Back to School! Time to stock up on the essentials.

We found a fun new, green alternative to your regular old graphite stick. Smencils are #2 pencils (important, we know) that are made from rolled up newspapers. The other novelty about these notebook companions is that they smell...nice.

Smencils come in a bunch of different scents, including popcorn, cherry, and toasted marshmallow. They can be purchased online in individual "freshness tubes" or in bulk buckets. You can even buy a kit and make a craft project out of scenting and stickering them yourself.

When we first saw them for sale at Andersonville bookstore, Women & Children First, we couldn't resist grabbing a couple (grape and mint) and it's been happy sniffing ever since.