1. Design blogs. If I have an addiction that goes beyond perfume, it's design blogs. Notice, I did not say design. I am not crafty or artistic in the least, and my house is more shabby than shabby chic. I lack the vision to carry a color palette through my home, the skill to make my own letterpress cards, the eye-hand coordination to sew or knit or make anything I could give away, let alone sell on Etsy. I have a short list of a few design blogs in my sidebar there, but they are a teeny percentage compared to what I have bookmarked (I know. I should be using feeds. I'm old school.) My favorites: Absolutely Beautiful Things, Posie Gets Cozy (I love, love her photos), and Creature Comforts...and that's just skimming the surface.
2. NPR. I love NPR. My dad would put it on in the car when I was a kid, and oh the eye-rolling and sighing that would ensue. I called it “Gloom and Doom.” Truthfully, I sometimes still feel that way, like there are days when there's just never, ever any good news. But still I listen. And I recently discovered all the free podcasts, particularly the Symphony Space series of actors reading short stories and the podcasts of Fresh Air. Working out was never easier.
3. Online perfume discounters. Probably what I should say here is just, “I love crack.” Because, yes, perfume is my crack. It's not necessarily a good thing that I can get so many classic scents at SUCH BARGAIN PRICES! (Cue sound of clown horn.) FragranceX, Imagination Perfumery, Strawberry.NET—they all delivered when I had a need. Oh, it's ugly. I'm not even going to talk about sample programs and decant sellers (cough Perfumed Court cough). It's like letting a drunk loose in a liquor store.
4. Cookbooks and recipes. Number one, I am a compulsive recipe clipper. Number two, I can hardly stop myself from buying cookbooks. (I manage, for Bob's sake, but I won't pretend it's easy.) Number three, I have hundreds of online recipes in my inbox, because I can't stop subscribing to services that send them. But do I cook? Not as often as I would like. In fact, frozen pizza (doctored by Bob) is a staple in our house. Our kitchen isn't greatly conducive to cooking (particularly prep work), and most nights I am too tired to care what I eat, let alone whether or not I am actually preparing it. Still, that doesn't stop me from dreaming. And I should say: I actually just made a recipe from the cookbook pictured here—the first one, even though I bought the book last March. Oh well. I'll keep trying!
5. Sex and the City. I realize suddenly that you might think I watch a lot of television. Well, technically, no. We only watch Heroes and the Thursday night line-up on NBC (except ER) on actual television. But I do like to watch things I own on DVD, like Sex and the City. That pink suede book full of DVDs has seen a lot of action. I never tire of this show. If I do happen to be flipping through the channels and it's on regular television, I will always stop and watch. I cannot help myself. Favorite episodes: Carrie on the runway, Carrie drunk at Vogue, and the series finale. I'm going to cry just thinking about it. I need help.*images from (in order): etsy, npr.org, imaginationperfumery.com, amazon.com
