My Signature Scent.

The first perfume I remember owning was called Baby Soft. The name was perfect -- it was a whisper-soft scent, like that of babies. Wearing it made me feel safe, cocooned. Baby-like. Then came Narcisse by Chloe. It bordered on the almost too sweet, practically cloying, but I loved it because it made me feel grown up to wear it.

Those were the perfumes I routinely used in middle school, and then in high school there came a succession of different perfumes, many of them by Calvin Klein, with such heady names as Obsession and Eternity. I liked them all, but wearing them felt a bit like wearing someone else's clothes -- I could never really own them.

Of all the perfumes I used in high school and throughout my adolescence, Cristalle by Chanel is the one that stands out the most in my memory. It was a crisp, fresh scent, and as I conjure it up now, I can almost smell it. It is the only perfume I wore during that time that came closest to feeling like my signature scent.

The first ever perfume I received from a boy was Allure by Chanel. He was my first boyfriend and it was my first year of college, a time of experimentation, of stretching out my wings. He was gone before the last drop evaporated from the perfume bottle. The perfume made me feel sexy to wear it, but it was really more of a costume than anything else. I couldn't truly own it.

Later college brought other boys, other perfumes. I had a short-lived tryst with the perfume Rush by Gucci --perhaps the strongest scent I have ever worn. It's like a floral explosion, spicy to the nose. One of my most dedicated suitors, a pilot, bought me the perfume Romance by Ralph Lauren. I dumped him, but kept the perfume. I liked how flower-like it smelled, and wearing it made me feel clean and fresh. Then I met my current boyfriend and started experimenting with more "mature" perfumes, like Vera Wang's signature scent and the perennial classic, Chanel No. 5.

Now I usually alternate between Chanel No. 5, Romance, and one of my newest acquisitions, Magnifique by Lancome. The latter is a floral, fruity scent that makes me feel very feminine. But is it my signature scent? Can I call any of the scents I've worn throughout my life signature scents? I'm not sure. I don't think I've found my signature scent as of yet -- the perfume that feels entirely my own, the scent that makes other people think of me when they smell it.

This is what I'm getting for myself today...

I am so flipping excited...

UPDATE: So I got the iPhone! It's the 3GS model, 16 gb, white, and it's oh so pretty. I think I'm in love... ;) What I need now are your app recommendations. What are your favorite apps to use on the iPhone? Let me know in the comments!

When I grow up...

The lovely Camilla from Champagne Bubbles is featuring my "When I Grow Up" list over on her blog, so go check it out! Don't forget to come back here and tell me what you thought of my list. You might also want to send your list to Camilla so she can feature you. :)

Thanks again, Camilla, for making my day!

Tune in Tuesday! {White Rabbits}

 Happy Tuesday! At least it's a happy one for me because my visit to my heart doctor went well -- he gave me the thumbs up to start going to the gym (which I haven't been to since Bush was in office, and um, I think it was the other Bush). Now that I'm losing a little weight, I want to take it a step further and get in shape. I got a free pass to Bally's, which I'm not keen on because it's a co-ed gym (yeah, I know this is a silly reason), but it's a free pass for an entire week, so what do I have to lose?

Today I'm starting a new feature on this here blog: Tune in Tuesday! Every Tuesday, I will introduce you to my latest musical obsession. I'll try to pick bands and artists that you may not be familiar with, because there's nothing I love more than introducing others to awesome new music.

This week's pick is "Percussion Gun" by White Rabbits. I love the drumbeat in the background, the way the lead singer growls when he sings, and pretty much everything about the song. Here's the video below. Enjoy! And be sure to tell me what you're listening to today -- I also loving learning about awesome new music. :D

Lolcat of the Week

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I  can't help but laugh at this week's Lolcat, cruel as the picture may be. (Never mind that I used to do the same thing to my dog...)

Have a great week, everyone! :)

Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Confession: I have never seen all of Breakfast at Tiffany's before today. Yes, I can hear you gasping on the other end, but it's true. As much as I love old films, and as much as I love Audrey Hepburn (who doesn't?), I just have never had the opportunity to sit down and watch the whole film. Sure, I've seen a clip or two here or there, but the whole thing? Not until today. What prompted the impulse was browsing the free films available on On Demand yesterday afternoon. I saw they had Breakfast at Tiffany's, and I wondered for perhaps the hundredth time why I had never seen it before (I seriously think I must be the only girl who's never seen it). So I decided, What the hell. And I started watching it then and there.

My date with the boyf interrupted my movie-watching, and so I wasn't able to finish watching the film until this afternoon. I curled up in bed with some peppermint tea and saw the last hour and a half I was missing. Final verdict? I absolutely loved it. I used to wonder if the film would be worth all the hype, and you know what? It totally is.

Here are my favorite moments in the film:

• Every time Holly's landlord Mr. Yunioshi (who's played by Mickey Rooney!) threatens to call the police on her for making noise.
  
• When Holly is woken up by Paul aka "Fred" and she's wearing that adorable blue sleeping mask.

• Everything Holly wears, but especially her hats.
• When Holly explains to Paul why she refuses to name Cat.
  
• When Holly and Paul spend a day doing things they've never done before -- I totally need to do this with le boyf!
• When Holly and Paul visit the library and he signs their copy of his book, much to the librarian's dismay.
  
• When Holly and Paul visit the 5 and dime and steal those hilarious animal masks.

• Holly's reaction to the press when she's arrested in the narcotics sting -- is she ever not charming?
• When Paul tells "2-E" that for once he'd like to take care of someone else for a change. (*swoon*)
  
• The ending, of course, which had me bawling like a baby. I am such a softy, I swear.
  

If you've never seen the film, I highly recommend it. It's perfect for a lazy, rainy Sunday like today, when you don't feel like doing anything other than curling up in bed with a good film.

Watch the trailer!

How I learned to stop worrying and love the mutt.

 Painting by Casey.

It's no secret I love cats. But I do consider myself solely a cat person? No. The truth is I love all of God's creatures (except for spiders and squirrels, but that's besides the point). I especially love cats, true, but my love for dogs comes just as close. It's just it took me a while to learn this love.

In my defense, my first experience with the Canis lupus familiaris was not a happy one. You see, before I was even a twinkle in my mother's eye, my mother had already had her first baby -- a baby with big brown eyes and a tendency to pant when she got overexcited. Her name was Dolly and she let me know practically the second I came out of the womb that I was not welcome. In fact, my mother loves to tell me about the time(s) when Dolly would stand at the foot of my crib on her back legs just so she could lean into my crib and bark at me. (Gee, thanks, Mom.) To be perfectly honest, I was never that nice to Dolly, either. As soon as I got out of the crib and was fully mobile, I immediately set upon taking revenge on this mean mutt.

Lest ye think I am calling Dolly a mutt as a disparaging slur, she actually was a mutt. I don't know exactly what breeds she was mixed with, but I have to admit she was pretty. She was of smallish to medium size with an orange-red coat and fox-like ears. Her snout was a bit foxy, too, in that it was long. Her eyes were not fox-like though, but those that usually belong to cute yappy dogs, those big brown eyes that practically puddle over with affection. Only hers didn't puddle so much as glare.

Back to the revenge part. How did I wreak my vengeance on this conniving canine? The only way a little girl can -- by dressing Dolly in my doll's clothes. It was poetic justice, in a way, given her name and all. I can still remember the frilly pink frock with matching bonnet into which I stuffed Dolly, her aggravated yips and yowls bringing my parents into my bedroom, upon which my mom immediately started scolding me. My dad knew humor when he saw it, though, and he ran to go get the camera. I still wonder where that picture is... I promise to post it if I find it.

By the time I was well into my teenage years, Dolly and I had made peace of a sort. She no longer stood on her back legs and barked at me. And I no longer dressed her in my doll's clothes, comedic gold though that was. But we were never exactly friends. There was never any love lost between us, and it was understood that yes, Dolly was my mom's first baby, as Mom liked to say. I didn't lose any sleep over this and any lingering resentment had long since faded when Dolly passed away in my 15th year. She was also 15. This was something I never thought about growing up -- Dolly had been born not long before I was and so we were like quasi interspecies twins, if you will. But seeing Dolly fade away at 15, my same age, was a sobering experience that made me question my seeming immortality.

It also made me look at Dolly herself in a different light. She and my mom had the perfect dog-human relationship. They were truly best friends, never far from the other. When one was down, so was the other. When my mom was happy, I remember seeing Dolly's tail wag in sympathetic joy. I realized then and there that this was something I wanted for myself. I wanted my own so-called "man's best friend." I wanted my own pet.

To this day, I've never had a dog like that. My cat Tigger comes close, but I think one day I'd like to get a dog. I yearn for that kind of kinship. We have had one other dog over the years, a Doberman Pinscher that we wound up having to donate to the local police as a K-9 after she decided to try and take a chunk out of my forehead, but that's a blog post for another day... Somehow that experience didn't scare me off liking dogs, though I will be honest and say I probably won't be getting another Doberman Pinscher in the future!

As for what kind of dog I would like, I am not sure. I will probably go to the pound and try to rescue a little puppy. For sure I would want a puppy. Breeds I like are the Papillon and the Cockapoo (the latter of which isn't a pure breed per se but rather a mix between a Poodle and a Cocker Spaniel). But honestly, I know that the dog I select will probably be based on what I feel when I meet him or her for the first time. Even if she's a mutt like my mom's dear Dolly. ;)