the boulevard of broken (eucalyptus) dreams

On Tuesday morning while I was scanning Pinterest, a particular photo and caption caught my eye. I didn't re-pin it, so I can't say exactly which pin it was, but the picture was something like this:

Source

The caption went something like this: "When I was in _____ (some European country) I noticed that everyone had bouquets of eucalyptus in their shower. I couldn't figure out why until I was taking a shower one night. The hot steam from the shower mixes with the fragrant eucalyptus and makes the entire bathroom smell just divine!! It was like a spa!!"

Well I mean...that certainly sounds delightful. And do-able, when you have this growing in your front yard:

So I made a mental note to do a little eucalyptus pruning/home-spa-creating at some point in the future. I told Matt about it and I think he was even more excited at the prospect than I was. 

So last night we trimmed a few branches, and I turned them into a 'bouquet' with the help of a rubber band and some string. Then I spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out where the heck to hang them in my teensy, coffin-like shower. Unlike whoever's shower is in that picture above, I actually use PRODUCTS in the shower...and those products need a home, and that home happens to be in a hanging thing that hooks over the showerhead. There was no space for a large bouquet of leaves if I ever hope to use my shampoo or face wash again. Which I do, for the record. 

I finally found a suitable spot to hang them, and then it was go time. Operation: My Lame Shower is a Spa Now was complete!

..............

..............

Ummm...yeah. Maybe there is something wrong with my eucalyptus? (Which I don't think there is-- it smells freakin awesome in the yard when the wind blows, and your hands smell really good after I touch it, so I'd say it's as fragrant as you'd expect) Maybe there's something wrong with the steam in my shower? But I really couldn't smell it in the shower. I even moved it so that it was hanging literally 4 inches from my nose.

Nothing.

Biggest letdown ever!!

I think that at the very beginning of the shower, prior to opening any (scented) products, I could smell it very faintly. But as soon as I started using shampoo and body wash, that's all I could smell. So then it was just like I had a big plant taking up precious real estate in my already-cramped shower. BUMMER.

So...sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this wasn't the life-changing shower experience I know we were all hoping for. We left it in there and thought maybe things would be different this morning when Matt showered. I had big plans of the bathroom having this magical scent enveloping me as I apply my eye makeup...and...no. Not at all.

Maybe my 'bouquet' isn't big enough? Maybe I'll add some more branches to it tonight and it will become more potent. Then again, maybe I'll have to move out of the shower altogether cause there really is not enough room for a huge tree AND me in there. Good grief, Pinterest. How you toy with my heart.