Monday Musings- Linen and Scents

Happy Monday ladies. Our weekend was hot as blazes so I spent most of it inside. We read and cooked and took remote yoga classes. Sunday we did a 75-minute class in the morning and a 60-minute one in the evening! The meditative quality of yoga is so enhanced when you do it at home it makes me wonder if people will ever want to go into studios again. I don’t think I will because I find it so relaxing and easy to practice at home.

A few things on my mind this week ā€“

Sunscreen

Iā€™ve been experimenting with several new sunscreens this summer, and even though Iā€™m not getting outside as much as I would like, sunscreen is mandatory for me. colorscience sunscreen stickI found this new bottle of coola sunscreen

I picked up this one at my dermatologist in February. Itā€™s only got an SPF 30 which I didnā€™t think was strong enough so I didnā€™t use it much. My daughter found it in my medicine cabinet a few weeks ago and loves it! So, of course, I had to try it again and I really do love it. Itā€™s reef safe and leaves no white film…but remember I have very pale skin. It’s also supposed to help with VEB (blue) rays which I have been doing a lot of reading about.

Linen Pants

Jennifer Connolly of a Well Styled Life wearing Madewell linen crops
PIMA COTTON TEELINEN CROPSSANDALS

We all know that linen is not created equal but even the best quality wrinkles. Some tissue weights wrinkle the moment you simply look at them but others have more heft and seem to remain slightly smoother. Some I can take them out of the dryer hot, press smooth with my hands, and lay flat to cool. Other’s require my steamer or iron. I obviously prefer the ones that need less care but I won’t let that prevent me from wearing softer linen. Because these wide-leg linen pants were the perfect thing to wear yesterday when it was 99 degrees in the shade, I am on the hunt for more wider leg linen pants.

The Scent Keeper

the scent keeper book
THE SCENT KEEPER

This week Iā€™m reading The Scent Keeper, another Reese’s Book Club selection. It took me a little while to get into it but now that I am, I’m hooked! It makes me wish I could wander down a long counter cluttered with pretty perfume bottles, sniffing to my heart’s content. I’ve never been a one perfume woman so the hunt is almost as fun as the find.

What’s new in your world?

 

42 Comments

  1. What yoga programs do you recommend? Are you doing an online yoga program?

    1. Francesca B. says:

      Hi Lori,
      Francesca B here, I posted earlier….if you are looking for an online class I highly recommend Yoga with Drorit website; the first 7 days you get for free and then it is $20 a month. YogaGlo is another good one. Drorit is my teacher and she is lovely! Just sharing good things. Enjoy:)

  2. Downy wrinkle spray works wonders

  3. Downy wrinkle spray . Miraculous

  4. Paulette Levy says:

    Yoga is my go to and ive been practicing it off and on for decades. Since knee surgery in 2012 (not replacement) I’ve only come back slowly with first chair yoga and tai chi, then my own yoga routine. I loved our classes -pre Covid 19-and the friends I’ve made there too. That and tai chi helped me to build strength and flexibility and calm so I walk properly. It’s the best….

    I love natural lavender aromas best! Soothing.

  5. Smell is powerful. My favorite scent is sweet peas. One whiff and I’m in my grandparents’ garden making hollyhock dolls with my Grandma and watching my Grandpa, in his overalls, pulling weeds. If I ever found the scent in a perfume, I’d buy a gallon. Some come close, but not close enough. I have told my children that if it’s at all possible, I want to smell a sweet pea on my death bed, the last thing before I go. They say that’s maudlin, and no one can plan for such a scenario, but I find it comforting, going out with something I love so much.

    1. That’s a beautiful story. I don’t think I know what sweet peas smell like. Which fragrances have sweet pea in them?

    2. I too love the scent of sweet peas and all the associated childhood memories. At one time, more years ago than I can remember, Yardleys made a sweet pea scented body spray. I bought one and still have some left. I use it very occasionally.

  6. Katelyn K says:

    I LOVE the Huston linen pants on you. I have the same style in another color and practically live in them here in Florida blazing hot summers. I need to try the blush sunscreen for a little color. Been using Versed Guards Up and it moisturizes, reef safe and is lightweight.

    Since you are on the hunt for new Linen pants…. try these from TJ Maxx. From 1. Style and quite the bargain. They run true to size (I am same build, height and weight as you) and are light and breezy with a nice slit up the side of the legs which the partial skirt covers but allows for more “airyness”. Very high quality linen.
    https://tjmaxx.tjx.com/store/jump/product/Linen-Tie-Front-Split-Seam-Pants/1000582951?skuId=1000582951204562&pfb=ol:t I have in both the yellow (sold out in 8) and in white. There is an elastic waist band in the back. I pair them with this JJill Tee and receive compliments everywhere I wear the set. https://www.jjill.com/product/luxe-supima-v-neck-easy-te?color=38V The top runs a bit large and I tuck into the pants.

    Happy Monday!

    1. Thanks for the tip. I love my J.Jill linen pants. I’ve had them several years and they’re still going strong

      1. You are welcome Jennnifer. I love your blog and pick up so many style tips from your posts. Yes, JJill linen is great and lasts for years. Their sales are a huge bonus šŸ™‚ Question…. when I click on your links for purchasing, do you receive credit if I buy other items from the sites? I hope so as I try to go through your blog when purchasing from JJill, Amazon, Nordstrom and Madewell.

  7. This is a fantastic summer *beach read*

    https://shopstyle.it/l/bkppa

    Most linens are itchy on me. Can’t wear any wool, not even cashmere.
    Is there a non-itchy linen?

      1. You will LOVE this book. Enjoy šŸ™‚

  8. I have to admit I’ve not been out and about enough this year to experience what the temp is really like. I stay home most of the time now unless I have to keep an appointment. I love knowing there are women still wearing fashionable clothes even at home. Really like these pants. They look so comfortable.

  9. Francesca B. says:

    I love yoga! I grew up watching my mother practice and I took to it myself especailly during two pregnancies, and now Ii have picked it up again regularly for about ten years. I find it amazing for stress and for calming and focasing the mind, I always leave the mat in a better way. Physically I feel younger and stronger and more alive. Now I practice regularly in my son’s room to my online teacher as her studio is closed. I miss my yoga buddies, but I am very grateful I can hear her voice as that makes me feel there is a contination of normality to my community during Covid. Great you are you doing two a day! Bravo!

    1. My yoga instructor started online classes today. Just like Francesca, I am happy to hear her voice and I miss my yoga buddies, too.

  10. You would enjoy reading The Language of Flowers and The Perfume Collector by Tessorio. Both older but great reads.

    1. Loved the Language of Flowers. As a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) this was on my reading list. New insights into the imaginative minds of children & how they cope in difficulties.

    2. I loved the Perfume Collector!! I will try The Language of Flowers, thanks!

    3. Loved The Language of Flowers!

  11. Iā€™ve found Downy Wrinkle Releaser works wonders on linen! Just spray it on, and smooth with your hands. Much easier than ironing and I like the finished look better – not as stiff. Worth a try!

  12. I’ve been doing Classical Stretching. It is not hard on your joints at all. Takes me back to ballet class as a kid! Now that it’s hot here in the northwest I’m going to try and find some linen pants. They look so cute on you but I’m really short so we’ll see. Never liked the wrinkling. Sunscreen is so important, I never am without it!

    1. I could not find the petites in these so I just turned the hem under once and hand-stitched it.

  13. The scent of perfume…reminds me of a sweet story many years ago. We were at a friemd’s wedding and an old boyfriend asked me to dance. As he led me to the dance floor he whispered to me that he hoped I still smelled the same and I did. He always loved the perfume that I wore.

  14. I love linens and have quite a few. They are so much cooler and the no iron ones are great. Yoga is great I need to do it more.

    1. My daughter is encouraging me right now so I hope to build the habit before she heads home.

  15. I wholeheartedly agree with the loose pants in the heat. Actually more and more anytime lately. The tight legs are just not for me anymore. That is part of the reason I wear skirts and dresses more as well. As for the perfume, I have a rather large collection of scents and I do wear most of them. I find I become used to the scent after a while and need to change it up just for fun. I am wearing lots of them around home lately and have discovered a few that were lonely on the vanity.
    Thanks for the recomendation for sunscreen as I am always looking for more. Oh, and hats for the sun always.

    1. My collection has dwindled to one and it is feeling lonely:)

  16. I am a huge fan of
    Chicoā€™s no iron linen. It is great and always a summer favorite.

  17. Iā€™ve just dipped my toes in the whole yoga experience. My benefits are evident in overall better balance and just a more peaceful mind. I had a total hip replacement on both hips and I am so grateful to be as mobile as I am today. Yoga offers me a way to stretch and strengthen those large core muscles. I feel that I stand straighter and taller.
    Yes to sunscreen! Yes to linen! I am ok with the wrinkles (am I talking about linen?) and just view them as a summer staple.
    I appreciate all the effort our stores are making to insure our safety. The very least I can do is wear a face mask.

    1. I am embracing more wrinkles every day and I am not talking about linen:)

  18. A few years ago I did a brief study of perfumes, the origins and history. It was surprisingly fascinating. I have always been a fan of perfume, searching for ā€œ myā€ signature scent. I found it in 1974 in Femme, by Rocas ( (i think) but it was discontinued for a time. When it reappeared on the market, I was delighted until I discovered that the formula had been changed. There has never been a fragrance to match that one since.
    Recently I was in Macyā€™s and was frustrated to find that all the fragrance ( and cosmetic) samples were accessible to customers only with clerk assistance. Also all the dressing rooms are closed indefinitely.
    Enduring all the restrictions everywhere is making me grit my teeth.

    I agree that yoga is a soothing practice. I should do more of it.

    1. The dressing rooms in Macy’s are open in Houston, no trying perfumes, no cosmetic access. They are not putting clothing back on the floor for a couple of days. I went in for a return on a Saturday morning; normally the store would be buzzing. It is empty. So sad; I miss the predictability of my life!

      1. I went to Marshalls and Home Sense. Half of the stores were completely empty. The other half had merchandise spread thinly, so I’d say about a quarter of the usual stock altogether. It looked like a closing-out sale. Even basics like socks were nowhere to be found.

    2. Penelope,
      I thought I was the only person left on earth that treasured the Femme by Rochas fragrance!
      It was my first grown up perfume, also in the 70ā€™s, and I loved it. A few years back I was able to buy a bottle in Paris. They say perfume mixed in France is best because it uses oil instead of alcohol. The fragrance always brings me back to that time of my life. It is so exquisite. So glad to hear there is another appreciative fan of Rochas out there!

      1. Classics are pretty fabulous and you’re lucky to have found one.

    3. Why would they change a formula? That defeats the whole purpose in my opinion. They shouldn’t try to fix something that’s not broken.

    4. One way to try perfumes is to order samples sizes from a place like perfumeniche.com or luckyscent.com/samples. It’s much lower risk than buying a bottle of something and crossing your fingers! And those sample sizes can last a surprisingly long time.

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