Would you like new nail polish? If so, what colors are you craving? I used to wear nail polish very often. Then, I got rid of most of it and now it's become an occasional thing. I tried to keep only the really good quality ones, and they all are formaldehyde and tolulene-free. I'm really interested in trying the water-based (rather than solvent-based, which still contains fumes.) I know the BPTP claw polish is pretty safe (relatively) so I still want to try those in Robotic Scarab and Smokestack. I like dark colors and I no longer use nail polish with actual pieces of glitter in it because it is so annoying to take off.

Do you like incense and/or scented candles, and are you able to burn them in your home? If so, what kinds of scents do you like? I'm kind of over incense...I'd rather impart a scent without the smoke. Wax tarts have worked successfully in the past, particularly from Dark Candles. I also like their candles. However, I am attempting to have only beeswax candles in my home, which conflicts with that. There are plenty of great beeswax ones out there, though, like Big Dipper waxworks. Oh, what kinds of scents do I like? Foody and spicy usually. I just got some mini candles that are Cinnamon red-hots. They smell delicious. In the Dark Candles line, I have in the past appreciated the Dark Carnival and Dark Grove scents. I'm interested in the Bonfire, Haunted House, Forbidden Fruit, and Liquored-Up Tart.

WoW? no

Boxes? For Bpal (bottles and/or imps) or otherwise. I keep trying to think of new ways to organize my imps. I could use some kind of box or holder to keep everyday favorites in-I have ammo boxes for long term storage but I find those hard to access on a regular basis. My main concern is keeping imps upright, but also when they're tucked into something like an ammo box it's hard to see the labels and find things. If you think you have the perfect solution for me, I would be thrilled. Otherwise, on other box fronts I am more or less set, having many lovely boxes gifted to me by past creative Witches!

Favorite candy: dark chocolate. plain or with almonds or hazelnuts. chocolate covered coffee beans. Reeses PB cups used to be my favorite but I look for things that are slightly healthier now and I don't like milk chocolate anymore. in the non-chocolate category... uh.....drawing a blank. Is there candy besides chocolate? icon_biggrin.gif

Kitchen Gadgets: I wish I had one of those rotating egg beaters. Other than that, I think all the gadgets I desire fall way outside of the $28 limit. oh, there is one other thing (but I wouldn't expect a Witch to mail this one): a large (12-qt.) stainless steel mixing bowl with a smooth/flat bottom (ie it doesn't have a groove running around the bottom inside, which my current set of mixing bowls has) and a rounded rim. For mixing bread dough in. I haven't been able to figure out what brand is best...a guy I know got his at IKEA and it's perfect, but I didn't see any on their website and our nearest IKEA is 3 hours away.

I wouldn't mind cool dish towels. Ours are mismatched from Goodwill. (Not just cause we're cheap, often the used ones work much better: our Goodwill towels are more effective than our dark red matching ones that we got brand new as a wedding gift. They don't dry well and leave a lot of lint.)

handmade gifts are great. To my knowledge I have no fabric allergies, though I do tend to like natural fabrics (not to be a snob or anything. There are plenty of good natural/acrylic blends out there and I am currently knitting a scarf with one.)

I gots all confuzed...was the love poem question in this swap or in the no-baby shower swap? looks like lots of people are posting poems over there so sorry if i spilled over into this one with my enthusiasm. Anyway it doesn't matter if you are my witch, since u will see all my posts right? 00000288.gif

Mardi Gras: I never paid much attention to it until I started, uh, going to church (totally different story for another topic...) and Shrove Tuesday started to have some meaning for me. I actually really appreciate Ash Wednesday and Lent (I'm an Episcopalian, to be very very brief.) For me it's about having a great party and celebrating life with a sort of "carpe diem" or memento mori attitude, followed by somber reflection on the fact that everything is temporary and I will return to dust, and then a season of inner reflection and trying to be aware of how I live my life while I'm here. </religious talk>

I heart plush microbes! And I don't have any yet! I like the white blood cell, black death (duh), swine flu, flu, sore throat, beer yeast, and mono! omg Flesh eating disease is adorable too! magtongue.gif