Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, November 18, and I am awaiting the results of a COVID test! We had a family birthday dinner with our three young adult children on Sunday, and two of them felt sick and tested positive for COVID on Monday and Tuesday. Then I started having symptoms on Tuesday night. Honestly, I would have assumed it was just a nasty head cold pre-pandemic, but here we are. Took a home test, which was negative, yay! Then I went for a PCR test yesterday, because I still had symptoms. I do feel better today, regardless. Both kids are taking anti-viral medication, which I hope will speed their recovery and reduce any chance of “long COVID.”
The good news is that I haven’t lost my sense of smell or taste although my head still feels stuffy and I’m still coughing. Last night’s supper was Chinese hot and sour soup, which does wonders for stuffed up noses, with its peppery flavor and heat. This week’s community project at Now Smell This is to wear scents with a pepper note, but I’ve mostly just worn scents I find soothing, like L’Heure Attendue. I may branch out today, though, and wear one of my samples of Atelier des Ors; Lune Féline has a pink pepper note, and Crépuscule des Âmes has a pimento note.
I can’t believe Thanksgiving is next week! We almost always celebrate it at home, with just the immediate family, because most of our family live in New England and I hate to travel over those short holiday weekends. I enjoy making a big Thanksgiving feast, with all the side dishes. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, do you have any favorite recipes to share? Regardless, I hope your Thanksgiving is a happy one!
Who knew that Bath & BodyWorks has a room fragrance plug-in called “Golden Turkey”?? Have any of you smelled it?
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
I sure hope the golden turkey doesn’t actually smell like turkey. No thanks. I finally have a weekend without football! And as much as I enjoy cooking, the Thanksgiving meal isn’t a favorite. This year we ordered the pre-made meal from the Fresh Market. There was a chance I would be on jury duty so it seemed like the safe thing to do. Did not have to report, but keeping the order so I can enjoy my day for once. We have been hosting for about 12 for 10 years. I figure I’m due for a break. My SIL will probably lose it (she’s a traditionalist) but I’m at peace! Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate.
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Good for you! Anyone who wants traditions can surely bring home-cooked contributions! I’ve been a big fan of Fresh Market, since the pandemic began and I started shopping there more often. The one near us is sparkling clean, never crowded like the big supermarkets, and the folks who work there are lovely. And no self-checkout, yay!
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My son worked there over the summer – great employee discount. Hoping he does some shifts over his winter break too 😆. My latest thing is the meal kit for two – as I learn how to adjust my cooking without a football player, those have been lifesavers for busy days.
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You’re right, that’s a big adjustment! And my football player was a smallish quarterback. He still ate like he’d never seen food before, lol. I like Fresh Market’s meal kits too; sometimes I still get the dinner for 4, and just make it cover two nights for me and hubby.
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P.S. My former calculation was that the dinner for 4 was about right for the two of us plus our son!
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If SiL is such a traditionalist maybe she should host?
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Yes – if only her house could accommodate 12 people! I’m ok with a little complaining- I’ll just be sitting there, enjoying my coffee and the Macy’s parade. (And don’t forget the dog show!)
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Upon further investigation, I think the Golden Turkey is an accessory for refills of other fragrances. Whew! The mind boggled at what an actual “Golden Turkey” fragrance might smell like, lol! Poultry seasoning, perhaps?
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Fingers crossed for getting rid of the covid!
I love hot and sour soup. Thanksgiving looks to be a quiet one with just the two of us, which is totally fine by me!
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I hope whatever you had is actually Covid (I mean, since you already have it and feel fine, more or less, at least you can get immunity from it and enjoy holidays without a second thought).
We’re not cooking a turkey this year: I think, something is wrong with our oven, it doesn’t keep temperature well, so the last year I struggled with my bird. Our friends who come over to our place will bring the cooked one (ordered from the local store that we like and kind of trust), and we’ll cook all the sides. I love these holidays and will celebrate them despite everything that is happening in our lives (I don’t want to go in detail, I’ll just mention that everyone is healthy, and the rest we’ll survive).
Wearing Dior New Look 1947 and enjoy it enormously.
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
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It is, and I agree! I’m supposed to start antiviral meds today, since I tested positive yesterday. Getting through it now also takes some concern off two upcoming trips in January and February.
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Just be prepared to have a _very_ low body temperature. If you have a digital thermometer, do not panic: some of them are not too precise, and the margin of error is such that when the antiviral works, and the temperature goes down, the numbers you see are scary because normally you don’t get those, but they are worse than they are in reality.
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Thanks for the heads-up!
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P.S. I also agree that New Look 1947 is lovely.
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Sorry about the Covid, but if you’ve got minimal symptoms the upside is some level of naturally acquired immunity for a little while.
I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but I’m fascinated by the sides those who celebrate in the US have with the turkey. Why are the green beans casseroled in creamy mushroom sauce? Where do marshmallows fit into a turkey dinner? Please forgive my ignorance for asking but I’m genuinely interested.
I’m grateful the BBW golden turkey is just a decoration. I’m not sure if I’d want the house to smell of fake turkey dinner. Imagine the sprout odour!
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Speaking of side dishes, what is the history of Yorkshire pudding? Seems like it was a way to use the meat juices and make the meal last longer for everyone. I’ve never tried to make Yorkshire puds, but the concept fascinates me. We just make gravy in the US.
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I agree, and the timing is good because I should be fully over it and out of isolation by Thanksgiving, and still highly immune through Christmas and a trip to visit a longtime friend in early January. Just started my own anti-viral meds.
Re Thanksgiving recipes: the two you mention were promoted by companies to sell their own products. Adding marshmallows to top sweet potatoes (which I never do, btw) apparently came from a recipe by the Cracker Jack company, which is now mostly known for its sticky, sweetened popcorn-based snack. Adding cream of mushroom soup to a green bean casserole came from a recipe by the test kitchen of the Campbell Soup Company. Back in the day, many American women got a lot of recipes from women’s magazines like Ladies’ Home Journal, which republished them. My late (and beloved) mother-in-law was devoted to magazine recipes! Her Jello mold salads are still the stuff of legend in our family, lol.
Many of the other beloved side dishes do have their origins in traditional American “country” foods, since this was basically a nation of farms for a long, long time. Cranberries are one of a few fruits that were native to North America, and they were cheap, plentiful, and nutritious. Sweet potatoes were brought to this country by enslaved Africans, who also did much of the household cooking in the South and have had a huge influence on American cooking. Once established, sweet potatoes were also plentiful, cheap, and highly nutritious. Stuffing has been around for centuries, but given that the favored fowl for Thanksgiving meals were turkeys (again — plentiful, cheap, nutritious), I think stuffing with all its herbs and aromatics was an economical way to add a lot of flavor to a pretty bland bird, as well as a roasting technique to retain moisture; roast turkey is famously dry. Corn is traditionally associated with the Native Americans with whom the earliest English settlers had regular contact (including in the Thanksgiving origin story); they introduced corn to the settlers as a crop that was easier to cultivate in America than wheat or rice, and could be used to make bread or mush as well as eaten whole.
Over time, I think many Americans turned to particularly American ingredients as a hallmark of this uniquely American holiday, and then added favorites. There’s an amusing article about the history of American cooking here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-americas-first-cookbook-says-about-our-country-its-cuisine-180967809/. This was probably way more info than you expected or wanted!
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Thank you, thank you & thrice thank you! I really enjoy learning about the evolution of dishes from across the world & giving them a go. Though I doubt marshmallows on sweet potatoes or green beans stewed in mushroom soup will make an appearance on my table anytime soon! Though roasted corn ribs with chilli butter have recently become a staple for my lunch when DH is away having his treatment.
I’ve saved the article to read at my leisure. Thank you again x
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Here’s another article I think you’ll like: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/09/dining/gullah-geechee-cookbook-emily-meggett.html?unlocked_article_code=ILgfqmmOZjfAx-fdEyFh0AFyIpi5Z-NE6DajjT9VNYij8AB9NUXUbT_2KO0QZ7ebic0tjBEXqJ3SmUpzybkfQZzLzutBepvx-yvem_luQiFDa92WIX2qEuRJsLpAOGcNJ7i2qedh11zZiOMfCHA4exoZ46HzA-vIZfLNHNSgFjwMiMvnqC8GzavKUkIlwf5LOyMTtGMKMQkkZkXkDuLLMbeC-rWp33DmIWRsRiMZnLBDVLlXCf0w3Rw__A5PXuPn519j_QnukOn8IfZn3rlx_wYcbWosmLj5EcrGemKdxxPhizlBeR89zg46Y1SfoPiqo0RDULN3FWKbf8aNzgYQMuDVhXYbFGlSIPXfU62P&smid=share-url. The South Carolina Lowcountry is one of my family’s favorite places, and the local food is often wonderful.
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P.S. The link is so long because I wanted to make it “unlocked” so anyone can read it.
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Marshmallows ruin sweet potatoes, in my opinion. Too much sugar!
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I agree — sweet potatoes are sweet enough in their own right. I like to roast cubed sweet potatoes with apple pie or pumpkin pie spice mix.
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Timing is all with Covid. You’ll have an immunity boost for your Christmas and January festivities, so that’s a positive (bad pun🤦🏻♀️). I had it for the first time a few weeks back and lost my sense of smell for
almost two weeks. Was frantically sticking my nose into every smelly thing to try and reignite my senses. In perfume news I scored a mini of L’Artisan Bana Banana, my UK perfume mule will bring it over in a few weeks. Enjoy your Thanksgiving celebration, it’s not a thing here but it’s a great way to have the ‘big cooking’ done and dusted before Christmas 😉
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Thankfully, my sense of smell has remained intact. I’m glad yours came back! One of my daughters had a similar experience when she had COVID in 2020.
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I hope you will be feeling much better soon and I’m glad your sense of smell has remained intact. The article on the history of American holiday foods was fascinating. There was a show on BBC last year about what people ate during a feast at Christmas during Henry VIII’s time and it was fascinating. There were quite elaborate pastries, which surprised me.
I enjoy exploring spices and spice mixtures from different parts of the world. My favorite thus far is Piri-Piri, a spicy South African spice mix. It’s wonderful on fresh salmon.
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I like different spices too — haven’t tried Piri-Piri on salmon yet, but I will! Thanks for the tip.
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Congratulations on timing your C19 to fit so well with holidays and festivities OH. Hope it doesn’t knock you around badly, seems like you’re doing OK reading the other comments.
We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but we were in NYC back in 2014 for it. It was very happy bedlam. We got to see the parade, do Black Friday and had our Thanksgiving Dinner as a buffet lunch at the Roosevelt Hotel. Their lobby is in so many movies it was like being a part of one.
You were talking about the Mushroom Soup and Beans. that sounds really good. I’m going to try it for Xmas Day here. That, Pudding and the Roast Pork will be the only hot things. Everything else will be salads. GAH! It’s only a MONTH away.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate.
Portia xx
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Love that acronym, YMMV. More importantly, though, hope you and the family are getting through this Covid episode as best you can.
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Thanks! Yes, we’re about through with it. One daughter has now tested negative, and the other daughter and I will test again today (I was still testing positive yesterday though I feel almost 100% back to normal). Fingers crossed!
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