February 1st – Downtown – On the verge of being sick and in the complete center of exhaustion, I sprayed on a fragrance to sample. I smell like “bros” and I really didn’t want to smell like that today.

February 2nd – Downtown – Walking out of SAM slightly disappointed by the exhibit, I catch a whiff of blooming daphne. It’s one of the best smells on the planet and makes me forget about the male Eurocentric art rant fermenting in my head.

February 3rd – West Seattle – A strange mucky aroma follows me. Husband has rotten orange peel in his car. Men are slobs.

February 4th – Downtown – Wind feels more spring-like as it slaps my face bringing me back to life and reality. Inhale The Sound.

February 5th – International District-ish – The smell of roasting duck sure beats the smell of burnt plantains at home.

February 6th – Downtown – It just hit me that my living quarters smell like “dog”. And when I say “dog”, I mean “shrimp boat”.

February 7th – Capitol Hill – Two young lovers with blue hair display what could be considered as too much PDA as the savory smells of some of the best restaurants in town waft through the streets making me salivate.

February 8th –Capitol Hill -Some evenings the smell of fish and chips overthrows the smell of taquerias. Some evenings they blend in perfect harmony and sing the best little ditty.

Febraury 9th – Ballard – A perfume event introduces me to some of the strangest perfumes to ever go under my sniffer.

February 10th – San Juan, P.R. – Exhausted from traveling and hauling my luggage through narrow streets and up 5 flights of stairs, I open the window to inhale the humid smells of garbage lining the tiny sidewalks and proof that someone at the salsa club can’t hold their liquor.

February 11th –Viejo San Juan, P.R. – Random showers and wafts of pure ocean air inside a castille. Sweet mango juice and the musky smell of Maja cosmetics.

February 12th – El Yunque Rainforest, P.R. – Green. Vegetal. Strangely this tropical rainforest is less aromatic than the rainforests of the PNW. Ended up at the beach. The smell of frying fish over a wood-burning fire.

February 13th – Viejo San Juan, P.R. – Imposition of ashes in Spanish cathedrals. Salty beach winds. The warmth of sun on stray cats’ fur. Heat brings fragrance to life.

February 14th – San Juan, P.R. – A small purple flower that I can’t identify smells like a sweet heady jasmine. Intoxicating. So many little lizards. Stagnant water filled with mossy-backed turtles looking for a log to lounge on.

February 15th – San Juan, P.R. – Island coffee is paler than Seattle coffee; it’s aroma still brings me to life. Nectars of tropical fruits. The sterilized feel and aroma of air-conditioned spaces.

February 16th – Across the Sound – An unexpected sunny day ends with dramatic skies. I realize just how late it is in winter as little snowdrops (galanthus) hover over the cool, damp ground. Spring is taking over.

February 17th – Tacoma – Some of the locals will try to tell you that the Tacoma Aroma is really your upper lip. It’s not. It’s Tacoma. Tacoma, deal with it.

February 18th – Downtown – BAM! I’m sure it’s the flu. Chills. Sweats. Burning NEST Moss & Mint. 

February 19th – Downtown – Flu. Flu. Flu. The smell of ginger tea and Yuja cha (Korean yuzu tea).

February 20th – Downtown – Another day without leaving the house. Hall’s Honey-Lemon.

February 21st – Downtown – Makeup free like Beyoncé on Instagram for 3 days now. Except I don’t look like Queen B. Congested. Sore throat. Can’t smell much of anything.

February 22nd – Downtown – The glorious feeling of one nostril “opening”! Burning clary sage oil for comfort. Musky, vegetal, grounding.

February 23rd – North Seattle – I’m enjoying the sickly sweet aroma of jelly-filled doughnuts but I have a feeling that I never want to smell them again.

February 24th – South Lake Union – Wearing bell bottoms and feeling groovy, I walk a mile carrying a rotisserie chicken leaving a cartoonish trail of chicken smell. I’m followed by a kitty on a leash.

February 25th – Ballard – Sometimes everyday life disconnects us from everyday life. We let what man has created consume us. Bills and dollars, dollars and bills. Today I remembered that there are beautiful things, naturally beautiful things in this world. And they want you to smell them. Today I’m not consumed by man by man-made things. I’m consumed by the smells of natural things, raw materials and the beauty that lives in a blossom.

February 26th – Capitol Hill – Alleys smell of apricots. Half eaten cookie on the sidewalk mocks me. The smell of bitter dandelion greens. I’m perfectly caffeinated and will conquer the world.

Feburary 27th – Pike Place Market – Inhaling the aroma of basil and melted cheese, lost in the reverb of Chris Isaak’s melancholy,  I admit as I sway that I’m enjoying this slice of pizza way too much.

February 28th – Fremont – Winter heath falling over stony slopes distracts from the smell of stagnant mud puddles. Walk. Walk. Walk catawampus across a lot of upturned soil.