sensory sampler no. 3
engaging five senses to feel like you're floating down a valley road in an autumn drizzle
This is the third in a series called sensory samplers.
When I was little, I’d think certain times of day or certain types of light felt like certain music, or I thought smells had colors. As an adult, my nostalgia is composed of these specific sensations, and I wanted to distill them in this way to share.
see:
The landscape is bright against the rain, the slate of clouds emphasizing the richness of the sugar maple, the white oak, the bigtooth aspen. It’s almost as though the droplets themselves should be gold as they leak off the surface of the leaves.
Recommended reading: The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
hear:
taste:
Caramel apple cinnamon donut from Jack Frost (the pumpkin ones are good too)
If you’re not a donut person, try this sweet potato casserole. My aunt used to make this for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I snapped this picture from the cookbook she used <3 I’ve tried to make it twice, but it’s never tasted quite as delicious as when she made it.
smell:
Something beyond the sweetness of wet leaves. Clean laundry from someone’s dryer lifted into the smokiness of someone else’s wood-burning fireplace.
My favorite fall fragrance combo: Saint Rita Parlor Signature Fragrance and Black Rose & Oud from Salt & Stone
A classic fall fragrance: By the Fireplace by Replica (the candle is also great)—this one is nostalgic for me as it was my daily perfume when my partner and I started dating <3
touch:
Wool that’s not scratchy, cold dew on apples, a warm mug through your sweater sleeves, your ear on your friend’s shoulder, heat on your face from a campfire
Thanks for reading <3
the sweet potato recipe sounds exactly like what my grandma used to make every thanksgiving ♥️ it was so sweet we would eat it as a dessert instead of a side!