Category Archives: I’ve been thinking

Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky – the movie

I've been thinking, World of Perfume February 16, 2014 Comments: 6

I saw it two days ago and I’m still under its influence.

The main thing I got out of that movie is the fact that whoever tried to write a biography of Gabrielle Chanel probably failed. As I haven’t read any of them, I don’t want to sound like I’m passing judgment on books I never read, it’s just that this movie brought to life the complexity of who Coco Chanel was that I don’t think anyone trying to write about her life can encompass her personality and keep true about it.Coco_Chanel_&_Igor_Stravinsky

I’m aware this also sounds very presupposing after only seeing one movie but I’m blaming it on the director (Jan Kounen). After all I’ve read about her and now seeing this movie, all I can say is she was obviously a personality larger than life that kept her thoughts to herself and went through her life doing what she felt she should. Smiling a mysterious, mischievous smile of hers and dropping men to their knees after saying anything in that smoke-battered voice of hers. At least that is how I imagine her after seeing her brought to life by Anna Mouglalis (who was masterful).

The strange thing is, I now think of Igor Stravinsky as a loser. A weak man when it came to women. Again, I have no idea what their relationship was like but the idea I got is that he couldn’t handle her being more successful and well, richer. Men rarely do. 😉 I could be wrong on account of Igor though…

Basically, after seeing this movie, I feel a renewed wish to understand fashion and enjoy it more, but also to smell the original Chanel perfumes – the time depicted in the movie is around the birth of Chanel 5.

But most importantly, I would love to have met her in real life. Woman ahead of her time, one probably reviled by the women of her acquaintance but still strong and successful and enduring.

I wish I knew where women like that get their strength from. So I could find it in myself as well. She might have made some dubious choices in her life, but she made them and went on. We all make mistakes, but ours aren’t made public. How many of us would be willing to forge our way ahead in spite of them?

 

P.S. Even though the movie depicts Stravinsky’s work and worries, I admit, I didn’t really care much for his part, I just loved the way Coco was portrayed. I did enjoy the music in the movie immensely though. 😉

Behind times

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume February 4, 2014 Comments: 15

It’s not really surprising I’m behind perfume news considering how much free time for it I have (basically none). It’s a busy time at work and after it there really isn’t that much time (or energy) left for anything but bed.

But I don’t want to bore you all with the fact I have no free time, I was more shocked with the fact that pleasantly surprised as I was with what I thought were news about the new Dior Collection Privée Elixirs Précieux (Rose, Ambre, Oud and Musc) – a short Google search showed it was only news to me. 🙂

Even though it is only news to me, I got very excited after reading the French Vogue article where they said they were meant for layering. I must say I have high hopes of them smelling good by themselves and together.

Seeing though that they cost 280 €, I might have to decide they don’t really smell that great… 😉

Esxence – The Scent of Excellence

I've been thinking, World of Perfume January 29, 2014 Comments: 22

Is taking place in Milan this year for the 6th time,  from March 20-23.

With these brands being there, it’s the place to visit to start off your spring with a scentful bang.

I just might have to schedule my skiing trip to France to coincide with this (Milan is on our way). 😉

My book choices in 2013

Book review, I've been thinking, Reading challenge, World of Books January 2, 2014 Comments: 10

Here is what my year looked liked when it came to reading. If you take a closer look, you will notice Harry Potter appearing several times (it was a stressful year) and you will also notice that of my 100 books in a year goal, I basically came 2/3 to the finish line (luckily that’s not how I run). 😉

I keep thinking that the fact that I read every day if I can (and I usually can, as I schedule my time in such manner), I would be able to get two books read in a week (on average) but no. Well, a part was really my fault because I got hooked on Vampire Diaries and while watching all 4 seasons in the time allotted to reading, no books were added to my list.

Generally though, I’m very happy with what I’ve read in 2013 and I highlighted my favorites.

Who knows, maybe next year is the year I hit 100. 😉

 

1. Justin Cronin: The Passage

2. J. Rollins & R. Cantrell: The Blood Gospel

3. Chris Ashbrook: A Darker Gold

4. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl: Beautiful Creatures

5. Shannon Delaney: Weather Witch

6. Melissa Marr: Carnival of Souls

7. Julie Kagawa: The Eternity Cure

8. Steven Brust: Dragon

9. Steven Brust: Issola

10. Steven Brust: Dzur

11. Robert Masello: The Romanov Cross

12. Mia Thompson: Stalking Sapphire

13. James M. Tabor: Frozen Solid

14. Eloisa James: Desperate Duchesses

15. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

16. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

17. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

18. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

19. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

20. Kim Harisson: Once dead, twice shy

21. Stephanie Laurens: And then she fell

22. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

23. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

24. Dan Brown: Inferno

25. Claudia Dain: Daring a Duke

26. Sam Cabot: Blood of the Lamb

27. P. Briggs: River Marked

28. P. Briggs: Frost Burned

29. Kate Elliott: Cold Magic

30. Kate Elliott: Cold Steel

31. Kate Elliott: Cold Fire

32. James Rollins: The Eye of God

33. Kresley Cole: MacRieve

34. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

35. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

36. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

37. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

38. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

39. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

40. Cinda Williams Chima: The Enchanter Heir

41. Alex Connor: The Rembrandt Secret

42. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

43. John Oehler: Aphrodesia

44. Cristin Terrill: All Our Yesterdays

45. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

46. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

47. JK. Rawling: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

48. Jennifer Lynn Barnes: The Naturals

49. Kresley Cole: Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles)

50. Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue: After The Ending (The Ending Series)

51. Nigel McCrery: Silent Witness

52. Lindsey Farleigh: Echo Prophecy (Echo Trilogy, #1)

53. J. Carson Black: The Survivors Club

54. Lizzy Ford: Cursed (Voodoo Nights, #1)

55. Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue: Into the Fire (The Ending Series #2)

56. Molly Harper: How to Run with a Naked Werewolf

57. Julianna Scott: The Holders

58. Lizzy Ford: Hear no Evil (Hidden Evil, #1)

59. Susan Isaacs: Compliments of a Friend

60. Sabrina Jeffries: When the Rogue Returns

61. Lisa Jackson: Sinister

62. Deb Marlowe: An Unexpected Encounter

63. Sarah Morgan: Sleigh Bells in the Snow

64. Veronica Roth: Divergent (Divergent series #1)

65. N.K. Jemisin: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

66. Isabella Bradford: A Wicked Pursuit

67. Scott Lynch: The Republic of Thieves

68. Jennifer Lynn Barnes: The Naturals

2013. The year that was

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume December 31, 2013 Comments: 24

I have no better words to describe it. It was, it’s over now.

I look back on it and all I can think is, thankfully, it’s over. Nothing bad happened to me but it still felt like a bad year, full of bad news (both domestic and international), lethargy, indifference, deaths – generally, a year that didn’t display human kind at its best (an understatement) and did display it at some of its worst.

I always feel guilty for thinking like this, I feel I am being ungrateful. Compared to most of the world, I lead a life of plenty. And realistically speaking, it’s true. I lack for nothing, quite the contrary, I have a great family, a nice job, a good education, great circle of friends. I live in a beautiful country. I travel. I can buy perfumes and books. I am also healthy and hopefully will remain so.

So why feel like my year was one I just went through? Because it was. It mostly feels like a year where I went through all the motions of my everyday life when actually it felt more like hibernation with some small sparks of life.

But I want to focus on all the positive things this year brought me (because it feels like the hibernation period might be over) and one should always bring in the new year on a positive note. 🙂

 

PERFUME

This year has brought me some true treasures. 🙂black smoke

I discovered Cuirelle by a lucky chance and fell in love completely.

Suzanne opened my eyes to what incredibly happy perfume 24, Faubourg is.

I listened to Maurice Roucel give a talk on perfumes and met some new perfume friends.

And then the new Puredistance Black came out. And speaking of black, it really has become my favorite color to wear.

 

 

BOOKS

I discovered I am hooked to post-apocalyptic novels of any and every caliber – YA, horror, zombie, romance – you name it, I’ll probably enjoy it. I do wonder about what that says about me because I’m scared of the actual possibility (some of them sound too realistic). Am I preparing for the possibility?!passage

I haven’t read World War Z but I did see the movie and loved it. I’m guessing the book is better. When someone asks me what I want for birthday, that will be on my list (although I can already see the eye-rolling accompanying my wish for more books). 😀

I also think I will never reach my annual goal of 100 books. Last year I came closest, but this year, I think it’s the worst so far. Maybe I should sign up for the 50 books a year challenge, I would be able to finish that one. 😉

 

THE REST

The highlights of my year have been the trips to Vienna and Rome. In Vienna I finally got to meet the lovely Birgit and her boys, with an additional surprise of meeting Sandra and her son as well.

Rome was a trip we planned while in Paris in 2012. I cannot say how happy I am that I got to meet with Suzanne, Mark and Asali in Rome again. I thought there wasn’t a city in the world that could remove Paris from the top of my list of places I would love to live, but there’s Rome. I love that city and I hope to visit it again soon.

View from the park above Spanish steps

View from the park above Spanish steps

It might seem like I had a very active year, what with finishing 4 half-marathons in 3 different countries, but that was an uphill fight all the time, as all I wanted to do was stay home and read, and not go out and run. Still, you can’t tell that from the races, so at least it looked good on the outside. 😉

IMG_2034

See how tired I was?!

But I took time off for the last two months as I needed to replenish my physical and psychological energy levels. I actually feel better now.

So, without further ado,

Wishing you all a successful, fulfilling New Year full of happiness, laughter and joy!

*off to toast to that with a glass of champagne*

Champagne_glass_flower_stem_shape

I succumbed

I've been thinking, World of Books December 11, 2013 Comments: 3

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been lately and what I’ve been doing, the answer is home, watching Vampire Diaries.

Yes, I watch teenage vampire soap operas it seems. And make no mistake, it’s a soap opera type of series.

I can’t help but be reminded of Penny in Big Bang Theory getting addicted to a video game. I have a bit of a geeky taste, yes. I adore Big Bang Theory and laugh my heart out watching it.

I also love science-fiction and fantasy and can talk about books and movies from both genres while also knowing the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek (I do get lost in the variants and generations a bit though when they stray from Captain Janeway, Captain Picard and Captain Kirk).

But to get back to the point – I got addicted to Vampire Diaries. Luckily for me, I’m half-way through season 4 and I won’t watch season 5 until it’s finished but that won’t take me that long as four combined.vampire

I feel a bit stupid as I stopped reading books at some point because the story just got winded (the same happened with The House of Night books, which if they ever get turned into a series, will also be a teenage vampire soap opera.

Anyway, the story and characters have gaping holes at some points and you feel like tearing your hair out, but it somehow just works and sucks you in. I don’t even want to go into all the violence and alcohol that might actually sound more than tempting after watching this (I know the whisky they keep drinking is certainly tempting me).

Still, I can’t help it – I spend all my free time watching it and enjoying every moment. 🙂

Luckily there is not much left so I’ll be back to my regular life soon. And keeping time with my read-along.

That is definitely a telling sign, I don’t even read because I need to watch this.

Addicted.

Today I’m ashamed to be a Croat

I've been thinking December 2, 2013 Comments: 35

It seems we are a nation that is either intolerant of differences or generally doesn’t care at all.

Croatia had to vote today on a referendum whether it will be put into our constitution that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.

So, after today, we are going to have an additional clause in it, saying exactly that.

To think that I live among smart, tolerant people was obviously a serious judgment error on my part. Because it seems 65% of voters today think it’s okay to limit the right to marriage. That is, 65% of the 38% of people who actually care one way or the other. As that was the percentage of voters today – 38%.

My heart aches knowing that I live in a country where this can happen and no one can do anything about it (too many idiotic things allowed, leading to such a stupid outcome).

The most incredible thing is that none of the arguments why limiting marriage would be ok is actually based in logic, Catholic religion or common human decency. But the other side kept bringing those up like it were, and now it seems to have worked.

I do wish I lived someplace else where things like this don’t happen and people actually listen to common sense. Aren’t hypocritical. Mean. Or just plain stupid.

Still, it hurts. And I feel ashamed.

So, if anyone has a job offer anywhere that isn’t Croatia, I would be more than willing to consider it.

I wish I could write

I've been thinking, World of Books November 10, 2013 Comments: 21

I think many voracious readers actually think this.

I love reading so much and my imagination works overtime (especially when I’m asleep or resting) so I can’t help but wonder if my imagined scenarios might make for a good reading.writing

It’s just that I am no writer. I neither have the knowledge nor the discipline (especially the discipline).

I do wish though that I could write about all these things I enjoy reading about so much. The romance, the thrilling stories, the paranormal characters, the post-apocalyptic society, the friendship, the bravery, the tragedy of personal traits…

There are so many things I enjoy reading about that fill me with enormous anticipation and happiness and that put a smile on my face. I often wish I could return the favor by doing the same.

It’s just, I am no novel writer.

I tend to express myself in short sentences and even explain things to people in short and (hopefully) concise speech. I hate long explanations, writing long essays or anything that requires more than several sentences to be communicated.

Basically, I’ll never make a good novel writer. I just I wish I could though…

What good is interesting imagination if it can’t be put into words…

The sun, the sea and Bronze Goddess

I've been thinking, World of Perfume August 22, 2013 Comments: 25

That last will never be applied to me. Not only do I not think of myself in divine terms, but bronze is also a word that people would never apply while looking at me.  I actually got asked (this year again) if I even went to a vacation, considering the amount of tan I got.

I do get tanned but compared to most people here, I’m still fair skinned.

So this where Bronze Goddess comes into play. It is my go-to vacation scent.  I should also remember that for next year’s packing as there is no need to bring a whole bunch of decants when all I’ll be wearing is BG.

But I don’t recommend wearing it to work which is what I did one day when the weather was extremely hot and I was wishfully thinking of the vacation to come – a colleague was sniffing around our room asking who’s wearing sunscreen? 🙂

You’ve been warned.

Now the vacation is over, Bronze Goddess is back to its place to be forgotten until the next summer vacation.

And if you are ready for some wistfulness with me, here are two photos to help you with that:

DSC_0477
DSC_0455

The odd woman out

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume July 18, 2013 Comments: 10

Would be me actually. :-S

It seems that I, in my blogging efforts, have completely missed the fact that there is a lively perfumista scene here in Croatia, thriving through different fora, mostly the ‘local’ version of Fragrantica (punmiris.com).

And if it weren’t for my decision to sell some of the perfumes from my (unfortunately still growing) collection, I would still be unaware of this fact.

I met another of those lovely perfumistas today and realized she actually knows all the other people I meet through these sites rather well. It is only I who is meeting everyone just now (or in the last year).
Well better now than never. 😉

And I’m loving it!

(I hope that didn’t sound like the McDonald’s commercial…)