Ode to Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin Spice,

so warm and nice,
wafting through our home

With your scent fill
these rooms until
it welcomes those who roam.

Our Christmas tree
decked in filigree
cannot quite compare

To you sweet scent,
(money well spent)
drifting through the air.

As Christmas nears
with it's Holiday cheers
you add a sweet atmosphere

And as we wait
for Santa up late,
it's your fragrance that keeps us here.

At ScentSationals.com we find you
for the price of $2.99
If we click here we can purchase you,
and for that price, who could whine?

Gold, Frankinsence, and...

"Myrrh was worth seven times its weight in gold and also is the natural sap from the Cammiphora tree. It is very significant because it was one of the first gifts to Jesus..."

--Ramzy Hanna of Cairo Egypt

Myrrh was a staple in ancient times, used as perfume and in soaps, and can be a staple again with ScentSationals Holiday Fragrance Myrrh! A sweet blend of myrrh, anise, ginger and cloves, Myrrh is the perfect way to herald in the Holidays!

Available online at ScentSationals.com for the special price of $1.99 for the month of Novemeber! Simply click here to be directed to the page!

November Warmer and Fragrance of the Month

This month's warmer is oh so whimsical! The Chimney Warmer, trimmed in frosty snow, looks like Santa will pop out any minute! And it's just ready and waiting for you to pop a cube of ScentSationals Wax in! Normally online for $17.99, this adorable Holiday Warmer is available for $14.99 through this month!

Myrrh is the timeless fragrance of November this year. Warm whisps of aromatic spices carry you back to that long-ago night when three wisemen carried gifts to an infant child. Normally for $2.99, Myrrh is available the entire month of November for $1.99! That's a price that'll fit in anyone's stocking!

Relive all the Christmas magic with our line of Holiday Waxes, available online at www.ScentSationals.com!

The Haunting Halloween Aroma

For Halloween, my love and I threw a little party, a costume party of course, and invited our neighbors and friends to come join in the festivities. I spent most of the day cooking and frantically cleaning up after myself! My very first time as hostess and I was panicking to say the least!

"We won't have enough food!" I cried as the hour drew nearer.
"We'll be fine," said my husband. "We've already got homemade truffles and peanut butter cups, cookies, chips and dip, drinks, what else could we possibly need?" Still discontent, I ran through the house in my Snow White garb, checking and double-checking everything. (Food. Check! Bathroom clean. Check! Dishes done. Husband working on it!) When I saw my ScentSationals Warmer.

"What fragrance should we do?" I said.
"Oh, I dunno, something Halloween-ish, I guess," my husband replied over his shoulder, elbow deep in kitchen suds. I found our tub of fragrances, and began sifting through them: Crisp Linens? No, it's not a laundry party. Orange Clove? Well, maybe if we have a Christmas party, but not tonight. What about Hot Wassail? Spicy? Yes. Sweet? Yes. Warm and inviting? Yes. Yes. Yes!

I popped a cube into each Warmer throughout the house, then went over my list again and again until our guests started to arrive. We invited everybody to come into the kitchen and eat some of the treats (which I had spent hours making and was very eager to see if they would be a hit) when one guest asked, "Can I get a cup of your wassail? It smells so good!"

For a minute, I was confused...I didn't make any wassail...Then it hit me: the Warmers! I told our guest about the fragrant ScentSationals Wax that was filling our home with such a warm scent and she told her husband that when our party was over they were going out to get some! "Otherwise," she said, "it'll haunt me all day!"

To find Hot Wassail on our website www.ScentSationals.com, follow this link:

http://www.scentsationals.com/Hot_Wassail_Wax_Fragrance_Cubes_p/swax-0023.htm

Peanut Butter Bars

Yesterday we posted a really great "MixSational" fragrance we call "Melt in Your Mouth Peanut Butter Bars" because it smells just like Peanut Butter Bars that are to die for, by mixing 1 cube of Oatmeal Cookie with one cube of Peanut Brittle. Sooooo Good!

In response we had lots of people asking for the Peanut Butter Bar recipe we mentioned, so here it is, these Peanut Butter Bars are sooooo good! (they make a great weekend treat hint hint!):

Melt in Your Mouth Peanut Butter Bars

Cream Together:

1 c. margarine or butter. (I recommend Imperial Margarine)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla (I recommend Molina brand Mexican vanilla, it's stronger than most extracts and
has a really rich vanilla flavor).
1 generous cup chunky or creamy peanut butter (I usually use creamy)

Mix together dry ingredients and add to wet:

2 c. flour
1 t. soda
1 t. salt
2 c. quick oats

Batter should be stiff (it wasn't really all that stiff, slightly less stiff than Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie dough. It's also REALLY tasty, I'm a dough eater, and proud of it!) Spread in ungreased 9x13 pan.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 15-20 min. (Best if slightly under baked/edges should be slightly brown, though.)

While still warm spread with chocolate frosting:

1 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. milk

Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute. Remove from heat and add:

1 t. vanilla
6-8 oz. chocolate chips

Stir frosting until it thickens (this sometimes takes a while.) Spread frosting over peanut butter squares.

Beware! These are addictive! If you are currently trying to watch your weight, it is best to just get an Oatmeal Cookie and a Peanut Brittle wax fragrance from ScentSationals.com and enjoy the aroma calorie free! :)

We would love to hear about your adventure making this recipe and melting this new MixSational, so write back and leave comments for us to enjoy! You can follow our Blog by clicking the "follow" button in the right-hand sidebar.

ScentSationals.com Facebook Sweepstakes!

Just as the title announces, ScentSationals is having a sweepstake! The Grand Prize is a lifetime supply of ScentSationals Wickless Candle Warmers and Waxes!

That means six Warmers:

Teardrop x1
Fleur de Lis x1
Metropolitan x1
English Garden x1
Salsa x1
Sterling x1

And six Waxes of each of the following 12 Fragrances:

Black Raspberry Vanilla x6
No Place Like Home x6
Vanilla Bean x6
Zen x6
Crisp Linens x6
Coconut Sun x6
Crispy Apples x6
Mandarin Mango Madness x6
Sizzlin' Cinnamon x6
Pumpkin Spice x6
Fresh Cut Pine x6
Berry Spice x6

The great part is there will also be ten Second-Place Prizes, which include:

Sterling x1

Black Raspberry Vanilla x1
Vanilla Bean x1
No Place Like Home x1
Crisp Linens x1
Sizzlin' Cinnamon x1
Pumpkin Spice x1

If you join and get five friends to join that increases the chances that one of you will win! Then when the Grand Prize arrives, you can split it six ways and everyone can have a Warmer and one of each of the Fragrances!

It's a win-win situation (literally!) !

To enter the Sweepstakes, go to facebook.com, and search ScentSationals. When our page comes up, click the arrows (>>) at the top of our page and then "Sweepstakes." Simply follow the directions outlined and you're on your way to winning a year's supply of ScentSationals Wickless Candles!

Daddy's Little...

My dad is a teacher and the other day, I stopped by his office. He wasn't in at the moment, so seeing an opportunity, I pulled out a textbook and studied for a minute. My dad came rushing in after a meeting.

"Wooee, something smells good in here!" he said, and at my protesting, he winked. "Who needs a Warmer when I can just have YOU sit here and make the whole place smell like a pecan pie!"

Guess that means I'm Daddy's little Warmer!

Which Warmer? Which Warmer?

With school rolling, naturally, I spend a lot of time doing homework, and since I don't have a desk, my papers, notes, assignments, books, pens, pencils, (you get the idea), are scattered all over the Living Room floor. It's a nightmare, and one that won't go away because I'm always going to be having homework. Bottom line: I need a place dedicated just for homework purposes.

My hubster must've been getting annoyed with my seeming sloppiness and said, "Hun, why don't we get you a desk after work tomorrow?" In our small apartment, there isn't much room for extra furniture. We have barely enough room for the furniture we already have, (we do have a spare room but it's so full of stuff that there's no room for anything else!) so I asked where we could possibly fit a desk. My love pointed at the space of blank wall between the front door and the coat closet, a space we had previously left empty for a walkway/entryway.

It really would be perfect! ... With one small problem: my sloppy desk would be the first thing anyone saw when they walked through the front door! This won't do! So I thought on it for a while, as I finished up some homework last night. Then it hit me! Why don't I decorate the edge closest to the door, sort of a distraction, masking the desk as a decorative entryway table that could only be recognized as a desk if someone came further into the room (first impressions are what matter, right?) But what to decorate it with? It would have to be seasonal and trendy, catchy enough to distract from the piles of homework that will be accounting for every other inch of the desktop.

I've got it! ScentSationals has seasonal Warmers, available online at www.ScentSationals.com! If I use a Warmer on the table it just might do the trick! But which Warmer? Which Warmer?

The Harvest is gorgeous with it's orange and burgandy leaf-tray and wreathed with leaves, grape clusters, pumkins, corn-on-the-cob, and other fall parefenalia. The Pumpkin Patch Warmer has the same leaf-tray in a green, and a ribbed, pumpkin shape in the classic orange, trimmed with vines. For the Holiday Season, there's the Snowman Hearth, Frosty to a tee, with his carrot nose, high silk hat, and two eyes dark as coal. Or there's the Santa Hearth, his cheeks rosy, his eyes twinkling, and a fantasitc mustache and beard.

I think, out of the two Fall Warmers, the Pumpkin Warmer will fit my decor better (online at www.ScentSationals.com; only $14.99 for the month of September), and I can't resist the Santa Hearth Warmer for the Holiday season. I'll use them as the centerpeice of the arrangement, maybe with a little foliage and other small decor, and put in fragrances like Pumpkin Spice and Fresh-Cut Pine. Not only will people get a waft of delicious fragrance when we open the door, but they'll see a cute display instead of a schlew of papers and such. I love it!

School "Scents"

School has started back up, and lately, as we've started pouring Harvest and Holiday fragrances here at ScentSationals, I've gotten all sorts of comments from fellow bus-riders, fellow students, even a teacher or two! Here's a little poem to give you the main idea:

School "Scents"

"Someone smells yummy!" says a girl in math.

"It must be some new purfume from Body and Bath."

I chuckle to myself, and say with a smile,

"Nope, guess again. It might take you a while."

Others join in: "I smell warm cookies, fresh from the stove!"

(Oatmeal Cookie)

"Well, I smell something tangy, with a hint of clove!"

(Orange Clove/Cranberry Clove)

"I smell a Christmas Tree, either fir or pine."

(Fresh Cut Pine)

"Well, I smell cinnamon. It's a favorite of mine."

(Sizzlin' Cinnamon)

The teacher walks in; the class gets all quiet.

"Whoever smells so good is gonna ruin my diet!"

She starts the lesson, and the classroom gets tense.

"Well," I sigh to myself, "I'm glad I have lots of 'scents'!"

September: Wax and Warmer of the Month

For September only, the Pumpkin Patch Warmer and Orange Clove Wax are available online at www.ScentSationals.com for a discounted price! Normally $17.99, the beautiful and decorative Pumpkin Patch Warmer, with it's traditional pumpkin shape and gorgeous leaf-shaped tray, is now available for $14.99! And found online at www.ScentSationals.com for $2.99, Orange Clove, tangy oranges and spicy cloves, is available for $1.99! What a great way to bring in the Autumn season!

Carrie's Rambles Blog Review

Recently, we have gotten requests to let our products be reviewed by bloggers. I was unaware of this until I got the link in an email and read what Carrie from Carrie's Rambles had to say about ScentSationals Wickless Candle Warmers and Waxes!

"I have your review posted, sorry I am two days past the week I said. I kept thinking one more day to see if this wax sitll smells so good, and it did! Thank you so much for providing me with the product to do the review. I know that I will be pruchasing from you in the near future for the holidays and recommending to everyone I know."

Check out her post at http://www.carriesrambles.com/2010/08/scentsationals-unique-wickless-wax.html!

A Gift for Any Occasion

Have a mom, sister, cousin, Grandma, or bosom buddy who just loves ScentSationals Wickless candle Warmers and Waxes? Don't know which fragrance to get them for Christmas/ their birthday/ an anniversary? Well now you can let them choose for themselves with the exciting new feature on www.ScentSationals.com: Gift Certificates!

Go to www.ScentSationals.com and click on the Products button at the top of the Main Menu Page. Scroll down and click on the Gift Certificates Icon on the left-hand side of the page. Then click Add to Cart. You can customize the amount on the Certificate and choose whether to send it through email or snail mail! It's the perfect gift for any occasion!

The Aroma in Montana

Recently, my husband and I took a trip to Montana to visit his grandparents. We had a lot of fun visiting Yellowstone and seeing Ole' Faithful, fishing on the Yellowstone River, exploring the Lewis and Clark Caverns, and souvenier shopping and vintage picture taking at Virginia City. But fisrt we had to get there.

After a full day of work, and nine hours of driving, we were exhausted. As we brought in our luggage (the little there was--one suitcase for the both of us) a familiar fragrance embraced us: ScentSationals Cranberry Clove.

You know when you're visiting someone and you can't fall asleep in a strange bed? No problems there! Falling asleep was a cinch wrapped in the warm and spicy fragrance of Cranberry Clove!

ScentSational Neighbors

Being best friends, and not to mention newlyweds, my husband and I spend oodles of time together. We live in a little neighborhood where most of the people are like us: newly married couples. Most of us have been married under 5 years. Not having reached the 10 year mark, we women aren't bored of our spouses fetishes for hunting, football, or their unseemly habits of dropping things on the floor. As a matter of fact, we are still in the "thinking-our-husbands-are-perfect" stage. Who needs to branch out and make friends with the other women in the neighborhood when you have a captive friend 24/7, right?

I'll admit it, meeting my neighbors wasn't high on my priority list, so when my husband suggested that we knock on our neighbors door and introduce ourselves, I was a little hesitant. I mean, here's a man, my best friend, who can't reject me because he's married to me, right? But other women and other people in general aren't like that...they can reject. I started to doubt my ability to communicate with women, I mean I've been living with a man for two months, right?

But I went, I knocked, and I met my neighbors. They were a cute little couple, married for a little bit over a year now and their house was much more feminine than ours (I was a little jealous of that fact...I'm still training my husband to accept the fact that flowers can be masculine...he doesn't like my "daily brainwashing tactics" as he calls them to make him accept flowers on the sheets and heaven forbid the color pink be anywhere!)

As I was looking around at all the little trinkets and decor, I happened to notice a Scentsy Warmer on the end table. We started to talk about her favorite fragrances and I mentioned that I happened to work for ScentSationals. She got excited, saying she had seen us in Walmart and wanted to know which scents were our favorites so that she could spend her money on ones she would like instead of running the risk of getting a fragrance she doesn't like when I got an idea: give them a ScentSationals Warmer and Fragrances!

That's my plan, so tonight, my husband and I are going over to set it in motion!

Order Up!

Wow. We launched a promo code for the new website ScentSationals.com Grand Opening featuring a 20% discount off your entire purchase. That was Tuesday. Wednesday morning, when I got to work there were oodles of orders backed up. Just from the time I had clocked out the day before there were loads of 'em. It took me a good part of the morning to fill them all, and it seemed like every time I went back upstairs there was another one waiting for me. The stack by the door for the UPS man kept growing and growing steadily all day long. My opinion, we should launch promos more often because people are so excited about it!
Check out our facebook fan page for more info on the promo. It's still going until Tuesday, August 17th, 2010. Get a great deal on your favorite Warmers and Waxes by checking out facebook where the promo code has been released!

"Fan"tastic "Mix"ationals

Facebook fans have been posting some great mixes. And another facebook fan posted, asking whether or not we'd have a list of these mixes on our new website. It's not on the new website, so i thought I'd post them here!

"Fan"tastic "Mix"ationals Recipe Book

Pineapple Upside Down Cake=

1 Pineapple + 1 Cupcake

Mothwatering Apple Cobbler=

1 Crispy Apples + 1/2 Oatmeal

Blackberry Tarts=

1&1/2 Black Raspberry Vanilla + 1 Key Lime Pie

Coffee Cake=

2 Cupcake + 1&1/2 Cinnamon Vanilla

Blueberry Cupcakes=

1 Blueberry Muffin + 1 Cupcake

Sweet Apple=

1 Cupcake + 1 Crispy Apples

Blossoming Garden=

2 Sweet Pea + 1&1/2 Spring Green + 1/2 Violets

Caribbean Cocktail=

1 Guava Berry + 1 Pineapple Cilantro + 1 Mandarin Mango Madness

Lemon Cupcake=

1 Lemon Chiffon + 1 Cupcake

Crisped Apples=

1 Crispy Apples + 1 Cinnamon Vanilla OR 1/2 Sizzlin' Cinnamon

Relaxation=

1&1/2 Zen + 1 Spa

Cleanliness=

1 Clean Cotton + 2 No Place Like Home

Hand-dipped Caramel Apple=

1 Caramel Popcorn + 1 Crispy Apples

Trip to the Beach=

1 Sea Salt + 1 Coconut Sun

Spunk=

1 Wild Thing + 1 Ginger Tangerine

Sweet Treats=

1&1/2 Lemon Chiffon + 1 Jelly Beans

Simply follow these steps:

1. Turn your decorative and beautiful Warmer on.
2. Pick the mix you want to make.
3. Pop the suggested amounts into your Warmer.
4. Sit Back.
5. Relax and enjoy the wonderful new Fragrance you created!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

Introducing our new website, www.ScentSationals.com! Complete with new features like a shipping estimator, search engine, and a whole new look, our website is new and improved, designed specifically for you're convenience. So spread the word. Let everyone know that ScentSationals.com is ready to go!

Deep Dish Experiment Take 2

I posted last week the maximum amount of wax each of our eight most popular Warmers can hold. Then I went on facebook and announced that I had posted that information and one woman requested I do the same thing for the remaining Warmers that are available online at http://www.scentsationals.com/. Here are my results:

Harvest Hearth Tray--2.5 cubes
Pumpkin Patch Tary--3.5 cubes
Vineyard Tray--3Cubes
Tulip Tray--4 cubes
Valentine Heart Tray--3.5 cubes
Santa Hearth Tray--3.5 cubes
Snowman Hearth Tray--6 Cubes
Chimney Hearth Tray--3.5 Cubes

These amounts are the amount of our fragrant Wax Cubes that each Warmer can melt and keep melted.

It was neat to experiment and figure out which of our decorative Warmers could hold the most of our fragrant Wax Cubes, which was Snowman, hands down!

Shipping "ScentSationally!"

An email came yesterday from a woman who had plenty of questions about our website, www.ScentSationals.com, and our consequent shipping procedures and I thought to myself, "There are probably others out there who want this information, too". Here are the questions she's asked (Q's) followed by our answers (A's).

Q--How do you send the waxes?
A--We ship directly through UPS.

Q--How long after receiving the order do you ship it out?
A--Orders are usually filled as soon as we receive them, though sometimes due to unforeseen circumstances, it takes a little longer. For instance, UPS does not ship to PO Boxes. If the customer lists a PO Box in the Shipping Information, our ScentSationals Customer Support Team has to contact that customer and get a physical address. Sometimes, if the customer is out of town, or at work, this may take a few days and delay the shipping.

Q--How long does it generally take to receive an order?
A--When an order has been shipped, an automatic email informs the customer that their ScentSationals Wickless Candle Warmers and Waxes are on their way! The customer can then expect the package within 3-7 business days.

Q--What is the cost to send it?
A--Shipping costs vary depending on the weight and size of the package and how far away the customer lives from our offices here in Provo, UT. Our cheapest shipping is UPS Ground, averaging approximately 7-12 dollars, and we charge directly what UPS charges, not slipping in an extra buck for our personal benefit.

Q Can you purchase an order and have it sent to someone else?
A--Absolutely, just put that person's name and address in the Shipping Information column, then put your information in the Billing Information column.

Deep Dish Experiment

On our facebook page the other day, a woman asked which of our beautiful and decorative Warmers can hold the most of our fragrant Wax Cubes? I answered that Fleur de Lis has the largest tray, so I assume it would hold the most cubes of wax.

But the thought kept nagging me...which one of our Everyday Warmers actually does hold the most melted Wax? Does it vary from Warmer to Warmer?

I collected one of each of our Warmers, put them all on a table and started each with two cubes of wax. Because the amount of Wax in each carton varies from carton to carton, I conducted the experimetn twice and averaged the results. This is what I found:

Warmer--Optimal Amount of Wax
Antique Greek--3
English Garden--4
Fleur de Lis--3
Love Scroll--4
Metropolitan--5
Salsa--6
Sterling--6
Teardrop--5

In other words, the Everyday Warmer that I thought could hold the most amount of wax, and keep it melted all the way through, was fairly average, while the Sterling and Salsa kept the wax melting. If the trays had been deeper, I'm fairly postive Sterling and Salsa could've handled even more! Those are the results of my deep dish experiment!

Dieting Dilemma

My mother-in-law loves to cook, and not just any food, but the richest, lovliest, oh-my-goodness-gracious! kind of foods like smoked salmon and ribs, chicken pot and shepherd's pies, everything always served with amazing side dishes.

But if there's one thing she makes better than all the rest, it's desserts. Always there are luscious desserts floating around the kitchen, such as gourmet banana bread, pies with crusts crisp and flaky, layered cakes, cupcakes, and, my personal favorite, cinnamon rolls, warm and moist with crunchy nuts between the layers of cinnamon and bread, and gooey frosting drizzled enticingly over the top.

My husband and I always think it a special treat when we are invited over to his parents house for birthdays and Sunday meals (mostly beacuse we don't have to try and gag down my cooking with smiles on our faces and loud "mmmm"s on our lips) But all of that changed.

Recently, my in-laws started this 500 calory diet. That's right, and not 500 calories a meal, but 500 for the entire day. My mother-in-law can't stand cooking now, because she knows that she will only get 500 calories of whatever she makes and that's just torturous!

So no more cupcakes with fluffy frosting, or banana bread with huge chocolate chips. Gone are the ribs and smoked salmon, the shepherd's and chicken pot pies. But the most tragic of all, the one thing I shall miss the most, are the fresh-baked cinnamon rolls right from the oven, rich and soft, with layer after alternating sweet layer of cinnamon, bun, cinnamon, bun...my mouth is watering as I write.

I have but one consolation: ScentSationals Fragrance Cinnamon Vanilla. It captures the cinnamon spiciness of the cinnamon layers, while still leaving room for hints of warmth and whispers of vanilla. I 'll just have to melt a cube every day to satisfy this dieting dilemma!

By Popular Demand

Huge news! You'll never believe it but July's Walmart Stores ScentSaionals order sheet is a combination of all the favorite fragrances! Some, like Blueberry Muffin, Carribean Sunset, and Crisp Linens were discontinued and have been unavailable since. But, by popular demand, they're back! Look for them in Walmart Stores and online at www.ScentSationals.com! Get 'em while the gettin's good!

A Blueberry Blast!

A couple weeks ago, i got to fill in for one of the workers downstairs on the line.

My job? To catch the waxes as they came down the line, getting stamped with labels along the way, then arrange them on trays to cool. The job was fairly simple and I was lost in my thoughts for a time, my hands moving quickly to snatch the waxes and place them 7 wide 8 long on the trays, when down the line rolled a wave of excitement: a new fragrance was being poured.

The worker who showed me how wax-catching was done, quickly changed the labels on the machine, preparing for the new fragrance. Before I even had time to think about asking which fragrance would be next, my nose found an enticing aroma. Warm and buttery, with an essence of fresh baking moist cake, and a punch of blueberries, Blueberry Muffin had my mouth involuntarily watering.

"Blueberry Muffin?" you're saying. "I thought that was a discontinued fragrance?" You're right, it was, but we've brought it back for the summer! Look for it in your Walmart and online at http://www.scentsationals.com/ when our new site launches!

Seasons Fly By

It's no longer spring, but spring can always be near with our ScentSationals fragrance Spring Green, one in the line-up of our recently realeased seven new fragrances for summer! Fresh, crisp, with a hint of floral, Spring Green will have you thinking it's spring again!

Ginger Snap!

My mother is one of my favorite people. She's my best friend and confidant, my caregiver, the woman who gave me life. I don't have many pictures of my mother when she was young, but i have seen the one graduation photo that hangs in my Grandma's house: my mom's sitting in a chair, her long auburn hair flowing down her back in whisps and curls. When i was little, i used to think that lady was a princess. But now i know she's the same strong, beautiful woman, and her name is Ginger.

Here at ScentSationals, there's a new fragrance for this summer, one of seven, that i think captures my mom's feisty hot red-headedness, sweetness, and spunkyness in it's spice, sugar and tang: Ginger Tangerine! Find it in Walmart Stores as well as online at http://www.scentsationals.com/!

One Tasty Pastry!

When we got back from our honeymoon, my husband and i celebrated the beginnings of our life together by opening all the gifts from our reception. Opening everything and keeping track of who-gave-what and duplicates-to-be-taken-back takes a lot more time than you'd think.

As we were taking turns unwrapping different gifts, I opened one particular gift: a beautiful pie pan. Cream, with red vines and leaves weaving around the bottom, it was such a pretty pie dish. I think I would almost feel bad getting such a pretty thing all dirty with pie.

I know! Instead, I'll just pop the ScentSationals fragrance, Key Lime Pie into my warmer, letting the tart limes, smooth and sweet whipped cream, and warm graham cracker crust waft through our house. Than I can keep my pretty pie pan clean and still enjoy the aroma of sweet Key Lime Pie!

A Tall Tale

Easter time. Excited kids scattered everywhere, itching in anticipation of that big moment: when the Easter Bunny comes. The older kids were in charge of hiding the candy around the house, while one parent entertained the younger kids in another room. This year, my husband (fiance at the time) was there to celebrate with us. He's a pretty tall man, as in quickly approaching 6'7", if not there already, and he teamed up with my dad to make this past Easter one the kiddies will never forget!

They came into the room, eyes wide and bright, clutching their baskets with sweaty little hands and the search began: under the couches, between the cushions, in little piles hidden in nooks and crannies, candy littered the room, as did the children in their frantic searchings to get their share.

When all the candy had been found, Dad rounded the kids up under the ceiling fan to take a picture. As the little dots from the flash of the camera cleared from their eyes, Dad pushed the button that turns the ceiling fan on. Jelly beans flew around the room in a colorful dance. The kiddies, awe-struck, stood frozen in place, seemingly contemplating what was happening. Then, one after the other, they realized that this was candy flying around! and they jumped into action.

The secret to the flying jellies? My fiance had placed jelly beans on the tops of the fan blades and when my dad turned the fan on high, the beans went flying! Here at ScentSationals, there is a fragrance that captures that moment when the candies were flying through the air: the fragrance Jelly Bean. Available online at http://www.scentsationals.com/, Jelly Bean is the exact smell that rushes to meet you when you open new bag of jelly beans!

By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea! ...

... You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be!

I love to be beside the sea, beside the sea,

Beside the seaside, by the beautiful sea!" I sang uproariously in the car as we pulled into the parking lot of Pacific Beach in San Diego. In all honesty, the only times I had seen the ocean was on the television screen, so to say I was excited would be an understatement!

I could hear the waves crashing against the sand long before I could see them, but what I remember most was the smell, that clear, crisp, fresh and salty smell. Here at ScentSationals, we have a new fragrance for the summer of 2010 that captures that essence of ocean called Sea Salt. Burn it in your warmer and soon you'll be by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea!

Click, Click, Click

My husband and I were married on Saturday, the fifth of June (so, a week and a half ago) and we spent our honeymoon driving the coast of California. I had moved around a lot as a child, anywhere between Ohio and Utah I'd seen, but I'd never been further west than Utah or further east than Ohio, meaning I'd never seen the coast. But all of that changed.

We traveled here and there, went swimming, went to dinner, went to the San Diego Zoo, and even Disneyland! The trip was lovely, a chance to get away and have no worries besides losing the car keys. The drive back took a whole day, but we still stopped and ate at Peggy Sue's 50's Diner in Nevada. When we finally got home, I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, "Oh, Aunty Em, there's no place like home. There's no place like home." Click, click, click.

Here at ScentSationals, there's a warm and inviting fragrance by the name of No Place Like Home. It's the smell of your home when you open the door after a long vacation and take the first step inside, the smell of happy times and fond memories, with a twist of cinnamon and musk!

Christmas At Tiffany's

Before I met my husband (ahh! He's my husband now!), I was dating this guy for a while in high school. He was in the Marine Corps, had just signed, and consequently was in Basic Training when Christmas rolled around. Due to the strict rules and regulations enforced during such rigorous training, I could only send letters, and he couldn't send anything out besides paper, either, so I wasn't expecting much in the way of a Christmas present from his direction.

Well, without my knowledge, he sent money to his mother with specific instrustions on what to get me. At a Christmas Party, his mother presented me with his gift: a set of sterling silver Tiffany jewelry, including earrings, a bracelet, and a necklace. I wore that jewelry everyday. It was gorgeous and simple, and just me to a tea! When things didn't work out with him, I sent the jewelry back, not out of spite, but just so he could have the option of giving it to someone else if he so chose.

But let's be honest here, a girl doesn't just give up Tiffany jewelry and forget about it. My arm felt practically naked without the familiar chain encircling it, as did my neck and ears. I missed my classy jewelry, and the chic look it added to any outfit.

Just like the silver Tiffany set, the Sterling Warmer here at ScentSationals is calssy and adds a chic look to any room! Sterling silver in color, hence the origin of its name, the Sterling Warmer is elegant with its diamond pattern, and when the light is turned on, it bounces and plays with the silver hues, refracting all over the wall as it makes your home smell great at the same time!

Twas the Night Before Graduation

The night before high school graduation, Syd and I had a pre-celebration slumber party. We'd been friends the whole year, but it felt like much, much longer, when we realized that the year was almost over and we hadn't had a single slumber party! That's definitely against the Best Friends Unwritten Code of Best Frendliness!

Twas the night before graduation, and all through Syd's house
Not a creature was stirring (except me and Syd of course!).

Our sleeping bags were rolled out on the floor with great care
As we brushed our teeth and combed out our hair.

Syd reached for her pillow, and then a fresh case
As I then proceeded in scrubbing my face.

"Syd, what are you doing?" I asked, slightly confused.
"Changing my case, for this one has been used."

"It looks fine to me," I said, climbing in bed.
"I just need a fresh place to lay down my head."

Turns out, Syd likes the fresh feeling of cotton
When her case is changed often and never forgotten.

She likes the smell of it, too, clean, fresh, and nice
And for that scent, she's willing to pay a price:

She changes her pillowcase almost every day.
She even packs extras when she goes away!

Now I think, If only Syd knew what I know.
Then she wouldn't be packing pillowcases to go!

She'd buy some ScentSationals Clean Cotton Scent (http://www.scentsationals.com/php/ScentSationalsSiteWaxEveryday.php),
And she'd know that her money would be very well spent!

A Piece of Cupcake

A couple of weeks before my wedding, my three younger sisters threw me a bridal shower and I'm telling you, it was like Christmas in May: cleaners, pots, tupperware, dishes, towels, paper products, personal items (every bridal shower, someone manages to sneak something in and I was beet read every time I came across one!).

I'd have to say, the prettiest things I saw were the cupcake pans. Two different women brought me cupcake pans and my fiance loves his cupcakes! His mom makes some really divine ones, moist with creamy icing, nothing like the chalky stuff at the store. There's just one problem: I don't think I've ever baked a cupcake in my life. Dead serious. I've decorated plenty at birthday parties and other events, but I've never actually baked one. Sad, I know.

Since I can't use my Cookie Plan (see the blog post Cookie Catastrophe) for cupcakes, too, I guess I'll really have to learn how to make them. But there is one comfort: if (and when) I fail miserably, I'll pop ScentSationals fragrance cube Cupcake (http://www.scentsationals.com/php/ScentSationalsSiteWaxEdible.php) into my warmer, and if that doesn't make me feel better, at least its sugary sweetness will help the house smell better!

This One's for the Girls

The night before my wedding, I, my mom, my three little sisters, and all the visiting womenfolk had a Girl's Night. We put on an old Esther Williams movie, painted our fingernails, gave each other foot massages, helped set each other's hair (me doing most of the setting, because my hair is so short), and just talked like family (especially women family) do: lots of gossip and lots of giggles!

To help set the mood for our little girl get-away, I put the ScentSationals fragrance Spa into our warmer at home. The cool mint, green leaves, and fun twist of citrus filled the house, adding to the feel of relaxation and comfort. It also helped to take my mind off of any pre-wedding jitters!

Baby, Baby, Sweet Baby

For those of you who follow the blog, you'll know that my grandparents who live in Missouri own a farm. They grow all sorts of fruits and vegetables: broccoli, sweet corn, green beans, apples, peaches, cherries, and best of all, black raspberries. Helping Granny out in the garden, filling your bucket and eating anything extra that you can get your hands on, nothing beats that.

One summer day, my Grandpa needed help in the fields, so all the older kids went to give him a hand. Simultaneously, my Granny needed help in the garden, so the younger kids were comissioned to help her. After an afternoon of hard work, bending and weeding and tending the green bean fields, we came home in the back of Gradad's truck to a hilarious scene: Granny had my baby brother, who was 3 at the time, by the arm and was dragging him towards the house, chastising him in that voice all grandma's have. Upon closer examination, we found that he had emptied his entire bucket of black raspberries over his head and smeared the ones he couldn't eat all over his clothes and face!

Granny stuffed him into the bathroom and refused to let him out until he had bathed because he was not staining her carpet purple if she could help it! We followed close on Granny's heels, laughing at the hilarity of it all, and commenting on the sweetness of the scent, making mental notes to tease my brother about it later. The scent was delicious: warm, yet tart and it just so happens that ScentSationals fragrance Black Raspberry Vanilla captures that same warmth and tanginess!

Lemony Sweetness

My aunt is a gourmet confectioner. Her hand-dipped almond-rocha-style toffee is stuff of legend! But one of our favorite treats that she makes are called Cake-Mix Cookies, and they are no fail. (if you're following our blog, you know that I can't make a decent cookie to save my life, so when I say they're no fail, they're no fail.) The recipe is a piece of cake, literally:

1 cake mix of your choice
1/3 cups water
1/3 cups oil
2 eggs
candy chips of you choice

Combine all ingredients. Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake on 350 for 8-10 minutes. Add time as needed. (It gets a little goopy, trying to spoon it out, so I treat it more like a brownie and pour it into an ungreased 13x9 pan and bake it for 18-20 minutes instead.)

You can use any combination of cake mix and chips. I really like Spice Cake mix with chocolate chips, but the all time favorite is Lemon Cake with lemon chips. It makes the most perfect lemon bars, delicious, delectable, divine! The ScentSationals fragrance Lemon Chiffon, only available online, perfectly captures the scent of lemon bars cooking in the oven and when I melt it in my warmer, my mouth starts watering in anticipation of lemony sweetness!

On The Go

On our facebook page yesterday, one fan asked, "Does ScentSationals have car fresheners, too?" This reminded me of a story my coworker was telling me. While he was out delivering to a particular Walmart, he met a man at our endcap, who had taken an entire sleeve of the scent Vanilla Bean (there are 14 scents in every sleeve). When my coworker asked if there was a birthday or if the man was merely stocking up for Christmas, the man laughed.

"No, no," he explained. "I'm a truck driver, and I just love Vanilla Bean. As a matter of fact, I've velcroed a ScentSationals warming tray to the dashboard of my truck, and I let the sun melt the wax and keep my truck's cabin smelling great!" We thought that was awesome! Here's a man who loves our scented wax so much that he's willing to go out of his way and make an improvised warmer so he can smell it all the time!

And for those of you who are wondering, "Does Scentsationals have car fresheners?" the answer is not yet, but we have considered car fresheners and may come out with a line in the future!

Sun and Rain and an Apple Seed

First grade was a long time ago in some respects, but in other ways, it seems like yesterday. When I put ScentSationals Crispy Apples scented wax into my warmer this morning, I was instantly drawn back to one particular first grade field trip, when we went to an apple orchard in honor of Johnny Appleseed.

I distinctly remember the sweet smell of apple blossoms that filtered down between the branches along with beams of sunlight. In my young girls mind, it didn't seem fitting that I was in such a scene in just my jeans, t-shirt and ponytail. It was the kind of place for princesses in flowing gowns, the blossoms catching in their silky hair, the sunlight dancing off their tiaras.

As a class, we were led into the General Store, where all the different apples sat in labeled bins. As our tour guide led us around, she cut up enough apples for everyone to have a slice: Granny Smith, tart and sour; Pink Lady, smooth and sweet; Red Delicious, crisp and juicy. The tour guide then cut an apple in half, and displayed the core in its dissected view: a perfect star lay in the center of the apple. She gave us each a dissected apple and led us to a table where we dipped the apples in paint and made stamps out of them.

With patterns covering the paper rolled out on the table, the song from Disney Melody Times' Johnny Appleseed Short came to mind, "There's apple pie and apple pastry, tangy apply cider in a glass! Stew 'em. Boil 'em. Fry 'em. Bake 'em. Apple pie and apple cake 'em. You can eat them any way!" And you can smell them, too, with the ScentSationals fragrance Crispy Apples!

My Cookie Catastrophe

Throughout my life, I've come to the conclusion that mothers make the best cookies. It's true.When I was little, I always loved it when my mother would pull out our cookie pans. Battered from years of loving use, just the sight of the cookie pans meant one thing: oatmeal cookies!

The oven would beep when it was hot enough. We'd mix the dough, me keeping tabs of the ingredients on my sticky fingers: right thumb-sugars, forefinger-butters, middle finger-eggs (I'd get to crack one, and that was always exciting), ringfinger-vanilla (lessoned learned there, smells so good, but don't tase it!), pinky-dry ingredients including oatmeal. Cook. Eat. Yum. In that order.

Now that I'm old enough to bake my own cookies, I'm always disappointed one way or another. My dough's too dry, so you bite into a cookie and it turns into dust; or my dough's too moist and, no matter how long you leave them in the oven, they don't cook. I got to the point where I gave up cookies and became a Professional Cookie Taste Tester.

Boy, did that backfire. Now I'm getting married and I can't cook cookies? What is this world coming to? I'm gonna be a mom and I can't cook a decent cookie. That's against the Unwritten Mother's Code of Motherhood, I'm pretty sure. But I have a solution to my problem. ScentSationals has a scented wax conveniently named Oatmeal Cookie (can you see where this is going...).

So here's the plan: Oatmeal Cookie smells so yummy, that I'll put it in my warmer right before my hubby gets home from work. I'll let the fragrance, strong and sweet, fill the whole apartment while I run to the grocery store and buy a box of oatmeal cookies. When my hubby comes home, he'll walk through the door, smell the Oatmeal Cookie fragrance, I'll conveniently be pulling a tray of seemingly homemade oatmeal cookies (but really just the store-bought ones on a tray) out of the oven, and no one will know the difference! ... at least, not for a while... hopefully...

And a One and a Two and a Cha Cha Cha!

This past semester at school, I took a social dance class. I learned how to follow (and the guys learned how to lead) as we danced to all sorts of songs: the Foxtrot, stately and pristine; the Walz, smooth and flowing; but if you asked the class which dance was the favorite, across the board, the answer would be Cha-Cha.

Something about Latin Dancing brings out the risque side of even the shyest person. With my hips twirling, my skirts making that swooshing noise as they spin around my legs, and the beat of the music pounding in my ears, it was very hard to hold back a loud, "Olay!"

The Salsa Warmer here at ScentSationals gives off that same Latin vibe, with it's bright red color and yellow tinting. Unique with it's pegged wax tray that makes cleaning a cinch, the Salsa spices things up and makes me want to go south of the border, as Frank Sinatra would say! When I look at the Salsa, I can almost feel the Cha-Cha beat again: and-a-one-and-a-two-and-a-Cha-Cha-Cha!

Facebook Frenzy

Yesterday, as part of my job, I posted on facebook the scent of the day. (One of our new seven fragrances, Sea Salt. It made me want to wade knee deep in the ocean, sand squelching between my toes, the water bright and calm.)

And yesterday, almost as soon as I had posted the new scent on facebook, I received this email:

I follow you on facebook. I was looking for your new scent Sea Salt online and cannot find it. Where is it? Thanks.

I was beaming after that and kindly explained that our seven new fragrances are in stores in Utah and Idaho, but haven't been added to our website yet. She was very appreciative and responded graciously by saying she'd keep checking our website (http://www.scentsationals.com/) until the new scents arrive.

The Scent at Sam's

The other day, during my lunch break, a woman from Sam's Club was at the office in the Break Room, available for anyone who might be interested in a Sam's club membership. My fiance and I were very interested, so during lunch, I stopped by.

I found Mindy sitting at a round table, a box of cookies and brochures arranged just so on the tabletop. She was talking on the phone to someone. When she saw me, she promised to call back, and turned her attention to me as I took my seat.

Polite chit-chat began, as I filled out paper-work and munched on a cookie (or two).

"I didn't even know ScentSationals was back here," Mindy said. "I walked in and it smelled so good!" She went on to explain that she knew all about us and that she loves our scented waxes!

One Ol' Sweetie

I know it's no longer mother's day (shout out to all the great mothers out there!), but I was talking with my coworker the other day. While I sit in the office, pulling orders and advertising our online part of the company, he's the one who actually goes to Wal-Marts and delivers/stocks their shelves.

A few weeks ago, he was making one such delivery at the Wal-Mart in Cedar Hills, when the men who work in the Hardware Department found him and relayed this story:

It seems one gentleman had entered their Wal-Mart and found his way to our ScentSationals endcap.

"I need fragrances," he was heard saying to himself. "Lot's of 'em."

There must have been a lot of wonderful women in his life, because he grabbed an entire display tray, that's 98 packages of our scented waxes, 14 per sleeve and 7 sleeves in one tray, and purchased the whole thing!

Big Enough for Two

This past week, we found the sweetest little apartment. We'd been to a couple others, not really knowing the calliber of apartments that we could afford would include anything worth taking a second look at. But when we walked into this place, it was like coming home.

There was no furniture, or signs of habitation, but the walls were clean and white, the carpets well kept. The bathroom fixtures were so clean they fairly glistened, and the kitchen had new appliances. There was nothing dingy, crusty, stained. No cobwebs in the corners or skeletons in the closets (one apartment we had looked at previously still had food from the previous renter left in the fridge!).

The Renters were there with us, walking us through the place, showing us how things worked and where things went. We asked them questions, and they, in turn, asked us some, too. Among these was the question, "Where do you work?" When I said ScentSationals, the smile on the wife's already cheerful face broadened.

"My daughters and I love ScentSationals," she said. "I know, if you rent our apartment, it's going to smell good all the time!"

Everything Comes Together

"Genevieve, will you marry me?" He was on his knee then, a little black box, which he had pulled out of the hole in Annabelle's back, cupped in his hands.

The moment had arrived. If ever I was to need my brain, it was then. But where was my brain? Even I can't answer that. The only way I know how to describe it is I was in shock. My hands, cold and shaking, flew to hide my burning crimson face. I knew my answer. It just wouldn't form in my mouth! It bubbled up from my lungs, but snagged in my throat. Another eternity came and went. "Answer him. Answer him. Yes. Yes. Yes," became the rhythym to which my heart was beating.

And then, before my mouth could get around the word, air was rushing out of my lungs, past the snag in my throat, between my fingers, and hanging in the air between us was my answer in the form of a strangled, "mm-hmmm." After that moment, it was like someone flipped a switch. Now we have a purpose, a common goal, and we're going to get there, no matter what it takes. Our mindset is changed for the better.

Since then, so many things have happened, and there are still so many things left to do! Thus far, I've checked the cake, the decor, the food, and (the most important accessory) the dress, off of my list, but almost as soon as I get one thing checked off, another thing is added on: We still haven't finished our announcements, or even started on delivering them, and house-hunting is very time-consuming and very limited, especially if you have a limited budget, but it's all so exciting! The most exciting part about house-hunting, I think, is the possibility that each house could be ours, each little dingy apartment could belong to us, and that gets my mind running: How will I make this house our home?

One thing I'm definitely including in our home is a ScentSationals warmer, more specifically, the Teardrop Warmer. It's a precious little thing, white and simple with an intricate lace-like pattern carved around the top, which reminds me of my wedding dress, although I haven't worn it yet, and each time I look at the Teardrop Warmer that I have here in my office, I'm reminded of the closeness and the realness of that day when my sweet man and I become forever. Why wouldn't I want to be reminded of that every day?

My Surprise

We were seated at our table. There was even a third chair for Annabelle (that was the name I decided on). The waiter was prompt, serving our sumptuous soups and delicious dilled salmon in a timely and precise manner, but my sweet man wasn’t hungry. (I know. I know. That should’ve been a dead giveaway, if I hadn’t figured it out before then, but again I just thought he was tired. Curse my naïveté!)

There was only one other couple in the room, and from the sounds of things, they were celebrating their anniversary. I was thinking about how sweet that was, and munching aimlessly on a mouthful of fish, when my sweet man decided he needed to use the facilities.

While he was gone, the dessert menu was brought to my attention, as well as the fact that the other man in the room, the one who was celebrating his anniversary with his wife, had also gone to the restroom. I made a mental note of that, thinking that I might be able to get my sweet man to relax and laugh if I told him. I mean, it’s usually women who go to the restroom in pairs!

It was at that point, that my eyes fell upon Annabelle. She truly was the prettiest little thing. I picked her up off her seat, and, laying her in my lap, began to stroke the soft fur of her feet with my thumbs.

“Do you like her?” a familiar voice said at my shoulder.

“Very much,” I replied, smiling as he went to sit down. I turned Annabelle around to place her back in her chair, when I noticed a gaping hole in her back, half-hidden by her yellow sun dress.

“Oh, no. What happened?” I asked, pointing at the hole, a questioning look on my face.

“Oh!” he said, “Gosh, the people at Build-a-Bear must’ve forgotten to sew her up before they gave her to me.” As he was talking, he took the bear from my hands and sat her on the table, close to him but facing me ….

Slightly saddened by the great big hole in my “surprise”, but not wanting him to see my disappointment, I pointed out the options on the dessert menu, asking which sounded best to him. He looked it over, or at least pretended to, and the conversation fell quiet again. I was just about to ask if he had decided, when he said, “Genevieve, I have a question for you…do you really love me?”

Then, and only then, did things start to dawn on me. It was almost as if my brain had been blank up until that point and then started going 100 miles per hour, and things started adding up: the fancy date, the “surprise”, and the sudden lack in conversation…He was proposing to me! What felt like an eternity later, but was really only a few moments, and after several gulps of air, I answered, blushing to the roots of my hair, “Why would you doubt that?” My voice sounded funny to myself, unfamiliar to my ears.

“Okay then,” he continued, “I have another question for you…”