Hola, punkins! Tom is taking some time off so I’m jumping in here to torture you, yet again, with a garden post – but this one has a twist! It’s a metaphor for perfume! Yah. and if you stick around long enough I might just get to it!!! 😉
So, with the garden: when I first started my own kitchen gardens, back in the Jurassic Era, I went the way most newbie gardeners do – I planted way, way too many things – and a lot of those things were (gasp!) things I Do Not Like To Eat. Gasp again! What an insane thing to do, right? I mean, who does that? Well, you’d be surprised at how many people do just that. Consider the Zucchini. February/March…sitting in your armchair, in front of an ice-covered window, the lure of the seed and plant catalogues is mighty, indeed. I am in thrall to Renee’s Garden and lemmetellya, fighting the urge to buy every single seed packet on her site is rough! I am tempted by ‘Ronde de Nice’ and ‘Trombetta’ and ‘Summer Scallop Trio’ and they are all just so danged gorgerous, with the charming illustrations…….!!! And then I remember: I don’t really like squashes all that much. I don’t hate them, of course…but I don’t love them. So I buy one little squash plant so I can stuff the blossoms and puree a bit of it for ravioli and I save that squash-space for stuff I actually love, like Brussels sprouts! I’m planning my Autumn garden now and I took a really hard-headed/hearted look at what I would be growing. I got seduced by some gorgeous container lettuces, which is great because who doesn’t eat lettuce? And the idea of 
is too gorgeous to pass up. But I passed on SIX DIFFERENT KINDS OF LETTUCE! because…well, there are two of us and that’s just a ridiculous amount of lettuce! And I don’t need a 10-ft row of potatoes. I’m getting really good at knowing what to plant so we will eat what we grow.
Which is why I have 20 broccoli plants. We eat a LOT of broccoli. I LOVE broccoli. Collards, turnip greens, chard…yum!
illus. stolen: reneesgarden.com
(I hate carrots. But I’m hoping these beauties will help change my mind. Isn’t that a pretty drawing? Yes, I’m weak. Weak!)
So why doesn’t this translate to perfume? I am in that mood to organize my perfume armoire (and the attendant body products) and…I will need a day and a bottle of wine, there’s so much stuff in there! I thought I had edited this down! How did this happen? And why does it make me so happy, even as it, just a little bit, freaks me the hell out? I lie and tell myself that perfume is a luxury, where food is a necessity (and should, therefore, not be wasted)…but we all know that’s beans (which I don’t grow, except for bush beans and those cute 
‘Emerite’ beans because they’re just so danged CUTE! (and I like beans). So if I don’t have 12 varieties of beans, because two people couldn’t possibly eat that many beans in a lifetime, let alone a season, why on earth do I have 12 iterations of Mitsouko? I Raised the Eyebrow at my bfffe’s absurd hoard of knitting yarn, shopping bags and boxes of the stuff….then I brought my smug, fat butt back here to a couple of shopping bags of my own! I feel like I should be doing the Perfumed Walk of Shame, then I figure “oh, heck! I’ll get El O to design some storage system that really will make sense and I can enjoy these beauties….”and somehow, that nevah, evah happens. And even if he did, when would I find time to do the cataloging/spreadsheeting that so many of you overachievers do? I feel sorry for myself, awash in my perfume glory. But not sorry enough to quit doing it. Hey, I did manage to get the seeds ordering under control. That’s enough for one year – right?
Do you get through your samples/decants? What about your Full Bottles? Do you feel satisfaction? Or anxiety? when you near the end of a FB. Do you replace? Do you move on? Do you feel you can ever get anywhere near finishing your collection (I know we’ve discussed this, in part, but I am always fascinated by what drives us to do this!)
Speaking of perfume, though. I have a WINNAH! from the ‘Beauty Everywhere’ post. Gwyneth!!! Send me your info (anitaAT perfumeposse (and then the dot thing) – and I will get some fun samples out to you!!!
all illustrations, property of Renee’s Garden www.reneesgarden.com ; the garden photo is mine. MINE! LOL!
Haha….I think everybody has a myriad of half empty perfume bottles stored away in a box somewhere around the house! 🙂
I’m working on going through my 2-3ml decants just because I have too many of them but I don’t ever recall finishing a full bottle of perfume in my life.
Over a decade ago I drained a bottle of D&G, the red lid one. It was my party perfume, so I must’ve partied a lot 😉 But then I owned maybe 10 bottles, wore 4-5 regularly.
I blame the IFRA. If there wasn’t the constant fear of reformulation or discontinuation, then I think id feel far better about emptying a favourite, knowing that I could get another of the SAME juice. It prevents me from wanting to empty a bottle, and it also has me collecting perfumes I probably wouldn’t have bought if the fear of the IFRA wasn’t so looming! 😉
We have a new category: Blame IFRA! LOL! 😉
My perfume collection has definitely reached the point where I seriously doubt that I will finish another FB in my lifetime. Also, I’vs been on a sampling binge this summer–I have hundreds of samples, 5 or 6 dozen of which I haven’t even tried on skin yet and I keep buying more. Guess I’m approaching the diminishing utility point (not that I particularly care)
I know! I think this is one of those ‘frivolous’ pastimes where getting to the finish line is irrelevant. And Floyd knows we need some of those in our lives, right?
xoA
Well, I’m definitely not a hoarder in other areas, but I’ve NEVER finished a fb…probably because when I actually use an entire sample, I proceed to fb acquisition. It’s a sickness.
LOL! It’s an epidemic, then!
xoxoA
I don’t feel bad at all about my myriad of samples. In fact when I look at them I’m a happy camper, because there’s so very much to choose from. I wear a sample pretty much every day. That’s the majority of my collection. I sample first, then if I drain the sample I move to a decant, then possibly to a full bottle. Possibly because sometimes another decant is more than enough.
that’s a very healthy way to spritz it! xoxoA
Sad to say, if it doesn’t say “feed me” (like kids, cats, BF), there is no chance for survival at my house.
Perfume collecting is a happy, relatively benign form of a DSM entry. It’s non-fattening, doesn’t depend on sweat shop labor, doesn’t increase my chance for transmitted diseases, and going on a bender may put a dent in the budget, but won’t get me fired or destroy too many relationships.
I never thought of it that way! 😀
xoxoA
I am not great at mobile typing so I can’t figure out how to answer Sherri directly, but okra is something I know! Google jambalaya recipeaand add a cup of sliced okra to whicheverer recipe looks best, along with the tomatoes. Okra adds great texture along with flavor. Also try tossing sliced okra with beaten egg whites then seasoned corn meal and fry in hot oil in a skillet. Your teenage kids will love it. 🙂 Musette, I love your garden posts. I don’t like to finish anything regarding perfume because I’m always afraid that I won’t get any more, so I’m pretty much a perfume hoarder. Everything I love turns into a collection, but fortunately my tiny house doesn’t allow things to get too far out of hand, I think?….
your mobile typing is just fine! How’s the ankle?
I’m sending El O over to your house with the okra, okay?
xoxoxoA
Lovely post, Musette! I can’t grow a thing but am very appreciative of those who can. My DH has a pretty good green thumb and used to grow gorgeous roses at our old house — the side yard fence was a thing of beauty! Love that you can grow so much of your own food. I hear you on the organization; my dining room table is covered with boxes, bags, etc. from last year when the A/C went out upstairs and I panickedly transferred everything down into the cooler level. I will have a day or two to myself this weekend so perhaps I can make some progress, ha!
I keep meaning to do that…..what did you call it? Oh, yes….’organization’
ROFL!
xoxoA
I am so enjoying your garden Musette! So lush and such an awesome transformation since last Spring! I understand about growing things you don’t like to eat! Sitting here myself trying to figure out how to use two grocery bags of okra (grows really well here, obviously 🙂 ) my sweet neighbor sent over. Maybe teenagers would like it deep fried and dipped in cheese sauce? On pizza? I’m desperate, really!! Give me ideas, sweet perfumista friends!!
I look at my perfumes as one looks at a wine cellar…a collection of rarities, things I love and unique and pretty bottles (I have a penchant for pastel colors), and I’m always willing to share. Don’t have guilt, if they bring you and someone else joy and make your life better. The samples I write off as hobby money, less expensive than a horse, boat, etc. though I confess they get overwhelming and I have been known to toss them in bouts of organization frustration. My greatest struggle is making myself save for something rare and collectible, like a bottle of Guerlain Cachet Jaune. I’m much more likely to buy the newest instead of holding out 2-3 months for a real treasure.
Oh, Sherri, your comment about okra makes me smile! Always seems to be a boatload of that and zucchini around here as well, from neighbors and co-workers. Would love to know how the okra pizza goes. 😉 Also, maybe there’s some kind of okra bread you can make, or perhaps you can slip some into a casserole or lasagna or something. And when fall/winter comes, there’s always veggie soup.
Ann’s got some excellent suggestions, there. I hate okra like a mongoose hates a snake but I usually grown one (ONE) plant for El O, who loves it. He loves it fried but I also pickle it for him (better for him, all around). here is a good recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pickled-Okra-108764 xoxoxo
PIckled, eh? My DH loves okra so perhaps we’ll give that a go. Thanks!
I’m not a fan of okra OR pickles – so when I tell you that it’s ‘not bad’ – that translates to “FREAKIN’ EXCELLENT” for okra-lovers!
Love, love, love pickled okra.
Ooh.. I have an Epicurious app on my phone. I’ll have to find that recipe.. The only way I really like okra is pickled. I’ve never liked it fried.
You have made me look deep into the empty void only filled by perfume and that freaky chicken we had in LA. I don’t know why I collect. I love it, it makes me happy, maybe it’s getting to the point where I need to downsize but why?
Portia x
’tweren’t the chicken, babydoll…’twas the waffle. the WAFFFFLE!
and you’re right: why? 😀
xoxoA
You had CHICKEN AND WAFFLES in LA???? I was jealous before ( oh, the sniffing and constant perfume talk, sigh…) but now that I know what you ate I am just beside myself. Chicken and waffles is just not served here in the northerly reaches of New England. Portia, you had a quintessentially American experience. Next, we introduce you to chicken fried steak, which has nothing to do with chicken…
I’m with you, Portia! So many aspects of our lives need constant control to work that I’m delighted to have a huge, disordered, haphazard, sloppy, sexy perfume corner. Anyone who comes in my bedroom will see my id on display, but then if they got as far as my bedroom, my id shouldn’t come as a surprise to them. In actuality, the only people likely to see my mess are my husband and our cleaning woman, and my husband is very tolerant and my cleaning woman is past being surprised by what she finds in other people’s houses.
I go through my samples, the ones i like-and finnish them off-found one to be FBW-Songs by Annick Goutal is oh so nice! I was gifted a sample by a perfume fairy godmother! I feel anxiety when i finnish a sample, 🙁 i don’t think that i’m going to be able to live without that fragrance.So before i empty my sample on this one i have to somehow, someway get meself more! Congrats Gwyneth!! Enjoy!!
You’re not alone! 😉 xoxo
This post is so timely, thank’s Musette! Spring will soon come and I’m planning a (megalomaniac, Villandry-inspired) kitchen garden. Needless to say, I’ve just realized I’ve got many seed bags of stuff nobody here really eats. Some serious editing is on the way! Perfumewise, I always sample extensively before I get a FB, mostly because I have to travel abroad to do so. As for the organization of my samples and decants, some might say I don’t even try. There are little boxes everywhere in the house, except maybe in the drawer where they should be. But they are ordered by note (or house, or nose), which match the boxes colors (the Lutens’ are in a deep purple one, for instance), and are placed on strategic places: the Rosine sampler set in the kid’s room, because that’s what I tend to dab on their hair before we go out (many of these are too ‘sweethearted’ for me!); the tobacco ones (in a tan box) by the computer; the Amouages (in a beautiful silver box) in my makeup bag, and so on.) It’s a system. 😛 The idea of making a list is so not me. 🙂 Sounds like a fun drainer.
solanace, you have just given me my new phrase “fun drainer”! I LOVE that!
Lots of folks on here are list-lovers. I envy them because I, too, love to make lists. Only I rarely do and when I do, I rarely keep the things in line with the lists, if that makes sense. I love your color-coding method!
xoxoA