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I don’t know how people read without candles. I’ll read without a candle—in the daytime, at the park, on the train. I do do that. But when I’m really going in. That’s the only way. At night, phone silented and out of reach. Reading for the duration of a candle’s burn. Thing is, in order to really use a candle, you’ve gotta have candles on candles. You’ve gotta be really strapped. Solid holder, with the wide, ashtray-like base, so you can balance it on random things. An armrest. Your lap. I throw down on these 45-count boxes of “perfect flame, clean burning, cotton wick” bistro candles from Bolsius. Polish brand. But you don’t even have to ball out like that, you can just go with the 4-count taper pack. Just make sure you got that solid holder, that’s crucial.
Aug 16, 2022
Related Recs
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Lighting a few taper candles, turning on my candle warmer on low for some extra aroma (currently burning a candle from Penrose Candles in Portland called "Scents of Oregon: Summer Rain", with notes of rain + soil + oakmoss + noble fir), and under a solid blanket.Lighting a few taper candles, turning on my candle warmer on low for some extra aroma (currently burning a candle from Penrose Candles in Portland called "Scents of Oregon: Summer Rain", with notes of rain + soil + oakmoss + noble fir), and under a solid blanket. Staying cozy and relaxed before bed.
Jan 2, 2025
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i am admittedly a bit crazy about scent in the home. every corner of the apartment has an opportunity for activation: incense and smudge sticks in the bedroom, reed diffuser in the bathroom, a mini candle in the kitchen for when the lack of ventilation makes the stench of burned food linger and choke up the air. sometimes there is ritual involved in these smells, but walking past the big coffee-scented candle in the living room and stopping in my tracks to light it became so second nature to me that i don't even think about it sometimes.
the issue lies in this conundrum: i like the living room to smell nice, but i'm usually just lighting this on my way to the kitchen or my office and won't be on guard to protect all the wood furniture in our home from the flame. so today, i announced to my housemates and our guest: "i'm going to take a shower, and i'm lighting this candle, but now it's your responsibility. keep an eye on it for me."
why? because a living room candle warms up the room with its glow. it's a warmth that just makes sense for this space, dim illumination, with everyone together in a row on a couch that could stand to be longer. and there is something to be said about the trust involved in lighting a candle. everyone in this room knows what i need in our home to make it function for me, and when i tell them to keep an eye on the big candle in the living room, i know they will, for me.
Mar 22, 2024
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We’re nothing without our cozy rituals
Jan 16, 2024
Top Recs from @sean-thor-conroe
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Parks are where it’s at. Where grass, benches, trees are. Sun. I tend to base wherever I choose to move on its proximity to parks. Went to the park by me the other day, hot day, a bunch of little kids were by the water fountain loading up water balloons. I mean damn. Love that.
Aug 16, 2022
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Recently bodied this. Old big French novel. Technically about the mining strikes in northern France in 1866, and definitely about that, but also just about life during that time. Scrapping in the mines. Living in close quarters, turning up in the village with the other workers. The implied stuff Zola looks at in terms of family structure, mating rules, social life. It moves like novels of that time, like the Russians, say, in how it roams omnisciently in that quintessentially 19th century way. But something about how he starts it, with the protagonist pulling up to a new town, homeless and hungry, and seeing him gradually integrate into the mining community… The intimacy of living in such close quarters… Idk, it’s counterintuitively spicy, I recommend it, it slaps.
Aug 16, 2022
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Been trying to do stints, timed spurts, of total silence throughout my work days. It’s a constant back and forth, music or silence. But I tend to feel calmer, better about myself somehow, after I manage to be silent awhile.
Aug 16, 2022