Ines of All I Am – A Redhead surely is one of the most generous and friendly inhabitants of Perfumeland. She is kind and attentive and her care packages leaving her hometown Zagreb to all kinds of destinations worldwide are testament to that. She always sends exactly what you always wanted to try and my kids love her because she shamelessly bribes them with chocolate. But she really needn’t do that, because we love her with or without chocolate and perfume – Ines is a rare treasure.
Let’s welcome her to this week’s installment of People in Perfumeland:
A good day starts with... enough sleep and strong coffee.
I’d never leave the house without… a packet of tissues.
I always feel good when… I can end my day curled up with a book and a glass of wine.
My favorite thing in the world is… life. The fact that I got to live.
The next thing I want to buy is… a tablet. It would be the most practical thing for blogging.
The place I always come back to is… the Croatian seaside. It doesn’t matter where, this is the place to re-charge and be happy.
My personal style is… very, very casual. Aquarian.
My favorite perfume… well, if I really have to say one – Shalimar.
When I travel I always take… my phone which doubles as camera.
To relax I need… time on my own, alone.
When I have a bad day… I re-read Harry Potter with more than one glass of wine.
I find my inspiration… in life. Everywhere. Generally when I’m able to be alone with my thoughts.
Something I would never want to miss… is friends. And travels. I neither spend enough time with friends, nor traveling but I’m trying to change that little by little.
My last mistake was… thinking I knew how to be economical.
In my fridge there is always… Cheese, eggs and prosciutto. Seems I like proteins…
On my nightstand I keep… Books! 😀 Hand cream and lip balm as well.
The perfect weekend starts with… sleep-in, sun and coffee.
My role model is… I don’t have a particular person, anyone who approaches life with an open mind and childlike curiosity and imagination. I guess that might mean I think of children as role-models. 🙂 I just discovered this while answering the question.
Something I always want to be asked in questionnaires like this is…
This is a difficult one. 🙂 I really had problems coming up with a question here. So, I decided on: Why did you start blogging?
When I look back on my life, it seems ever since I learned to write I started writing for myself. Being an introverted person, it was in diary form and letters to friends. I actually miss writing letters, now I think of it.
At some point, diary stopped making sense as I wanted to share my thoughts with the world on two subjects I enjoyed the most. One was books, which I loved with all my heart ever since learning how to read, the other was my then newly discovered passion for perfumes. My blog is like a public diary of my thoughts on these two subjects (usually) and it’s rather obvious it’s written from a very personal perspective – I just can’t write in any other way.
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One thing I really envy in Ines’s life is that she can and does read to her heart’s content. I used to read just as voraciously, and I look back to that time very, very fondly. (But it’ll get better every year, I’m back to reading daily again, yay!)
I’m glad Ines let us peek into her life a bit. She strikes me as somebody who is incredibly strong and sensitive at the same time. The best of combinations.
Oh, and that leather jacket…. I love it!
Olfactoria's Travels 
Great interview! Ines and Birgit – thank you!
Ines, are you sure about a tablet for blogging? Try before you buy: I struggle even when I have to use it for commenting (reading is great!), posting would be something really heroic (I have an iPad so maybesome other technology would be a more blogging-friendly).
I agree with Undina. The iPad is great for many things, but blogging is not one of them. 🙂
I agree with both of you. iPad is not good for everything and if you’re like me and have an “older” iPad, one day your apps just won’t update anymore because your device is too old. So gradually all you can use it for is a little web surfing and even then it starts to crash and misbehave. I loved it at first but for the money I spent on it I’m a little annoyed that it’s becoming useless in less than 3 years. Also, it never worked well, if at all, with other blogging sites.
I have a first generation iPad too and it is basically only good for internet browsing. 😦
Me too!
Ok then. I’ll try before I buy. 🙂
It’s just that I’d prefer doing it curled up on a couch and struggling with a laptop in my lap is not really blogging-friendly.
But if you say tablets aren’t practical either, I’ll try it before I go for it.
Thank you Birgit for inviting me and for such a lovely introduction.
You know, one thing that scares me if I ever have children – when will I be able to read?! So far, the only solution I came up with is I’ll be reading to them out loud whatever I feel like reading. It would mean they would be hearing my voice and listening to English at the same time (because that’s the language I mostly read in).
Not that I should think of problems I don’t have at the moment (or might never have).
P.S. I love bribing children with chocolate. 😉 I do it all the children I know.
I did the reading aloud thing, but once they are out of the baby age they want their stuff read to them. So you still read, but the plots tend to be somewhat more streamlined. 😉
Now Pauli is learning to read and he can’t wait to read his Magic Treehouse books on his own!
If it’s any consolation, Ines, I’ve got five children and I’ve never stopped reading. If I didn’t set aside time to read and rejuvenate, I’d be a pretty terrible mom.
loved her point about missing writing letters. I miss that, too.
Just do it! I bet people still love receiving letters!
oh yes – they do. I do calligraphy as a hobby. but for real content, there is beautycalypse 🙂
Ines, great to know you more. You have me sent running to the fridge. I use iPad for everything including writing, posting, commenting and reading books. It even buys perfume if you train it well; although things like that should not be taught to a device!
Would recommend using the browser WordPress software (normal) rather than the WordPress version for iPad which is clunky. The latest Ipad, Ipad Air, is about to launch so wait for that one or for all the second-hand ones that will become available when early adopters trade up. Any Ipad will streamline your life. You can then write by the seaside in Split.
My iPad can shop like no other! 😉
Thank you Jordan! 🙂
What were you looking for in the fridge if I may ask? 😉
Now, I’m definitely going to try before I buy and see how useful I can actually make it.
It was the mere mention of the protein word,
Yay, it’s Ines!
She is such a kind hearted person and it’s lovely to read more about her. I think children definitely do make great role models because they live in the moment and know how to have fun. I love how much of a book worm she is (like most of us) and the pics she posts of the Croatian seaside are gorgeous so I can see why it’s the place she always goes back to.
I imagine she needs lots of protein for all those marathons she runs!
The Croatian seaside is gorgeous indeed, I long to go back everytime Ines posts a photo…
He, he, he, you know I would never call myself a book worm but that’s basically what I am. 😀 If I could, I would spend days doing nothing but reading.
I had the honor of meeting Ines and can say she is just lovely. Wish she lived closer to Vienna!
Ines, I use my iPad for everything. Have fun testing things out. Don’t worry about reading when you have children. Read your books out loud to them as babies and it just continues. We read Harry Potter and Dickens when he was a baby.
That was a lovely day when we met Ines!
Sandra, I also wish I lived closer to Vienna, it’s such a great city!
Well, I can always make it a goal to come once a year and run in the spring. 😉
Thank you for sharing – it makes me feel much better knowing reading to babies is a strategy other people use. 🙂
Birgit, what you said about Ines being strong and sensitive at the same time – yes, that’s so true. It’s lovely to see her here, looking so beautiful with her new blonde hair and leather jacket.
Ines, I never would have thought of you as introverted. (I’m very much the same way, so I’m obviously in good company.) In the way you come across to me — your love of traveling, your enthusiasm for conversation (particularly when it comes to discussing books and films), and the way you are honestly open and sharing with others, you strike me as a very passionate person. (I think of you as an extroverted Aquarian, but one who rightly knows when to take a “time out” to recharge your batteries.) 😀
If you decide to have kids, eventually, I think your enjoyment of reading and of Harry Potter will only increase, not diminish, as you will be sharing with them the kinds of magic most kids can’t get enough of.
Suzanne, it seems I’m good at hiding my introvertiveness. We had some HR testing recently in our company, and I definitely lean to the introvert side. It’s more about how I replenish my energy levels (by being alone as opposed to extroverts who need people and socializing).
I must say I like your explanation much better. 🙂
You think my love of HP can increase? 😉
Thank you for featuring Ines, dear B.
She has always seemed genuinely lovely to me and now she’s confirming this through her own words.
Caro
I’m glad she agreed to take part in the series! I knew it would be a lovely interview! 🙂
So glad Ines is your latest, People In Perfumeland, Birgit! It was interesting to read her answers. I already knew Ines and I have quite a bit in common: interest in fragrances, a love of reading, introverted natures. And I have been a glad recipient of her generosity in more ways than one. Cheers 🙂
Knowing Ines is a great benefit! 🙂
Can you bring her to London with you in March?
I’ll try! 🙂
What’s happening in London in March?
Neil is having his talk about vanilla at PLL (March 18th or thereabouts).
My Perfume Lovers London thing on vanilla! (And I love that your favourite perfume is also Shalimar)
My Perfume Lovers London thing on vanilla! (And I love that your favourite perfume is also Shalimar)
A very nice interview! Best regards from Zagreb.
Thank you Damir! Best wishes back!
Another fellow perfumista from Zagreb!
Glad to see we’re a growing community. 🙂
Ahhhh, the Croatian seaside…the best…pull off the road and find a place to jump in…heaven!
Oh yes… *starts to daydream*
Couldn’t agree more! 🙂
Yaay for Ines! Another perfume blogger who is familar to me so it was great to learn few new things about you Ines, thank you!
I laughed at the Harry Potter fan! I’m addicted to this book series 😀
There is a substantial sub-fraction of Harry Potter Addicted Perfumistas! 😉
That’s because perfumistas have a perfect taste in books. 😉
Dear Ines, just lovely to see you here, although I can hardly claim it has made me get to know you better :-D. Having now spend time at the amazing Croatian sea side, I can now see why this is where you always go back to recharge, I certainly would if it was possible. And I am very impressed you managed to answer ONE favourite perfume, that must have been hard. I know it would be for me.
Dear Asali, well, choosing one was only for answering Birgit’s questions, but Shalimar is always the first one that comes to mind when someone says name one. 🙂
I had so much fun answering those questions I must say. 🙂
That is such a lovely photo of Ines – she looks positively smouldering and with such a flawless complexion! I am most admiring of the time she manages to devote to books, and also now the running – Ines strikes me as such a single-minded and determined person, as well as being warm and kind. I do hope I get to meet her some day. I would also love to return to the Croatian coast – it’s over 40 years since I was there on a proper seaside holiday…
Children as role models – makes perfect sense to me – they see the world in such a refreshingly novel way!
She had her friend take the photo especially for the post, I like it very much too!
I always remind myself to learn more from my children, rather than trying to make them see the world like I do.
Vanessa, the only reason I get to devote so much time to books (even though there is never enough time for books), is that I organize my time and chores to last as little as possible, i.e. to make me as efficient as possible doing them so I could use the rest of my time for reading. 🙂
Basically, I’m my most efficient when I want to read. 😉
Great interview, Birgit, it was great to see Ines featured here.
I think so too! 🙂
Thank you, Dionne!
Lovely photo and Ines seems like a darling!
And Ines- I am inspired to make more time for reading. Like Birgit- I look fondly at the time when I did read voraciously- haha. I need to take a cue from you about being more efficient with chores so I can devote time to reading..The less I read the more I feel like I lose a bit of myself, somehow..And I’m sure you’ll make time for reading once you have kids..:D
Dear Lavanya, I think I will always endeavor to find time for reading, whatever happens in my life. I just can’t help it.
A friend did my horoscope and she told me that now she understood why I loved reading so much (I’m not sure what she read in my horoscope but it seems I need my daily dose of reading escapism if I’m meant to function properly). 😉