“The Dog Ate My [Chanel] Homework”: Apollo

I never thought I’d ever use “The dog ate my homework” — that old hoary chestnut, cliché, and excuse that some kids use when they haven’t done their homework—  but Apollo actually ate my homework! Well, to be precise, he ate a good third of my draft of the Chanel Le Lion review. No, I’m not joking.

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Say Hello To… APOLLO!

I wanted to introduce you to my new child, the holy terror and infant delinquent called Apollo. He’s huge, he’s naughty, he’s defiant and unruly, he’s an agent of chaos that has turned my life (and house) upside down— and I love him.

I would love him far more, however, if he let me sleep more than an hour at a time and didn’t use my arm as a pin cushion for his cannibalistic tendencies. (The wild child is nicknamed “Jaws” for a reason!)

I promised you a photo deluge of puppy adoreableness, so get ready for the Tales of Apollo!

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Scent, Pandemics, Escape, Dogs, Baking, and Surviving 2020

There is not a person alive who has been unaffected by the wretchedness of 2020 and the pandemic that has dominated the list of traumas. I won’t even start to talk about the issues of this year because they are many and all hideous. But what about the escape methods for many of us during the best of times: scent? How much is perfumery still a big escape in the midst of one of the worst years in the 21st century?

Fourreau Noir Serge Lutens

Fourreau Noir. Now vtg Bell Jar. Photo: my own.

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Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays, everyone. His Highness, my Imperial Teutonic Overlord, and I wish you a holiday season filled with peace, joy, fangs, fur, fat paws, the best of memories, endless laughter, good food, great health, and much love. May your new year be filled with the same.

Have you all been crazily busy with holiday and family festivities, whether Hanukkah, Christmas, or something else? On my end, I’m working through the details for the year-end summation and “Best Of” list, the writing of which, honestly, feels as though it’s never going to end. Never.Ever.Going.To.End. Part of it is my difficulty in summarizing — succinctly — 20+ fragrances, some of it is due to my obsessive-compulsive need to re-test all the fragrances on the list to figure out their precise rankings, trying to juggle all that with holiday planning, and then dealing with His Highness’ ongoing illness as well.

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