well the holidays are over thank god. actually i had a very nice time this year but i'm still a little on the worn out side. december is a FIERCE month. also i'm very behind (i'd meant to make a New Year's entry here and i now realize it's the 4th so much for that) and my one main new year's resolution this year has already gone to hell.

i made the decision to stop smoking along with 2 friends of mine - we all quit together on new year's eve. tuesday was fine (possibly because i was largely unconscious the whole day) but unfortunately by the middle of wednesday afternoon i was ready to bite pencils in half and i broke down and had a cig. this was not good and i'm not at all happy about it. however, i will be climbing back on the wagon, gritting my teeth and i WILL quit if it kills me which i know full well it won't and that it may well do if i don't. i've got two days off this weekend and i plan to lock myself inside away from the general public to get over the worst of the process.

it will all be fine.

this morning i got a really wonderful email from a woman who'd just gotten a bottle of my "at the beach 1966". she was so kind in what she said. here's my reply to her:

dear jennifer,

thank you very much for your kind words. very much appreciated! and i'm extremely pleased you get the point of "at the beach 1966".

i found your comments about the "arrogant perfume reporter" very amusing. everyone's a critic these days which is both funny and annoying. i'm still surprised that so many people have lost the capacity to enjoy the marvelous simple things that life is so full of while continuing to point out the flaws in everything around them. i'm sure she would prefer the south of france and i'd also be willing to bet it's because she's never been there and probably never will.

i have to say that i've only been to the sea in the south of france once a long time ago when i was 18 and while it was a perfectly pleasant day, it can't live in my memory so powerfully as that day when i was four on the beach in delaware...

the cote d'azur is all well and good but we need to remember new jersey has its place too.

glad you found it.

best wishes,

cb

her message made me think a bit. maybe it's the weather (which is bitter cold with a wind that rips the skin right off the face) maybe it's that sense of ennui caused by much less nicotine in my system or maybe it's my annual early january depression but i suddenly decided the beach is exactly where i'd like to be right now. who wouldn't?

so i decided to knock $5 off the price of "at the beach 1966" until the middle of february when things begin to seem less bleak. also at that time my business manager informs me that a slight price increase is going to be necessary which i'm not thrilled about but c'est la vie. sadly it's not the least expensive thing in the world to make perfume as i do and certain materials have jumped alarmingly in price this past year. and since i refuse to cut quality certain adjustments will have to be made.

but in the meantime, i still want everyone to have a better opportunity to get to the beach even if like me they can't leave home. a little sand, warm sun on the face, the cool breeze from the ocean - trust me there isn't a day goes by that i don't realize how lucky i am to be able to put all that in one tiny bottle...

enjoy!