My Favorite Smell- My Top 5

Puppy Breath- If only someone could bottle this smell! I love dogs and more importantly, I love puppies. I love how chunky and helpless they are. I love smushing their little faces to my face and smelling puppy chow on their breath. It is literally the best smell in the world. Now my dogs have dead fish breath. I wish they could have stayed puppies forever. ha!

Dreft Detergent- This smell makes me feel safe, protective and excited. It was a smell that was first introduced to me when I was pregnant with my first child. I was young and excited to be a mother. I would wash all of his clothes as I was pregnant in anticipation of his arrival. I would fold his clothes and then lift them to my face and bury my face into his tiny clothes and take a deep breath. It filled me with hope and excitement. It became my guilty pleasure as a young mom because it was so expensive.

Lake Michigan- For many that know me, they know water runs through my veins. It is my life source. I love the ocean but I grew up in Michigan and the Great Lakes smell way better than any ocean. I remember jumping in my parents car and heading to the beach with our windows rolled down. I always knew when we were close, because I could smell it. My parents never believed me that I could smell the water at such a young age. They just thought I was remembering landmarks and knew we were getting close. But it didn’t matter which route they took to the water, I could always smell it. To this day, I am always looking for the smell of water. It is an internal compass. My kids are even shocked at how I can find water. When I return to Michigan for a visit, my favorite thing to do is head to the Lake with the windows down and my head out the window with my eyes closed (if someone else is driving of course), sniffing!

​Lilacs- I don’t like lilac scented things. But fresh lilacs make me melt. I don’t get to smell them very often. I don’t think I have been around fresh lilacs since childhood. And by fresh I mean a plant still in the earth growing in the ground. Growing up we had two huge lilac bushes in our front yard. I was actually afraid of them because in my mind those flowers meant “BEES” and I am terrified of bees. But lilacs are my childhood summer. My mom would cut fresh stems and have them in our house on the kitchen window sill and I always loved the smell.

Frito Paws- I know I am risking my reputation with mentioning this one because it is another dog related smell. You know what, yup, I’m gonna skip over this one.
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Banana Bread- This is another smell from childhood and my only food item to make the list. Growing up I don’t ever remember any member of my family eating bananas, but we always had banana bread. My mom was an excellent cook and baker. Her cookies were a national treasure to anyone who tried them and her banana bread and zucchini bread were top notch as well. When I bake banana bread and the aroma fills the house, I feel warm and homey and it brings me joy when my kids express their love of the smell filling the house too. ​