Wiggin' Out 'Bout it Wednesday: Laundry Edition

Let's get honest with each other, shall we?

I would like to believe 1950s hygiene ads that state the fragrance of a female is as fresh field full of freesia (alliteration!) but the fact of the matter is - sometimes, I smell.

If my sister is reading this, no I don't. You do.

But for the rest of you: yes. It happens.

More specifically, the things whose stank bugs me the most are blazers. Blazers=wardrobe staples but Blazers also = dry clean only. Which meant for years I was wearing them a dozen times or so then taking them to the dry cleaners to get the stains and stale smell out of them.

Except, y'know, they didn't.

Everything would be hunky-dory until about the second re-wearing, then the smell of sweat and the smell of dry cleaning chemicals blend together into one nose-scrunching funk. Frankly, I kind of hate the smell of things coming back from the dry cleaner anyway - but what's a professional girl to do?

I tried Febreeze, I tried Dryel - nothing worked. One of my blazers won't even be cleaned by dry cleaners because it has some leather on it (I'm a badass) and when I tried to get it and a partially-leather skirt cleaned they quoted me $63 to do it.

No. Just no.

Just when I was about to break out the precious Grey Goose to solve my problems, in comes my lifesaver. Soak wash.

Soak bills itself as a "premium wash for all delicate items" that's biodegradable, phosphate-free and eco-friendly. As an added bonus, it's a Canadian company, and you know we don't make anything bad.

Proof.

I bought my bottle at Fresh Collective in Toronto on a whim and honestly? Best. Whim. Ever. I bought it in Lacey, but it comes in a few other scents as well as in a scent-free formula. Soak's gotta lot of good going for it but by far my favourite part is its ease of use. I put enough cool water in my bathtub to cover three blazers and gave a couple of squeezes of the bottle into the liquid. Out of force of habit I rubbed the stains/smelly areas a little, though you don't have to. I left them in the water for 15-20 minutes and then gently squeezed out the water. Then I hung up the jackets to dry (I'd probably recommend laying them flat but I just didn't have the space that week- the place was a disaster, and flat surfaces were at a premium).

That was it. No rinsing necessary. No putting them in the dryer, no fuss, no muss. I was in love. And the verdict? They smell awesome. Very light scent, slightly feminine and a million times nicer than when they came back from the dry cleaner. And the leather on the blazer looks fine. I have no idea if it's real leather or not but if its real enough to charge $63 to clean it, I'll believe it.

Again, like all "Wiggin' Out 'Bout it Wednesday"s I receive no endorsement to gush about this - I'm just that relieved to find something that a) works b) doesn't bankrupt me in the process c) doesn't make me get high off dry cleaning fumes at work (I do that on my own time now, thankyouverymuch).

Viva la soak.

Wiggin' Out 'Bout it Wednesday: Best buys of 2012

Ooh.. I can feel it now.. We're on Day 6 here of Frugal February and I'm getting eager to recklessly spend. I've had two spend-free days since February started (which, for me, really ain't bad), but the fact that those days didn't happen organically shows me that I was frittering away more money than I originally thought.

And, like any addict, once you take my source  away, I start daydreaming about what I'd do if I had it back. I don't even physically go near stores right now because the temptation is still too great. I still online window-shop (Windows-shop?) but, I'm proud to say, the only online transactions I've performed in the last week have been three returns. *pumps fist*

I'll go into my not-even-remotely-an-expert tips for clothes-buying tomorrow, but for today I'd like to sit and dream in the wonderland that is a world with disposable cash. My sister and I have made a concerted effort to start buying more "enduring" things, whether it be home decor, kitchen gear or clothing, and that effort resulted in 2012 being full of really lovely things. Now that I've owned some of these pieces for 6 months to a year, I thought I'd highlight some of the ones that have become staples for me. And none of this is sponsored - I'm not nearly popular enough for any of that.

1. Rare Specimen Earrings in Pyrite

I am in love with these beauties. I wear them almost every day and I love that each earring is a slightly different size and shape. Each pair of Rare Specimens earrings is unique and has a "raw" look to them which makes them kind of a cool conversation piece. I got my sister the quartz ones and she wears them all the time as well. I love the pyrite ones because they're not quite gold and not quite silver so they go with anything. She loves the quartz because clear isn't a colour so bam- always a go-to accessory.I  really can't say enough about these guys. The store appears to be empty right now but they're available in shops around North America.

2. Coach Tour Dress in Rouge

Full confession: I'm wearing this dress right now. I have a dinner thing to go to tonight but I also had a meeting this morning and this is one of those wonderful dresses that I can do both in and still feel like I'm wearing my pyjamas. Seriously, it is *that* comfortable. I wore it on Christmas, I wore it on Boxing Day - and not just because I'd forgotten to bring a change of clothes to my parents' house - I wear it on weekends and to the office. Admittedly, if I keep wearing it this often it will probably start to pill a bit (it's that kind of material) but for right now, it's lovely. I typically pair it with a thick belt, thicker leggings (I have enough junk in my trunk to host a rummage sale so it comes up a bit in the back on me) and knee-high boots but I've worn it with heels as well. It comes in a bunch of colours if red ain't your thing. However, I thought red wasn't my thing but it turns out? Red is kind of my thing. I got mega-into Modcloth this year and I'd say probably 70% of what I've bought have become wardrobe staples. And when I have needed to return something (or in the case of a recent "final sale" item that arrived defective), their customer service has been beyond. If their Canadian shipping was cheaper, I wouldn't be able to pay my mortgage.

3. Minnetonka "Kilty" Grey Suede Moccasins

I got these at DSW but Canadians can find them at Soft Moc (or a variety of other retailers, I'd imagine). I'd never owned a pair on Minnetonka's before, but I'd bought a pair of moccasins last year and OhMyGodILivedInThem. They've sort of become a "go into the scary basement only" pair of shoes due to a few too many poor decisions to wear them in the rain (the "common sense" part of brain is woefully underdeveloped) so I had to get them replaced. I wore these basically all summer and now they're sitting on the shoe rack in my office (where i hide 15 pairs of shoes from The Boy so he won't complain about how many shoes I have), taunting me, mocking me, moccasin-ing me. They're comfortable, not wearing out despite near constant wear, wide enough to allow for an insole or a hot summer foot swell (delightful!) and a cute change from ballet flats (and they "air out" better too, ladies). They make me ache for spring.

And for something non-clothing related, but something I love nonetheless:

The Boy bought me this for Christmas to put on our "art wall" and I think it's great. We both brought a lot of posters to the relationship when we moved in together but once you get to be a certain age it's hard to incorporate posters into an aesthetic (except for our Lady Gaga poster - paws up, monsters). I read the Hunger Games Trilogy to The Boy in 2010/2011 and we saw the movie together, too. My fondness for the story became our fondness for the story and Katniss definitely now holds a place in both our hearts. We're like her Peeta. Or her Gale. I'm not choosing sides here - one love.

So what do you get the grownup nerd who likes young adult fiction? You get them this. I love this artist's portfolio - she does incredible work, often based around videogames- and I love how this print illustrates our affection for this book without actually being, y'know, a picture of The Hunger Games movie poster ou quelconque. I also love her Bioshock luggage tag. Frankly, I could quite happily hand over most of my paycheque to her and not feel badly.

Did I buy a heck of a lot more this year? Natch. But many things were either "found" (and I feel like a tool saying "here's something awesome- I can't imagine where *you'd* buy it though") or repetitive (my Modcloth bills, let me show them to you). But these are a few of the things that I've been happiest with.

Now back to dreaming while eating a homemade muffin. Sigh.