Wishlists/Favorites:

Etsy Wishlist

Amazon wishlist (If this link fails for some reason, the e-mail to search is the one listed on my questionnaire)

Yule UpdateI have not yet bought a thing since my husband's birthday is this week and all my extra pennies are going toward a super nice dinner out for him! I actually probably will not buy much from this one -- I might try and snag a decant or two after the whole thing has blown over and people are selling theirs off. Yule is just traditionally not my best scents. The things that intrigued me and that I'd like to smell are: Black Temple Burlesque Troupe (but I fear it will be a dark musk which is death for me), Gingerbread Temples (I do like ginger, but traditionally most Yule gingerbread scents have been too sweet/foody for me), Risalamande (I like almond, but tend to loathe cherry, so this is one I purely want to sniff in a TINY amount), Mrs. Grose (this could be one of those rare roses that works on me), Gacela of the Dark Death (this actually sounds like an awesome room/candle scent to me), Krampus (a traditional favorite, but I have aged back-ups so don't neeeeeed it.) I'm looking forward to the bptp update since winter makes me in the mood for bath products and I am drooling over that teaser picture Puddin' posted of a Spanked candle! If it's a Yule candle inquisition, I am afraid I will not be able to control myself.

Holiday things you miss?

The one thing I've been whining about is that New Belgium has not released Frambozen in Michigan (at least it's not on the inventory lists I've seen at the bar). It's such a lovely seasonal treat. Otherwise, I miss my grandpa's peanut butter fudge. We have his recipe, but it never tastes the same. He must have had a secret he failed to pass down.

Where can I find your Q&A? Do you have a wishlist post/blog and does it link other things like Etsy/Amazon?

I do believe that my two forum wishlists (the bpal one and the non-bpal general swap help one) are both linked in my signature. I'll put these questions in a blog post and link that as well. There are a TON of old blog posts with Q&As from several years worth of circular swaps as well. I'll throw amazon and etsy wishlist links onto the blog post which I will make for this swap.

So, if you were to come into an unexpected windfall (a huge amount of cash), what would you get for yourself?

A really big windfall would go to paying off debt and making home repairs on the rental house we own so we could stand a better chance of selling it. Smaller windfalls would go toward smaller things: A month or two of unlimited yoga, a new yoga bag, jewelry, some new sweaters (I'm wanting to phase in some V and round necks so I'm not all turtlenecks all the time!), socks, bath scrubs or soaks, good tea, fancy chocolate, nice long underwear, etc.

Do you prefer votives, tarts, tapers or jar candles (if you are into candles)?

My tart burner is MIA, so at the moment I prefer other varieties. Jars are nice because they are self contained and do well in the bathroom. Votives and pillars are both easy because I just throw them on a saucer and go! Tapers are a bit more bother because my candlesticks like to hide from me, but are so pretty when they're lit at a meal that they're almost always worth the hunt.

Any books you've been meaning to get for yourself but haven't yet?

My amazon wishlist is pretty complete and up to date. Someone else mentioned the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, and since I LOVE that site, I bet I'd also love the book.

Is there any Bath etailer that you want to try? That you love? What do you want from there? What's your favorite bath item?

No etailer in particular, but I am open minded and love many of them. New to me or local to you is also great! We go through a LOT of bar soap in my house and in winter I do also use soak and scrubs.

Tea? I know there was a favorite foods ...but what about drinks? Hot Tea? Hot Cider? other hot beverages? what about perhaps one of those soups in a jar mix?

Tea is always lovely. I drink loads of black tea and flavored black tea, oolong, and a bit of green. For herbal teas, I tend to like mint or licorice blends and dislike rooibos and rosehips. I have a mild chamomile allergy, so unless it's way far down on the ingredients, I avoid it. Lately, I've been having a hard time finding one of my favorite brands of ea: Kusmi. It used to be everywhere and now is nowhere! I love the Zoubrovka, Anastasia, Troika, Bouquet #108, and Prince Vladimir. Hot cider is lovely and is cocoa. And soup in a jar sounds fun!

Colors You Like/Dislike?I tend to prefer bright, cool, jewel tones (sapphire and cobalt, kelly and emerald, scarlet, deep turquoise), black and grey. Pastels are not my thing. Autumnal hues I like in small doses (orange, muted greens, browns, etc). They're OK, just look bad on me! I'll try to throw some photos/links on the blog post under this question.

Colors coming soon....

Do you have any fiber allergies? Nope!

sweet Solstice Sister, what color of nail polish would brighten your senses or make you smile? Glitter or no?

I only paint my toes, never my fingers (it feels weird!) and I tend to like bright somewhat traditional colors: Red, hot pink, etc. I will occasionally also do bright blue, green or really dark blood red. No glitter and I like colors with coverage (not sheer). This is because I paint my toes to hide the fungus.

Socks? I wear a US shoe size 6.5 which usually puts me in the standard sock size (I think the sock size says 9 to 11?? It always confuses me. What I know is that most off-the-rack socks will fit me just fine.) I'm a fan of stripess and argyles in not too crazy colors, less a fan of cutesy designs (animals, cartoon things, etc). (Purple, red, blue, green, black, gray, etc = love. Orange, chartreuse, silver, gold, sparkles, not as much love.) I like knee socks. I like wool and wool blends, cotton and cotton blends. Smartwool is the gold standard, but too expensive. Sock Dreams makes some lovely styles and I do also like their OTK socks, but prefer the ones with more synthetic in them fro stretch since I have really scrawny legs and the more cotton kind tend to fall down. The slubby OTKs are great with boots. I also seriously heart tights and all the same color, pattern and material preferences apply.

Jewelry? Pierced Ears? Do you like necklaces/pendants? Bracelets? Rings?

I love jewelry. My one planned indulgence beyond bpal and good soap is is jewelry from bpaler updates on etsy. I tend to wear mostly necklaces and earrings. Bracelets I wear rarely and the only rings I wear are my wedding band and engagement ring. For necklaces that are made to sit close to the collar bone I liked 16". I do wear turtlenecks in the winter, so some longer things designed to sit more in the mid-chest area be they strands of beads or single dangles are also lovely. Earrings I wear both studs and dangles, but I tend to prefer shorter dangles (because of the turtlenecks!)

Anything you're particularly wanting from the Lab/Post at the moment? How about GCs you keep meaning to get but never get around to?

The GC I always want, but never seem to buy is Sudha Segara. I'm not DYING for anything, although that may change once we see the BPTP Yules...

Do you have any fandoms? Not really. I like Harry Potter all right and Twin Peaks, but I'm not an active fan girl of either.

Does anything from Two Timing Tart interest you? I've never heard of this seller before, so I'm not drooling. However, I'm always open to new things. I would say if it inspires you, just use my general likes/dislikes as a guide and have fun!

Does anything from Sock Dreams interest you? Many, many things. See my general comments about tights and socks. I think on my general wishlist (linked in signature) I have some Sock Dreams specific hints.

Any movies (holiday or otherwise) that you want to see but never get around to? Not that I can think of off the top of my head...

Do you need any smartphone accessories (case, skin, etc)? I am all set thanks!

Small samples of homemade booze? That would be lovely.

Is there anything from local farmer markets that would interest you? Soap, jam, syrup, spices, etc. Really, I'm game to try anything local to you that you think looks awesome!

Do you have a favorite animal (or breed of animal)?

(Red) Foxes and crows/ravens.

Do you like stuffed toys/animals? I don't love them for myself, but I do keep a toybox at my house for visiting children. They tend to play with those items.

Would you like/want anything Disney-related, or from Disneyland? No thank you.

Posted Today, 01:05 PM

You know, I feel like I should revise/expand my Disney answer. I'm not a big fan of animated films -- Disney or otherwise. And I don't collect related merch. However, I love a lot of the old live action films that they used to re-run on Wonderful World of Disney when I was a kid: Davy Crockett, Swamp Fox, Thomasina, Pollyanna, One and Only Genuine Original Family Band, Swiss Family, Watcher In the Woods, Something Wicked This Way Comes, the Witch Mountain movies, etc.

Another question! How do people feel about puzzles? Board games? Any particular ones that you might like or have and would like additions to?

I haven't built a jigsaw puzzle in years. I remember liking it, but having the clear table space might be an issue. I loathe Sudoku, but like crosswords. Someday I will complete the Holy Grail of Crosswords: An unaided NYTimes. The only games my husband and I own is Scrabble. We play occasionally, less often now that he works nights. I hate cards. I like Scattergories, but that game lives with my parents. We once in a great while play Cranium or Settlers of Cataan with my sister and her husband. I love Trivial Pursuit, but no one will play with me.

$10 Wal-Mart type thingamabob: Nothing in particular, but when I have an extra $10 in places like that I tend to buy peppermint gum, chocolate, lip balm or tea.

If you answered yes to any beverage-related questions, what exactly do you like in tea, coffee, alcohol, cocoa, cider, etc.? I think I have some good guidance on this in my general swap help post which is linked in my signature.

Stones? What color/types of stones, precious, semi precious or otherwise do you like? Lately I seem to be drawn to blue and blue/green stones: turquoise, prehnite, labradorite, moonstone, chalcedony, etc. I also always love carnelian, amber, jade (green and honey), hematite, citrine, and pearls.