By Gretchen Rubin

One of my very favorite new resolutions is to Cultivate good smells. It's astonishing to me how much pleasure my sense of smell gives me, now that I've tuned into it more forcefully.

In the course of my research, along with Demeter Fragrance Library (I love the idea of a "fragrance library"), I discovered a site called CB I Hate Perfume -- and learned that an actual store exists in Brooklyn. Fortunately, I have a good friend who is also a smell enthusiast, and together we made a field trip to the store.

I got the idea for the resolution to Take a field trip from my six-year-old, who gets extremely excited at the prospect of a kindergarten field trip. To her, it's such an adventure, such a treat. Sometimes, I get to go on field trips with her class, and I always enjoy... More...