Sunday, November 24, 2013

Make ironing a pleasure

 'Woman Ironing'  Armand Desire Gautier (French 1825-1894)
 
Put a little of your favourite fabric softener into a spray bottle and use it as ironing aid.
 
Not only will it make your clothes and ironing area smell beautiful, but it'll make the ironing easier.
 
Alternatively, add a teaspoonful of Lectric Soda and a few drops of your favourite essential oil.
 
It'll perform the same task.
 
Have some music playing. Use your iPod or other techno gadget, or just have a battery operated radio in your ironing area.
 
Iron near a window, where the breeze can blow over you and you can look at the view outside, no matter what it is.
 
Take pleasure in knowing that no matter what you wear, it will always look better ironed! Even the most threadbare or aged clothing is more wearable when fresh and pressed.
 
 

Custom scented shampoo and conditioner



Todays tip is to have beautifully scented shampoo and conditioner with which to wash your hair.
And by that, I don't mean expensive.

I mean something that you love, whether it's Green Apple, Peach, Coconut, Berry, Lemon, Honeysuckle, Frangipani, Jasmine, or something else.

An easy way of having shampoo and conditioner that is scented exactly the way you like it, is to buy unscented shampoo and conditioner from a health food supplier, or online, like this...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LIQUID-CASTILE-SHAMPOO-CONDITIONER-UNSCENTED-100-NATURAL-250ml-/300708017122?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

...remembering that the more you buy the cheaper it is, so find a friend who wants some luxury in their life too, and go halves :)

You can buy the most divine essential oils online with which to scent your shampoo and conditioner, and my current favourite is either Jasmine or Frangipani and those in a shampoo and conditioner....to die for.

Decant it into glorious embellished bottles (being careful with glass in wet areas of course!), and see if it doesn't make you feel like a Princess.

Be your own Lady-in-Waiting


The truly wealthy or blue blooded, all of them have someone to perform the more menial tasks for them.

I suggested recently, putting your towel out on the end of your bed or the edge of your vanity, beautifully folded with toiletries tucked inside.

You can extend that idea to much of your daily routine.

The trick is to think 8-12 hours ahead.

What will be happening eight hours, twelve hours, 20 hours from now? What can you do NOW to make that run more smoothly or make it more luxurious?

For me, it will be dinner time. So I've just prepared a green salad in a pretty bowl and set the table with placemats, dinner plates, polished cutlery and linen serviettes. I even had time to iron the serviettes at this time of the day. Not essential but a nice touch. I've put a vase of greenery in the centre of the table too.

The gluten free Chicken Parmagiana is sitting in the fridge ready to pan fry and bake for a few minutes, and the potatoes are peeled, diced and soaking in water ready to be roasted.

Likewise, lunch is ready. It's my Quinoa Salad, and it's all ready to go, in the fridge.

Twelve hours from now, we'll be heading off to bed. Our towels and toiletries are already laid out and fresh pyjamas are floating on the line in the sunshine, lightly scented with homemade Sunlight (Velvet) soap laundry detergent. They'll be neatly folded and snuggled inside the folds of our towels too.

Twenty hours from now, we'll be heading off to breakfast at a friends house, so our clothes are already ironed and ready, and I've done a Bircher Muesli in a crystal bowl to take with us.

Blueberries need to be purchased at some stage today to add to the top of the Muesli.

So here I sit now, the next 24 hours pretty much under control, and now I just have to find that cleaning lady to do the dusting, polishing, mopping and vacuuming. Mind you, with home made Jasmine scented furniture polish and Eucalyptus cleaner, that task isn't all hard either.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Colour branding....

 
My Five Star Frugal strategy today, is to use colour to create an illusion of luxury.

I'm a Coco Chanel fan. I've read about her, watched docos about her, and I find her fascinating.

Alas, I cannot afford Chanel in my life, apart from this wallet I got at the oppy for $8, which isn't a real one, but it is a very nice copy, thankyou.

I can though, incorporate Chanels' distinctive black and white branding, into my life.

So white dinner plates and black serviettes with beautiful serviette rings...pearl if you please...homemade.

Black and white striped cushions on my sofa.

Coffee cups with black, white and gold accents.

A quilted white bolster cushion with black tassels and gold ribbon trim.

A little bit of the Chanel feel, for no cost...or very little at least.

If you're a Tiffany lover, then go for mint and black, Dolce and Gabbana perhaps over the top gold chain embellishments and more gold, Hermes would be some restrained tan and equestrian motifs, and Dior, well...I'm thinking black lace.

Simple.