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My nose knows! Whenever a gal walks by wearing Chloe, I can always pinpoint the scent. El Hub and my friends make fun of me because of my heightened sense of smell, but whatevs (my olfactory abilities are often compared to those of a Bassett Hound). It’s my one cool parlor trick, I guess. (“That girl who just walked by? She’s wearing Chloe.”)

I love and wear Chloe, myself, in all of its incarnations, but I have a soft spot for the original Chloe and Love, Chloe.

The newest version of the scent, Roses de Chloe Eau de Toilette, though, is jostling for the top spot. I’ve been setting aside the richer scents I wore over the holidays in favor of brighter, more citrusy fragrances, and this one smells so good…

Chloe’s signature rose notes still beat at the heart of the fragrance, but this one’s lighter, with a sparkling bergamot (a citrus fruit) note that freshens it up for spring.

The official fragrance notes are fresh cut roses, bergamot, rose essence, magnolia accord, white musk and amber. Unofficially, I’d call it “sleeping in on a Saturday meets getting a surprise delivery of roses meets the best mimosa you’ve ever had.” 🙂

Care to give Roses de Chloé a sniff? You can find it now at Sephora, Nordstrom and nordstrom.com.

The only thing it doesn’t do is teleport.

According to crystalcactus.com…

Each Amethyst Unicorn Sliver Necklace is cleansed with sage and infused with DNA healing vibrations on a 16″ gold-plated chain.
Benefits of wearing the Amethyst include:

• Helps relieve stress and increase calmness and self-esteem
• Increases spiritual and intuitive awareness, since it is closely associated with the crown chakra
• Aids in restful sleep
• Guards against psychic attack
• Assists in beating addictions

WOW! That’s a lot of awesomesauce right there. 🙂

The magical benefits are impressive, but I like the shapes and colors… Of course, if wearing it also helps me relax and keep from losing my sh*t while the construction guys tear apart the outside of my house, score.

Legend has it that the elusive Amethyst Unicorn Sliver Necklace lives in the secret forest at crystalcactus.com ($38).

Since its start in 1975, the nonprofit Marine Mammal Center, located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin Headlands, has rescued, rehabilitated and released thousands of sick and injured marine mammals along 600 miles of California coastline.

Most of the patients at the center’s on-site animal hospital arrive when concerned people call the center’s 24-hour hotline at (415) 289-SEAL to report an animal in distress. Staff and volunteers retrieve the animals, and bring them back to the hospital, where the goal is always to get the animals back on their feet/fins/flippers and released back into the wild.

Visiting the center is free, but I highly recommend taking a docent-led tour, which is what El Hub and I did. Tour tickets are $9 each for adults, $5 for seniors (ages 65 and up) and students (ages 5 to 17), and free for kids under 4. The proceeds from the tours go toward running the center, which is primarily staffed by volunteers.

During the tour, which is about an hour long, you learn about the animals the center sees, the most common injuries and illnesses, and get to see a large part of the huge facility, including the animal hospital itself, the kitchen area where they prepare patient meals, classrooms (they also teach classes for kids and adults) and the enclosures where patients are housed.

Then, on the second and fourth Sundays of every month, the center hosts something called Marine Science Sunday, which is a free hour-long interactive class on a different theme every time, like yesterday’s was on Marine Mammals of the Arctic.

Very interesting. I learned about the narwhal, also known as the unicorn of the sea, an animal I’d never even heard of before.

Marine Science Sundays aren’t just for adults, either. There were a lot of kids there, and they all seemed to be having a blast.

Oh, and if you happen to visit on a sunny day, Rodeo Beach is right down the road (2 minutes away). I wish I’d packed a lunch for me and El Hub to enjoy by the water. Next time…

I plan to go back in April, which is when the Center’s hospital is usually filled with spring pups who’ve been separated from their mothers. They check them out, and get them up to their proper weight before sending them out in the world.

Want to visit The Marine Mammal Center? You can learn more at marinemammalcenter.org.

Booty, booty, booty, booty rockin’ everywhere!

(Side note: I rue the day Bubba Sparxxx released that song.)

I finally put the Nordstrom gift card I got for Christmas to use (thank you, El Hub!). When I saw these Katrina Booties by Halogen on nordstrom.com, to paraphrase Liz Lemon, yes, I had to go to there.

Never mind that I needed another pair of black shoes about as much as Tabs needs an extra serving of gravy tonight.

You can jazz ’em up with a cute black dress for a night on the town, or dress them down with skinny jeans or leggings and a t-shirt.

They’re practical, yo! At least that’s what I told myself when I put them in my cart…and then again when I hit the checkout button. 🙂