This week we hear from fellow blogger Steven also known as The Scented Hound.
Steven shares his fragrant experiences and adventures on his blog. He lives with his husband and his three adorable cats in Virginia, USA.
A good day starts with… a cup of coffee and the newspaper. I’m an early riser and I love the quiet of the morning.
I’d never leave the house without… you would think that I would say perfume, but what I can’t leave the house without is a watch. Without a watch on, I feel completely naked.
I always feel good when… I get kisses from my kids (my three cats). The girls (Francie and Lily) are pretty free with their kisses, but when my boy Duncan gives me a kiss, it’s rare and special.
My favorite thing in the world is… my husband. He truly is my best friend and the person that knows me better than anyone else. We are incredibly in sync with each other to the point of being able to finish each other’s sentences. Plus, I don’t know anyone else how likes to act silly as much as I do. I can’t imagine life without him.
The next thing I want to buy is… I have no “want to buys” at the moment. In fact, we keep talking about how much “stuff” that needs to be purged from the house that we have put a moratorium on buying anything unnecessary. Of course that doesn’t pertain to perfume. 🙂
The place I always come back to is… my home state of Minnesota. There is a wonderfully sweet, uncomplicated and nerdy quality to the people there that I can readily associate with. If it wasn’t so darn cold there most of the year, I probably would still be there.
My personal style is… laid back. I would be completely comfortable living on the beach in t-shirts, shorts and flip flops. However, in reality I think I’m trapped in the 80s. I tend to lean towards wearing khakis, loafers without socks and oxford shirts. That preppy look never really goes out of style does it?!
My favorite perfume… I am fickle by nature and my tastes keep changing. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a “favorite” perfume, but right now I am loving Amouage’s Fate Woman and Roja Dove’s Enslaved which I think makes me a borderline drag queen because it’s just so big and over the top.
When I travel I always… overpack; so I try to follow the 60/40 rule. I pack my suitcase with everything that I want to take and then clear out about 40% of what’s in there as I really only need the 60%.
To relax I need… a pomegranate martini on the back patio Friday after work. I love sipping on my cocktail, looking at the garden and watching the birds…it’s my own little slice of heaven.
When I have a bad day… I try to put it into perspective. The older I get, the less I let things bother me as I realize that most things really aren’t worth fussing about.
I like to gift people with… silly little fun tchotchkes that are cheap and unique and that are good for a laugh or a smile. Others might say unwanted and unsolicited advice!
I find my inspiration… Who would have thought this would have been the hardest item for me to answer??!! So I would say…people, places and things. I think of inspiration as being like osmosis, it just creeps in without acknowledgement, expectation or in many cases realization.
Something I would never want to miss… the foxes that come out in the Spring. Every Spring they’ll appear for a few days in the back yard. Last year there were two young siblings that were chasing and playing with each other for around 20 minutes just a few feet from the house. Watching these beautiful creatures just makes me so wonderfully happy. For living in the city, to me this a real treat.
My last mistake was… eating a habenero pepper in a salad thinking that it was a bell pepper. I like spicy food, but that was a bit much.
In my fridge there is always… cream for my coffee.
On my nightstand I keep… my glasses. Not being able to see clearly when I get out of bed panics me.
The perfect weekend starts with… with coffee and the newspaper of course. However, add to that my Saturday morning chores: grocery shopping, dry cleaners, yardwork, etc.. I like to get those things done first thing Saturday morning so I feel like I have accomplished what I need to so that I can spend the rest of my weekend having fun! I know it sounds boring but I am completely routinized and that order in my life makes me happy.
My role model is… there are so many. I am constantly amazed by those with an entrepreneurial spirit where they can take chances at high stakes to make their dreams come true. I’m not a gambler and wish that I was!
Something I always want to be asked in questionnaires like this is… If you could live or be a person at any time in history, when or who would that be?
The reason that I would ask that is because I think that we perfumistas are a bit romantic in nature and might see ourselves in another place and time. Me, I think I was meant to be a member of the King Family circa 1965… living in Los Angeles in the 1950s and 1960s with all that sunshine and of course with the blond hair. For those not in the know, Google search “The King Family” for videos, etc.
After reading his questionnaire, I felt sure I would have a great time with Steven should I ever be so lucky to meet him in person. He seems laid-back, lovely and warm – someone to easily get along with. And of course I envy him for having these gorgeous cats!
Do you read Steven’s blog? If not, take a look!
Olfactoria's Travels 
What a nose. Big Fun. Easy on the Roja now! Could be life changing.
I agree on the Roja issue. 😉
I like that from the interview Steve sounds exactly the same way he sounds on his blog. The only thing that bothers me is… where’s the third cat?!!
U – Actually, both those pics are of Duncan. He’s basically my boy and the house clown. Francie is probably the prettiest of the 3, but she’s like her dad, she’s horribly non-photogenic. And Lily doesn’t sit still long enough for you to take a pic. They don’t cooperate like your beautiful Rusty. If they did, they would be incorporated into more posts!
True, his personality comes through in all his writing.
Beautiful pictures 🙂 I love Enslaved and Fate too, but I think my husband thinks Enslaved extrait is a little de trop for me. The last time I wore it he laughed!
Well, thanks a lot! That’s the first account of a fabulously expensive Roja Dove perfume that made me really want to try it.
Try Unspoken too while you’re at it!
Husbands!!!!
Lovely interview, and the photo with the cat with the glowing eyes is mesmerizing. It reminds me of Hypnotoad from Futurama.
Ha. Cat’s eyes are so hard to photograph, I used to have many glowing eyed pics of my late cate too.
Thanks for making me part of your series. That was a lot of fun. That picture of Duncan though does rather make him look like a character from “Village of the Damned!” Taking pics of cats with a flash is always difficult. Thanks again! xoxoxoxox Steve
Thank you, Steve! xoxo
It was great to learn more about Steven aka Houndie!
He was one of the very first people who started reading my blog and he was also one of the first I read when I joined the wordpress blogosphere.
That was a very nice welcome to the blogosphere for you then.
I love Houndy! Steve is fabulous and what a treat it was to read his interview this morning. We became fast friends when we met. He’s warm and funny and he smells good too.
So jeaslous you two met in person! I bet he smells good! 😉
Steven sounds wonderful and what a great life he has with his hubby, cats and pomegranate martinits!
I think he’s right about a lot of us having a romantic streak. I do for sure.
Me too! 😉 I’d also be up for that Martini on the porch…
I can so relate to leaving the house without my watch…the whole day is off!
I can’t live without a watch either!
Hey Steven,
Great answers. I totally get the Too Much Stuff problem. Purging here too.
Portia xx
Hey P, how is the great purge going?
Naah, still playing catch up Birgit. I need to get back into my rhythm and then will begin again. These things take time.
Portia xx
They do! Don’t get stressed out about it. xo
Steven is a fellow Minnesotan! He’s probably glad he’s missing this MN winter, the snow piled on the side of the driveway is up my waist! And the schools have been closed a record number of days due to temps well below zero.
I can relate to the desire to ‘purge the stuff,’ I’m in the process myself!
I hope the extreme weather is over soon, it must be awful!!!
All of Steven’s answers are so lovely! His last one has me off to Google “The King Family” – never heard of them and am intrigued by Steven saying he wish he could be a member.
I didn’t know them either. You never stop learning… 😉
What a fun interview! Now I am enjoying Steven’s blog even more.
That is very nice to hear, Marla!
And what are those beautyful cats saying about the blog being named “The Scented Hound” ??? Ach, the preppy eighties – those were lovely times, Steven, weren’t they…. Would you mind to give me the recipe for your pomegranate martini ?
Here you go my dear! It’s super easy and oh so good!
Ingredients:
2 oz. PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
1 oz. Premium Vodka
1/4 oz. Orange Flavored Liqueur
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon zest.
Many thanks, Steve – now I can’t wait to get home tonight!
I always wondered about that too. The cats must be furious that a dog is on the banner and in the name of Steve’s blog. 😉
And he’s wondering that the cats don’t want to kiss him… They have their reason for that!
Ha!
Lovely! I love Steven’s honest opinion in his reviews. Interesting thing about the watch ;-). I don’t like to wear watches. I tried many times, but failed all attempts to make it daily accessory. Funny thing is I have quite many of them, but just because people tend to give me watch as a gift, as they see I don’t wear any (but they don’t know I actually don’t want to wear it) ;-). Lovely Hound with lovely cat!
Interesting about the watch. My husband is the same, never worn a watch, never will…
I have so far only followed the hound on twitter, but have spent quite some time on hid blog today. He comes across as a really nice guy and i like his reviewds a lot. But like Lady Jane I did myself why the beagle when he has such great cats around? Cats have good noses too…
OK, to answer the Hound vs. Cat thing I have to go into some history. Back in the 90s I was living in Atlanta and had a foxhound named Dickie, who pretty much looked like the hound on my site. He was a great dog and a wonderfully sweet soul. So, as (I am going to age myself now), when online programs like AOL came into play, etc., my moniker on sites was AtlantaHound. So…as things progress and I need to set up accounts, etc. I have always stuck with Hound because it’s easy for me to remember. So when I was naming my blog it was such an easy fit. And it’s kind of a tribute to my dearly departed Dickie. I only have cats at present, but someday I’ll get another hound dog!
Glad you read up on some of Steve’s reviews, Sabine.
The dog is cute, but no contest for the cats! 😉
I agree – it would be lovely to meet Steven in person. 🙂
I loved the answers, especially the packing advice. I should employ that one more often, I always over-pack. In both clothes and books. 😉
Overpacking books is very understandable, but thankfully now in the age of Kindle there is no such thing anymore… 😉
Yay for Steven! I loved this 😀 <3<3
Thanks for reading, Freddie!
I enjoy Mr Hound’s wonderful blog on a regular basis and love the bone rating category and the “three adjectives that describe” the reviewed scent – I do this too when testing a new fragrance, it really helps to commemorate it. And I can relate to his answer of the favorite thing in the world…
I like his reviewing style very much too!
I do read Steve’s blog and am another fan of the bone rating and his pithy review summaries. He comes across on his blog and in his answers here as such a warm, home- – and cat-! – loving type (check out those hyphens!), and I can totally relate to him on the glasses anxiety front. In my own case that’s the problem with living alone – if you misplace them, there’s only you to not see where you’ve put them…
Those hyphens are indeed admirable!!! 🙂
A problem for sight-impaired cat-lovers seems to be that they can’t train the cat to be helpful in a missing glasses emergency. 😉
I love Steven’s blog and I love Steven! I can’t quite *believe” that there is absolutely nothing on the the “want to buy” list, but it’s wonderful to see him here in Perfumeland 🙂
I was wondering about that too, but I admire it and long for some “wunschloses Glück” (bliss without longing for anything). 🙂
German has the best words for the most inexpressible things! I am still in love with Kummerspeck 🙂
I tend to fight with my Kummerspeck. 😉 But it’s true, German has some unbeatable words and phrases.