cowboy frame for it.
     
    I also got 10 Siesta Ware mugs for $15 -- glass mugs with wooden handles, 1960s and real Western-looking. I've always liked them and would see them pop up in TV shows and on eBay but never bought a set. Now I have 10 in all different colors, and one has a Longhorn steer on it! I also got some free mini-souvenir plates (maybe 3" across instead of 10") for a few places like DC and Chicago. The entire lot was $40. Score!
     
    Yesterday was crazy, we ended up spending at least an hour at one woman's place. She had TONS of stuff crammed into this teeny house, and we met her on the porch (she hired estate sellers to handle the process). Among the huge stacks of books and weird kitchen gadgets, she had hundreds of souvenir plates! They were stacked everywhere. We ended up with 10 for $38.50: California, Hollywood (Grauman's! Movie studios!), New Orleans, Ohio, New Mexico, NYC, Wyoming (where DH's dad is from), Winchester Mystery House, Victoria BC and the kicker: DISNEYLAND! I found one for Walt Disney World and DH ended up finding a Disneyland one in a stack on the floor. That one is my favorite!
     
    So I'm motivated to display them like the Snarks are doing, maybe in the dining area! They'd look fab.
  8. dawndie

    Latest drama

    By dawndie,

    One thing that always amused me while working in the legal field was the potential for argument everywhere -- you could have 2 sides arguing one fact, and one side sees white while the other sees black. I don't think you can put 2 people together most of the time and get them to agree the sky is blue and the grass is green.
     
    So when someone has a differing opinion, you have to take it with a huge grain of salt -- they're coming from a completely different headspace and see things in a completely different light. But how can someone justify the continuing use of names and images when they've been asked by the creator and owner of the property to stop? They've been asked nicely, in fact, instead of via a cease-and-desist letter or a lawsuit. I picture a child tantruming: "You're not the boss of me! I'll do what I want! You don't own the universe!"
     
    This kind of deals with what I posted previously about the pursuit of the LEs: some people think LE = rare = BPAL at its finest, when there are plenty of great catalog blends that don't have the cache associated with a "Limited Edition OMG I NEED THIS LOL!!!" For me personally, I banninated myself from eBay because of the bidding wars and excitement and the focus on "winning" the auction. I haven't "won" anything, I'm paying cash money for it! I simply wanted to pay more than others were willing to.
     
    Anyway, I'm babbling at this point, but maybe if people weren't so focused on the LEs they wouldn't be concerned about the "professional" resellers who want to make a profit off someone else's hard work.
  9. dawndie
    One guy from work flew into town tonight for a meeting tomorrow, and DH and I were going to take him to dinner. We're driving to his hotel and almost got run off the road!
     
    Why is it instinct with some people that when there are 2 lanes going in one direction with no turn bays, and someone's stopped to try to make a left turn, the person behind them simply veers into the right lane? It's like the tradeoff between waiting behind someone and causing an accident is a toss-up. So we're in the right lane and luckily DH swerved in time, was able to hop the curb, not hit the electric pole and pull into a Brothers Chicken parking lot. The other car slowed down, some guy in the passenger seat half-assed waved to us, like "sorry you almost wrecked your car," then pulled away.
     
    DH was so mad, and we didn't even know if our car was damaged at that point, that he took off running down the street waving after the car. I in the meantime was writing down the license number, but after I hopped out of the car I checked the front and everything looked fine. One guy came out of the restaurant making sure the car wasn't hit. He saw DH take off down the street and said, "Damn! He's mad!" Hee!
     
    Anyway, I didn't want to go on about bad drivers. We had a great dinner and I pick him up first thing tomorrow to go to the meeting. So tomorrow will be a beating, then it's the weekend! *boogies in my chair* And my rash went away, so I'm trying to wear my BPAL smellies without being all itchy! I'm wearing Pink Phoenix and I smell goooood.
  10. dawndie

    Update!

    By dawndie,

    A day early, but fine with me!
     
    Milk Moon 2007 – the previous Milk Moon was not my cuppa tea at all, it ended up like sour breast milk, so I wasn’t expecting to want this one. The other ingredients sound great, but that yucky milk was so off-putting I won’t order.
    Minotaur – this sounds nice, like Schwarzer Mond. I really like the swarthy smutty musk blends, but lately I haven’t been reaching for them much. It’s springtime and I’m wearing a lot of honeyed and incensey florals. I have Schwarzer Mond already and that will keep me happy.
    Taurus 2007 – normally a rose LE is a must-order, but the other florals sound a bit overwhelming. I should tell my mom to order, as it’s her birth sign AND her wedding bouquet was daisies, so perfect! I gave her bottles of Harvest Moon 2004 and Numb and she seems to like them, so maybe she’d like this.
    Poisson d’Avril – another rose one, but iris is sure to overpower it. Nah.
     
    More Monster Baits! I was hoping for another April Fool’s surprise like MB: Underpants, and we have three!
     
    Tokyo Stomp – this sounds great, vanilla and mint.
    Ventriloquist Dummy – I of course love the base of caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut and butterscotch. Yum! I like patchouli well enough if it’s in a nice blend. The only iffy element is apricot – I thought I’d love Grand Guignol but the apricot brandy smelled just a bit plasticky.
    Bloody Mary – all these ingredients sound wonderful, I love cherry and red fruits and powdered sugar, and hopefully enough cream to smooth everything out without curdling it.
     
    I had no idea about the Salon Dogs until I read about them in euterpe’s blog! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I would have missed all the puppies.
     
    A Bachlelor’s Dog – musk and leather sound good, but I’m afraid the tobacco will become too masculine on me
    A Bold Bluff – cherry tobacco, on the other hand, I am interested in, plus I do like tonka in most blends.
    His Station and Four Aces – nope, fougere = cologne on me
    Kelly Pool – worsted wool, really? All I picture is an old coat. This may be interesting
    New Year's Eve in Dogville – this sounds like Stardust with the perfume and champagne
    One to Tie, Two to Win – this doesn’t seem to fit in with the smokey masculine ones, I guess these dogs are outside chomping on grass and dandelions
    Pinched With Four Aces – more tobacco along with the dreaded and feared cinnamon
    Riding the Goat – pipe smoke and incense sounds nice, very exclusive-clubby
    Sitting Up With a Sick Friend – more tobacco and leather, plus “classic perfume” and rose sounds like it would clash.
    Stranger In Camp – another outdoors one, but definitely too much wood
     
    In conclusion: I ordered the 3 Monster Baits!
  11. dawndie

    General happenings

    By dawndie,

    --I got my big birthday order yesterday (Saturday 10/21, 5 bottles! Woo!), which was held up for Pumpkin Queen. I the Lab because I think they threw in a couple of extra frimps, probably because the component issue of PQ held up the order. Worth the wait! It really perked up my week. I even got a frimp of Vice, which has been on my wishlist for forever and a day.
     
    --I have my current job for another week, then who knows? No one's given me a definite date. I called my previous job, and the HR staff supervisor said she was "thrilled" that I would return, but she had to "crunch some numbers" to make sure they can fit me in salary-wise. I was happy, then sad. I still have a bunch of friends there and the money was good, so I hope to hear something this week.
     
    --[minor rant]You know what's the worst about losing this job? Losing my laptop! I fell in love with this over the last 16 months -- I can sit wherever I want in the house, I can travel with it, I can stay online as long as I want even if DH wants to be on the main computer. I have the opportunity to buy it back after I leave for a good price, but Boss Lady said I have too much "importance" on it and she needs it after I leave. Nonononono! *hugs laptop in death grip* Hopefully I can get her husband to do a data transfer to her computer (he's the techie of the two) and then I can get Lappy back.
  12. dawndie

    Retail Denial

    By dawndie,

    I know I probably spend too much on what others might consider incidental or frivolous: perfumes, incense, candles and soap especially. This money could very well go towards more responsible things, like paying off the mortgage or saving for the eventual new car. I realize this, and still shop for little things anyway. Am I in denial?
     
    Side story: there were some eBay auctions ending on Saturday that another forumite was holding -- I've actually met her in real life at a couple of Meet-n-Sniffs and she was very generous with her substantial collection, so I wanted to pay her back for her generosity. I gave myself a certain amount max to bid, and first thing Saturday morning I was sniped on a GC bottle I was bidding on. It really irked me, especially for a catalog blend, but I know in order not to be sniped I have to bid the very very maximum I am willing to spend. If someone snipes that, I have to be comfortable with the fact that they wanted it more than I did. So I bid extremely high on a rare bottle and won!
     
    I was telling DH about it at dinner that night, and when I got to the end he rolled his eyes and asked, "how much was this tiny bottle of perfume?" I started to explain that this bottle was rare and that was the only one I purchased from her, but of course felt ridiculous doing so.
     
    But I've justified to myself that it's more than a tiny bottle of perfume: this is a hobby. I have a nice-smelling hobby. I like smelling nice things and smelling like a nice thing.
  13. dawndie

    Creating Drama

    By dawndie,

    I know, creative title after all that went on this weekend, right? But it's not just the LJ stuff, it's this latest episode of Intervention I watched. Y'all watch Intervention, right? It's on A&E -- every week is 2 new people addicted to heroin, meth, alcohol, etc. and they're followed around in their pathetic lives until the exciting intervention (sometimes with Jeff! Hi Jeff! He's like Dr. Phil with a spine ) where they're given a choice to either get their lives back or continue their patheticness. The show's addictive, har!
     
    It got me thinking about the LJ drama this weekend. There are some people who can't exist without drama -- either as a willing victim or an active participant. The show seems to feature many people who individually can't seem to handle "life" and all it implies, including "earning a living" and "dealing pleasantly with others." So if the drama exists, they don't have to deal with their own issues. Part of becoming an adult, though, is dealing with these issues. So someone posting anonymously and flaming people they don't even know except by an avatar are in need of drama, and if they have to create it they will.
     
    So if everyone's represented by an avatar, what does that make me? Either I'm a gambling-addicted lush who eats food, or an actual restaurant. OOH! Can I be the Brown Derby? Cool!
  14. dawndie

    Head Shops!

    By dawndie,

    I confess: I love shopping at head shops. I am not a pot-smoker -- I've tried it a few times at parties and I suppose I enjoyed it, but that was years ago and to me all the trouble of buying it on the "black market" (that sounds funny to say) isn't worth the mild buzz it gives. Not that I'm into stronger drugs, I've never tried anything stronger, but I guess the allure of alternate realities isn't tempting enough for me. Give me some friends and some beer or wine and I'm having a great time.
     
    But head shops are so cool, probably because of the whole dorm-room chic -- I love the bamboo curtains and band posters and black lights. Maybe because I never lived in a dorm or an apartment with roommates and didn't have the "real" college experience, because I lived at home the first 3 years of college and then moved out with my then-boyfriend and now-husband. I kinda feel like I missed out on the fun.
     
    We have a great head shop near us, called "Puff 'n' Stuff." Hee! They actually have a decent beer selection (I Boddington's) and wine and cigars, but they also have the crazy pipes and rolling papers and accoutrements of the serious smokers. I love looking at all the stuff in the glass cases -- maybe because it's illicit, but some of these glass pipes are really beautiful. I don't even smoke cigarettes, but it reminds me of opium dens and lounging on pillows and thinking deep thoughts.
  15. dawndie

    13 Update!

    By dawndie,

    A mini-update, ain’t that great? I'm a poet; you bet I know it.
     
    13 (new version) -- A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits: cardamom, fig meat, grains of paradise, rice flower, chamomile, sandalwood, catnip, clove, and a bundle of five blessed blossoms and herbs. -- by my count, this is the third version of 13. I bought the first one (May 2005) and liked it but didn’t love it. Off it went to swaps. It was revised in October 2006 and I still have a bottle of that; it’s more sophisticated and “perfumey” than the original 13. This latest revision sounds nice (with catnip! Hee!) but the cardamom is scary -- that’s what made Enraged Groundhog go totally cinnamon on me. I’ll pass.
     
    Bad Luck Woman Blues -- Spanish moss, black pepper, mullein, sweet sage, vandal root, cypress, cigar tobacco, and a puff of goofer dust cloaked by a swarthy cologne of vetiver, lime, dark musk, caramel accord, and lilac. -- While I am intrigued by “goofer dust” (la cocaina, maybe? ) the rest sounds too masculine.
     
    Lady Luck Blues -- Honeyed Bulgarian rose, vanilla flower, benzoin, tonka, black plum, peony, and iris. -- this one sounds great! Honey and roses, yum.
     
    In conclusion: while I was hoping to save funds for the next update (Rose Moon! More Snakes!) I’m getting a bottle of Lady Luck Blues
  16. dawndie

    13 update!

    By dawndie,

    I've been feeling a bit down and out-of-sorts lately with the job situation, so this big update is a nice distraction. I waffled on 13 -- I bought a bottle of the 2005 original and while it was nice, I ended up swapping it away. I think it was the iris at the end that made it not as enjoyable. Anyway, the reformulation was tempting enough so it's been ordered.
     
    I can't believe there are Yule bottles available! I tried Jacob's Ladder at a Meet-n-Sniff and didn't like it as much as I thought I would -- unfortunately I haven't found an amber blend I love yet. Stardust has a great description, but I tried it and it's not something I would ever wear regularly. I already have bottles of Lick It and Midnight Mass. Here are the new ones I'm interested in:
     
    Haloa -- I'm all over any reference to wine, but the "cakey" note hasn't been working on me lately
    Jolasveinar -- snow and dirt sound intriguing and different, and with pastries in the background? Weird!
    Knecht Ruprecht -- more snow, this time with fruit trees, but if "Black Forest" means pine in any fashion it won't be good for me
    Krampus -- this one sounds like a lot of fun, but the black leather scents come out too processed and "city," if that makes any sense. I like the leather of Dead Man's Hand (and Quincey Morris, from the reviews). We'll see
    Snow-Flakes -- I'm anxiously awaiting the hopeful return of Snow White, so hopefully this isn't a substitute, but it sounds nice anyway
    Sol Invictus -- this sounds a lot like Litha (great!) and Et Lux Fuit (OK), so I'll check the reviews
    Yule -- I had a bottle of Yuletide which was good but not great. Too much Krafty Korner craft store smell. This one might be a bit more complex
     
    Phoo, that's a lot. The new GCs I'm interested in are:
     
    Mania -- the musk blends have really been nice lately. Smut totally changed my perspective
    Horreur Sympathique -- wow, so many great ingredients, I can't wait to start reading reviews of this one
  17. dawndie

    Quick hits!

    By dawndie,

    --I know I’m evil, but I laughed out loud at the title of a thread in Get Personal, “Anyone ADD?” by “capricious.” I don’t know this forum member (who hasn’t logged on since March) and it’s nothing personal, but how funny is that? A word that means “impulsive or unpredictable” is starting a thread about Attention Deficit. Hee! I haven’t read it, but I want to hop into the thread and say, “oh yes, me too, I will be doing something and – ooh! Shiny! That reminds me, I need tinfoil from the store. What were we talking about again?” I’m going to hell.
     
    --I’m not an Oprah fan, but now that my work schedule includes working from home, and afternoons are quieter than the mornings, I’ll have it on in the background sometimes. She had a great series last week called the Debt Diet which revealed what I have long suspected: many people are living way beyond their means and using credit to inflate their earnings. They followed 3 families, one of which seemed nice enough (2 schoolteachers), but the other 2 families were flat-out clueless. Seriously, one family ate out for every meal, they never cooked, they didn’t own a toaster or coffeemaker or dishes and ate everything off plastic plates and cups. They had 5 cars for 2 people!
     
    So a big part of the series was not just saying “stop spending money” but asking why. At one point one of the women was saying how she didn’t even think about spending money, she just shopped. She didn’t know how much they owed for the second mortgage or credit cards, she just kept it out of her mind. When she was asked, “Why are you absent from your own life?” it was a lightbulb moment. “Oh, so this is my life? It’s not at the mall? It’s not in InStyle or Lucky? It’s not getting the jeans that Jessica’s wearing, or getting my glowing orange MysticTan?”
     
    Celebrity culture is nothing new – I have a Photoplay from 1926, and in between movie reviews are “the latest fashions from Paris” so you could presumably throw out all your old clothes and run out to buy the new ones. But it’s so pervasive now. How do we know where Britney is shopping for baby clothes? Because the store manager is calling every news outlet to report it. Why should we buy the new $500 Louis Vuitton bag? Because they sent a free one to Lindsay Lohan to be photographed as she’s buying coffee.
     
    So be like Chuck D and don’t believe the hype! Yeah boyeeee!
  18. dawndie

    Update!

    By dawndie,

    Another early posting! It's been fun to hop in and have it be already "live." I ordered Hungry Ghost Moon (ginger candy, sugar cane and rice wine? *falls over dead*) and Et Lux Fuit (amber, vanilla musk and honeycomb? *gets up, then falls over dead again*). Plus a bottle of Madrid, which has been languishing on my big-bottle wishlist for so long that it's starting to sneer and flip me off.
     
    Madrid was a frimp received with my very first order, placed in October 2004. It's not too clove-heavy, it smells more like sitting outside at a cafe drinking red wine and smoking a clove cigarette.
     
    I'm debating on CT3 -- I have a bottle of CT2, and while it's OK-smelling (it started fruity like Mi-Go, then goes cologney like how Wolf Moon ends) the idea of experimentation is more fun. But there are so many other bottles I want, do I want to spend the funds on something I may dislike? Why not order something I know I'll like? Who knows, I'll probably cave by August and buy a bottle anyway
  19. dawndie

    Quickies

    By dawndie,

    --Ack, I was bumped to the 2nd page of blogs! This means that 1) I'm not updating enough, and 2) there are lots of other people updating! I'm glad to see people joining us on Blog Island (TM Antimony)
     
    --As to my previous post, this collection agency has obviously been carpet-bombing people across the country with demand notices for phantom amounts. Lots of complaints posted on ripoffreport.com and complaintsboard.com. I filed a complaint with the FTC online, and since I demanded proof of the debt I'll hopefully never hear from this company again
     
    --We went to World Market on Sunday to spend some gift cards. I love being able to walk through that store and grab anything that looks interesting without having to spend cash. We got a couple bottles of wine, some beer made by Trappist monks, shortbread cookies, Irish oatmeal, mushroom & wine pate, pasta sauce, a bunch of incense, a big candle, and some replacement forks. Rats, I listed all this and now I'm hongry! (TM darkitysnark)
     
    --I definitely read everyone's blogs, even though I don't comment most of the time. We have a great bunch here
  20. dawndie

    Estate sales

    By dawndie,

    DH and I usually spend Sunday running around doing errands -- today we went to Michaels for a few little things (black silk cord for pendants, sewing needles & thread) and Cost Plus (outside lights and Cafe du Monde coffee), but if we see signs for estate sales we'll pull over to check it out.
     
    Estate sales are like weird garage sales -- garage sales are when people bring stuff out of the house to sell, and it's strange to be walking through someone's house where everything there has a price tag. We went to one several months ago where it was obvious the guy died and if he had relatives they weren't interested in much of his stuff. The house was great though, I wish we could have bought it. We got a way cool telephone table that just needed a new seat cover for $24, plus some souvenir state plates and an electric clock for $1 each.
     
    The one today, from what it sounded like, was an elderly couple who were probably moving to an assisted living place and didn't have room for a whole house full of stuff. They had some really nice things -- lots of crystal and silver, and it seemed weird that no other family members wanted it. Maybe they didn't have any close relatives and once they took what they wanted, didn't want to hassle with the other stuff? Who knows.
     
    I got some 45's of Harry James and Woody Herman in cute little box sets -- the Woody Herman one is called "Dance Date on Mars." Far out, man! But my favorite is a "Host & Hostess Book" from 1940 -- recipes and menus for occasions such as "Week-End Entertaining" and "Give a Barn Dance" and a whole chapter on crazy games to play.
     
    My favorite recipe so far is one "For the Calorie Counters": Hot Clam Boullion with Pimiento Whipped Cream. All together now: ewwww.
  21. dawndie

    More estate sales

    By dawndie,

    I went to two different sales this weekend, which is unusual. One was on the way home from work on Friday, and there must have been 15 cars parked in front of this house. I thought, "Wow, this sale should be great!" and went in. Unfortunately not a whole lot was there, but I did get for $25:
     
    --a Scooby-Doo lunch box from the '70s (no thermos)
    --3 boxes of Japanese coil incense
     
    Then DH and I went to one today that was in one of our favorite neighborhoods, Hollywood Heights -- yes, the houses are all little 1920s bungalows and I wish we could afford to live there. We got for $3:
     
    --a few albums, Mahalia Jackson and a couple of touristy "Songs of Old Mexico" and "Songs of Hawaii" which I picked for the cute front covers
    --a handful of old 45s of stuff DH liked, like Roger Miller (King of the Road!) and Allan Sherman (Hello Muddah!)
    --a hurricane glass from Pat O'Brien's bar in New Orleans
    --a little clay dish with a lid (for salsa or guacamole, I'm thinking ) with Mexican-type designs
    --a green 4-dish appetizer set from a pottery co. in California, probably 1940s
     
    So I probably paid too much at the first one, but made up for it at the second
  22. dawndie
    --I placed an order today; I got bottles of Litha and Obatala. I ordered only 2 because of the extra April Fool's bottle I ordered -- it's complicated. Basically I limit myself to 3 bottles or about $50/month, and if I go over in one month I try to make it up the next month. Oh, never mind, it's stupid
     
    --Happy Mother's Day to pet moms too! The blog of valentina, she posted her puppy pics and I know DH has our cat pics posted somewhere but I'm an intarweb doofus and don't know how to access them. We have 2 cats, Cookie and Shadow, who are very sweet and very shy. We've had them over 11 years, since they were 8 weeks old.
     
    --One funny Mother's Day story: we were living in Cincinnati and were in some shopping area north of the city on one Mother's Day, maybe 1997. Of course every restaurant was packed and we espied a Kenny Rogers Roasters. We had never eaten there, but had always made jokes, like "Is the piped-in music all Kenny?" and "Do all the workers have to wear fake white beards?" Yes, we crack ourselves up. Anyway, we ended up eating our words as everything was seriously good -- the chicken, the sides, it was like the Seinfeld episode where everyone was addicted like crack. We were moaning at the table, it was some good eatin'.
  23. dawndie

    Cheap estate sales!

    By dawndie,

    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.
  24. dawndie
    I don't consider myself a good cook, but I like it when we're home at night and we can have a simple dinner. I like to try a recipe if it pops up and sounds interesting, the easier the better. Food Network is a total staple of mine. DH is a steak-and-veggies type of guy, so there's never anything too complicated.
     
    We were at Red Lobster the other night, home of the awesomest Cheddar Biscuits. We scarfed a couple down but they seemed a little off. I said, "These taste kinda salty" and DH agreed. Then he floored me by saying, "Yours are much better." I stopped and turned to him, agog: "What a nice thing to say!"
     
    Mine have a twist -- instead of using milk or buttermilk I use beer, so they become Beer-Cheddar Biscuits. I can't use something cheap, like Miller Lite; I like using something hoppy like Bridgeport or Trademark Pale Ale. I made a batch tonight while watching the end of Ghost Whisperer, which is slowly becoming a favorite TV show, but I'm a huge fan of bangs and false eyelashes.
  25. dawndie

    Avatar Love

    By dawndie,

    As a by-product of the LJ drama, I wanted to post about people's avatars. I really like seeing everyone's avatars, especially ones who change them all the time (wink at valentina!). I should change mine more often too.
     
    Avatars are so cool because they're teeny little pictures that represent whole people, and the more avatars seen the better. I don't care if you're changing them every day, or posting extras in your signature -- I love seeing them. Is it someone you're in love with, someone you want to be, or a cool picture of a flower that you think is rad?
     
    Mine came from downtown Las Vegas (different from the Strip, where all the huge hotels are). Downtown is a lot of fun, because there are a bunch of older, smaller casinos within 3-4 blocks and you can walk from one to the next with ease. Someone had the idea of installing neon signs randomly from old bars & restaurants, so as you're walking down Fremont Street you'll look down a side street and there will be 3-4 signs with plaques in front so you can read about them. DH took a crapload of photos, both during the day and at night, and they're way cool -- unfortunately some are so large that they'd look like glowing blobs inside a teeny square. The "Restaurant-Bar-Jackpots" came out so clean and bright, I really like it.
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