Now and again, I’ll try out new fragrances — as my friend Gemma says, “life is too short for a signature scent; I want to smell like as many beautiful things as I can” — and they’re always nice. But recently I’ve tried one that’s blowing me away. I can’t stop sniffing my wrists, and Alex keeps pulling me into kisses in the kitchen. The sexy scent? Lake & Skye’s Saffron Dusk. “Dark florals, spicy woods and a musky cool” is the description. Love love love. (You can get an $8 one, too!)

The Instagram account Subway Hands by Hannah La Follette Ryan is surprisingly moving, don’t you think? (This one looks like a Michelangelo sculpture.)

I just tore through Laura Chinn’s memoir Acne about her wild childhood in Florida. Her divorced parents struggled with poverty and addiction, her big brother went blind from a brain tumor, and she lived alone and raised herself for months at a time. (She started drinking and smoking when she was 11.) To top it off, she had very aggressive acne. From the jacket copy, I expected the book to be 100% heart-wrenching — but, while some parts are obviously devastating, Chinn’s hilarious, hopeful and gritty personality shines right through. As she says herself, in the end, “it is not a sad story.”

Well, I’m officially 43 years old because guess what I’m into right now? Placemats. We put them on our dining table to make the whole room look warm and inviting. These striped numbers, above, are made in Denmark.

P.S. More fun round-ups, and a perfume smell test.