Sunday, January 10, 2021

Grumpy but sweet-smelling

At least if I am a grumpy old woman (refer to last post) I will be a sweet-smelling one. I have just placed a bulk order for Yardley soaps, yes, including lavender. And now I'm being very tempted by their Freesia and Bergamot* eau de toilette.

It seems hard to find nice smelling soaps these days. The handmade ones are very lovely but quite expensive for everyday use. I don't feel I can justify that. I have been in the habit of buying Palmolive three bars for £1, and while they are perfectly good at getting me clean, they don't smell delicious, and I do like a nice smell.

I am reminded that Uncle used to use Yardleys Freesia cologne. And he smelled nice.

It must be the new year or something: I am getting reckless with my ordering! 

Only this last week I ordered a whole lot of new baking tins. Husband said I could only have them if I promised to throw out some old ones.

I do have quite a lot of rusty old tins that I hang onto just in case. And putting anything back in the cupboard does involve sticking it in and closing the door quickly and hopefully.

What I don't have sadly is any arborio rice. I had planned mushroom risotto for dinner tonight but now it will be beans on toast.

*Or do you think bluebell and sweet pea would be nicer?

P.S. I assume you are familiar with Yardleys in the US and Canada?
P.P.S. I ordered the bluebell and sweet pea.


13 comments:

Polly said...

I really need to get myself some more baking tins. English Heritage shops and Cathedral shops sell beautiful soaps. They are expensive, but a lovely treat now and again.

Liz Hinds said...

They are, Polly. I usually get lovely soap for Christmas but missed out this year.

Cop Car said...

Although my mother, on occasion, gifted me with a bar of "Ombre Rose" scented soap (the last bar is still in my drawer), it's been 21 years since I last used bar soap, myself. I'm too lazy to clean the soap scum off of shower surrounds and sinks that bar soaps form. I'm strictly a liquid detergent user, now.

My pots, pans, and tins are mostly old and discolored, few are rusted. Stainless steel and aluminum take care of that.

Yes, Yardley is well known and much purchased in the USA.

Marie Smith said...

I don’t use scented products. They make me itchy. It is miserable. I use a bland bar of soap that smells medicinal really. So much better!

Liz Hinds said...

Do you refill the soap dispensers, CopCar? I had been moving over to liquid soap but then the plastic involved was pointed out to me by Younger Son, which is a shame as there is a huge variety of lovely scented liquid soap.

I quite like coal tar soap for example, Marie. I don't know if that counts as scented or medicinal.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Oh yes, Yardley soaps and scents are sold in Canada. When I was a kid, girls and women often received Yardley products at Christmas -- little scented soaps and such. They were considered quite fancy and posh.

Cop Car said...

Liz--I don't care for the scents put into detergents, so buy unscented. Yes, I buy a large container and refill the small container at each sink from it - then, rinse (saving the sudsy product for use in my shower) and put into recycle. For a few years, large containers were plastic bags; but, they presented a greater problem for recycling, I'm guessing. I'm a great believer in glass bottles. BTW: As a kid, I helped my grandmother make soap for our family. One of our daughters still makes her own bar soap.

Liz Hinds said...

Yes, Yardley's was posh, Debra.

Excellent, CopCar. A wonderful example.

Tasker Dunham said...

That looks like one of my wife's cupboards. Ahe has another just for plastic boxes and their lids. You can pull out about 50 lids and boxes before you get a matching pair.

Liz Hinds said...

Tasker, I recently had a cull in my plastic box cupboard leaving me with three useful sets.

pam nash said...

Try making your own soap - I do. It's not hard and for the most part you don't need a great deal of special equipment. The easiest method is 'hot process' using a crock pot. Most time consuming is 'cold process' which has to cure for 3-6 weeks. The only drawback is, like painting, it takes as much time to clean up as it does to make but you end up with 15-40 bars of soap. And, it makes nice gifts.

Terra said...

Sweet pea sounds divine, I think I might buy some Yardley soaps. I got a nice gift for Christmas, one of those roll out metal shelves that sit in your kitchen cabinet and you can easily pull it out; that might work nicely for your cabinet. I like it so much I am getting a second one for pots and pans.

Terra said...

I had to come back and tell you I went ahead and ordered the Yardley Sweet Pea spray cologne. Thanks for the idea, and yes, that is a well known brand here in the USA.