Category Archives: Favorites

Are We Happy Yet?

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Camping makes me happy!

Our September book club pick was a departure from the norm for us. We read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, Or, Why I spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun. Her words, not mine. We usually read fiction. I can’t say as I’m a fan of self-help books or non-fiction, but it was interesting to delve into the idea of being purposefully happy.

I mean, hey, who doesn’t want to be happy? Or happier, as the case may be. I didn’t finish it (which means I pay a $10 fine to the pot), but it was an awful lot of information to take in. It was a twelve month project for the author and each month she created a list of resolutions she wanted to work on. Daunting. Yes. Yet, it did raise some interesting questions. And I learned happiness according to Gretchen Rubin takes a lot of work. I’ll enjoy finishing this book, I found Rubin’s voice and style to be appealing and very easy to relate to.

“Happiness depends upon ourselves.”  Aristotle

This I know to be fact. However, sometimes it takes me a couple of think-throughs to realize I’m unhappy because of my own state of mind. It’s so easy and simple to set the blame elsewhere. On the state of the economy. Or the price of peas.  But really, I’ve got to look at what’s happening with me to figure out why I might be ‘off’. You know, a little on the sour side.

“Act the way I want to feel.” One of Rubin’s Twelve Commandments

I actually found this advice to be helpful. If you want to be happy, act happy. And it makes sense, right? Smile more. What’s that saying? It’s the second best thing you can do with your lips. Be happy for someone else. Laugh. Watch The Big Bang Theory. That always works for me. Work at at.

Howard: Are you planning on kidnapping a woman?
Sheldon: Sarcasm?
Howard: Yes, but mixed with genuine concern.

I mean, come on, how can you not find that hysterical?

“There is no duty we underrate so much as the duty of being happy.” Robert Louis Stevenson

Five Little Things That Make Me Happy! Because it doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to be mindful.

  1. Pretty flowers.
  2. Fresh peaches.
  3. Sitting around a backyard fire.
  4. Autumn leaves.
  5. Cuddled in a fuzzy blanket.

“The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet.” James Openheim

Oh, one more thing.

6. Chocolate Flavored Vodka. (As with all good things:best used in moderation.)

How about you? What five little things make you happy?

 

What Scent Attracts You?

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I love perfume. You’d think I’d have a particular scent that I wear. But at the moment I’m scent free. In fact, I haven’t worn perfume for some time. Unless Pledge counts, or Pine-Sol.  I didn’t worry about spritzing on perfume to do arts and crafts or car pool. Also, there were so many scent free places that it hardly seemed worth it. But, gosh, I’m finding that I miss the sense of comfort and beauty that comes from dabbing on your favorite perfume. Maybe because I shy away from any other kind of scented product, I miss having a much loved perfume. Or two.

 

In my twenties Opium was one of my favorites.

A legendary fragrance for the woman who adores Yves Saint Laurent. An oriental and spicy harmony. Sheer sensuality, a voluptuous, provocative and controversial fragrance with notes of Mandarin, Jasmine, Lily of the Valley and Vanilla.

The other was Cinnabar.

Cinnabar Perfume by Estee Lauder, Launched by the design house of estee lauder in 1978, cinnabar is classified as a refined, subtle, oriental fragrance. This feminine scent possesses a blend of incense, flowers, spice and amber. It is recommended for evening wear.

Then I had children and I don’t know…things changed. Something about that time in my life changed what scents I was attracted to and suddenly my favorites didn’t have the desired effect. Hum. Maybe my hormone levels altered my skin’s chemistry. I don’t know. Now, years later, I’m back in the market for perfume.

Choosing a perfume might seem like a daunting decision given the range of choices. But this is one choice that’s completely visceral. While so many of our choices are governed by reason, it’s refreshing to have to make a choice that is purely emotional. Governed by nothing more than, “I don’t know why, but I love it!”

Perfumes have ‘families’. You can start by deciding what family attracts you. Maybe you’re target family has more of a Florals personality – feminine and fun-loving. Could be, like me, you’re drawn to those Orientals scents – exotic and mysterious. Then there’s Fresh and Clean – invigorating and dynamic. Citrus makes me think summer and sunny days – fresh squeezed and sharp. Woody – a power scent – mossy with shades of romantic.

Keep in mind this is not a decision to be hurried. You can’t smell a strip of scented paper and decide it’s the one for you. Or pick one because you fell in love with the packaging. Don’t you adore those pretty bottles? Not to mention the commercials. They’re enough to make you run out on the spot and buy it. Risque, sexy, romantic, bold – perfume commercials definitely invite a reaction.

No. You need to test it out on your skin. Decide on a ‘family’ and start sampling. Note that perfumes have top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Top notes last for the first 5 minutes to half an hour, by then the  middle notes of the perfume’s ‘family’ emerge. Finally base notes show themselves. They give the scent weight or holding power. So dab a little on your skin in a couple of different places and wait it out. We all know about pulse points.

Smell equals memory. Our ability to remember a smell is greater than our ability to remember what we’ve seen. Whether it’s your grandmother’s perchance for Chanel No. 5 or her chocolate chip cookies, those scents pull you in, bring back memories. Memories are how we pick the right family fragrance, choose what attracts us. So why not choose a perfume to help create memories.

A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting.  Christian Dior

So how about it? Do you wear perfume? What’s your signature fragrance? Or do you prefer to go sans scent? How about a favorite memory centered around smell? What scents attract you?