Sniff sniff

I love smells. Um, that's not exactly it...my life is strongly impacted by the sense of smell. That might be more it. It's somewhere in between maybe? We all know I love sounds, and most of us do too, but I think smell is less common, or less discussed anyway. So for me, it's really important. Let's talk about it.

In my last post, I wrote about the smell of Target. I got to smell Target again today. It's distinct. I like it. I have known folks who don't, even folks who find it headache or nausea-inducing. There are stores where I can smell the dye in the clothes (I find this a lot at Marshall's and Filene's Basement, eh?), and that is headache and nausea-inducing for me, but the sweet smell of packaging doesn't do it. So there's that.

I had Indian food for dinner from the pretty good restaurant here in C-ville. (It's no MSB, but it's pretty tasty.) The smell of that food is like eating a meal to me. It's so hearty and thick and layered and delicious. I would love to learn to cook food that smells that way.

And now, perfume and cologne and other scents, oh my...remember what your first boyfriend smelled like (or g/f, sorry)? I remember mine. I can't remember the name of the cologne he wore, but I remember it so distinctly, sweet and just a little tiny bit musky and almost feminine but a little earthier and like it would taste really good, like sugary chocolatey fruit almost. Very rarely I'll smell if these days...far more often I smell what my later boyfriends wore. And then there's a perfume my aunt wears that I love (Happy) but can't wear myself (just doesn't work) and when I smell it, it comforts me.

And my mom's hands had a smell when I was a kid...clean and lotion-y maybe, but I don't know what kind. It was probably just Ivory soap. She wasn't really big on decadence when I was a kid, since she was a stay-at-home mom and spent a lot of time, well, mommying. But I smelled my hands the other day, just moving hair out of my face or something, and they smelled like her. It was weird.

So, as I'm moving and settling into my new space, smells are new and old and catching my attention. My new place has its own smell. My stuff all has its own smell, and there are many different smells...so, since nothing can stop me and put me somewhere else like a familiar smell, I thought it might be a fun game to list some of my favorite smells:

- fresh-cut grass
- maple syrup
- oranges
- vanilla
- lavendar
- lemon pledge
- diesel fumes
- Oil of Olay
- rosewater
- bacon, preferably a little on the burning side
- coffee, but not flavored, which makes me a little sick
- Lola the cat
- baby hair
- earth (leaves and dirt, a little water)

Hmm, aren't you all fascinated? My blog never ceases to amaze me. It is an exercise in nothingness, and it's a little more challenging to write about nothing than I'd thought. Kudos to Larry David.

Last bit on sniffing - I finally found a daytime perfume that I like. Molton Brown, Gingerlily. It's quite good, and I can reserve the last stuff I bought for evening time since it's a little heavier. And I do go out in the evening quite a bit...my cocktailwear is really getting used these days. (That's sarcasm.)

I need to stop stalling and just unpack.