home scents

Yesterday I discussed annoying ads, and ads that always irk me are ones for spray home fresheners. Erk. I reckon that if your home is clean, and preferably cleaned with scrummy essential oils, then it should smell fresh - particularly if you open some windows to let more freshness in. Don't get me wrong, I have my room sprays - lavender in the bathroom, peony on my desk, vanilla in the living room, rose in the bedroom... but these are all gorgeous scents and I don't use them to cover another smell, I just use them to add a punctuation of pretty after I've finished cleaning.

At the moment my home has the best scent of all - my beef and guinness stew bubbling in the slow-cooker. Can you imagine the bliss when we come home after netball training to be welcomed with such a homely aroma? Personally I love a cooking smell, which is lucky because as it's over 100 years old my home tends to retain aromas - and I love reminding of that delicious lamb roast, or the caramelised onions for a frittata, or even the coffee the espresso machine pumps out at regular intervals. 

Oh, and at the moment I have so many lush roses blooming after their summer prune that even one house away their aroma starts to blossom and by the time you walk through my front gate you're enveloped in their heady perfume. Bliss.