A Nigel update…
Most of you already know this, but for those who may be visiting from other blogs, I thought I’d share our good news. Nigel’s been cleared to go back to 100% weight bearing on his right leg. He had some subsidence with the stem of the implant. The surgeon believes it probably happened the very first time he stood up, but they wanted to err on the side of caution. So, now it’s back to building up that muscle, massaging the incision site to reduce scar tissue build up, and getting back to life! Thank you to all of you for your positive messages, vibes, prayers, thoughts, etc. We both really appreciate it! Oh, and his left hip isn’t as bad as his right one was so that surgery won’t be until after the first of the year.
Global writing challenge…
Last year, I joined the wonderful women from Is This Mutton, MK’s Adventures in Style, Deb’s World, Grownup Glamour, and Frugal Fashion Shopper for a global writing challenge. Later, Suzy from Suzy Turner, and Leslie from Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After, and I joined in on the fun permanently! Sue has decided to cut back on blogging, but don’t despair! Rosie Amber is joining us! Penny has a full plate at the moment and isn’t joining us this month. Jill chose this month’s theme. This is one of my favorite posts to write and to read! On top of the wonderfully different opinions and thoughts, the writing itself is wonderful! I hope you’ll visit all of these blogs because you are going to be amazed at, not only the diversity of the ideas, but the stories of each person. There’s also a link party at the end of this post!
If you want to participate…
I borrowed this listing from Deb as she’d already done the work (thanks, Debbie)! If you’d like to join in, we post on the third Thursday of the month. You can link up with me, Gail or Debbie.
- October: Schooldays (Penny)
- November: Confidence (Gail)
- December: Going Green (Rosie)
Anosmia…
Many, many years ago, I was nose blind for a long time. Nose blindness, or anosmia, is usually caused by exposure to the same scent for a long time. Think about the last time you put on perfume. The scent seemed to disappear after a bit, but others may remark upon it. You don’t smell it, but the scent is still there. That’s nose blindness. For many people, this is a short-term thing. For me, it lasted years due to nasal allergies, I think.
Treatment for me…
Imagine not being able to smell your favorite perfume, bread baking, or your favorite flower. That was life for me. No matter how hard I inhaled, or how closely I held something to my nose, I could not smell it at all. I sought help from an allergist and discovered I was allergic to mold and trees. So, any time a tree is doing something, I’m fairly miserable. That includes budding as well as losing leaves. And, oh, when the farmers run the soy beans, I’m in bad shape. After enduring injections for a year or two, I decided they really weren’t doing anything for me. But, I continued to use prescription nasal sprays. When I dealt with my nasal allergies, suddenly, the world of smell opened up to me. Now, just a disclaimer: If you suffer from anosmia, nasal sprays may not be the ticket to a world of smell. Talk to your physician about it. I do know many people (including my oldest) lost their sense of smell due to Covid. He gets little whiffs from time to time, but he hasn’t really been able to smell anything since 2021. Poor kid!
Hyperbole much…
I know I frequently write rather hyperbolically, but I have to tell you, my friends, being able to smell again was one of the best things to happen to me. I had worried about the house catching fire and not being able to smell the smoke and get my babies out of the house in time. I missed smelling flowers, perfumes, and just about everything. Once I started the allergy therapies, my anosmia disappeared and has never returned. So, with that background, here are some of my favorite things.
First…
I love the smell of just about anything baking. While I’m the first to admit I’m a terrible cook, I’m a decent baker. Not much beats the smell of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven unless it’s the smell of pineapple upside down cake! Or, what about the smell of a really good lasagna (OK, it can even be a frozen grocery store version)? There’s just something so cozy about that smell, right? I don’t discriminate between savory or sweet when it comes to the smell of baking. Well, I might have to rule out baking liver…my mom always fried it…do you even bake liver? I don’t even mind the smell of burnt things because, Heaven knows, I’ve smelled quite a bit of that, too (told you I’m a terrible cook)!
Maybe a little controversial…
Another smell that holds me spellbound is the smell of candles. You probably won’t be surprised to discover my favorites are usually floral, but I also like underlying notes of citrus and woods. My favorite Bath & Body Works candle is probably “Leaves.” I like to burn several candles at one time. My favorite combination is “Leaves” with “Black Pepper Bergamot,” which is currently not for sale. Therefore, I am hoarding it! I generally will add in some kind of apple-based scent with the fall candles. I also love to light up several of the Christmas scents at the same time. In the spring, it’s “Lilac,” “Rose Water & Ivy,” as well as “Honeysuckle.” I also know Bath & Body Works has come under some scrutiny for the ingredients in their products, but I’m not throwing out those candles! They cost me lots of $$$$!
A little history…
What about perfumes, you say? Well, I have a long history with perfumes that I’ve loved and lost over the years. My first love was “Sweet Honesty” by Avon. It appears that it really isn’t available in the US even though it appears on the website. Surprise! The middle note is rose! Nigel’s favorite perfume was Emeraude. Now, I’m really dating myself, aren’t I? Would you believe it was introduced in 1921, and you can still buy it? Nigel bought me this set of different sizes for Christmas one year. I never did wear it all and haven’t worn it since. The next scent I can remember was Anais Anais. It’s top notes are floral. I wore it for years. Then, I made the mistake of wearing it when I was pregnant with my daughter. I never wore it again…just like I can’t eat buttered white bread with bologna sandwiches! The smell of Anais Anais makes me nauseous just like the thought of those sandwiches!
Getting there…
Nigel’s go-to Christmas present was always a bottle of perfume. The next scent he discovered was “Pleasures” by Estee Lauder. It’s another perfume heavily based in florals: lilies, white peonies, and jasmine. This perfume instantly transports me to Washington, DC! I wore it there on a trip in December with Nigel’s oldest brother’s family. He liked it so much he bought it for his wife. Then, Nigel worked his way through the many different perfumes at the Estee Lauder counter! Luckily, he never bought me “Beautiful” because it doesn’t smell beautiful on me! Finally, Nigel discovered Jo Malone. I love Jo Malone and have worked my way through several bottles of it. Once I splurged on a Wisteria based bottle. I still have it, and it still smells beautiful. I know perfumes have expiration dates, but none of mine seem to have that problem. My absolute favorite perfume is “Red Roses,” of course.
Finally…
I’ve also discovered Jo Malone perfumes trigger that nose blindness really quickly. Sales associates have told me I need to layer it over a body crème. That’s when I discovered the Jo Malone body crèmes. They are spendy; I’m not going to lie. But, a little goes a long, long way. My favorite of these is “Grapefruit” which seems to be on hiatus. I was always told it was their best seller so I’m hoping it’s a supply kinda thing. I can get it in the hand cream, but the body crème is so, so much better. It lasts all day and easily mixes with any scent (or body crème) you add to it. That means, when I run out of my perfumes, I’m just sticking with the body crèmes because you get the added benefit of softer hands and body! What are my favorite scents? I really like “Wood Sage and Sea Salt” which is a unisex scent, but it layers beautifully with many more floral scents, or you can wear it alone. I also love “Nectarine Blossom & Honey,” “Wild Bluebell,” “Orange Blossom,” and “English Pear and Freesia.” Like the perfume, my all-time favorite is “Red Roses.”
Wrap it up, Marsha!
I guess this would have also worked for last month’s “Splurge” theme for Ageless Style. But, I have learned, over time, that quality usually is worth the extra money. And, I worked hard to reach this point in my life when I can wear the perfumes and crèmes I love. There were so many other scents I could have shared…like the smell of a woodfire, wet dog, and clean sheets. But, you can only take so much of me blathering on and on, right? So, can we talk? Have you ever heard of or had anosmia? What are some of your favorite smells? Are you a good cook (if so, send recipes, STAT)? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond as soon as possible.
Thank you!
I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting, subscribing or emailing! It truly means so much to me! If you’d like to follow me on Instagram, you can find me here.
Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, Suzy Turner, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish as well as the Senior Salon Pit Stop (Esme’s Salon) and Slices of Life. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
What others are saying…
Suzy “Suzy shares her Favourite Things, from morning coffee and cuddles with her pets to travel adventures, cozy nights in, and creative pursuits like YouTube videos.” Find her over at www.suzyturner.com.
Mary Katherine “has SO many favorite things, she had a hard time narrowing down to a few to talk about, but see what she chose at https://mksadventure.com/.”
Gail from Is This Mutton “has a passion for lux stationery and fountain pens. Strange, considering she can’t read her own writing.”
Debbie “What’s something that’s a favourite of yours? In this post I update an earlier post summarising my favourite decades and how the next one is going so far.”
Jill from Grown Up Glamour says, “My summary is a bit of an eclectic mix of my favourite things from gardens and old roses, books of many genres and a few fashion bits and friendships.”
Leslie writes, “LIFE is full of ups and downs, joys and sorrows and unexpected hiccups that catch us off-guard. But through it all, some things remain consistent. My favorite things.”
Rosie “tells us about her love for walking and recalls 5 different walks from her recent holiday in Cornwall.”
And, now, it’s your turn!
If you’d like to link up your Personal Style posts, you may link up here or at Gail’s or Debbie’s blogs!
I don’t wear perfume very often but I do love a good scented body lotion; some of them I can even smell on myself the next day! I don’t like most floral scents though since they tend to overwhelm my sense of smell but I like ones that are coconutty, vanilla, or even pumpkin spice/caramel (sounds and probably is weird as a body lotion but I love them!).
I am so pleased your sense of smell returned after your treatment. I can not imagine how frustrating that must have been for you . I remember being told my grandmother had no sense of smell but I have no idea of the cause.
Well done on making up for lost time with your collection of scented candles and good perfumes.
Pleased to hear Nigel is doing well.
I am so happy to hear that Nigel is doing better and hoping he feels relieved and encouraged. Getting back to life has to feel so good!
I had no idea anosmia was a thing! Honestly, I cannot imagine not being able to smell, bless your heart Marsha! I have heard of people who lost their sense of taste after having covid, ugh.
What a Jo Malone collection! I love her scents and have sampled them but never purchased.
xo,
Kellyann
So pleased to hear that Nigel has improved enough to weight-bear – long may that improvement continue. And so interesting about your anosmia – must have been such a challenge. We’ve recently had Covid and both of us have suffered some kind of disturbance with our sense of smell. Btw, I don’t really like floral scents but love woody scents – sandalwood especially. And I remember Anais Anais very well! Great post Marsha!
Anosmia sounds terrible, so glad you got over it. I loved reading about the candles and scents. I went through quite a few Estee Lauder fragrances including White Linen and Cinnabar. I prefer lighter floral now. Very keen on some of the Jo Malone’s. I save the body lotion layering for special outings.
Wow. The things I learn from you.
I had to snicker because at first, the fact you need to layer the perfume over the lotion—sounds like an upsell to me, haha. Except maybe it will help me.
Because I’ve finally transitioned to all non-toxic perfumes and they don’t seem to last long. So maybe I”ll try this,
XOOX
Jodie
How interesting! My brother couldn’t smell anything for quite a while, but once he started dupixent he got his smell back! I love smelling scent so that would be so hard fo rme. Glad your husband is doing well!