Image courtesy of Rebecca Minkoff

While making our plans for Memorial Day this weekend, I realized we had all the fixin’s for a great BBQ but one thing was missing… a killer playlist! Thankfully, the always cool designer Rebecca Minkoff had just the thing on her blog: a great playlist perfect no matter what your weekend plans bring.

Click here for the mix I can’t get enough of!

Since I’ve built a career in the world of scents, I am always interested to hear what has inspired some of the world’s most renown olfactory experts. Jean-Claude Ellena, the official perfumer of Hermès, shares his thoughts on perfume in his new memoir and I think this will be the perfect summer read for me.

A scent is such a personal thing, capable of transporting you to your past, of kindling fantasies… out of thin air. It is quite a task (one that I love) to create each candle, capturing the essence of the candle’s namesake (Peony, Vetiver, Wild Fern…). And so, in the name of research, I am looking forward to sticking my nose into this memoir by Jean-Claude Ellena, the official perfumer of Hermès: “The Diary of a Nose: A Year in the Life of a Parfumeur“. Available now from Rizzoli.

Per the Rizzoli website:

An intimate exploration of inspiration and creativity, from the “parfumeur exclusif” of the house of Hermès. Where does inspiration for this visceral art come from? How does one capture the essence of emotions, of desire? Jean-Claude Ellena has a sublime gift. As “parfumeur exclusif” (or “the nose”) for Hermès, he elevates fragrance to an art form. A “writer of perfume,” his concoctions are as finely composed and evocative as a haiku. He is also a conjurer of sorts: “I create an illusion that is actually stronger than reality . . . you enter the scent and follow the path.” The Diary of a Nose is a collection of Ellena’s meditations on the world of scents, and what stirs his creation of some of the world’s most desired fragrances. Inspiration can come from anywhere—a market stall, a landscape, or even the movement of calligraphy. Though each smell has its own distinct character, a gifted perfumer creates olfactory experiences that are intensely personal and unique, that blossom on the body and leave a trace of us lingering after we have left a room. Seductive, delicate, and elegant as any of Ellena’s creations, The Diary of a Nose seeks to capture the most elusive facets of this rarefied and mysterious art.

About the Author

Jean-Claude Ellena has been the exclusive perfumer to the house of house of Hermès since 2004. Over the course of his career he has created some of the world’s bestselling fragrances, including “First” from Van Cleef & Arpels, “Eau Parfumée au Thé Vert” from Bulgari, and “Déclaration” from Cartier.

image courtesy of Huffington Post

With Mother’s Day this weekend, I’ve been thinking back on great advice mom has given me over the years and about how motherhood has changed me personally. I really enjoyed flipping through this slideshow, chock full of inspiration from famous moms like Tina Fey, Meryl Streep, Hillary Clinton, Amy Poehler, Natalie Portman, J.K. Rowling and many others.

Jena Pincott has just published a gorgeous new quote book for moms called Mom Candy: 1,000 Quotes of Inspiration for Mothers. The collection is filled with delightfully relatable musings from interviews, memoirs, poems and more by notable women.

What’s your favorite quote about parenthood? Share it with me on Facebook or Twitter. And Happy Mother’s Day!

Photo by: Con Poulos; Image courtesy of Bon Appétit

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo is always a fun way to enjoy the warmer weather and eat some great Mexican food and fruity drinks with friends. This year I wanted to think outside the margarita box and thankfully, Bon Appétit posted great ideas for what to drink on Cinco de Mayo: Margaritas, Palomas, Micheladas, and Aguas Frescas.

Image courtesy of United State of Indiana

I’ve been feeling a ton of Indiana love with Spring in the air, and I recently stumbled across this sweet “Smiling Indiana” poster from a local company called United State of Indiana. It really sums things up nicely, doesn’t it?

Smile. You’re home.

The poster is available here for a very reasonable $15 if you’re feeling the Hoosier love too.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Painting by Richard Emil Miller: Reading in the Garden

One of my favorite activities in Spring is to curl up with a book in my garden. After spending so much time inside during winter, it feels so wonderful to have a little sun on your face while you enjoy a good read. Everything is in bloom and I am always compelled to choose books that act not only on my imagination but that fill my senses with beautiful language and inspiring ideas. Here are some of my favorites:

Collected Poems of Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of the finest American Poets. Her poem “Renascence” is one of the most beautiful meditations on the rebirth of nature and self that I have ever come across. This is a real treat on a Spring afternoon.

The Ten Thousand Things by Maria Dermout

A magical tale of generations of women living in the beautiful Spice Islands of Indonesia.

Middlemarch by George Eliot (Marianne Evans)

If you haven’t gotten around to reading this one yet, you should put it at the top of your list. A portrait of provincial life that manages to turn the everyday joys and disappointments of small time life into one of the most beautiful and intelligent novels ever written. Keep your journal close, because this novel is full of quotes that will stay with you long after you finish.

What is at the top of your Spring reading list?

Good things come in our small packages

Linnea’s Lights Mini Votives: 15 hour burn time

With Spring and Summer around the bend, I look forward to some weekend trips out of town. One of the first things I pack are a selection of our smaller candles in my favorite scents like Cashmere, Ocean and Sweetgrass. Petite but as powerful as our traditional size candles, our mini votives come in a variety of classic Linnea’s Lights scents. Without taking up much space at all, they make great hostess gifts if you’re staying with friends or family, or perfect if you just want to make a new space feel like home! They can be lit alone or try combining different scents together and enjoy a unique atmosphere.

Our mini votives are available online at Urban Farmhouse for just $15. Which scents will you bring on your next trip?

Photography by Kessara Dhana, taken at the Linnea's Lights Studio

With Easter prep in full swing, we’ve been dyeing our eggs and decorating the house for our Sunday guests. For the centerpieces, I’ll use a sprinkling of our new Spring candles: Wild Fern and Peony. Gently scented for the season, I love the way the cream-colored candles in our glass votives look against the classic pastel dyed eggs.

We’ll inevitably have eggs leftover and it’s got me craving Deviled Eggs. After some research, the Deviled Egg has a much richer history than I imagined. Long before they were set out at dinner parties by 1950’s hostesses, they enjoyed popularity all over the world. The Deviled Egg has its origins in Ancient Rome, with the first recipes coming from 13th century Andalusia. Originally they were stuffed with things like raisins and sweet herbs. The term “deviled” comes from the 18th century term that referred to foods that used spices or condiments with a lot of heat. There are different versions of Deviled Eggs all over Europe, Romania, Sweden and Russia. Here is a recipe for one of my favorite versions, Russian Stuffed Eggs:

Image courtesy of Pinterest

The Equinox is upon us; the earth is perfectly balanced between darkness and light. As the day and night find their balance on March 20th and 21st, so apparently, does an egg. A friend of mine told me that during the Spring Equinox you can stand an egg on end… incredible right?

It turns out that the tradition goes back to China. The egg, a universal symbol of fertility, was balanced on end during the Equinox to symbolize that all of nature was in harmony. This ritual has been carried over to many traditions, including in part the western tradition of the Easter Egg. But, while the idea of standing an egg on end during the equinox is rich with symbolism and meaning, there’s a catch… With a little patience and persistence one can actually balance an egg on end all year round!

Have you given this a try?

Our new Wild Fern candle is a verdant escape, with crisp & fresh leafy greens, stems and herbs blended with sheers woods. I tried to capture the essence of the warming earth, of soft sunlight and intense green. The fern is ancient, older than the dinosaurs and predating flowering plants by two hundred million years. It derives its name from its aesthetic likeness to a feather, and has long been associated with fairy lore for its powers of invisibility and supernatural protection.  It is suggested that the person who breaks the first fern frond of Spring will have good luck all year round. Step inside the fairy ring and become enchanted with redolent primeval forests of vivid green.

And good news! Our friends at Uber Boutique and Design just got some of the new Wild Fern and Peony candles in, so I hope you’ll enjoy!