candles, scented candleYesterday I went to a friend's house and it smelled so good the moment I walked in. She was baking chocolate chip cookies and with the crisp fall weather, her home had the most heavenly aroma. Since I don't eat many cookies but love the smell, I decided to get scented candles that would spread the scent throughout the house without the temptation of freshly baked cookies. Having a fair amount of self-discipline, I can withstand the urge to eat cookies even though the house will smell like a big bakery.

I went online to find the Freshly Baked Cookies Essential Blend, and ordered several of them. The holidays are coming and I want our visitors to be treated to the smell of freshly baked cookies, even though I may not serve them any. The scented candles will put everyone in the holiday season and instead of cookies, I'll probably serve healthier treats like strawberries dipped in dark chocolate, peanut butter filled pretzels, hot apple cider, cheese and crackers and nuts of all kinds.

The candles have a burn time of 120 hours which should take us all the way through winter. If we use them up before summer, I'll reorder from the website where I found them, at Purple Rose Candles & Gifts located at www.purplerosecandlesandgifts.com. Freshly baked cookies are a popular scent, so these candles will probably always be in stock, but to make sure we get through winter and spring, I bought two of the candles.

I love buying discretionary items like this online. It's so much faster and easier than going out shopping for something that I may or may not be able to find. Ordering these candles took less than five minutes and the drive to the nearest mall takes me 15 minutes, so it's no wonder internet shopping is so popular now. It'll be interesting to see how much internet shopping grows this holiday season.

Ever since they started tracking retail sales online, they have grown each year and I can see why. We're busier than ever and spending an entire afternoon shopping in the real world is exhausting. Once in a while I take my mom to the mall to get her out of the house, and I always come back empty handed, knowing I can do better online. My mom lives alone, though, and these outings give her some exercise and a way to socialize. But when she wants or needs to make a serious purchase, I bring over my laptop and we sit down and find the best products and prices and go from there.