I am very fond of peppermint and chocolate. Every year when Chick-fil-a does their peppermint-chocolate milkshake special, I call my grandmother and we feast. About two weeks ago I spent $40 getting peppermint-chocolate tea that I could have all season and even throughout the year. I have peppermint-chocolate Keurig coffee cups and peppermint-and-something-that-smells-like-chocolate lotion. I know it is the Christmas season when I have spent $5 on a Starbucks cup of peppermint-hot-chocolate. It is crazy how much I love this stuff and love having the excuse of "It's seasonal," to spur me into getting it all right now. I have to budget around my crazy peppermint chocolate obsession. I think the love for peppermint-chocolate has more to do with the chocolate part, but there is something about the mint that makes it all the more soothing.

My other favorite flavors are very different. I like lavender the absolute most out of all the things in the world my nose can smell. Well... except maybe puppy breath, but they don't make lotions with that. I like lavender because it has a calming welcoming smell that invites me to think, "It is all going to be okay." I drink lavender kombucha, have lavender soap and oil, and lavender air freshener. It just makes me wonder why peppermint-chocolate and lavender are the two smells that I love most.

I love some other smells too, of course. When I walk into my mom's kitchen and smell that she has made her amazing taco soup, I always pause and know it is going to be a great night (and the rest of the week too because of all the leftovers). Sometimes when I am at work in the Zoo gift shop, I will make my way over to the barn and walk through my memories of driving down to Calico Hill stables with my dad and taking horse lessons with Mrs. Sibley. There is something about the hay that makes me want to hug the thing closest to me (which is usually a very aggressive goat, so I keep my hands to myself). Another smell that always brings me comfort is coffee, crisp in the morning to start my day or warmly at night to help me make it through studying. Coffee, from Costa Rica, Seattle, Target, or wherever, is always a smell I welcome.

I have always known I was peculiar when I picked up a really old book and flipped through the pages to waft the smell towards me. My grandmother worked at a museum and I would love when she would let me wander around there sniffing at the history between the pages. That smell always reminds me of something bigger, something that I don't quite understand yet, but will understand someday.

I love smells and the way they tell our mind to be familiar with the world. This Christmas season, I am looking forward to the smell of pine trees, baked goods, and of course peppermint-chocolate. Tis' the season to stop and take it all in.