Nose! I love your recommendations. Also chest - I love your descriptions.
you are too sweet, honestly. also shit, okay, okay, to anyone who is not yet aware: I love candles, I am burning one right now as I do most nights or days or periods of time that I am home, whatever. I also really love perfume. HOWEVER there is so much perfume out there and there are so many candles… that it’s nearly impossible to pick favorites as I feel like I’ve barely tested the waters? dipped, like, two toes in. but let’s see. my sort of signature scent is Parfumerie Generale’s Indochine. I love a good gourmand. I think I’m attracted to them partly because my mom’s been wearing Angel basically her whole adult life, and I recognize it anywhere. it’s so comforting, and it really brings back that whole starry-eyed phase where I was convinced that my mother was a goddess who could do no wrong, and how I used to think that becoming an adult was going to magically pull back the curtain and reveal to me all of these truths, like how to be beautiful or mysterious or charismatic. perfume is such a brilliant accessory for me. it’s not something you can see, but I think wearing perfume really elevates everything you can see; when I wear perfume I feel a little different, you know, a little more like myself, a little more like the person I want to be.
I look like absolute crap most work days but on the days I do remember to put on perfume I feel a little better. especially when someone stops me to tell me I smell good, or to tell me that it’s comforting to walk into a room and know I’m there or I’ve been there. the first time I heard that I was sort of horrified, like, “oh my God, have I overdone it, am I an animal?” but they assured me it was a good thing, a good smell, and you know what? I don’t care if it’s rude or crass or whatever, I like the idea of walking into a room and then walking out and having a bit of me linger. a little secret for people who know and a little mystery for those who don’t. maybe that’s self-centered, maybe that’s vain. but I like it. I like that perfume is a helping hand for me when it comes to embodying the bolder bits of myself. Indochine is sort of warm and spicy but almost kind of powdery vanilla-y… like I said, it’s a gourmand. it’s one of those scents that I almost can’t smell on myself at all but other people definitely notice, because the second I switch perfumes they’re all over me about it. I do switch though, and some of those that I keep coming back to—I have a full size of Indochine but I’ve gone through samples of others—are Diptyque’s Eau Duelle and their Philosykos. the Eau Duelle is vanilla curbed by pepper, cardamom… I used to wear, like, Vanilla Fields when I was eleven or whatever, and hilariously it reminds me of that, y’know? a very grown up and beautiful Vanilla Fields. this is one I wear for myself. I can smell it all day into the next and I love it, and it makes me feel very pretty. Philosykos is for when I’m feeling a bit more ferocious, basically. it smells much dryer, more like wood and fruit and it’s rather green, which is fascinating. it’s one I keep coming back to because it smells earthy without being too warm or food-y. it’s fresh. it makes me feel like a goddess, or something, really makes my whole usual jeans-and-too-goddamn-big-shirt look feel a lot cooler than it is, like I’m one of those people who can constantly look like they are modeling messy hair and underwear torn at the hip, y’know? I am getting so carried away, someone edit me, but anyway… those are my top three. also enjoy Black Jade and Gin Fizz both by Lubin AND I SINCERELY LOVE AND ADORE OUD WOOD BY TOM FORD I just want to become a graceful, willowy tree
I would go into candles but that would be embarrassing, like, this is already approaching essay-length. but BASICALLY I’m lame as hell and a suburban mom who drinks six dollar wine I’m and a total slave to the Yankee Candle. one day I will get myself something from Diptyque or Nest or whatever and feel truly spoiled but for now YC sends me coupons and stuff and who can resist a BOGO on those giant jars, y’know? I think my absolute faves have been (I try to get a new scent every time): Autumn Leaves, November Rain, Grapevine & Oak, Lemon Lavender, Pomegranate Cider, Turquoise Sky, and Red Berry & Cedar. noteworthy also are Holiday Garland & Red Apple Wreath. almost anything that has the word “vanilla” in it smells like GARBAGE. right now I’m burning Beach Wood but it’s so subtle it’s almost nonexistent. still pleasant, though. a sort of clean background? I think I catch whiffs of it occasionally when I’m not trying to. I think YC has better concocted and better layered scents than like, Bath & Body Works but they’re obviously not perfect so it’s pretty hit or miss, I’ve tried lots of other scents that I’ve been like “whoa” LIKE JUICY WATERMELON SMELLS EXACTLY HOW YOU THINK IT WOULD, WHICH IS LIKE A GODDAMN WATERMELON JOLLY RANCHER. which honestly is kind of cute and makes me feel silly and summery, but also DEFINITELY NOT something I would buy a full size of. I tend to burn votives first, with the exception of Grapevine & Oak (it only comes in a full size) and Holiday Garland, because it smells like a tree, basically, and it’s pretty hard to make that offensive. I’M CUTTING MYSELF OFF NOW…
the plain and simple answer to the chest bit is yes. I think my maternal instincts are very strong. I love kids. truly, I love them. it’s a huge part of the reason I want to teach and why I want to teach at a lower level, rather than as a professor, y’know, though it’s probable my personality is better suited to that environment? it’s just, they’re so brilliant, and so small and clever, and they’re people and they’re growing and learning, and GOD, how could you not want to protect that. precious little beans. I babysit my neighbors kids when they need me, which is virtually never now that their mother freelances (I love their mom also, a very nice and smart lady for the most, I mean I don’t know her incredibly well but her children are WONDERFUL and she has always been outstandingly kind to me), but sometimes they come into the store and it makes my day every time. I’ve blogged about them before, I think? briefly. they’re so sweet and ridiculous, kids. like they have so much to say about their lives once you get them going, they all have such interesting ways of expressing themselves, they can be SO TRANSPARENT In their little schemes to get their way, it’s so cute but of course it’s also, like, a huge blessing, because it makes it easier to teach them not to be absolute bastards. having Cat as a little sister, god. like a mosquito would get in the car when she was very small and I would flip out, I'd be watching her the whole time trying to kill it before it could maybe land on her, because she was so tiny and had such soft smooth skin and looked so vulnerable and she wouldn’t know not to scratch, y’know. it was a bit ridiculous. I mean obviously the girl is gonna get banged up and it’s gonna help her learn and when she would fall and stuff I’d be like, “ah, babe, let’s get you up, you okay?” and it’s amazing how they judge your reaction before formulating their own, how INSANE it is and how INCREDIBLY HUMBLING to watch a child learn from you, like learn how to behave. it is honestly the most incredible and breathtaking thing. being a parent is going to be so intense, being a teacher is going to be so intense. you’re entrusted with such a huge job??? to be a sort of help to these kids, to run alongside them while they ride the bike of life. they’re so capable, you know, like you’re just giving them these tools and helping them use them or when they’re all “oh no I don’t feel like holding my own spoon today oh my God I’ve forgotten how to eat” you just sort of level them with a look like “love, I know you’ve learned by now to feed yourself, don’t play that with me” because they just want special attention since you’ve been talking to their sister, or whatever. shit. I am all about protecting that, I am all about the youth. I am also extremely protective of my siblings and of my friends. I could tell stories but I won’t, I’m sure I’ve told them before. I live for other people, is what I am saying. I mean, I know I’m horrible at answering messages and sometimes I’m so distracted, or I’m afraid of offering an inadequate response, that I just. might seem a bit cold or distant or rude or whatever, but genuinely. I’ve so much love.
kemerlen replied to your post:hunt for the perfect jean 2k15 continues!!!! where...
EXCITED TO SEE RESPONSES. I get Levi’s straight leg bold-cut (or demi-cut) for my average lazy butt & definitely-inclined but not-Kardashian waist-from-hips. Classic rise - none of that low mess. Masculine style feminine figure. 30-40$. Trusty denim!
what a good response everyone please follow in kind. rn my favorite jeans are the ones my grandma got me for Christmas. I don't have a lot of pants rn b/c I had to get rid of all of my old ones and I'm in despair. I've built it all up a bit but mostly I wear the same two pairs of jeans over and over and they are both black and it is ridiculous. one is a pair of the ultra stretch ankle-length ones from Uniqlo. the ones from my grandma are FROM GODDAMN MACY'S WHEN DO I GO TO MACY'S and they're American Rag and I want them in blue RIGHT NOW. I'm about that mid-to-high rise b/c the low rise always makes me feel fat. I have exactly one pair of low rise pants and I keep them because they're big and I like the shape of the rest of them still despite the fact that I need to have them hemmed properly.
(✿◠‿◠) Once you get this you must share five random facts about yourself then pass this on to 10 of your favorite followers!
I sleep on my side, so I like the firmest pillows possible. Bricks are a little too firm, but only just barely.
I've always had a low "normal" temperature. Most people are 98.6º; my "normal" is 97.8º.
I had a "Why Be Normal?" bumper sticker on my first car. I put it on upside down, of course.
I had a telescope when I was growing up. I used to like to go out on clear nights and look at moon craters, the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, etc. My favorite constellation is Orion, and my son is named after it.
I never pass on these chain-letter things, but sometimes I do at least answer them.
If anyone *wants* me to pass this on to you, let me know... or just share five facts on your own. If you tag me on the post, I'll be sure to read it. :)
