May Flowers Monday- Lavender #Irises #beauty #flowers #Spring

As promised, here are the lavender irises that were starting to catch up with the others. I caught these pictures back around the 10th, when it was raining. I just love flowers covered in raindrops! So pretty!

Hope you have a

WONDERFUL
MEMORIAL DAY

Monday!

#SCENTsational Saturdays- Does Your #Hero Smell? #Horizon

Horizon by Guy Laroche is a subtle, yet powerful scent for men. This fragrance is perfect for any time of day. Horizon combines citrus and lavender scents with tones of wood and sweet spices to create a cologne perfect for any occasion. First introduced in 1993, this cologne has been widely used by men for day-to-day activities. Lightly apply this subtle scent to your neck or wrists and feel ready to take on whatever the day throws at you.

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I don't normally post about my past, at least not in regard to relationships because I'm married and I've moved on, but when I pulled up the calendar post for today and remembered I'd endeavored to post about heroes and what they smell like and my favorites, I forgot momentarily that I would kind of have to travel down memory lane to describe the reasons this is probably still a favorite men's cologne, though I haven't smelled it in years.

From 1995 until around this time of year in 1999, I was in an on again, off again relationship, thrice (count 'em- 3 times) engaged to a man who once told me that on his first day on the job where we met- I was 20 at the time, that he went home that night and lay down to go to bed and he KNEW I was the woman he wanted to marry, that I was the woman he could see himself growing old with.

Of course, he told me that only after we officially started dating at the beginning of 1996 (I was seeing someone else when we met). We'd gone to school together but he didn't remember me, so I couldn't imagine someone could feel that deeply about me without even knowing me, but it was clear he was love-struck from the start and after spending more time with him, I really started to like him, too. Horizon was his signature cologne and for those few years of my life, that scent was a comfort, it turned me on because it smelled so good and I associated it with him and his love. He was, after all, the man I loved, the one I intended to marry someday.

In his arms, I felt like the most beautiful woman in the world and his nickname for me was "Pretty Eyes." We went through a LOT together, deaths of family, health scares with our parents, job changes, life changes. Things were not always easy, but for the first time in my life I knew what it was like to care about someone who actually told me and showed me that he cared about me, too. I know I took that for granted, I didn't always appreciate it. I was young and wondered if there were more out there in the world. I worried I didn't love him and at one point, a very low point for me when I gained a lot of weight and was depressed, I ended it. I wasn't happy and he wasn't happy and we weren't making each other happy.

He didn't want it to end though. He still loved me, at least, at that point he did and when I was supposed to start a new job on my birthday in February, we ended up with one of the biggest snowfalls to hit Central Kentucky in a long time- 2 foot of snow lay on the ground outside our front door and since I would have to walk to work, I didn't end up having to go that day. This man, who loved me so much, walked across town from where he lived with his parents, to the flower shop in the shopping center, and then through the park and the long way around my neighborhood in 2 FOOT OF SNOW to bring me a stuffed Ty cat for my birthday—while we were broken up.

Now, after we got back together, it was all down hill from there...the fights, the differences of opinion and ideas for what we each wanted for our life together. It seemed that what we once shared as like-minded individuals, the things we believed in and valued- something shifted and I don't really know what. But those things collided and ricocheted off each other and the vile words we said to each other wounded deeply and couldn't be taken back. 

I was told NOTHING anyone said could change his love for me and then within a few breaths he told me that his love came with conditions that had to be met or he "couldn't" love me. I still don't understand and sometimes, it does still hurt because I've never figured out what happened or how we fell apart.

What I try to remember though, is that people come into our lives for reasons beyond our comprehension. Some are there to love us always, but sometimes love isn't enough to make it work. We might not understand why things don't work out the way we plan, but I do believe there is a bigger picture that we can't see because we're just too close. I believe EVERY relationship teaches us about love, about ourselves, about loss and about strength to see beyond and continue traveling toward the "horizon." (Nice how I worked that in there, isn't it?) There's still life out there, even when one story comes to an end- there is still road to travel and you can't always see what's up ahead. You just have to keep going.

And so, now that I've had a good cry and pulled myself together (and in some ways hope I never catch a whiff of this cologne again) I'll leave you with this- it was just one of "our" many songs-

Don't forget to live in those moments....it's all very precious, even when the memories are hard to bear.

Hope you have a SCENTsational Saturday!
Enjoy it to the fullest!

#SCENTsational Saturdays- Healing Garden Fragrances

 The Healing Garden

I've had this collection for a very long time and it seems from my online search for it, The Healing Garden products still exist, though they are not all the same as they were when I bought these originally. In fact, it would seem that mine were put out by Coty (LOL, isn't EVERY fragrance I own?!?!) but now the line is owned by Calgon instead (Take me away!) (and I do have the Hawaiian Ginger put out by Calgon, and I tried their Moon Petal Musk but gave it to my mom because it didn't smell good on me and gave me a headache.)

These have lasted longer than most regular bottles of perfume though because they're made with essential oil extracts of their ingredients so they've held up well over the past decade and I can still use them now, unlike some perfumes that tend to age poorly and become more alcohol than fragrance.

From left to right are as follows-all mention that its light, silkening conditioners bond with the moisture in your skin, allowing the soothing scent to linger.

1.) lavendertheraphy- relaxation body mist- with natural extracts of lavender flowers, chamomile and valerian.
2.) jasminetheraphy- sensual body mist- with natural extracts of ylang ylang, passion flower and neroli.
3.) junipertheraphy- clarity body mist- with extracts of geranium and ginkgo leaf.
4.) gingerlily theraphy- positivity body mist- with natural extracts of rosemary, cypress and st. john's wort.
5.) tangerinetheraphy- energizing body mist- with natural extracts of tea tree, ginseng, mandarin and balm mint.
6.) green teatheraphy- enlightening body mist- with natural extracts of asian sandalwood, peony petals and everlasting.

The tangerine one was my favorite, as evidenced by the fact that the bottle is nearly empty, but the jasmine comes a close 2nd and the green tea 3rd. Overall, I enjoy each one and find that on days when I need a touch extra to boost my mood, these are wonderful, light scents that don't take themselves, too serious.

Enjoy this relaxing song from Ben Taylor from his Famous Among the Barns album....

We sure could use the Rain....

Have a SCENTsational Saturday!