As the year comes to an end, I’d like to set down my favorite things during this entire year, based on what I read, listened to or loved the most in the last year. Please bear in mind, that I had a baby in January, so this year was dominated by puke, diapers and lullabies, but also by sweet laughter, lots of cuddling and finding ways to fall asleep for precious minutes during the day.
So, without further ado – here is my “best of” of 2010.
Book: Stephen King “Under the Dome” – I read it in the hospital when I had N., it was also the last book of this length, over a thousand pages, that I managed to finish this year, and this from someone who easily read a hundred books a year, but that was in another lifetime 😉 I am a great King fan, although due to his subject matter he is one of the most under appreciated writers ever. He produces fantastic prose (not to speak of his immense output), but sadly, many are (quite literally) too scared to read him, never knowing what they are missing. Don´t laugh, but I attribute a lot of my English to him, nowhere better to learn american colloquialisms 🙂
The second book I want to mention is Roja Dove’s “The Essence Of Perfume”. It is compulsory reading for perfumistas and was consulted many times this year. Now I look forward to visiting his Haute Parfumerie in the fifth floor of Harrods in London in April of the coming year, yay!
Music: I listened to a lot of sacral music this year, Masses by Mozart, Schubert and Haydn, Oratories by Bach, these are the pieces my baby son appreciated the most, it stopped his crying immediately. Which was fine by me, what he likes to listen to, I like as well.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Art: The art of Mercedes Helnwein keeps me enthralled. She is the daughter of Gottfried Helnwein, emigrated viennese painter extraordinaire. Mercedes has inherited her fathers artist genes obviously, as well as his sense for finding the absurd and shocking in every day situations. I have to be in the right mood for this though, it can get too much, then I have to go and stare at objects of pure beauty for a while, like my children or my perfumes 😉
Perfume: Puredistance I – I love this perfume and it is one of the very few, I don’t see myself getting tired of. It is with me for life. Good Lord, is that a signature scent then?
Frivolous Thing: Edward Bess Cosmetics – Mr Edward Bess, aside from being easy on the eye and allegedly full of southern charm, also makes exceptionally good make up. I have many things of his line (thanks to Zuneta) and those are the products I use each and every day, reliable and extremely chic, they never disappoint. High quality and an image of sophistication and class, what´s not to love?
What have been your favorite things this past year? I´d love to hear about them in the comments!
Picture source: amazon.com, ztix.de, mercedeshelnwein.com, puredistance.com, edwardbess.com, some rights reserved, thank you!
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Oh, at one point in my life I went through all King’s books I could find here. 🙂 NOt so much now because I know what his style of writing is and I don’t feel in the mood most of the time. BUt you’re completely right, he is a wonderful writer.
He knows how to depict characters so well, that always reels me in 🙂
King’s Insomnia was the first book in English I read cover to cover 🙂 I lost touch with King’s books in recent years, I think the latest of his I read was Rose Madder, but I used to be the biggest fan.
So English isn’t your mother tongue either? Well, King seems to be a great teacher 😉
I was a King fan as a teenager, then after a long hiatus, I rediscovered him when Under the Dome came out.
Nope, Russian is 🙂
I studied Russian in school, sadly it didn’t stick, because I never got to use it much. 😦
Ditto with me and German! 6 years of it at school, then had to switch to studying English at the University, and it literally erased all the German I learned. 😦
It looks like we could almost talk to each other in either German or Russian. 😉
Oh, a great list! You are piquing my interest in things other than the perfume too! 🙂 Your mention of Roja Dove’s “The Essence Of Perfume” made me realize with shame that while I bought that book some months back, I did not even open it once. The thing is that over 2010 I did most of my reading when traveling or commuting to work, and that book is not exactly a lightweight. I know, this seems like such a shallow consideration. So, once I return back to NY, I will start my 2011 by reading this book!
That is not shallow, but plain realistic, I do most of my reading on the go too, and lugging around a large and heavy book is no fun. I read most of it at night in the bath tub, not entirely easy to balance it there either 😉
Firstly congratulations on the birth of N in January, and for continuing your lovely blog – no small achievemnt!
I got Roja Dove’s book for Christmas and am currently enjoying going through it. I also got a very beautiful book called “The Book of Perfume” by Elisabeth Barille and Catherine Laroze which I believe is out of print. It’s a coffee table style book mainly about the history of fragrance but I haven’t started it yet.
I went back and read your review of Puredistance which was really interesting so thank you for that. I bought myself a bottle of Serge Lutens Sarrasins for Christmas so that is currently my favourite thing. Funnily enough I don’t get on with any other of the SLs which are mostly rather “dense” to me but Sarrasins is true love.
Thank you! I only started the blog two months ago, when the worst was over 😉 (or maybe the worst is yet to come, depends on the perspective).
The book you mention sounds very interesting, please let me know how it is and whether it is worth searching for.
I have not tried Sarrasins yet, my relationship wit SL is stormy too, he weaves in and out of my favours. 😉 Glad you found a true love among his oeuvre.
My early teen years would have been completely unbearable if it weren’t for Mr. King; I agree that he is under appreciated—he’s prolific, and writes almost exclusively in one genre, but by gods, does he know how to pull you into a story! He’s a genuine story-teller, of the variety lost in large part to contemporary society (in the US, at least).
Oooh, and Edward Bess! *Sigh* I want a few lipsticks, and at least one of those cream blushes… but everything I see, I see as “this is = random perfume” and the random perfume almost always wins. I did manage to tame the perfume monster long enough to buy a Cle de Peau Beaute lipstick, which I LOVE. Who needs more than one lipstick, right???
Weeeeellll, I can´t let that last comment stand unanswered. I totally get you, when you say perfume always wins, BUT I have been known to squeeze out my budget to the last drop to add a(nother) lipstick to my possessions. Lipstick makes me happy, and unfortunately when times are though, I need more than one to stay happy. 🙂
Yeah, I implied possession of restraint I don’t own: I just bought three Smashbox lipsticks, and some Chanel foundation.
I exaggerate for dramatic effect. Totally busted! 🙂
Lol, I am glad that I am not alone. Sharing is healing 😉