You guys, I have been living my best life this week! Lots of reading, plenty of time to relax, and on Tuesday my husband and I went out for his belated Father’s Day dinner. The place we like has great beer, and exactly ONE vegan option. Luckily we like that option.
Thursday is typically my least favorite day of the week, but guess what- not only my daughter, but now my husband is also gone for a couple days. With no one home, there was NOTHING TO STOP ME from going to the mall after work! I got falafel for dinner:
I browsed around in a few stores. I bought my daughter a couple shirts (from the Hollister clearance rack) and then went to Bath and Body Works, where they were having a big sale.
Selected hand soaps were $2.99, which was perfect because I needed them for both bathrooms. AND, three-wick candles were on sale. I had fun smelling all the candles on the $10.99 table. I love scented candles, but some of them are really strange. Case in point:
This actually smelled like carrots. Not the worst, but not exactly how I want my house to smell. This was also a weird one:
If I were baking a loaf of bread, I wouldn’t mind a yeasty smell wafting through the house. But I don’t want it from a candle. I eventually decided on a “Poppy” candle and several fruity-smelling hand soaps.
I really enjoyed myself, but as I left the mall it was starting to get dark and I got anxious. The cats must be missing me!!! I have to get home! I know it’s silly, but once it gets dark I like to be home, snuggling with my kitties.
Today (Friday) I’ll come home from work and clean! Somehow I don’t mind cleaning when no one else is home. I think it removes any resentment I might normally feel: “Why am I always the one to sweep the floors? Oh wait… I’m the only one here.” I’ll get the house in tip top condition (er…) and Saturday my daughter returns! I’ll be happy to see her.
Two last things. Obviously, I never did get sick! Somehow I dodged the stomach virus and the cold. Also… guess why Bath and Body Works is having a big sale. The cashier told me they have to make room because they already have HALLOWEEN THINGS, waiting to come out. Well! I’ll admit it’s a little early, but I felt a thrill of excitement when she said that. I know we still have to get through the 4th of July and the rest of summer, but fall is coming! And fall is the best- everyone knows that.
Would you get a carrot or sourdough candle???
Is it too early for fall merchandise? – Okay, okay…. yes it is.
Top photo by Luca Upper on Unsplash
24 Responses
I don’t buy candles, but carrot would definitely not tempt me.
I’ve noticed that the summer grill/party/ outside stuff is being condensed and rearranged at target- back to school stuff is about to appear! The retail cycle is so depressing. Let us enjoy summer a little longer!
Enjoy your cleaning rtime!
I never think my cats miss me when I’m gone- they seem to have plenty of cat business to fill their time.
I always think it must be weird to work retail- you’re constantly thinking about the “next” holiday (or, the one coming up after the next one..)
No, I’m sure my cats miss me!!! At least, they always greet me at the door when I get home. Maaaybe they’re hungry…
what a lovely few days all by yourself at home, which would be so rare for me.
i wouldnt buy any food scent cancles… it would be weird smelling it all day long.
Yes, I avoid the food ones!
I first thought you were having ice cream at the mall until I read “falafel” 😂 Even then I had to take a second look to actually make sure!
So nice that you and your husband finally got that date night.
I genuinely want to see the decision process behind those candle scents. How do they come up with these ideas? And if THESE make it to the shelves, I’m slightly alarmed thinking about the ones that didn’t…
Yes, it wasn’t the best picture of falafel because I had already slathered it with tahini. And yes… i would love to smell the “rejected” candle scents!
Eek! No carrot and no sourdough candles!!! Just no! MAKE IT STOP!!!!!!!
Yay for Home Alone time!!! Enjoy!!!
I know. I would love to know if anyone actually buys those (and, I guess I know why they were on the sale table). I’m definitely enjoying my home alone time! Tonight I’ll light my Poppy candle while I clean.
Oooh I love being in the house alone, I can have whatever I want for dinner and I can read and watch period dramas on BBC to my heart’s content! Fun! Enjoy!
Bath and Body Works has some weird scents. I’m drawing a blank right now so this comment will just seem stupid, but the carrot scent, what. Oh! I know what it was! There was a tomato scent, and it was a body wash. Who…wants to smell like tomatoes. I love tomatoes and I love my tomato plants but I don’t want to smell like them.
Hahahahaha, that’s so weird. Yes, who would want to smell like tomatoes???
My cats miss me only when they’re hungry.
I agree about cleaning. And if someone else is home, it gets dirty right away.
I love candles. No to carrot. Vanilla or lavender.
I’m not a big lavender fan! But we’re in agreement- not carrot.
I would pass on both of those candle scents! I do not burn candles since moving in with Phil 10+ years ago as he is sensitive to scents/doesn’t like scents. So that means I also no longer wear perfume which I sometimes miss. I threw out most of my perfume this spring when I cleaned out some bins in our bathroom but I kept my favorite one (Burberry Brit).
But Halloween stuff? NONONONONONONONONONONONONO! Summer is just getting started here so I will not think of what comes next… I mean I like fall but that means we are close to winter which I do not enjoy.
It’s so wonderful to be in the house alone! That so rarely happens for me! Phil was gone for 2 nights this week and I did sort of relish being able to watch whatever I wanted (I watched one episode of Four Seasons each night). I didn’t sleep as well with him gone as I thought I would, though! The bed just didn’t feel right!
I would be sad not to have scents in the house, but I can also see how someone might be sensitive to it. AND, I know you feel like summer just started. I feel like we’re about halfway through, which is probably true, school-wise, for us.
The first night Tom was gone I didn’t sleep great because I made the mistake of letting the cats sleep with me. Noooo, that doesn’t work so great. Last night I slept much better.
Halloween is one of my least favourite holidays. Thankfully, I haven’t spotted any of that merch yet, but I bet it will be in stores in NO TIME. Sigh.
I love, love, love being in my own house alone. LOVE IT. I am so productive and just get into a unique state of flow I never seem to be able to achieve at any other time.
My daughter is away overnight for leadership training but my husband and son are home. The dynamic changes a bit but I am ITCHING for solo time!
Those scents sound… weird. Though I have seen a lot of “tobacco” scented candles lately which strikes me as a bit odd since we know how horrible smoking is for people’s health. But I guess the musky scent is appealing to some people anyway?
TOBACCO??? That sounds awful. Who comes up with these things, anyway?
I would actually be more excited to see just regular fall stuff, not so much the Halloween. Although I don’t mind the holiday (I like it less and less, the older my own kids get). I’m just excited at the thought of fall.
Since I work from home and no one else does (well, my daughter does 2 days a week), I have a LOT of time alone at home. I love it, and you’re right, I don’t mind taking on projects and cleaning when I’m alone, but if they’re here I don’t like it.
Tommy Bahama has a mango candle that is amazing. I don’t like mangos, but I love the smell of that candle. I realized recently that burning candles has been putting soot up my walls. Oops. So we’ve cut way back. But! Tommy Bahama has a mango diffuser that is the same scent, all day, with no soot. It’s expensive, stupidly so, but drunk me bought it and sober me is not at all mad about it. We have it in the downstairs bathroom, and every time I walk past I get a whiff and it’s great.
Ooh, I think i would like a mango candle! But- soot? I better check my walls. Hopefully I haven’t been burning enough candles to generate soot.
Candles are forbidden in our house ever since Rick worked for a fire restoration company. He saw dozens of home fires caused by candles, and it spooked him. I only have a few that are part of Christmas decor, and I never light them. It seems a small price to pay for his sense of security.
I LOVE BEING AT HOME ALONE. Only myself to feed, consider, and entertain. LOVE IT.
It sounds like you made the most of your Me Time. Good for you!
My husband is also concerned about the fire hazard, so we have certain rules about candles- they can only be in certain places (like, where no one can knock them over) and only be lit while we’re home and supervising. I guess it makes sense.
A sourdough candle? What in the world LOL
We make a great Kung Pao Tofu at home (it totally made my husband and I tofu fans!).
Ooh, I’ll bet I would love homemade Kung Pao tofu- I’ll look for a recipe.
An empty house is a wonderful thing. I was talking to my friend last week, and I told her I THINK I’M THE ONLY ONE HOME. A few minutes later, Curly walked downstairs and I was like OH! Ha. I lose track with all the coming and going.
Carrots and sourdough would not interest me in candle form. I fear the sour dough would make me hungry. I have a very strong sense of smell, and I’m particular about scents. Never too much. Curly has something – hand lotion? Perfume? It smells JUST like cotton candy. I’ve told her to get rid of it, but she wore it a few days ago and I ’bout lost my mind. “Do you want people to think you just came from the circus?” I told her she is to get rid of it pronto.
Omg, fall already? I don’t think I’m prepared yet. I need to get through July, I think, and then I can start dreaming about fall.
Bath & Body Works really does have some of the oddest candle scents sometimes. I remember one was pizza scented? Or something really wild. It smelled TERRIBLE. Blergh.
I’m glad you’re enjoying your alone time – hooray!