spanishviolet

Probably somewhere in north Plano or Frisco, due to my roommate & boyfriend's job locations ... Haven't called any realtors lately since we're all preoccupied with packing up. It's amazing how much STUFF fits into one little apartment! When two packrats get together ... I'm working on reforming my ways. The other day I took four big boxes of books I didn't like or would never bother reading to Half Price & got $50. Transforming books into BPAL!

Think it's time to get this started ... I'm just so glad the forum is back I can't say. The internet seemed so boring without it ... I still had LJ & my scans_daily comics community, but they didn't update often enough. And I missed all the random babbling and enabling! The past couple of weeks have been grim. I've shared an apartment with the same roommate for the past nine years, and this year my boyfriend thought we could try to rent a house, the three of us. My brother wants to move out of my parent's house & I'd really like to help him, but the realtors don't want to hear about roommates (they keep not returning my calls). And I'm kind of worried that my credit isn't good enough anyway. And since the others work normal office hours & I work crazy retail hours, I've been left to do most of the realtor-talking, which sucks because I've been more inarticulate than usual lately. Arrgh! And I'm trying to stay focused on houses, but I need to make a resume & start looking for a better job too ... So anyway, sniffing pretty things helps keep me sane. When first I got into bpal, I was looking for a signature scent - something that would make people think of me when they sniffed it. Now I can't imagine wearing the same thing two days in a row! You have your spicy days, your rose days, your foody days ... Not sure what today will be. Maybe something comforting & basic? But I need to train someone at work this evening, so maybe Mercury to help me communicate ... I think I have to call another realtor now. Sigh ...

Time for another blog ... I wrote out a huge entry Saturday, then the computer ate it and I wandered off, frustrated ... I'm feeling relaxed today. Yesterday was my Jason's birthday, and he didn't have a particularly fun day because he had work & class until 10, and was then all tired. I'm hoping to make it up for him by extending birthdayness all week. We're taking a few days off the realtor/house-hunting thing, after a big disappointment on Saturday. Nice to not be worrying quite so constantly, for a little while at least! On the plus side, we did free credit checks online and are all clear on that front. At work, new things to be crazy-hectic about - our newest employee is needing a bunch of remedial training & having behavioral issues. It's hard to believe anyone could have such rapid behavior changes without being chemically enhanced. Sadly we have to wait for him to keep messing up over & over & document it before we can fire him. (Reference checks these days are worse than useless - nobody says anything other than "Yes, he worked here" because they're afraid of being sued. Leading to this!) So for this week, I get to spend all my time training him over & over again. Bleah. Even though I slept extra-late today, I'm still kinda draggy & my eyes look zombiefied. More coffee, with toffee nut creamer. I'm a coffee weakling - have to have it every day, but it must always be modified. I'm using less & less sugar these days though - teeny progress. My Monas locket arrived this week, & yesterday I wore it for the first time with Mars. I put some on my wrists too - I could smell the locket if I sniffed it, but I seem to be a cold-natured person, 'cause I didn't get a lot of throw. It smelled best when I was outside in the sun. Should be perfect to wear to a renaissance fair - then I wouldn't have to feel sad because I couldn't reapply every hour on the hour like I normally do. Well. Just rambling to show I'm still here, really. I'll try to be more interesting next time!

Went out to my boyfriend's open mike last night, and afterwards we went dancing at the 80's night nearby. So much fun! They saved all the good songs for late in the evening - at one point they played Madonna's Into the Groove followed by a-Ha's Take Me On, and I thought I'd collapse from dancing so hard. Also, I realized the scent locket is perfect for going out dancing - the exertion makes me warm enough to waft lots of lovely scent around my head. Usually I wear something sexier like Red Phoenix when we go out, but last night I wore Old Scratch because I'd been craving it & it was wonderful. Warm, happy lavender. And I didn't have to worry about sweating it all away. At one point, I told Jason, "Mmm, you smell good," just thinking it was him, and he said he'd put on Geek before we left & had been waiting for me to notice, but I hadn't because there had been no opportunity to get up close & enjoy. But once I did ...

So, today I did not file my taxes, nor call a realtor, nor clean the kitchen. I looked at my cousin's wedding-planning website & tried to convince myself I'm really not jealous, I'm an evolved person who knows no one's life could really be that fairy-tale perfect & that I need to make the most of the happy things in my own life. (But really - a photo of the happy couple in front of the Eiffel Tower?) I'm happy for her, really I am ... I really like that side of the family & am looking forward to seeing the relatives again for the first time in several years. My boyfriend's a bit miffed that the trip will be just a couple of weeks before we move, but it's only one weekend. I don't think it will be that much of a problem ... I did, however, test several different scents looking for a Lex Talionis substitute, since it did not come back with the other grapefruit scents, and I didn't realize how wonderful it was when it was Resurrected last fall. It's the perfect, cool-warm scent for unhappy days when I need something not too happy-smelling to comfort me. In my quest, I tried Laudanum (good for really bad days, but too smokey to fit in the same mood-category), Medicine Show (almost, but too spicy & light), Faustus (a similar feel, but sadly I just don't like frankincense that much), and All Saints 05 (the closest I could come. The austere roses & incense almost fit the same scent-craving niche!). So at least I've got an almost-backup for when I run out of LT imps. Also, I read an excellent book by Anne Perry, No Graves as Yet, which has been on my to-read list for many moons. Highly recommended! Wonderful descriptions, vivid characters, interesting plot. I can't wait to pick up the rest in the series.

In the bottle, this was a buttery vanilla with just a little mint. Once on, my skin ate up all the vanilla like it always does, and I was left with a dusty mint scent that made nearby loved ones frown. It was swapped post-haste. If your skin eats up vanilla like mine does, don't worry about this one. Lick It worked much better for me.

That site has gorgeous shirts ... did you see the La Fee Verte designs? The whiny panties sound fun too!

Wow - you get the real stuff! No having-your-brother-burn-copies-of-internet-who for you lucky Brits! I'm envious, and happy for you that someone is enjoying new Doctor Who. I've seen about half the Christopher Eccleston season, and will be able to see the rest once I get some quality time with a good DVD player, and so far .

All these dirt scents ... I thought I had mine narrowed down. I tried Penny Dreadful & Premature Burial - both smelled lovely, but the orchid in Burial tilted me toward PD, since I'm not overly fond of orchid. Then along came Death Cap, which is gorgeous long-lasting floral dirt. I didn't even think I liked dirt scents! I was wrong ...

I'm glad I'm not the only person who's fallen prey to the enabling of the retail therapy section ... I've got some Dark Candles (I seem to use the simmering oils faster than the candles, which I forget to burn) and tried Fred Soll incense (yum - I don't even normally like incense, but it doesn't smell harsh at all, just really good). My two biggest dangerous indulgences have been Wearable Sculpture (hypnotized by pretty shiny things ...) and Bathed & Infused (though I think I've hit my lotion limit. Must use some up!).

Roses and booze, strong and thick. Maybe a slight alcoholic tang, but no sulfur, no glands, nothing. Just rich decadent rosey goodness. I don't have any real eloquence to bring out here, just wanted to add my experience since it's so outnumbered by opposite reactions. Perverse indeed!

My father has this very same condition! Christmas presents wrapped by him take forever to open, and could never be peeked into early. And packages - yikes! Break out the boxcutters ... I've gotten off easy with my mother's wrapping genes, I guess - well-placed tape & lots of bubble wrap. Phew!

My guy's the same way ... the more flavors the better! He tries to tone it down a bit for me when he cooks, because he knows I prefer simple, less complicated-tasting fare. Then I feel a bit guilty for reining him in ...

This smelled to me like sitting in a garden full of wonderfully smelly herbs on a warm humid evening. Despite the description, it didn't remind me of winter at all. I love lavender & chamomile teas, so I had fairly high hopes going in, despite the presence of sandalwood & ylang ylang, which usually aren't so great for me. In the bottle, I can sniff the chamomile & sandalwood - they seem to be blending together well. When first applied, it smells like sweet flowers (presumably ylang ylang) blended with lavender. Over time, the sweetness decreases, & I can smell more of the lavender & bamboo, with a hint of the light-appley note of chamomile. It's very soothing & pretty, and makes my nap seem like I'm curled up in the above-mentioned garden sniffing beautiful things, warm & protected & happy. Definitely a keeper!

When my Yule order first arrived way back when two months ago, this was the first scent I twisted open & tried. I sat there trying to think positive thoughts about greenery and fresh-cut roses, and my boyfriend said, "You smell like Citronella." I said No I don't! but I did. That was all I could smell until it faded. Heartbroken, I put Rose Red in the back of my bottle box to wait until the day I was finally not-lazy enough to make a sale post. That day still hasn't arrived (I'm really lazy), and tonight I decided to give Rose Red one more try. And now - I get it, I get it! *does happy dance* No longer does Rose Red elude me. I sniff it and smell fresh, garden rose, with the warmth of my skin giving it the warmth of a rose sniffed on a beautiful sunny afternoon. So pretty! It's very different from Peacock Queen, whose fullbodiedness I adored on first sniff, and so an excellent addition to my growing stable of rose blends. I feel like a rose fairy ... I feel sort of mean now thinking of how glad I am I didn't yield to any of those "desperately seeking Rose Red!" posts. They'll have to look elsewhere - my Rose Red has aged perfectly over a couple of months ... At last my hoarding tendencies have a happy result!

Lavender & cinnamon. Sounded odd together, but I like both these things so gave it a try. Now I'm wondering why this combination isn't found all over the place. My god, this is gorgeous! I can't say if it's brought out any Mercurial qualities in me, since I'm at home reading, but it's so warm and inviting and I can't stop sniffing. I usually have only mild problems with cinnamon (hardly ever, but even then not a problem if I keep it on my wrists), but this does burn a little. Don't let it get anywhere near sensitive areas! I think I may buy a scent locket so I can enjoy the scent fully without having to dilute with lotion.

Anything but sharp on me. These are soft, pretty white roses with warm resins under them. Definitely more approachable than Rose Cross, and softer than All Saints 05, so far as rose/resins go. Liking it so far ... Mmm. (Happy sniffing...)

Sandalwood and very white florals. First on, I'm a little worried, but it's warming up by the second and now I can smell hints of honey & some of the beautiful tuberose that worked so well on me in Dia de los Muertos ... Yum. It's sticking close to the skin, but is definitely worth frequent wrist-sniffing. I love it more with each whiff!

Strong in the bottle, very light on me. With deep sniffing, I think I smell some Snake Oil-style musk, crossed with the sexy sweetness of Sed Non Satiata. Oddly, though people said Sed smelled like peanut butter on them at first, I never got that with Sed but did with Smut. The peanuts fade before too long, and are replaced by a light warm, brown-sugary glow. Very pretty!

In the bottle, I get a lot of caramel. Second sniff, tobacco & coconut are there too. On me, it's caramel again at first, and the really strong, dark dry coconut. This scent has the same feel that Miskatonic University did on me, with the woody notes replaced by caramel. I liked the sound of about half the notes listed, and was optimistic about the others because tobacco usually works for me, but ... this is not me at all. As a coffee, it would be yummy, but I'd want to add cream to get rid of a slight plastic tinge. If Misk U was kind of harsh on you, this might be too. Ah well, off to sniff the others ...

I love this blend! It's a warm spicy sunny blend. I picked up two bottles, even though I'm trying to cut back, because I tend to be all air & earth, & I figured I could use some fiery motivation. I'm glad it smells so wonderful! On me I pick up the lemon/orange, heliotrope & clove, with some cinnamon, but not so much that it smells craft-shopesque. Instead it's a full warm citrus that I love, even though I don't usually go for citrus. It does fade quickly, but I'll happily reapply to keep that warm sunny goodness going. I'm looking forward to wearing this on cold wintery days when I'm missing the sun ...

The description of this sounded lighter than I normally go for, but it lingered in my head & wouldn't go away till I ordered it. Fresh out of the box today: Wow. This is light and sweet. I get the sweet pea & peony, with underpinnings of cucumber, and it's all beautiful. Innocent and demure. I'm looking forward to wearing this a lot in the spring, and am definitely glad I got a bottle. Not my usual sort of thing, but probably the most perfect example of its kind. And I think I really like sweet pea ...

The first few seconds smell deliciously pine & vanilla on my guy, but after it dries down it goes sadly plasticky on him. On me, it smells great for the first minute and then disappears completely. I think it's still there, as in other people would be able to smell it, but lately my nose refuses to recognize a lot of bpal vanilla & turns it into dust instead. So I get a light piney dust. Again, Sadly, off to the swap pile ...

I wasn't sure about this one at first - on me it smelled similar to Black Phoenix, an old favorite, but without the cherry, though it was a little muted, and I wondered if it was one of those scents my nose just refuses to recognize are there. Then I wore it again today. I think it must have been a time of month thing, because today it bloomed into a beautiful light warm spicy musk. I reapplied in my normal obsessive fashion, and may have ended up with a little too much on, but at our morning meeting I got four compliments from coworkers! I've never gotten more than one a day before. Also, I love the pale pink color of the oil. It looks so rich and sensual ...

After I ordered this year's, I got an imp of the 04 version which led to great regret that I'd purchased this - it was all sour white florals, absolutely terrible on me. Early reviews of this year's seemed to confirm my shopper's remorse, and when my Halloween order arrived last week, I took a quick test sniff & set it aside to go into a swap post. In a mood for new scents tonight, I decided I had to test it at least once to be fair first ... I am amazed! Wet, I smell heady white florals, which I normally really dislike, but somehow these avoid smelling waxy and horrible. They're luscious and smell kind of like lily to me too, but ... lighter. At this stage, I smell only florals but don't mind because they're so unexpectedly lovely on me. As it dries down, I can smell incense coming out and a hint of smooth cocoa, maybe a little bit of tobacco. Unexpected love! I don't think I'll need more than one bottle, and I really hope it doesn't age like last year's did, but wow, this is great. A beautiful autumn floral.