on monday, while perusing the streets of alexandria, i sauntered into a few shops.  the likes of banana republic, gap, anthropologie and le pan quotidien (who can resist this shop?  i wanted all the sweets on their shelves but i settled for 1 coconut macroon).  i rarely, almost never, purchase anything from anthropologie.  not that i'm not completely in love with almost everything they sell in the shop, but because i have a bit of a hard time spending lots of money on clothing that i call "fun clothes."  another thing i never do is wear cologne or "parfums."  years ago i stopped wearing fragrances because i was allergic to them.  while enjoying my time in anthropologie, admiring all things, i smelled a fragrance called "1842 rose alba" and fell in love.  it reminds me of spring and summer-time.  its fragrance is sweet and simple and not overbearing.  i like fragrances like this one, colognes and parfums that provoke people to remark "boy do you smell good."  not only did i fall in love with the way it smells but i also fell in love with its packaging (no surprise, presentation is important to me) and the name of the perfumers "happ & stahns."  i thought the bottle was not only "sweet", with its detail both on the top and on the bottle itself, (you can't see it but there's gold detail on the glass)  but i also thought the price point was affordable.  so, i bought my first bottle of parfum in a very long time.  i know, i know...for some it's unimaginable.  i also purchased a few other items at anthropologie, sweet hair ties and another bottle of parfum by "tocca." 

happ & stahns 1842 rose alba

tocca - florence

hair ties purchased at anthropologie, clips at target