Freesia, Laura Ashley, China, and Chocolate Chip Cookies
March in the Northeast has never been a popular month. It can be bone-chilling cold or muddy and mundane. But the warm breezes that come later in March always tell me spring has donned its wings again.
It’s still a month for woolens and tights and there’s so much sand on the sidewalks that it’s almost as slippery as ice and if ever there was a time to have something fly into your eye, it happens mostly in March winds. Which reminds me – it’s also not a good hair month. But dig deep and you will see that March is ripe with tender possibilities. Case in point:
As a young wife with time on her hands, I learned to be alone with myself. My husband was often gone and I didn’t live close to family. But I found a way to entertain myself that didn’t hurt me or anybody else. Looking back, I realized that these were almost always March adventures…taking place during that waiting-in-place month when one neither goes forward or backwards. I took myself on a date every Saturday afternoon.
Not too far away was a magnificent little structure that housed a store that only carried presents for one’s home. At the time, I was still collecting my wedding china which was sold there. How I loved to trawl the Royal Copenhagen aisle and dreamily handle all the pieces I wanted one day: vegetable dishes with dainty floral covers, the tall and elegant hot cocoa pitcher, so different from the stout teapot, and the pièce de résistance of any proper china collection – the gravy boat with its arched bow and matching china ladle. What fun I had, especially after I was handed the complimentary brochure of MY china, with charming illustrations of the entire collection, replete with table setting ideas, including the one labeled “First Dinner for the In-Laws” table. And yet, that’s not all…
This lovely store also contained the most unusual self-service red-trimmed glass kiosk filled with fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. In fact, the scent of cookies filled the entire store and even today, when I bake chocolate chip cookies I am reminded of these special March forays. I never left the premises without a crinkly wax-paper bag in my hand filled with two or three hot melting cookies. And yet, that’s not all…
Just around the corner from this lovely store was a brand new Laura Ashley shop and it was within these doors that I experienced each of Laura Ashley’s lovely bespoke perfumes. I was too poor at the time to purchase any of their beautiful romantic floral dresses, but I was not too poor to sample Laura Ashley No. 1 (my favorite), and Emma (also my favorite). I helped myself to the small blotting cards in the shape of flowers that one was allowed to spray the perfume on to take home. And did I…each and every Saturday. I tucked a scented card into my handbag and two or three into my pockets. Soon I couldn’t tell if I were carrying the fragrance or actually wearing it. And imagine how delighted I was that one Saturday when I was actually able to purchase my own bottle of Emma. In March. And it wasn’t even spring although the crystal bottle was etched with masses of petite spring-like blooms. The perfume mingled so beautifully with the aroma of my delicate bag of cookies. And yet, that’s not all…
Just across the way from Laura Ashley was a small satellite shop of a famous Bostonian florist. I loved wandering through the verdant and warm pretend greenhouse built right inside. I swear I could smell damp earth and saw many flowers I had never been acquainted with before, such as the watery freesia (my favorite) and the blue dutch crocus (also my favorite) which was sold with a small cellophane sack of moss tied with a purple ribbon. But it was the freesia that stole my heart on those March visitations and it was here that I would splurge at last. I especially loved the pure white freesia with their sweet baby powder scent. The trumpet-shaped blooms wrapped in crisp tissue paper filled my car with their perfume on the drive home and mingled with the chocolate chip cookies and the Laura Ashley fragrances.
Not only did I learn to be alone with my own thoughts and to dream my own dreams, but I discovered who I wanted to be as a wife and as a woman. It seems strange to think that china, cookies, flowers, and perfume could do all that but it’s true. The simple March afternoons when I was caught between winter and spring with nothing much to do, are still affectionately with me. And every March, their memory sustains me yet…
19 Comments
Ann
What beautiful memories….thank you for the reminder of those wonderful days of shops that held special treats. Your mention of the china and the table setting reminds me of the small department store of my youth. The china and silver patterns of each engaged couple who registerd there would be on display, with their name and wedding date. I loved to browse the place settings…and one stuck out to me and I ended up choosing that pattern a few years later. Then down to the little tea shop in the store…a cuppa tea and apple pie, with a top crust, and somehow, the baker piped cream under that crust on top of the apples. On the way out, stopping by the Yardley counter for a spritz of Oh de London! Thank you for bringing back a wonderful memory!
M3C
Thank you for the memories of wintertime sand on the sidewalk. I grew up on southeastern CT and that is what I knew for icy roads and walks. It took moving away to realize others use salt. How I miss the beach!
A Lovely Inconsequence
Yes, sand on the side of the roads says March to me always. Thank you for your comment!
Tracy H
Oak Park IL was the spot for my self dates. A beautiful stationary store, Marshall Fields, the Canterbury Chemist and a foreign film at the Lake theater was the perfect ending of a perfect day. I bought Crabtree and Evelyn’s Freesia in its beautiful bottle.
Only the theater and the stationary store are left. Those days were divine!
You are my kind of gal.
Thank you for the memory trigger!
A Lovely Inconsequence
I am thrilled that I stirred your memories of lovely shopping days!
Dana
You paint such a serene scene. I could actually smell the cookies, freesia, and perfume through your lovely blog. It’s so important to “date ” yourself and learn to be alone with your thoughts and dreams. March is my favorite month as it is my birth month. In like a lion, out like a lamb as the saying goes. Thanks so much for your beautiful blog- it’s always a breath of fresh air to me.
A Lovely Inconsequence
I like March too. Happy Birthday Dana.
A Lovely Inconsequence
Thank you Dana!
LA CONTESSA
WHAT BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES YOU SHARED WITH US TODAY!
I SAY BAKE SOME COOKIES AND HEAD TO THE NURSERY…………..NOT THE SAME BUT IT WILL DO IN THESE STRANGE TIMES!
You must send me a photo when you get your CAFTAN!!!
XXX
Beth M.
This was such a fun read! It reminded me of when I used to frequent a factory that had been turned into a series of charming shops (clothes, toys, antiques) — and I never left without buying at least one warm oatmeal cookie, each with a single raisin in the center. I wonder if people still do much window shopping these days — it feels like a lost art!
A Lovely Inconsequence
Window shopping is a lost art. Perchance, to dream?
Lori
What a lovely reminder to be kind to oneself. Your story reminded me of some similar times, happy memories I haven’t thought of in some time.
March, the month with the promise of spring.
Thank you for sharing your sweet, sweet memory.
A Lovely Inconsequence
Yes! Being kind to ourselves…
Christine McCann
I so enjoyed your shopping trip. When I lived in Santa Barbara, freesias grew outdoors in gardens, and I think they bloomed…..in March! I also loved visiting the Wedgwood shop there and dreaming dreams. Now, in Vermont I am thrilled if we have enough snow melt to see snowdrops or possibly crocuses in March, and I prefer vintage porcelain. Still have a soft spot for Laura Ashley, though.
A Lovely Inconsequence
Christine, I cannot imagine imagine having freesia grow at home! Your idyllic life in Vermont however sounds wonderful. Laura Ashley items get scooped up quickly online as the millenials like to wear them now. And the catalogs that were free in the shops are now over $150 a piece on eBay! But it’s fun to look and reminiscese. Thank you for your longtime readership.
Christine McCann
Thanks, Donna! It’s no hardship to enjoy your musings.
I did manage to purchase a Laura Ashley dress at a yard sale long ago and really loved that dress. I’m still hoping you will write a review of The Women in Black (book and/or film); your ability to articulate the beauty in small things, as well as the power of our personal relationships, fits so well with the themes of the book and film.
A Lovely Inconsequence
Thank you Christine. Yes! I will do a post on The Ladies in Black. I really loved it and actually took notes while watching it!
Christine McCann
Hurrah!
Karen
I felt like I just went on the best shopping trip of my entire life! Donna, your words have given me such a beautiful sensation of peace and hope and cheerfulness. Thank you so much for sharing this because yes, March is a treacherous month around here in western New York. This is the month when most of our ice storms and worst blizzards happen. I love this new perspective on a month that has always seemed to be very untrustworthy to me. So thank you for sharing this with us and thank you for so many delightful ideas and smells and sights that you’ve brought into our minds!