Special Moments
Last Friday, my husband and I had dinner plans with friends, but we wanted to make the most of the time we had with the kids before the sitter arrived. Instead of sitting at the counter in the kitchen while the kids had dinner, we decided to make a fireside picnic. We put a waterproof picnic blanket down in front of the fireplace, and the kids happily ate dinner basking in the warmth of the fire. The kids loved every minute, and no one complained about dinner, which is unusual! I want to continue to be spontaneous, even in the smallest of ways, to create meaningful memories for the kids.
CATEGORIES: Kids and family
Inspiration
After receiving Dinner: A Love Story, by Jenny Rosenstrach, for Christmas, I immediately starting reading and cooking my way through the book. So far, I love and completely identify with Jenny 's insights about food and family, and I have enjoyed every recipe that I have tried. I marvel at how well she manages to create the kind of meals that I am always searching for: those that both young chidren and adults can enjoy together. My days as a short order cook are over.
I visited Jenny's blog thinking that I would find tips for Monday night's dinner, but instead, I found another level of inspiration for my business. Inspiration is everywhere! Her post, entitled How to blog: My rules, lists nine lessons that she has found to be the most helpful throughout her blogging life. Lesson # 8 - Don’t Not Write Because Someone Else Has Done it Better resonanted with me. In my case I find it easy to become overwhelmed by number of fragrances on the market. When I recently scrolled through an enormous list of new fragrance launches in 2012, and think about how crowded the marketplace is, it's hard not to feel like my fragrances will be seen, heard and appreciated in the midst of cachophony of the others competing for shelf space. The conclusion I usually draw is that there is always room for something beautiful. Jenny says it perfectly - "Remember: Every story has been told, but not your version of it." Lesson #9 - It all goes somewhere - Jenny says, "the act of creating almost always leads you somewhere you never would have gone otherwise, and makes you see things differently. How is that ever bad?". I have grown and learned more than I could ever have imaged through the process of starting my own business and creating the fragrances I had always dreamed of making. The possibilities are endless if you don't let your own fear create limits that will stifle your creativity. I think we can all use a reminder now and then.
- Jess
*Image via www.dinneralovestory.com
CATEGORIES: Perfume news, events and articles
The Scent of a Man
My husband does not wear cologne, so I don't usually spend much time and effort sampling men's fragrance. I've grown accustomed to a man smelling only of the lingering scent of shaving cream and soap. Recently, a friend, who is an author, asked me to do some research on some men's fragrance for her new book (the scent of the main male character, a teenager, is pivotal). I spent a lot of time smelling, and calling on my own memories of male scents from my teenage years.
Since I've had men's fragrances on the brain, I was excited to see Clayton Ilolahia's article entitled Olfactory Time Travel in The Perfume Magazine. Ilolahia works in the luxury retail sector, and also writes about fragrance on his blog, What Men Should Smell Like. He is often asked about his favorite men's fragrance, and he beautifully describes how complicated it can be to give a simple answer. After tracing his own love affair with various scents over time, he settles on Terre d'Hermes as the perfume equivalent of a multitasking blazer that can go from day to night, informal to formal, and hold up in any climate. Ilolahia says, Terre d"hermes was "created for Hermes in 2006, master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena compares his composition to a Japanese Haiku; his restrained use of raw materials is both simple yet highly communicative. It’s apparent simplicity is its greatest complexity. Terre d’Hermes offers a transparency that allows its wearer’s own personality to shine through..." This may be one that even my fragrance-shy husband would consider. If he isn't on board, I would be happy to add it to my own collection!
CATEGORIES: Perfume news, events and articles
