Quebec City Day 3
Last day mainly consisted of eating brunch at a super adorable place called Le Lapin Saute, visiting a frozen waterfall, and driving home. A sad parting from an adorable city with awesome people.
License plate summary of my trip.
interesting
Quebec City Day 2
DOG SLEDDING.
DOGS.
I LOVE DOGS.
THERE WERE SO MANY TODAY AND THEY WERE ALL SO ADORABLE.
Also, dog sledding is incredibly exhilarating. It makes you feel powerful and strong and the cold air rushing past your face while you ride through trails with your team is just perfect. I highly recommend it. Don’t be afraid to be in control either! I “drove” for two straight hours, then a break, and then Mr. Chokkattu drove the last hour back to the compound, and our path guide was about as big as I was. We managed just fine, though being a lighter weight has mild disadvantages (kids, for example, just by weight should not be given control of the sleds, as the family we road in a group with showed by constantly falling behind and falling off their sled. They were great sports about it though!)
Happy New Years + Quebec City Day 1
Happy New Year everyone! I hope your celebrations went well.
We decided to go visit Edgewater and see if we could get a glimpse of the NYC fireworks this year, as well as get shabu-shabu. The display wasn’t as big as we had hoped, but the food was good and we were in good company.
We then drove off to Canada, final destination Quebec City! We stopped by in Montreal for breakfast. Shout-out to the two random guys in a car that offered me weed. I appreciate the sentiment, hope you had a great New Year’s. I did not accept, by the way. We stopped into Second Cup before heading off again.
My favorite gourmands
I don’t wear a lot of gourmands. I’m an ethereal or incense floral kind of girl. I’m also a fan of the weird stuff, like the fish market Etat Libre D’Orange Secretions Magnifiques and the fermented Byredo Pulp. That being said, tis’ the season! It’s cold and dark and dreary (or it would be if not for global warming), so wanting a bit of warm creamy sweetness is to be expected.
This is a list for people who probably aren’t really into gourmands. No big vanilla bombs to be found, I apologize. Read More
The new Annick Goutal boutique on Madison Ave.
It’s a good day when you can kick back with the lovely people of Sniffapalooza and the NYC fragrance community and get buzzed on perfume.
Mr. Chokkattu and I stopped at Lladro first, but I forgot to take pictures of the pretty porcelain, brand new candles and a new votive. No matter, they had three new home fragrances. Gardens of Valencia and Mediterranean Beach are both florals, Mediterranean is heavier on the musk, and I Love You, Mom is a gourmand, floral on top of chocolate and honey.
Calvin Klein releases gender-free fragrance
http://www.essence.com/2015/11/30/calvin-klein-releases-gender-free-fragrance
Hey Calvin Klein, the fragrance industry already has a term for “gender-free” fragrance: unisex. I think that you know that, seeing as CK One is unisex.
Unless you just mean your marketing campaign. To which, sure, jump on that wagon before it leaves. The popularity of Orange is the New Black, the media-positive view of Caitlyn Jenner’s transition, and H&M and all of the little companies that have made it safe for the big and the old to do this makes this a decent time to get on. And it really hits that “no labels” thing that millennials like.
Starting off November with a bang
Picture from the NYTimes article linked below
Drinking three glasses of champagne ‘could help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s disease’
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/drinking-three-glasses-of-champagne-every-day-can-help-prevent-alzheimers-disease-a3109626.html
The article has been amended to say that it’s three glasses of champagne a week, not a day! Which is good because I don’t think anyone was trying to push someone to expensive alcoholism in the pursuit of avoiding mental degradation. As someone with a grandmother with Alzheimer’s, and have a terrible memory in general, I feel like I should probably start drinking champagne just in case. Preventative measures and all. Read More
House of Matriarch Blackbird
Blackbird was created by Christi Meshell and first came out in 2012. It has since amassed a cult following. House of Matriarch has also gathered similar praise, as it went on to win so many awards I think it would just be easier for everyone if you just clicked above for their website.
But Blackbird: Niche leather! Oud! Cannabis! All of the hype flavors on one train. Rave reviews, including one gentleman I recall reading the reaction of who didn’t necessarily see the pleasure of wearing fragrance until he smelled this on a friend of his. So I was glad when a friend recommended we try this one together. I’m a little late to the hype train, I do live on the other side of the US after all, but I figure this stuff probably has a mild following so I’m not too far behind.
Well let’s give it a go shall we? Read More
Mitsouko vs. Mitsouko
I have been reassured by several reliable-enough sources on the internet that 1989 Mitsouko counts as vintage, THEREFORE.
AND I have also received my Surrender to Chance sample of Mitsouko which I’m 99.5% certain is not a vintage in any way, though I don’t know what batch it is, so it’s time to compare them and, perhaps, contrast them!
I visited Twisted Lily tonight for their Sniffapalooza kick-off gathering and drenched myself in niche juice, so here’s to hoping that the shower I just took helps mitigate any interference. Also touching the wrist pad of my laptop makes my wrists come away with a rather unappetizing rubber scent, so I’ve been trying not to do that. Read More
6 Scents 6 Selves
These are all male-leaning or unisex, but I have no problem wearing Fils de Dieu or Le 3’ Homme myself and I am a tiny, rather unimposing female. The Jungian personalities that I decided would be best suited to each fragrance is also just my opinion. I would never discourage anyone from wearing what they like unless they ask for it explicitly! Mr. Chokkattu and I decided that these were the most versatile that we collectively own, so the list is obviously biased in our direction.
Nearly all of the fragrances in mentioned in this list come from Twisted Lily’s The Sands sample collection which I purchased for him a few months ago. I would like to take this moment and congratulate myself on being able to choose gifts really well, and also bask in the smugness of getting Mr. Chokkattu’s older brother in on the fragrance game without actually having to interact with him. (He basically stole the sample of Tom of Finland Mr. Chokkattu had received from Scent Trunk.) Anyway.
Enjoy the list!
Pomelo girl thoughts 