March 1st – Downtown – Orange blossom! The elevator smells of Arquiste Infanta y Flor. Someone in this building has wonderful tastes and probably shops at Barneys. Someone other than me…

March 2nd – Downtown – Shopping and perfume sniff-a-thon. There are so many pitiful things that make the final cut. Stop with the pointless releases of things that smell like some pointless thing released 5 years ago.

March 3rd – Redmond – First time I’ve ever been here and I’m not missing a thing. The smell of cheap vanilla candle wax and suburban desperation.  Spudville. 

March 4th – Downtown – The sun keeps me from focusing. I finish work early to read in the garden of magical Northwestern plants. Lost in words instead of smells.

March 5th – Downtown – It’s one of those days were disgusting smells thrive. Started with exhaust and ended with skunk spray.

March 6th –Belltown – Morrissey comes out in dad jeans without a belt. He says he can smell our bodies. All I smell is the Downy-saturated hoodie of the gentleman in front of me that won’t stop playing Jewel Quest on his mobile phone. The entire show, the man plays Jewel Quest.

March 7th– Downtown – As I take the dogs out to the “poopie patio” in the rain, I look into the office windows of the building next to ours. I notice that there is still Thanksgiving decorations in one of the office’s windows. Weird feelings. Claustrophobic time. The smell of rain and hound dog musk. I feel like I’m being directed by David Lynch. Angelo Badalamenti hallucinations play in my head.

March 8th – All the Hills – It’s a beautiful day in my neighborhood. And then I realize it’s a beautiful day in everyone’s neighborhood. Lace up the Docs. A walk from The Sound to Lake Washington. Church bells ring, birds chirp. The smells of teriyaki Downtown, vomit in First Hill, frying fish in Capitol Hill and wet dirt in whatever the hell this neighborhood is called.

March 9th – Ballard – Some of the lavenders in this world smell like pears. You want these lavenders.

March 10th – Queen Ann –  Picturesque houses that look like a film set line the narrow streets. The smell of tobacco nuances in a glass of iced Thai tea.

March 11th – Fremont – Why don’t you smell like incense? I’m highly disappointed with you Fremont.

March 12th – Downtown – The aroma of spicy Mexican hot chocolate mixed with good company and Japanese $1.50 paper notions. I love paper notions.

March 13th – Bellevue – Calamari and laughter. The whiffs of fried food and hoppy beer. This means a lot to someone living carb free-ish for the past few weeks.

March 14th – Downtown – The smell of my own sweat. The first time in a very long time that I’ve hit the gym. It’s time to get a healthy body to go with my healthy, happy mind.

March 15th – North Seattle – The sweet and spicy aromas of Indonesian food intertwines with the laughter of teenage exchange students as I sip a rose lychee bubble tea. Teens are proof that awkwardness is universal.

March 16th – SoDo – A sleazy abandoned warehouse that is pop-up putt putt golf course. Experimental electronic music fills this eight-sixed space. Hip with grit. Smell has been incorporated. Scratch and sniff the taco truck. It’s not a B.O. RV. I love the smell of a smoke machine.

March 17th – Waterfront – Zsa Zsa Gabors are not invited to the Cascades. And I don’t care. After spraying on an orange blossom perfume, the sun comes out. A stroll to the waterfront with the smell of spring flowers in the air. It’s a giddy time and I’m serenaded more than once by slurred songs about the color of my eyes. When I say giddy, I really mean “people have been drinking too much green beer”.

March 18th – Downtown – Saffron cardamom pudding simmering. Savor it.

March 19th – Pike Place Market – In preparation for Nowruz, I go on a search for hyacinths on a windy, gloomy, cold day. Unfortunately the only ones at the market are in full bloom – so heady and gorgeous but too versed for my needs.

March 20th – Pioneer Square – Surprised by blue skies and sunshine my eyes take time to adjust. I’ve been living low-carb in anxiety of an upcoming reunion. The smell of fresh pasta and salty octopus is as amazing as you think it is.

March 21st – Downtown – The intoxicating aroma of daffodils and sprigs of blooming plum blossoms fill my tiny space.

March 22nd – Downtown – The second day this week I’ve made kookoo sabzi. Nothing smells like spring to me more than an omelette stuffed with more fresh herbs than you can imagine: dill, cilantro, parsley, chives.

March 23rd – Pike Place Market – Hibernation is over.  Spring creates a certain mania in the PNW that you see on the first few days of blue skies. People being dragged off the streets by concerned policeman to Detox, people talking to imaginary terriers humping their legs and a beatboxing man follows me for blocks in hopes that I’ll buy him a bottle of red wine. I don’t. We all have our addictions. I imagine that I’m in the background of hundreds of tourist snapped pictures shoving my face with food, a cup of coffee in the other hand…my addictions in my hands for all the tourists from Idaho to see. The smells of spring are alive today. The smell of spring flowers, wet dirt, unbathed bodies…

March 24th – Fremont – The morning starts with a strong cup of Caffe Vita with spiced apple sticky buns, excerpts read by someone just as in touch with their senses. Sticky bun abstinence. This event was followed by the delicious aromas of Dungeness crab and Thai basil. Hip. Cool. Now.

March 25th – Downtown – “Oh my God! It smells like weed here” says a tourist overwhelmed by the craziness of downtown Seattle. She continues with a shrill exclamations of  “I love it here” as she scientifically wafts the smells of hobo mary jane. I love it here too.

March 26th – Capitol Hill – It smells overwhelmingly like stale beer but it’s only Tuesday.

March 27th – Belltown – A square face achieves a triangular look with the help of devil-may-care clank-a-lank shears. I love the smell of overheated hair and hearing the hum of overworked appliances.

March 28th – Pike Place Market – Carrying a bouquet of daffodils and leaving a trail of their sweat aroma in my fickle wake, I run into a meet-up of energetic Boston Terriers on a sunny day. Some days feel like a dream.

March 29th– International District – Following the plum blossoms, I end up at a fancy restaurant with a long wait.  The strong smells of Vietnamese perilla, tamarind and lemongrass keep me company until I’m seated.

March 30th– International District – With sun-rays hitting my face, cherry blossoms brought me back to one of the most fragrant places in Seattle. I wander inhaling the smells of roasting duck and Hong Kong sweets, kicking citrus leaves out of my way on the uneven sidewalks as I gossip with my cousin on the cellular.

March 31st  –Waterfront – Teenagers in costumes that I don’t understand; cosplay is like a rogue Halloween. Walking down the waterfront I pick up the smells of brewing coffee, fried foods, brine and chocolate.