Nostalgia

Childhood memories:

• Strawberry Shortcake Doll (scented)
• Fuzzy unicorn blanket (double sided)
• Christmas at Grandma D'Alusio's
• Midnight roller skating with my father
• Visiting Christmas lights in Lake Riviera with my father
• Going to the Circus with my father
• Spending many Saturdays at Seaside Heights boardwalk with my cousin
• Living in Ocean Gate (best childhood memories ever happened there)
• Grocery shopping in my grandmother's pantry
• Hearing my grandmother's clocks (she collected them)

Good Italian food from NJ:

• My great grandmother's Italian Knot cookies
• And her homemade ravioli I used to help her with
• A good bagel - plain, not toasted, with tons of real butter
• A poppyseed "hard roll" with butter
• Frozen custard in Pt. Pleasant
• Seaside heights soft serve ice cream
• Gnocchi
• Sausage and peppers (I don't eat meat, but it's the memories!)
• Cavatelli with broccoli, garlic, olive oil and pecorino romano
• Kruschev (fried dough with powdered sugar - it's Lithuanian)
• Pork roll, egg and cheese sandwich
• Pepperoni and egg sandwich
• Disco fries from the Sandcastle Diner in Beachwood
• Ice Cubes (chocolate candy)
• Nonpareils
• Little hard candies in strawberry printed plastic wrappers (see image)
• Pizza from Pudgie's
• Huge  half sour pickles from the barrel at the A&P
• God, the list can go on and on

I really miss all this stuff. I think it's because my mother just visited for a day. It's the first time I spent with her in about 12 years. It was odd, but OK. She was sane with tinges of annoying stuff left behind but I'll take that any day over the insane days. Her husband is still a child, but we got along, too. We visited antique shops. That was the second reason I'm nostalgic. I picked up an old, genuine Strawberry Shortcake doll and immediately smelled it - and underneath her dress she still smelled EXACTLY as I remembered my doll smelling when I was little. Just like strawberries. It was amazing. Isn't it funny how scent is so directly connected to memories stored in your brain?


I'm so scent-driven. And food driven.


I'm hungry... :)