Scentsing the Changes to Come

I've never really been that big on home fragrances. I mostly attribute that to my not-so-acute sense of smell. Whether my puppy has an accident or someone is baking apple crisp, I'm always the last person to notice the smell. My new roommate is the opposite. She is scent-crazy. There are now clove-studded lemons, rose petal soaps and homemade fragrance sprays all over the house. The difference for me seemed marginal at first, but I did start to notice the difference between the common area of my house and the bedroom (where the door always remains shut). I spend much more time in my bedroom than I used to before I had to combine my bedroom and home office. My current struggle is creating a sanctuary-like space where I can do devotions, and read, but also a clean and functional space where I can work. My room has the best window in the suite, so to take advantage of that, I decided bring the outside in with lots of blues, greens and white with pops of yellow, red, black, and a little bit of natural wood. With this in mind, I put up a couple LACK shelves from IKEA and filled them with things I love that remind me of the pending summer - yellow gerbera daisies, grass, an old-fashioned milk jug, lanterns with candles, some objects from my childhood. But I wanted something to make it smell nice as well. It had to be something strong enough so that I could smell it, but I didn't want to walk into an overwhelming cloud of perfume every time I entered the room. Candles are great, but I can't leave them unattended. Incense weirds me out. I don't like the idea of most commercial products, like Glade plug-ins. A few clicks around on the Google machine lead me to this little guy, Alora Ambiance in Isola. I'm in love. I could only find one store in the Greater Vancouver area that sells it - an adorable little boutique in Deep Cove called Room6. It's a diffuser that uses a reed to distribute the light scent of gardenia, tuberose, and fig throughout the day. Not only does it fill my room with a subtle but pleasant aroma, but the design of the bottle is so cute and fits exactly with the natural look I'm going for here. The company says the liquid will last 2-3 months, but the saleslady said hers has lasted for almost a year, so I will let you know! It's a little pricey for something that only lasts 3 months, but a great deal if it lasts a year!

Walking on Sunshine

Three and a half years ago, a friend's sister, who was currently living in the Philippines, sent me a purse for Christmas. It was handmade, red, patterned, and adorable. It was the perfect size, as I'm a person who likes to travel pretty light (phone, keys, wallet - that's it!), and it served me well, but this past weekend, it finally bit the bucket. The strap on it snapped. It's fixable, but it's also about time I branch out and add some variety to my accessories. 

I'm in love with this Rebecca Minkoff Mini Crosby Crossbody. I'm not so in love with its $195 price tag. So I set out to find something similar. 

I could only find a picture of the black one, but it's actually a yellow one I wanted.
Rebecca Minkoff. $195 

While shopping, I also found this market tote at J Crew that I wanted for when I needed to carry more than my three essential items, but again, its more than my budget can handle right now.

J Crew. $57.50

Aaaand success! At none other than H&M. The yellow one was $13 and the white was $18. I've been loving having the pop of yellow with my otherwise neutral outfits and using the white with my colorful sundresses on sunny days. I usually stash the yellow in the white so that when I need to run in somewhere, I don't have to haul my books and everything around in the store with me. Both are casual, but the yellow stands up with my little black dress just fine for a dressier night. I love the leather cord on the handle and how sturdy the white is while still lying flat against my body.

Yay for new spring favorites!