PrettySmellyThings

So, Easter is over....I've gained 2.5kg ("Oh no", I hear you say...but I can cope, it's okay)...my skin is greasy (less okay) and due to a recent premise relocation  the hummingbird has focussed her OCD tendencies on - Pretty Looking and Pretty Smelling House Things.  I will be attempting a home remedy this week (when my bloody LAVENDER ARRIVES!) for carpet deoderising. Very handy when my daughter prefers to eat on the run....you cannot vacuum ENOUGH for that child!

Sprinkle bicarbonate soda generously on carpet. Pound up a mix of dried rosemary and lavender in a mortar and pestle....or with some rocks or whatever I guess....you aren't EATING it. Put it in a jar with holes punched in the lid (or sprinkle with your hand if you want) over the top of the bicarbonate soda. Leave for a minimum of fifteen minutes but up to an hour if you like and then vacuum off.

Sounds good huh? I won't will tell you about the night this week when everytime the toddler stirred and woke me (yes, she's in our bed...roll your eyes if you like, I do) my first thoughts each time were what other possible scent combinations would work for this method.  I came up with dried lime rind and crushed eucalyptus leaves so far. I'll give that a try next time round and get back to you.

I have purchased 2 WoodWick diffusers - scents 'Tradewinds' and 'Linen'. SOOOO lovely and smelly. Bathroom and kitchen - the two stinkiest rooms in any house -  received the first intake. There WILL be more. You know how some horribly cruel people used to paint each room of their house a different colour and then make you visit them and view the monstrosity....that is my aim with scents, but in more of a cloying, obsessive kinda assault as opposed to sheer violence inflicted on the eyes. 

This is mine in situ with a cheap but pretty crystal pillar bought at the market......bathroom lovelies.

 These are available online, but I couldn't find anyone from Australia with the full range, and shipping it from the US probably would work out the same cost as buying it retail here, so my suggestion is see your closest chemist, homewares or giftware store. Obviously the biggest advantage here if you haven't got a particular scent in mind, is that you can have a sniff instore before choosing your scent.

(Have decided it's okay to be this way if I am following reasonably harmless tangents)

I have also re-embraced cut flowers (but only if they are reduced price or stolen from my garden or a public place), candles (yes, even with all their wax and mess) and my oil burner (which is sadly lacking in the variety of scents available, but new oils are on my current 'I Want' list - it's an actual component of my constantly updated 'To Do' list).

Did this cool thing with a vase that I was quite proud of for a little while. The picture included is post tiny disaster. Originally I filled it with lovely shells and stones (you can't see how pretty they are in the photo) and water, and floated candles in the top (no flowers obviously). Sooo pretty! Found a candle floating under the top edge of the glass and a small puddle of water at the base that had leaked out of the heat-induced stress fracture! Nevermind, it's a flower vase now...as long as you don't fill it past a certain point!

I put candles behind it and pretend they are floating ; ) it does the job for me close enough I guess.



I have also arranged a couple of Susie Homemaker displays in the kitchen. I found a little glass bottle that looks old (but probably isn't) and put cinnamon scrolls and cloves in that. They don't smell as much as I'd hoped but they look cool. Especially when strategically placed near the mortar and pestle my lovely parents bought for my recent birthday! The fruit and egg bowls are out as always (who knew it was actually quite safe to store your eggs at room temperature?) and as long as they are full they always kinda just look nice on their own.

Yes, yes, small things and small minds...but whatever keeps me happy, right?

I am finally done with this HUMUNGOUS post.....if you've managed to read ALL THE WAY to the end, then you may now give yourself a pat on the back (or some coffee to wake yourself up again). I barely have the patience for my own drivel this time! I promise it will be slightly more interesting next time....provided I am not all self-consumed again as usual! Ta-ta!

                                                                                                Anji