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Vitality and Triumph: a True Tale of Dental Hygiene

Domestik Goddess — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:18:20 +0000

Usually, my dental hygienist and I have conversations that sound like a couple of pals getting together in a coffee shop to chat. But yesterday, our conversation sounded more like a poorly scripted television commercial from the 1970s or ’80s.

Usually, we talk about dogs and crafts and fitness, or whatever music’s being piped in to the dental office in the half-hour I’m there, or she tells me about the fall-out when her in-laws gave her 16-year-old a brand new car without consultation, that kind of thing…

Yesterday — wonder of wonders — we actually talked about clean teeth and healthy gums. Dental health, in fact — go figure!

Do you remember those TV ads where the uber-annoying Madge kept sticking her ditzy friend’s hand in a bowl of dishwashing liquid, while disclaiming about its virtues? A fly on the wall (not that there was one, but if there was — and if it could understand English — do flies even have ears?) would have heard something like this:

Me: You probably won’t have much cleaning to do this time.

She [with one dubious eyebrow raised]: Why’s that?

Me: I’ve been trying out an electric toothbrush for the past month, and my teeth seem pretty clean to me…

She: What kind of electric toothbrush are you using? Is it the Oral-B Vitality? We usually keep some of those around here, for sale.

Me: Actually, I’ve been testing two different Oral-B toothbrushes. One’s the Vitality with a ProWhite head. The other one’s that super-dooper Triumph brush that does everything but pour the mouthwash for you…

[Dental hygienist nods knowingly]

Me: …the one with the wireless unit to monitor your brushing time and tells you when to move on to another quadrant, makes a smiley face when you brush your teeth properly?

[Dental hygienist nods knowingly]

Me: It’s got two different brush heads with it — ProWhite and Floss Action — they sound like dorky superheroes, don’t they? And different brushing modes for polishing and sensitive teeth and like that, base station, recharger that works in different countries with different power systems for when you travel, and a travel case, too… The flippin’ toothbrush has a bigger instruction manual than the one that came with my blender!

She: You do have a thing for gadgets, don’t you?

Me: Um, yeah…

She: My husband, too. He would probably be more fussy about brushing if he had one of those… but he just went out and bought himself a new phone, so he’s going to have to wait until Father’s Day to get a Triumph.

Me [mumbling because the dental hygienist has her hands in my mouth, poking about the molars with a pointy metal thing]: Mhmmphh.

She: You know, your teeth really are pretty clean — I really don’t have too much work to do here. Actually, I think we can skip your next appointment, if you’re going to keep using a power toothbrush.

Me: Mmm-hm-hmm-huh!

She: What’s that?

Me: I just saved 75 bucks!

She: Yeah, you can’t go wrong with Oral-B. Did you know that they’re the only ones who have that patented thing where the head of the brush oscillates and pulses, both at the same time? It oscillates and pulses! [I swear, those were her exact words -- told you, our conversation sounded a whole lot like a vintage TV ad!] And the small head on the brush makes it easier to get in there and do a good job on your back teeth, like this spot right here… see?

Me: Mhmm-hee!

She: Rechargeable, right?

Me: Mhmm. Yes, both of them.

She: What do you think about the vibration? Some people find it feels weird.

Me: The Vitality’s just got a nice little hum, kind of nice. But the Triumph has, I don’t know, the vibration is stronger or deeper or something…

She: Too much?

Me: No, not bad… but you wouldn’t want to use it with a wicked hangover.

She: Just a guess, but if someone’s that hungover, their dental hygiene may not be right at the top of their list, right at that moment. Coffee, more likely. Lots of coffee!

Me: At least they’d be able to get the coffee stains off their teeth. You know, later, when they felt up to it…

I’m pretty sure we’ll be back to the normal frivolous non-product-oriented chit-chat, next time I’m hanging with the dental hygienist — but here’s the bit that’s vitally important here, in case you glazed over and missed it:

I just saved $75 — being able to skip my next appointment for a professional cleaning, with the dental hygienist’s blessing — because the power toothbrushes do a better job of cleaning teeth than the old-faithful manual units that I grew up with.

Yes — like you — I laughed myself silly at the super-dooper Triumph when I first read about it — and rolled my eyes at the hefty price tag, too! (The suggested retail price is $179.99 — yikes! — but you can do much better if you shop around: Amazon has about the best prices I’ve seen, around US$107.)

Love gadgets as I do… honestly, I thought it was a case of Oral-B going mad with the microchips and accessories, trying to find a new-and-improved product that no one really needs all that badly. It seems that I may have been a tad hasty in that opinion, however… because it’s really quite something.

On a budget, however, or for those whose very souls revolt at the idea of over-the-top technological wizardry in the bathroom cabinet, the modestly priced and lightweight Oral-B Vitality Pro-White is the winner. It runs about $25 in stores in Canada; I’m not sure if this exact model of Vitality is available in the US yet, but I think you might be able to fake it quite nicely with the Precision Clean model and just sub in the Pro-White replacement heads for that spiffy tooth-polishing effect. For my money, it’s effective, efficient, and not too self-indulgent a personal-care tool for this thrifty gal to face down in the mirror each morning.

In short, Triumph rocks for sheer macho gadgety-goodness, and I’m irresistably attracted to that for some reason; but the low-key Vitality was simply electric love at first brush.

If this winter gets any colder, I swear…

Domestik Goddess — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:06:37 +0000

I’ll spare you the rant about how cold it’s been this winter, and how the wind never stops blowing, and how my hands are now a permanent frost-bitten mottled white and purple (not attractive at the best of times), and just say this…

If this cold weather keeps up, I’m investing in a Lippi Selk Bag.

Dental appointment?
Client meeting?
Night out with friends?

Sure… but I’m coming dressed as the Abominable Michelin Snow Man, but in tasteful eco-khaki green instead of white. Because I’ve just about had enough of white for the moment, what with all the snow…

Picture it. I’ll make one last half-frozen parka-wrapped dash down to the post box to grab my package, scuttle back home and rip into the wrapper, clamber into the sleeping-bag-suit… and never come out until spring. (Except for the call of nature, of course: you gotta unzip and pull down for that — they even say so in the FAQ.)

Fashion, thy name is padded comfort!

Laugh if you will, but I’m declaring a whole new Nordic fashion trend… and I’ll be the only one who’s not standing about turning blue from the cold.

Dress for the Recession

Domestik Goddess — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:58:46 +0000

The Big Discount Store is apparently taking a lesson from history, which teaches us that women get girly when money gets tight. For £9.99, they’ll fit you out with this little 1950s-inspired number called the Red Recession Dress.

Maybe not a totally new concept, creating fashion to match the mood of the times — Asda launched two versions of the classic “little black dress” for £12 in November, followed by its £20 little black “City Suit” — but, hey, it’s RED!!

Now, at first blush this would seem to be a brilliant idea, and I totally agree with Ladyblogger Wendy Sullivan:

Personally, I love that retro look. The 50s were a time of great beauty in women’s fashion, and I am bored to death with having the 70s come back every few years. It’s really refreshing to see a much classier decade return. And frankly, the prices are pretty close to the same as they were then.

But let’s look a tad more critically at this specific retro-fabulous red dress, shall we?
Ignoring for the moment the misspelled “seam” in the product description…

Fitted knee length dress with cap sleeves and shaped neck line, waist seem and back split. Concealed back zip fastening. Belt not included. 48% Polyester, 48% Vicose, 4% Elastane Dry Clean

… and assuming that we can find enough of a waistline, after the excesses of the holiday feast season, to rock a fitted dress, check out the fabric:

If you’ve ever made the mistake of trying to wash a polyester-viscose-something garment (hands up? yes, me, too…) — even if you hand-wash it carefully in cold water — you’ll know that forever afterwards your once-stunning poly-viscose fashion statement will droop like a sad dishrag. So, when they say “Dry Clean” — you’d better believe it, that does mean “Dry Clean only“!

Twenty bucks (ish) for the dress — but what will you spend on the dry-cleaning?

There’s a difference between cheap and frugal, that’s all I’m saying. And a bargain is only a bargain if (a) you can and will use the item, and (b) it won’t keep racking up a lot of extra cost for maintenance through its lifespan.

Ah, but it’s RED!!!

Cash for Your Broken Gadgets

Domestik Goddess — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:30:55 +0000

You know how at the start of each year we all seem to resolve to be better? (For some reason — although some of us really don’t like resolutions! — it just happens!) We’re going to be greener, more frugal, more efficient, free of clutter and confusion, and just generally a better human being?

Yeah.
Well.

I’ve got something like a Museum of Home Computing up in the back bedroom, and still haven’t found a solution. What do you do with an old 386 Acer, anyway? And that monitor that’s got a weird green glow. Oh, and the dot-matrix printer… In these parts, there’s no recycling depot for such stuff, and there’s no way I’m dumping them in the local landfill… so I’m still working on that issue.

But I did just come across a solution for all those smaller dead electronics that drift in odd corners of our lives. Sell them!

BuyMyTronics (I found it listed recently as one of the perky new business startups in trend-spotting Springwise’s newsletter) will buy a whole bunch of your broken, used, and otherwise unwanted gadgets.

Anyone in the world can send ‘em in, gadgets in any condition, and get cold hard cash. Doesn’t that sound appealing?

I know, I know what you’re wondering:

What do you do with the broken electronics I send you?
Many wonderful things. We are actually building a utopian society and sanctuary for electronics from around the globe. Actually, if you must know, we take your broken electronics and swap out parts to fix others, then resell your gadgets…

And by gadgets they mean most kinds of cell phones, and every kind of iPods, iPhones, and Game Consoles. And did I mention, they’ll buy electronics in any condition? Drop your cell off a 6th floor balcony and watch your neighbour’s SUV drive over it? Well, it probably won’t be worth a mint, but these guys say they want to buy it anyway.

You get rid of crap. You get a bit of cash — or you can have it donated to the charity of your choice. The landfill gets to live a little longer. And the useful electronic thingummies get recycled and reused to make spiffy refurbished gadgets, bringing pleasure and convenience to others.

Perfect.

Well, maybe not quite perfect.

I have a GPS device, Laptop, digital camera and/or other electronic device. Do you take those too?
Soon, very soon. Keep checking out our site. We plan a steady and continued expansion into everything, then world domination. We will probably be adding a new gadget every month or so. So check back soon, and often.

So a lot of those wired retirees up in my back bedroom may have to wait a while before they’re back in demand — but I’ve got hope!

Bags That Bite

Domestik Goddess — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:24:33 +0000

Part handbag, part animal (and I do mean, Animal… Do you recall the crazy-wild drummer from the Muppets Show? Like that) — here’s an accessory with a difference.

“Feathers” — This Bag that Bites will be a natural fit to perch off of your shoulder! Faux fur that has the appearance of an olive-colored finch will create a buzz wherever you two will go. Warm golden hand-painted eyes keep this sweet bag soulful, while the fat purple tongue will make sure that you give the right message whenever you need.

The best feature?
The tongue has a zipper in it, to be your secret change purse!

Unique, handmade, and hungry Bags That Bite are the handmade creations of Justine Pallace. She’s actually a jeweller by training and trade, but finds both “satisfaction and fun” in making these cuddlesome monsters. Justine lives and crafts in Rochester, New York, but you can find her furry character handbags at BagsThatBite.etsy.com… if you dare!

H/T to WordVixen and her Hand Crafted Bags and Purses obsession for sharing this great furry find.

Personalize Your Kicks with Custom Sneaker Art

Domestik Goddess — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 02:23:14 +0000

Why pay big bucks for the same casual shoes you see in every park, schoolyard, gym, or dorm, when you can strut in custom kicks? And why toss out those tired old hightops, when they’ve still got good life left in them?

Give ‘em new life and express your creativity, with a custom design job!

If you can peel-and-stick, you can do Sneakart stickers. Or go for the full sheet patterns… there are about a kabillion designs to choose from, and you can mix and match to create the look of trendy (and expensive) hand-decorated sneakers.

Totally waterproof, these sneaker skins stand up to regular use for a couple of months — or you can peel them off and make a change, any time you like.

Is graphic design your gift?

You can even upload your own artwork to the Sneakart site, to make truly one-of-a-kind footwear stickers. But that’s not all — “Creative design deserves to be rewarded,” they say. So you can choose to keep your designs to yourself, or submit your art to the shop.

If it’s accepted for the design Gallery, each time someone buys your design to customize their shoes, Sneakart will credit your account with 10% of the sale price. You can cash out your royalties payments via Paypal or roll it over to get more Sneakart stuff for yourself.

Puma Sneaker Art Contest

And here’s a sneaker art contest that’s running right now, for another chance to make your artistic talents pay off — or at least to win a free pair of customized Baskets:

Sneakart is running a competition with in conjunction with PUMATALK to find the freshest new designs around. Design exactly what you want to see on a sneaker and then you can make it real with sneakskin. All good artwork will be accepted to the Sneakart library and will earn royalties on any sales made. The winner will be chosen by PUMATALK and sneakart and will receive a pair of baskets exclusively customized with sneakskin in their design.

Your custom sneaker design can be created with any software or hand drawn, as long as you use the templates provided. Check out the sneakart tutorial for more information.

24 Handbags in 24 Hours

Domestik Goddess — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:16:54 +0000

The only thing better than a lovely new handbag? It’s got to be a lovely new handbag that’s FREE! …So, how do you rank a chance to win one of 24 spiffy high-end handbags?

To celebrate the launch of their new website, Handbag Planet is giving away 24 handbags in 24 hours on October 15th. Click on over there to sign up for your chance to win the bag of your choice — but know this: I call dibs on that tasty soft green bag, and my fingers are crossed for luck!

Glass Mermaid Bead

Domestik Goddess — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:05:19 +0000

Serena Smith, glass artist of Oregon, caught my eye on Etsy with her gently rounded feminine figure beads, all earth mothers and goddesses, and floral beads that are tiny fantastical garden gems — but I think it was really the sinuous perwinkle-blue-tailed mermaid who made me an instant fan.

Serena’s been making beads since 1991, and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1996 with a degree in glass. A member of the Oregon Glass Guild, International Society of Glass Beadmakers, Glass Art Society and Portland Bead Society, she is a self-supporting artist and craftsperson, “occasional teacher” of the fine craft of glass lampworking.

You can find images of Serena’s beads in several books and magazines, including the gorgeous1000 Glass Beads published by Lark Books — and you can find the artist herself at Serena J.A. Smith Designs. She sells her beads on Etsy at serena29.etsy.com.

Recycled Virgin

Domestik Goddess — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:40:46 +0000

Made you look!
And well you might…

Just look at these lovely bags — handmade in family-run workshops in Portugal, from recycled Virgin airline seat covers and other tough stuff.

Limited edition bags, too, so you can feel special as well as virtuous: Only 2,000 Virgin bags have been made, recycling about 1,000 seat covers that were liberated to the handbag-fashion cause during a recent renovation.

My personal favourite is the sleek black Romero style, crafted from old car seat belts and bicyle inner tubes, and lined with recycled Virgin seat cover fabric.

Who knows what jet-setting celebrity might once have rested his world-famous backside on a part of your Worn Again handbag?

But here’s the big thing:

Worn Again is a social business which was set up not only to transform consumption and manufacturing patterns through production of goods made from recycled materials, but also to generate income for Anti-Apathy, a registered charity, kicking sustainable lifestyles butt since 2002.

In this case, the goal is to help Virgin Atlantic meet its goal of cutting the waste it sends to landfills by 50%, by 2012. And, of course, to create a tough and stylish line of handbags, messenger bags, and toiletry cases so you can tote your gear without juggling and dropping all over the place.

Win-win, I believe!
Bonus — just think of the fun of explaining where your bag came from!

[via Springwise; H/T Sharon Hurley Hall]

Bath Buzz Caffeinated Soap

Domestik Goddess — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:04:11 +0000

Shampoo and coffee do not mix well. Not in a mug or in the mouth, anyway, although I’ve heard of brunettes who rinse their hair with strong coffee to enhance the colour…

My point is —

In a more perfect world, I’d love to figure out how to have that first essential morning cup of coffee and a refreshing wake-up shower, both at the same time. One possible solution? Caffeinated soap.

No, seriously.

It’s at BalmWorks, sold as singles or a set of three, with each bar of delightfully caffeinated soap going for about the price of your upscale mocha-latte. Or a couple large double-doubles over at Tim Horton’s. Or a small package of ready-ground coffee beans at the supermarket.

H/T to Cali Lewis for this one!

REDI or Not

Domestik Goddess — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:11:27 +0000

It just feels wrong to criticize, when someone does something nice. In this case, the folks at Best Buy sent along a little REDI mp3 player for my Aged Mother to take with her when she went into the hospital, back at the end of June.

Great idea, eh?

Well, it was… sort of…

My mother (yes, same one; I’ve just got the one) always said, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” — and, fortunately, I do have some nice things to say about the player. But it’s not all good, so I’ve been really stalling here, not much wanting to write about it…

Okay, here goes:

Basically, it’s a $40 1GB mp3 player, pre-loaded with music so you can start using it right away — or as soon as you get another battery to replace the highly questionable one that comes in the package. When you do want to change the selection, it comes with the USB cable to glom right on to your computer and go to it. And the screen isn’t too hard to read, as these tiny LED screens go. Oh, and there’s an FM tuner, too — essential for we who are avid fans of public radio.

And I’m sure, as a $40 mp3 player goes, it’s about as good as one can expect to get. In fact, the sound is surprisingly clear and true.

The problem is in getting the damn (sorry, Mum!) thing to work.

I’m not even talking about the little wheel-thingie button that sometimes you have to push down on and sometimes you have to turn, or the fact that if you bite your fingernails you’re going to have a hard time pushing some of the other dainty little buttons — my brother gave up in no time.

No, the big stumbling block is those incomprehensible instructions! You’d think that a nice diagram, showing all the bits and buttons, all nicely labelled, would be helpful — no? Well, no. Because the nicely labelled bits and buttons had completely different names in the (translated from an Asian language?) instruction text.

Counting the helpful night-shift nurse on her coffee break, at one point there were 6 of us, with an age range of 16 to 79 years old and a total of 7 university degrees, trying to figure out how Mum could distract herself with a bit of CBC radio on that sleepless night before surgery. Music, yes, got that, no problem — and she liked the music selection just fine. (”Be sure to say that,” she told me: “I like the music.”) But to switch from music to tuner, following the instructions provided? Eh. We gave up, and I brought my own mp3 player in the next day. For the rest of her hospital stay, she kept my Kix tuned to the radio station, and her REDI all ready for music.

Maybe one of these days we’ll take some time and sit down and figure the thing out. It can’t really be that confusing, can it? I guess the big disappointment here was a result of the way the player is marketed. The idea is that the music’s pre-loaded so Dad and Grannie don’t have to wade into the big scary world of iTunes until they’re good and ready, right? So we all had expected much greater ease of use — both in a physical sense, what with the tiny buttons and strange wheelie-thing and all — and as a result of the poor instructions.

But hey, it was nice of you guys to send it, anyway — and Mum told me to be sure to say “Thank you”; she appreciated the thought.

Survival Kit in a Water Bottle

Domestik Goddess — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:45:00 +0000

This clever kit puts all the survival gear you need for camping trips or — more hazardous yet, dorm life! — into a space that’s only 8 1/2 by 3 1/2 inches. Better yet, that package is a shatter-resistant, leakproof, 32-ounce water bottle (with the lid on a loop so you don’t go losing it in the wilderness.

The water bottle comes stuffed with a nice selection of emergency essentials:

Whistle
Flashlight with AAA batteries
Emergency blanket
Rain poncho
Multi-purpose knife with blade, scissors, nail file, tweezers and toothpick
Waterproof matches
Nylon-pouch first-aid kit with bandages
Sting relief pad, antiseptic towelettes and zip-lock bag
3″ carabiner

Not bad at all — safety and convenience, for under twenty bucks!
A nifty gift idea from EddieBauer.com.

Houndstooth Hobo

Domestik Goddess — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 17:02:21 +0000

Check it out: this is my new black-and-white houndstooth check hobo bag, no label — $6.99 only! My frugal heart leapt for joy when I spotted this.

The bag has one big exterior pocket with a snap, and inside is a silky black lining with a good-sized zipper pocket and another smaller open pocket that’s the perfect size for keys or an mp3 player or such. The main part of the bag zippers up, too, so nothing falls out when I drop it oh-so-casually onto the nearest flat surface, which I am sadly prone to do — but then, aren’t we all?

So yes, I went purse-shopping in the hospital gift shop while my mother was having a pre-op poking and prodding… how bad is that?

But after all, it’s not like I abandoned her in her hour of need, and it’s not like I didn’t urgently need a new bag (because I did), and it’s not like I spent a whole lot of money either… did I mention, $6.99?!

Spiral Trance Treasure Box

Domestik Goddess — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:00:42 +0000

I went looking for polymer beads and found a Treasure Box! It’s called Pitch with Easter Trance Spirals, by Lauren of thickneckARTS.

I’ve always loved hemp jewelry but without going to a craft/art show I could never find stuff that was unique or if it was, it wasn’t my style. Then I realized I would never find exactly what I wanted outside of my own creation. Only I could create exactly what I wanted!

Long story short, I bought some primary colors to play around with and have been hooked ever since!
~ Lauren

But what brought her to making a treasure box instead of beads for her hemp-knotted jewellery?

Lauren tells me she’d read that polymer clay could be used on “just about anything that could withstand the clay’s baking temperature” — around 225°F depending on the piece.

“It opened a whole other door for me with the clay,” she says. “I went from beads to candle holders to treasure boxes in a day!”

Basically, for the treasure box she used a wooden Home Depot giftcard box, black polymer clay, liquid polyclay and part of a polymer clay “cane” she’d already designed. (And for those of us who aren’t hands-on with the polymer clay yet, ClaySquared has an terrific photo show of the step-by-step process of how a polymer cane is built that, trust me, you’ll really enjoy!)

As Lauren explains her process, she wrapped the entire box — lid and all — with black polymer clay, attaching it using the liquid polyclay. Then she cut slices from the cane and stuck them onto the black clay in a random pattern — going for a polka dot-look.

“I had to use a roller to flatten it on all sides, then smooth the corners with my fingers. Once the box was completely wrapped and the “polka dots” in place, I made “incisions”, if you will, where the door and box would separate so that it could be opened once baked. Then I separated the door from the box, and baked both on a cookie sheet for about 15-18 mins at 200-215°F.”

If you want to try this project yourself, Lauren advises, it might be best to bake the wooden box before you cover it with polymer clay.

“The box I used bubbled sap up from its bottom into the box itself during baking. It still came out beautiful but the sap takes up a good bit of room on the inside. lol. Also, don’t try to make your corners too flush or too tight because when the clay bakes it will pull taut, so to speak, and may create cracks.”

Lauren made a wise design choice in the classic black-and-white theme for her first treasure box, I think, as almost anything black-and-white has an automatic touch of class!

(Another way to go might be with wildly funky colours and a lot of detail, if you’re afraid you might have an ‘ooops’ or two to disguise…)

As for the wood Home Depot box giving up some sap when it was heated — that sounds like these boxes are made with fairly green wood, so likely to have some shrinkage over the years in any case.

You might be able to pick up an old wooden box of the right size and shape at a yard sale, one that’s already well dried by age. Just be careful not to polymer-decorate a priceless collector’s item by mistake! So, come to think of it, I think I’d go with the Home Depot box and just try to plan ahead, to dry the box out gradually at a very low heat over a period of days, to prevent the wood from warping.

Why not get a couple of boxes, and just pop them into the oven whenever it’s cooling off after you’ve had a cooking spree? Saves on electricity, dries the wood out in a gentle way to prevent the box from warping as the moisture evaporates from its fibers, and gives you a couple of boxes all ready to go when a treasure box inspiration hits you!

Whomp!
Yep, that was inspiration hitting right now…

Find Lauren’s polymer beads, hemp jewellery, and other arts at thickneckarts.etsy.com.

A Sword for the Discerning Modern Samurai

Domestik Goddess — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:52:22 +0000

I’m going to get into so much trouble with DJ for posting this — putting temptation in the poor man’s path! — but who could resist?

Besides, I’m sure there’s someone with a wannabe-Samurai Dad out there just desperate for a Father’s Day gift idea with more originality to it than a comic necktie or golf gear.

This is the Damascus Blade Japanese Samurai Fan Katana Sword from Handmade Sword, a thing of great beauty hand forged from a rich historical tradition.

It’s also a very real sword — “razor sharp” and not in any way a toy.
Just so you know.

Just Wrestling with the Sock Symmetry Issue

Domestik Goddess — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:00:10 +0000

I’ve always said that symmetry is overrated. Why should everything match up perfectly in pairs? After all, people are never perfectly symmetrical (except possibly in magazine photos of airbrushed Photoshopped super models, but that’s a rant for another day).

In most of us mere mortals, the left side does not quite match the right; one ear is slightly higher than the other; one foot is slightly larger than the other — as any shoestore salesclerk would confirm — and that’s not just me, that’s all of us!

So why the big hangup about having socks that match? We all know perfectly well that the gym locker or the clothes-dryer is just going to keep on eating up random socks and leaving us with singles.

It’s a scientific fact.

One solution is to embrace the random nature of the universe and shop for wild single socks at LittleMissMatched.com — I tip my clown hat to Toronto’s fabulous Bargainista for this find — not just for kids, and not just socks! Do check out the funky mismatched pairs of flip-flops while you’re over there, and bright mixable bedding, and furniture that’s all like a great big whiteboard to fill with colourful doodles…

Another way to handle the single sock crisis, of course, is to load up on many many many identical pairs of generic department-store tube socks. That way, when one sock goes missing, its mate can be matched up smoothly with any other solo sock, and no one will ever know the difference! Practical, yes… but which of these single sock solutions would be more fun?

Shop Box

Domestik Goddess — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:00:35 +0000

Here’s a cheery eco-alternative to using those nasty plastic bags when you shop for groceries! It’s a sturdy folding box made of woven polyethylene fabric, fully lined, with built-in aluminum carrying handles.

The Shop Box comes in two sizes, made to fit into supermarket trolley. Fold it flat to take to market, then open it up to fill with your purchases and carry the groceries home.

The Camouflage Company does its Shop Box in four designs — Willow, Evergreen (which is sort of an ivy pattern), Long Grass, and Roses and Petals (shown here). You can also get an expandable tray in a matching pattern, to organize the smaller items or flip over to serve as a lid.

As far as I can tell, The Camouflage Company only sells to the UK and parts of Europe, but you’ll be happy to know that Garden Divas will ship Shop Boxes to international customers — just choose your country at their online checkout.

Venus with a Razor

Domestik Goddess — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:24:25 +0000

I blame Botticelli’s Venus. Just look at the mythical creature, standing there so coy on her halfshell and looking like she’s made of alabaster — no way those smooth pale limbs could ever sprout a single misplaced hair, let alone the furry forest of neglect that is a side-effect of long Northern winters!

Cold weather, long underwear, you get the picture…

Truly, unless there’s a hot midwinter romance going on, the whole tedious business of shaving legs is likely to be allowed to slide a bit…

Like, oh, until the first hint of Spring and impending bathing-suit season… or until the Swag Fairy sends a new razor to review, whichever comes first.

So, listen up here!

I rushed the deforestation season by at least three weeks, just for you — just to be able to give you the firsthand scoop on Gillette’s new ‘flagship’ razor for women.

Good stuff first —

• I like the soft gel handle in perky green and blue colours, easy to hold onto when your hands are all soapy.

• I like the five blades that do, as advertised, catch virtually every hair on the first pass.

• I like the way the head so obligingly tilts to follow one’s womanly curves.

• And I like how easy it is to change blades, with the push of a button.

But I’ve got some serious reservations about the companion ShowerPod…

The theory of the ShowerPod is fine:
It’s a little plastic gizmo that attaches to your shower wall, to conveniently store the extra blades and save last-minute wet dripping tip-toeing across the bathroom floor when you find yourself in the shower with a dull razor. And the razor itself hangs up on the outside, all tidy and out of the way.

Yes, I pressed the ShowerPod against a clean flat section of wall — heck, I even cleaned a section for the purpose — but would it stay stuck up there?

No.

The third time the ShowerPod crashed down on my foot, the drive-in movie flashbacks started up. Remember Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

I’m as big a fan of science-fiction flicks as the next person, but there’s a new rule around here: no pods in the comfort and privacy of my bath, thanks very much!

(The occasional well-mannered Wookiee, perhaps.)

Okay, so maybe I’ve got a few suction cup issues. They’ve just never worked for me — ever. And I’ve got a trail of broken glass suncatchers behind me, to prove it…

Bottom line?

It’s a good razor for a fair price, and what more can one ask? But I’d love to see it packaged without the ShowerPod, for those of us who are happy enough to live by razor alone. The way I see it, even if you’ve got better luck with suction cups than I do, it’s just another plastic thingummie to have to clean around in the shower stall.

Shirts for Books

Domestik Goddess — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 20:42:23 +0000

DJ reminds me that one of his all-time favourite T-shirt dealers is teaming up with the Dewey Donation System — “Helping Books Find Libraries Since 2003″ — to help buy some much-needed books for public libraries.

He’s Dewey!
He’s a decimal!
He’s got book hair!

Here’s the deal:

Buy a fine jersey Dewey shirt from Glarkware, and they’ll donate 100% of the price to this year’s book drive charities — the Rockhouse Foundation and Children’s Institute.

This campaign ends at the end of February — so get in fast!

Because kids really need free access to lots and lots of books if they’re ever going to make their way in the world.

And empty libraries, apparently, make Dewey cry…

It’s a Broom, It’s a Dog…

Domestik Goddess — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:23:47 +0000

This just in from Amanda Nicole, our Girl in Vancouver: the Doggy Broom!

With an aluminum handle that’s shaped like a dog leash in zero gravity, and a colourful plastic broom that vaguely resembles a small long-haired dog — dare we suggest that the Scopa Cane Doggy broom (ViceVersa) is the perfect household item for those pet lovers who are severly allergic to fur and animal dander?

[via Brilliant at InventorSpot]