Three x Three: A Short Inventory of Life, Lately (vol. 2)

Three Thrift Finds

This vintage Gap suede mini skirt was on the pricey side, but too good to pass up. The chocolate brown colour is to die for, and the fit is incredible. It’s the perfect length for my proportions, too. I ended up paying $25 with a coupon. For 2026 thrift prices, that’s a pretty good deal. The current State of Thrift is sorry, indeed.

After thrifting my dream pattern (the Amish Buterprint in turquoise) a couple of years ago, I’ve been on a Pyrex no-buy — mostly because I don’t have room to store more. But! I saw this pair of Woodland Cinderella bowls and, well, the heart wants what it wants. The brown colour looks great with my turquoise pieces as well as the mustard yellow ones (Butterfly Gold pattern). I had another coupon, so the pair ended up being $40. Again: pricey for thrift, but cheaper than Etsy and other resale sites. I made some room so it can sit next to its sisters.

This Skagen watch wasn’t in the showcase and only $10, which felt like a steal. It needs a battery, but so do all of my watches, haha! I wear them for looks, not functionality. I like how delicate this design is, and love the rose gold mesh band. The amber mother-of-pearl dial is stunning.

Three Books to Read

It has been a long time since I’ve read much Romanian fiction, but I grew up with it and I still have a huge spot for some of the turn of the 20th century authors, like Caragiale, Cezar Petrescu, and G. Calinescu. But I had never read anything by Hortensia Papadat Bengescu, and wasn’t really familiar with her work until I came across some Reels from Romanian Bookstragrammers. They made me realize that I was missing out, so now I’m on a missing to track down her books. I found Bach Concert in English translation, and am very excited to read it. It’s supposed to be one of her best novels. I expect the vibe to be a little E.M. Forster-ish … to give you a general idea of the setting and themes.

I have read Marvyn Peake’s Gormenghast before (and was obsessed with the TV mini series adaptation), but it has been decades and recently I got the itch to re-read it. I’m saving this for my lake vacation, so I can immerse myself in the world of Titus Groan and savor the beautiful prose.

I started Gnomon a few weeks back and quickly decided that I needed to put it aside for my vacation as well. I’m enjoying the writing and the premise is very intriguing and hook-y. It’s a murder mystery set in a dystopian surveillance state where the government has access to every thought in your brain. Looking forward to picking it up again soon.

Three Perfumes

Sun, Moon & Stars is one of my go-to summer fragrances. I thrifted the bottle a while back, but I only started wearing it again this year when the weather warmed up. To me, it smells like the 90s, period. It’s a powdery floral — but it’s not soft powder. There’s an edge to it that modern floral fragrances don’t have. It feels almost crisp. In my mind, it comes from the carnation and narcissus in the middle notes.

Another one of my fave summer fragrances: Britney Spears’ Jungle Fantasy. Ignore the atrocious bottle. The juice smells fresh and fruity and a touch aquatic. It’s a pretty good dupe for D&G L’Imperatrice (which I also have), for a fraction of the price. It’s supposed to be a watermelon-forward fragrance but, honestly, I don’t get much of that when I smell it. To me, it’s a juicier, non-lemony version of D&G Light Blue.

I finally got my hands on Guerlain’s classic Insolence — and I adore it. It smells like violet candies. If you love violet, and don’t mind sweet perfumes, you have to try it. Its sweetness is not gourmand at all; even less so that Lolita Lempicka, which is the most similar fragrance to it that I have in my collection. Insolence has more violet and no anise. It’s too heady for daytime wear in the summer, but I love doing a couple of spritzes on my wrists before bed. It mellows out beautifully overnight and I wake up to a soft, powdery skin scent that’s still quite delicious.