What's in a Smell?

This week's listicle is 10 Fantastic Smells. The sense of smell is an important one, as some smells put me right back to places where I want to be (see below) but others can transport me to moments I'd rather leave deep in the memory bank. Like Band Camp. Some smells put me right back in the cabins and shared bathroom and dark woods with a seriously mental band director who lived, it seemed, to prey on the weak.

But that's a story for another post. Today, the good and great:

1. The chocolate treatments at the Spa at the Hotel Hershey. There is nothing like the chocolate-dipped strawberry--a scrub with strawberry seeds followed by a fondue wrap of chocolaty goodness. If you're ever in Hershey, PA, and have time for a pamper, run, don't walk, to the beautiful hotel on the hill. They now have a Whoopie Pie Mani-Pedi.

2. My husband's beard. This may sound weird at first. My husband has a lovely, trimmed, and well-kept beard into which he rubs his cologne every morning (Abercrombie & Fitch's Fierce). The cologne is pleasant enough on its own, but my favorite time to smell Hubs' beard is a couple hours after. Then, the cologne has mingled with an essential Hubs-ness, and it's one of the best smells of my life.

3. My son's hair after bathtime. After the water has dried and the curls have tightened, there's no more comforting smell than Munch's silky locks.

(Apparently, I like the smell of hair in many forms.)

4. Christmas sugar cookies in the oven. This is an iconic childhood smell, one that brings comfort and puts me in mind of stockings and heaps of presents. Not to mention--duh, cookies!

5. Citrus. For some reason, whenever I pop open a clementine, I'm put in the Christmas spirit. Maybe it's because oranges always came in the goodie bags we got after the church Christmas pageant. But citrus is a happy smell for me.

6. Fresh-cut grass. Cliche? Possibly. But no less true.

7. Cinnabon. Look, I know it's riddled with fat, oil, and calories. Very few foods smell better, wafting down the mall corridors.

8. The pages of a book. Someday, when all books are digital, I will pay for a black market paperback so I can stick my nose in the pages and inhale deeply. Ink and paper, mmmm. Magazines are good for this as well.

9. Autumn. The smell of the leaves crunching beneath my feet, the crisp wind--autumn is my favorite season.

10. A campfire. Puts me right up in the northern Michigan woods.