The best candles and a special offer

One more post about candles. And I've saved the best for last.

First a question for you: is there something special about your home that nearly always provokes a comment or question from guests? Something like "Oh, I love your ________!" or "Where did you get that ________?"

Well, that "something special" about my home is actually the smell. Just like y'all, I work hard to make my home lovely and inviting, and the smell of my house is one way I've succeeded. And I'm going to share my secret with you.

First, the inspiration for my secret: leather. I love the smell of leather. Rich and supple, mellow and soft yet masculine and pungent. Mmmmm. Am I the only one who will "look" at wallets and purses and other goods by holding them up to her nose?

And leather furniture! Oh, my. Like one of my favorite things in our house: the leather chair and ottoman in the corner of my husband's study. Makes me want to curl up with a cup of coffee right now.

Anyway, on to my secret: leather candles. Well, leather-scented candles, anyway.

I know there are lots of good purveyors of candles out there, but in my mind there's one that really stands out: DeeJay's Candles of Fort Worth, Texas. DeeJay's is one of those wonderful family-owned business that does things the old-fashioned way. (Read the story here.) The founder, Diane, had a love for scented candles but was never satisfied with the ones she bought. . . so she created her own. And twenty years later, she's still making her own candles, and they are the best I've ever tried.

DeeJay's is a real bricks-and-mortar store, but I've never been to Ft. Worth, so I've never shopped with them that way. I shop with them online. In fact, I think DeeJay's was actually the very first online shopping I ever did, way back in 2001, when a friend introduced me to her wares. (I know, most of you were shopping online before 2001, but I was slow to join the party.) The first time I shopped with DeeJay's, I bought a sampling of scents. And I'm telling you, she's got quite a list of scents to choose from. Her product line is straightforward: she's all about the good smells. You can choose from votives, tea lights, pillars, jar candles, fragrance oils, and other yummy-smelling products.

I've tried a number of her products, and they've all been good, but my personal favorite is the votive candle. I am not kidding: DeeJay's votives are the longest-lasting, most highly scented candles I've ever tried. Pop one of these babies into a slender votive holder and you won't believe how good it will smell or how long it will burn. All for just $1.25 per votive, plus a FREE 13th votive if you buy 12. There aren't many places where you can still get a "baker's dozen." And you don't have to choose a dozen of just one scent: you can choose 13 different scents for your 13 different candles, if you like.

AND RIGHT NOW, just for Imparting Grace readers, DeeJay's is making available a special offer. If you want to try their candles, you can get 14 for the price of a dozen instead of 13. Just place your order for 14 votives and then enter the online code "RICHELLA" at checkout. You'll get 14 votives, but you'll only be charged for 12. The special is good through July 15, 2009. Thanks, DeeJay's, for making this offer available.

And here's a little offer from me. I've never done a product review before (although it makes me feel so official, I might have to do it again!). Just so you'll know that I'm telling the truth here, I'll share. Leave me a comment if you're interested in trying a Leather Candle. I'll wait a bit, to give folks a chance to get around to reading this and commenting. But next weekend, I'll randomly pick three commenters and send them a Leather votive to try. How's that sound?

Now go visit DeeJay's. You might love Banana Nut, or Fresh Cake, or Creme Brulee'. But I'm telling you, you should try the Leather Candles. You'll be glad you did.

One word of advice: remember that candles are heavy and expensive to ship. DeeJay's works hard to keep their shipping costs as reasonable as possible, but there's no getting around the fact that candles are not cheap to ship. Even with the special offer, shipping costs can still be hard. So you might want to get together with someone else in your area and combine your orders into one and split the shipping cost among yourselves.

I'm sharing this with Julia at Hooked on Houses. She has an awesome feature of letting readers say what they're hooked on. See her post today for the other fun links!