No perfume shopping was to be had during my trip to San Francisco. Family and friends were the focus of this trip, so I took in the sights and smells around me. One evening we visited one of my best friends from college, her husband and their charming little son. They live north of San Francisco in the beautiful town of San Anselmo. Its warm climate allows them to grow gardenias on their deck, and what a luscious plant it is! I took a blossom back to the apartment we were renting in San Francisco and its buttery sweetness filled the bedroom for three days and nights.
The California Academy of Sciences came highly recommended as a family outing, and it’s well worth the steep price of admission as it is rife with glorious sights such as the 2.5 acre “Living Roof” and the “Rainforests of the World” exhibit. When you enter the rainforest, the humid fecundity overtakes all of the senses. It’s a spectacular exhibit. The butterflies are stunning and numerous, and after my interview with Avery Gilbert I couldn’t help but wonder if they smelled of vanilla or lemon.
Our drive home on the 1 and 101 highways offered much olfactory pleasure from eucalyptus, redwood bark, bay leaves, and lemon balm. But the air of the Oregon coast was unparalleled. The cool salty air refreshed and renewed me as I took it into my lungs. Douglass firs meeting the waters’ edge and rich damp soil soaked the coastal breeze as we walked up to the Heceta Head Lighthouse.
But of all the scents I experienced on our trip, none was more precious than the smell of my baby niece. I flew down to SF in a whirlwind earlier this summer to be at her birth, but this visit afforded my family and me time to just be with sweet baby girl. A few days ago, my older son asked me what “priceless” means. These last two pictures embody that concept more than my attempted verbal explanation.
Posted by ~Trish
Photographs by ~Trish and Trish’s husband.
thefloraesthetic.com 
priceless and so lovely… welcome home, aunt trish.
Thanks J 🙂 Hope you had a lovely trip as well.
Sweet Trish. Love the butterflies.
Andy got those shots of the butterflies. It was amazing to have them fly all around us!
Love the last two pictures…that new baby smell is better than any perfume in the world! xoxo
Mmmmmm…..it’s heaven isn’t it? My boys still have a wonderful smell, I plan to enjoy it as much as possible until puberty hits 😉
Super sweet photos of the cousins!
Thanks Sharon, hope to see you soon!
~T
Catching up on scenthive posts – what a gorgeous niece you have! Is that Katy’s? My GOLLY! I can smell her little cheeks from here…. delicious, delectable.
Love the Nose Knows post w/ Avery. Fascinating. And great comment about being a sucker for a woman who packs a wallop with a big Oriental!
Back from the fragrant woods (and wilting heat) of North Carolina. Ahh, the dazzling whimsy of crepe myrtles… spellbinding. Visited with Sockman and his wife and their pixy of a daughter. So fitting the ornithologist lives on Hoot Owl Lane!
xoox
Hi duV! I was visiting you just one year ago, what a terrific time that was 🙂
Yes, Katy had her baby at the end of June. What an amazing experience. She was awesome and baby Nia is adorable!!
Our neighbor has a crepe myrtle. Stunning when they bloom right? They constantly have people knock on their door asking what kind of tree it is.
How is Mr. Sockman? I love that…Hoot Owl Lane!
Hugs,
T
love the sweet post and all the beautiful photos.
little miss nia sends her love!!!
-k xoxo
I want to squeeze and smell that Nia ASAP!! 😉
~T