Scent Experiments

Yes, I'm still considering the move to Wordpress (it's looking positive), but in the meantime my fingers itch to keep writing, so today's topic is the fragrance I decided I must try after reading a post from Fashion Binge.

I read other blogs a lot, as you probably know. I found Fashion Binge because one of the authors had written about Solestruck (and we all know how much I love buying shoes there!). Anyway, I was scrolling through some of the older posts and I spotted this beautiful, butterfly-shaped perfume bottle (right).

It's called Sui Love by Anna Sui, and every description I found of this scent used words such as light, whimsical, soft, harmonic, magical and romantic. The fragrance includes a top notes of bergamont and passion fruit, a center of Italian violet, orange blossom, water lily, Egyptian jasmine, white rose and tuberose, plus a base of vanilla, nutmeg and musk. Doesn't that just sound ethereal and enchanting?

Of course, I couldn't just buy a $50 bottle without having tried it, so I began a hunt for a low-cost test option. Two dozen sites later, I discovered Scented Monkey's $2.99 Try Before You Buy. For just $2.99 (that includes shipping!!), you can get a sample vial of almost any of their dozens of fragrances. Now that's a good bargain!

P.S. If you order a sample too, leave a comment and tell me about it. I want to know which fragrance you picked and what you thought about it! :)

Switch to Wordpress?

I found a site today ... Melissa the Mouth ... randomly enough it was through a Gmail ad which I never click on ... and I loved this site. Seriously. I mean, it's green, first of all, which is a huge plus with me, and second, when I clicked to write a comment, she had this fabulous plug-in (right) to include smileys! I immediately looked at her source code to find out what it was and if I could copy it.

Sadly, it's for Wordpress. Obviously, I use Blogger. I started with it because it was easier, and at the time I had almost zero blogging/HTML experience. Since then, I've developed my skills quite a bit, and now I also write for a company blog that uses the Wordpress platform. Lately, I've become more and more dissatisfied with what Blogger can do for me, and feel the urge to spread my wings and test my skills with Wordpress. But I'm afraid of losing readership, I'm not sure if I can transfer/export/import existing blogs from here to there, I don't know if it will hurt my Google rating, I probably can't get the same Halfpintpixie moniker and I've grown quite attached to it ... oy. Anyone have any ideas?

The Kind of Chocolate I Want for V-Day

I recently discovered yet another blogger whose posts I enjoy immensely, and whose fashion sense is right in line with my own. Today's post mentioned from The Well-Heeled Society is about my favorite shoe site, Solestruck, but on Sunday she featured this fabulous umbrella from Amazon.

As the description says, "Any chocolate lover would be proud to use this during rainy days." It offers a 48-inch canopy, large enough for you and your sweetheart, and is currently listed at $24.95.

Wait a minute ... 25 bucks for an umbrella? Nevermind that! Just give me a $3 bag of Hershey's kisses. Real chocolate tastes better, and real Portlanders don't use umbrellas anyway, right? ;)

Time Stands Still at Grand Central Station

Apparently this has been all over the web for a few days now, but today was the first time I'd seen it.

According to ImproveEverywhere.com: "On a cold Saturday in New York City, the world’s largest train station came to a sudden halt. Over 200 Improv Everywhere Agents froze in place at the exact same second for five minutes in the Main Concourse of Grand Central Station. Over 500,000 people rush through Grand Central every day, but today, things slowed down just a bit as commuters and tourists alike stopped to notice what was happening around them. Enjoy the video first and then go behind the scenes with our mission report and photos."

Isn't that just the coolest thing? I wish I'd been there to see it!

digg story

Link Love

I found this adorable pic on a fellow blogger's post, and it's just so cute ... and since Valentine's Day is next week ... I wanted to share it :)That's all for now.

What were their parents thinking?

One day, I stumbled upon a list of the 20 Most Bizarre Celebrity Baby Names. Some I had already heard of, some I didn't think were all that bad, and some were just plain horrible. And it got me thinking, if there's a list of the most bizarre, there has to be a few more out there, right? So I did a little more research, and I found more than a few:

• Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, son of Frank Zappa
• Alcamy, daughter of Lance & Mary Jane Henriksen
• Apple Blythe Alison Martin, daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
• Audio Science Clayton, son of Shannyn Sossamon & Dallas Clayton
• Banjo Patrick, son of Rachel Griffiths & Andrew Taylor
  
• Betty Kitten, daughter of Jonathan Ross & Jane Goldman
• Blue Angel, daughter of The Edge (from U2)
• Coco Riley Arquette , daughter of Courtney Cox & David Arquette
• Daisy Boo, daughter of chef Jamie Oliver
• Dandelion Richards, daughter of Keith Richards (changed her name to Angela as a teen)
• Denim Cole, son of Toni Braxton & Keri Lewis
• Diezel Ky, son of Toni Braxton & Keri Lewis
• Diva Muffin, daughter of Frank Zappa
  
• Dweezil, son of Frank Zappa
• Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q, son of Bono
• Fifi Trixibelle, daughter Paula Yates & Bob Geldof
• Freedom, son of Ving Rhames & Deborah Reed
• Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, daughter Paula Yates & Michael Hutchence
• Homer James Jigme, son of Richard Gere & Carey Lowell
• Hopper Jack, son of Sean Penn
• Hud, son of John Cougar Mellencamp & Elaine Irwin
• Jermajesty, son of Jermaine Jackson
• Kyd Miller Duchovny, son of David Duchovny and Tea Leoni
• Magnus Paulin Ferrell, son of Will Ferrell & Viveca Paulin
• Mattias Ferrell, son of Will Ferrell & Viveca Paulin
• Moon Unit Zappa, daughter of Frank Zappa
• Moxie Crimefighter, daughter of Penn Jillette
• Ocean, son of Forest Whitaker
• Peaches Honeyblossom, daughter Paula Yates & Bob Geldof
• Phinnaeus Walter & Hazel Patricia, twin son & daughter of Julia Roberts
• Pilot Inspektor Riesgraf Lee, son of Jason Lee & Beth Riesgraf
• Pixie, daughter Paula Yates & Bob Geldof
• Poppy Honey, daughter of chef Jamie Oliver
• Princess Tiaamii, daughter of Peter Andre and Katie Price (Jordan)
• Puma, daughter of Erykah Badu
• Reignbeau, daughter of Ving Rhames & Deborah Reed
• Rumer Glenn, daughter of Demi Moore & Bruce Willis
• Sage Moonblood Stallone, son of Sylvester Stallone
• Sailor Lee, daughter of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook
  
• Scarlet Rose, daughter of Sylvester Stallone
• Scout Larue, daughter of Demi Moore & Bruce Willis
• Seargeoh Stallone, son of Sylvester Stallone
• Seven Sirius, son of Erykah Badu
• Sistine Rose, daughter of Sylvester Stallone
• Sonnet, daughter of Forest Whitaker
• Sophia Rose, daughter of Sylvester Stallone
• Spec Wildhorse, son of John Cougar Mellencamp & Elaine Irwin
• Tallulah Belle, daughter of Demi Moore & Bruce Willis
• True, daughter of Forest Whitaker
• Tu Simone Ayer Morrow, daughter of Rob Morrow & Debbon Ayer

By the way, notice the parents who were repeat offenders, such as Paula Yates, Sly Stallone, and most famously, Frank Zappa.

And of course, my resources:
http://www.cracked.com/article_15765_20-most-bizarre-celebrity-baby-names.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/36274/whats_in_a_name_outlandish_bizarre.html
http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/the-top-10-bizarre-children-names-of-celebrities/2005/11/14/1131816841261.html
http://stupidcelebrities.net/2007/12/20/bizarre-celebrity-kids-names/
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/celebrity-baby-names.html

Snapple's antioxidant water "awakens" mind, not tongue

One day last week, having conveniently forgotten to pack my lunch the night before, I had no choice but to enjoy eating out. I opted for a large chicken salad at the store across the street, and picked up a bottle of the new Dragonfruit-flavored Snapple Antioxidant Water (right) to wash it down with. I hadn't even heard of Snapple Antioxidant Water, let alone tried it, but it sounded good. Right? Here, read the label for yourself:

"Smelling salts? Cold showers? Shouldn’t there be a pleasant way to gently shake off your daydreams and awaken your senses? Maybe a great-tasting water with natural stimulants like guarana, ginseng and caffeine? If it tasted like a lightly-sweet Dragonfruit and was full of good things like antioxidant vitamins A and E plus B vitamins and electrolytes, would you be dreaming? Would you wake up only to be disappointed that no such water existed? Pinch yourself, it’s already in your hand."

After reading that, then proceeding to drink the water ... I think whoever wrote that description was the one dreaming, and I'd like to pinch him.

Granted, I did feel slightly more awake after I was finished, but that's about it. The drink was "lightly sweet" as the label describes, but so light it was hard to taste anything but sweetness, and it was the kind of sweetness that's just ... too sweet. Not the refreshing fruity, juicy sweet you might expect from a so-called health drink.

Today I selected Dragonfruit-flavored Glacéau Vitamin Water. It has approximately the same amount of carbs, calories and sugar, no caffeine, a nice vitamin cocktail, and much more flavor. From now on, it's Vitamin Water all the way, baby.