Oh, to have money to spend frivolously on shiny things.

If I had time and money to spend I think I would rework my whole wardrobe around this bottle of perfume-I-intend-to-own.

I shamelessly want it, even though more than half of my lust is for the packaging. I started wearing Prada Intense when it came out and it was a big step in the warm fragrance direction for me. At this point my taste goes even woodier and spicier than that very sweet scent, but I still wear it every once in a while.



I was very interested in the bottle as soon as I saw it in print, and when I finally saw it in person my inner snob melted. The smoky bottle, gold, pretty pump, and creepy advertising all get a thumbs-up from me. The scent reminds me of a more accessible Dzing! by L'Artisan Perfumerie... with a way better bottle.


Now Smell This has a clear-cut and accurate review of the L'Eau Ambrée here, and a breakdown of the relationship of the Prada amber variations here.

So, on to what I would be wearing if I smelled like those creepy women in the advertisement. I have many thoughts.

For instance, this girly jewelery.




(Banana Republic)

Then there's this ostrich leather clutch that might be a nice accent piece with my otherwise highly feminine look:

(Brooks Brothers)

And what about this attractive modest dress:

(Anthropologie)

And I think I need some of these...

(Nordstrom)

Then, top that all off with a nice soundtrack and my fantasy is complete.

-Papermoon

one of the best days of my whole life.

all throughout my childhood i was a compulsive lister. i don't think much has changed. i was constantly revising lists: in my head, in my diary, on scraps of paper and on chalkboards. i loved planners and pocket notebooks and post-it notes, and have written myself at least one daily 'to-do' list since i was about twelve. (i used to include 'wake up' every morning!) the back of my first diary--pink with ballet slippers, and my name in stickers-- held a running list of 'best friends' that is hilarious too look at, both for the ridiculous reasons i crossed people off the list, only to add them back on, and for the fact that the word 'best' didn't seem to limit my quantity! 12 best friends, really?

one of my mental lists through my growing up years was that of the 'best days of my whole life'. some were very specific events--one particular Palm Sunday in which i felt very grown up, my eighth and ninth birthdays, the day my brother and i filled up a top hat with snow and made beautiful 'snow cake', some family vacations, a 24 hour period i spent exclusively painting as a freshman in college, a very hilarious fancy dinner in which my sister katie and i accidentally got drunk... there are too many to count.

today was one of the best days of my life, despite being entirely solitary and without much to speficically define it. i suppose i will just list everything, in keeping with the theme!

• woke up (without an alarm) to good weather
• spent a lovely almost-hour talking to my littlest sister on the phone (SHE called ME! so nice!)
• cinnamon toast and coffee
• did the underpainting for something new i am working on (mother's day!)
• showered, got dressed in the new ($20) Audrey Hepburn pants i bought yesterday (sorry, it's a cellphone picture)

• lunch on my sun deck, pretending i was on an enormous cruise ship (delicious egg salad and iced tea!)

• read C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves: Friendship
  

and in an hour i will finish it off with Mass. the best.

-papermoon

my mother is magical.

look at what maggie will come home to in an hour!
a surprise transformation of her room...into an ice palace!
it's really no wonder i felt so much kinship with sara crewe as a child.
with a mother who does this kind of thing on your birthday,
how can you not believe you're probably a princess?

-papermoon