Companion Journal, Sea Glass Journal, The Sea Glass Inheritance
The First Time I Smelled a Lemon Blossom
Jul
“Sometimes the smallest moments quietly shape the stories we tell decades later.”
There are certain scents that become part of your life forever.
For me, one of them is the fragrance of lemon blossoms.
Nearly thirty-five years ago, I was a young woman living outside Orlando, Florida. I had moved away from my family in Michigan and was working at a wonderful family-owned Italian restaurant. Since I didn’t have family nearby, the owners often welcomed me into theirs.
One evening, after dinner, we sat together in the backyard of their home. As the conversation drifted into the warm Florida evening, I noticed the most extraordinary fragrance floating through the air.
It stopped me mid-conversation.
It was rich and sweet—almost intoxicating—but unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
Growing up outside Detroit, my favorite spring fragrance had always been lilacs. Their perfume announced the arrival of warmer days after long Michigan winters. This scent carried that same joyful intensity, yet it was softer, warmer, and somehow more mysterious.
I finally asked where it was coming from.
Domenica smiled and pointed toward a lemon tree covered in tiny white blossoms.
I had never imagined that citrus trees produced flowers so beautiful—or a fragrance so unforgettable.
That evening changed something in me.
Ever since that evening, I’ve sprouted lemon seeds whenever I’ve had the chance. Over the years, I’ve grown countless little lemon trees in pots, nurturing them from tiny seedlings and even giving many away to friends and family.
I’ve never owned a home with a backyard where I could plant a lemon tree of my own, but I’ve never stopped dreaming about it.
That’s one of the reasons it was so important to me that Tess would have lemon trees surrounding her cottage in Cypress Key. In a way, I gave her something I’ve always hoped to have myself—a home where opening the windows means being greeted by the intoxicating fragrance of lemon blossoms drifting through the air.
When I began writing The Sea Glass Journal, I knew Tess’s cottage needed lemon trees.
Not because they advanced the plot.
Because they belonged there.
They represented everything I wanted Cypress Key to feel like: welcoming, peaceful, hopeful, and alive with quiet beauty.
If you’ve read the novel, you’ve already visited those trees.
What many readers don’t know is that they began with a warm Florida evening, a generous Italian family, and one simple question:
“What is that wonderful fragrance?”
One of the greatest gifts I received from that family wasn’t just discovering lemon blossoms.
It was learning to cook.
Domenica welcomed me into her kitchen with the same generosity she welcomed me into her home, patiently teaching me recipes, techniques, and the joy of feeding people you love.
Looking back, it’s amazing how many threads from those years eventually found their way into my creative life.
Some became recipes.
Some became stories.
Some became traditions.
And some quietly bloomed into the pages of a novel decades later.
Thank you for joining me in the Companion Journal.
These are the stories behind the stories—the memories, places, recipes, gardens, and everyday moments that quietly shaped the world of The Sea Glass Soul Series.
I’m so glad you’re here.
From the Novel
Lemon trees appear throughout The Sea Glass Journal, symbolizing hope, home, and new beginnings. If you haven’t yet visited Cypress Key, I’d love to welcome you there.
Then include buttons:
🍋 Explore Recipes & Coastal Living
🧶 See Handmade Designs Inspired by the Novel
Meet Kristin
I’m Kristin Omdahl—author, designer, and creator.
The Companion Journal is where all of my creative passions come together.
It’s the space between fiction and real life.
Between imagination and inspiration.
I hope you’ll visit often.
xoxo, Kristin
