Warm and comfortable

At any given time, there are things I especially favour. Here's my current list, circa winter 2009, with the emphasis on keeping warm and comfortable.

I suffered from an unexpected bought of insomnia a week or two back. Unexpected in that it was unlike the usual insomnia I suffer from time to time, the sort that has me suddenly wide awake with a busy mind at 3am. That is a classic side affect of stress for me, and I don't seem to be suffering much from stress this year. This insomnia is different ... it meant that I couldn't get to sleep in the first place. After four nights of this I decided to try a homeopathic remedy (not that I'm necessarily against the use of medical intervention for this problem under other circumstances, but this wasn't such a circumstance for me). So I purchased a nifty little homeopathic spray at my local chemist, and promptly managed to get over my overactive imagination and get to sleep. Ahhh. Even if it's only a placebo, that's why my magic spray currently at the top of my favourite things list. If only I could find a similar solution to block out The Hubster's snoring ...

On the subject of comfort and things alternative, I've taken to padding around the house in woolly socks - and meditation ones at that. Not that there's much meditation going on in this noisy house. Every one of us have a pair, and the kids have discovered that the combination of woolly feet and wooden floors is excellent for sliding. And squealing.

As I've blogged recently, I have embraced fashion a bit this winter, despite donning my hippy meditation socks whenever I get the chance. While I've been enjoying TL Wood, Witchery, Cue and rediscovering Country Road after a decade of shunning it as overpriced and boring, my most favourite label at present is Metalicus. Made of magic stretchy fabric, the entire collection is 'one size fits all' (although that can hardly be true, if you happen to be very small or very large), and is just so damn comfortable. I particularly like their skirts and coats, and look forward to wearing the 'pieces' I've purchased this winter for years to come. I've also taken to wearing my Metalicus with the blackest of black opaque tights, something that I was very 'meh' about a couple of years ago. Contrary, I know.

Another advantage of Metalicus clothing is that it doesn't need ironing. Much to the puzzlement of some friends, I seem to spend an awful lot of time with my iron, one of my least favourite tasks. I'm much more attached to my spanking new washing machine, which has recently replaced my faithful 16 year old number, which finally died. The new one has been with me for about a month, and I still get a ridiculous sense of excitement whenever I push on the little soap drawer and it opens out magically. I was at the stage of prising open the soap drawer of the old one with a screwdriver.

The new Asko isn't my only electrical love. In the midst of our horrible summer heatwave in Melbourne, back in January, I finally got around to buying a slowcooker. Now I've mastered the adaptation of conventional recipes to the slowcooker, it's become my favourite kitchen contraption, which is handy as I spend every Sunday with it. Especially good for casseroles and curries, and all working families should have one (and now I'm channelling KRudd!).