Layering for Winter - Air Wick Life Scents review

We all know that Winter is about layering. I just got back from a week-long camping adventure with BB and Stevie, and the quantity of clothing I was wearing... well, let's just say that I'm surprised nobody hauled me back to be the statue in front of the Michelin building.

I'll share more about that trip soon, but in the meantime, I've been busy wearing pyjamas all day, drinking coffee and hot chocolate, and doing ALL THE LAUNDRY THAT EVER EXISTED. Have you ever tried to wash that campfire smell out of a cashmere sweater? HAVE YOU?

So, my laundry stinks. It smells like campfire and bush, and wet dog, and wet wool (I'm not sure which is worse). Quite good timing then to receive a sweet package of new Air Wick Life Scents products to review, don't you think? Definitely time to address the stank with some serious odour control systems, and Air Wick came to the rescue.

I do love a candle, but some of my candles are 'too fancy' to burn just because I'm having a big laundry day. Air freshening sprays are great and always work, but I'm always forgetting to actually SPRAY them! Trying Air Wick's new Life Scents Freshmatic could be the answer, particularly in often-musty rooms like our laundry.

The Freshmatic Kit came complete with everything you'll need; two AA batteries and a canister of scent are included along with the unit itself. I've gotta say, the first thing I liked about this air freshener was that it didn't look clinical, and the neutral stone-looking surface was much more appealing than typical white air fresheners which look like they belong in a railway station bathroom.

So... the smell? Well, I gave the Winter Moments fragrance a go, and it was absolutely perfect for the grey and overcast day. They say it smells like baked pear, pie crust and vanilla; and they aren't far off. It was warm and rich, and smelt just like BB was baking a big buttery pear crumble in the kitchen. (Hint hint BB, feel free to actually do that.) That's where the layering of this blog post title comes in - the layering of the three scents was just so lovely, and stops the fragrance being cloying or smelling overwhelmingly artificial.

I actually loved this scent so much that I took the Freshmatic thingo out of the laundry and put it in the media room on the bookshelf, it completely blended in and I don't have to worry about burning candles on our beautiful mangowood bookshelf.

See it up there on the top right shelf? No? Perfect.

Since I took the Freshmatic out of the laundry, I needed something decent happening in the laundry fragrance-wise, something crisp and bright and not as edible-smelling. Something I can leave in here all the time to preempt smelly laundry day. Enter the Air Wick Life Scents Scented Oil Plug In thingo in Turquoise Oasis. And if the name Turquoise Oasis isn't enough to get you over the line, what about if I tell you that it smells like driftwood, sea spray and warm breeze? 

Again, you can hardly notice it plugged in the laundry above our washing machine.

BB (who has a nose like a bloodhound and isn't backwards in coming forwards if he hates a smell) didn't complain once about this fresher fragrance, and I noticed after less than 12 hours that the musty and campfire smell that was lingering in the laundry was completely gone!

Would I buy these Air Wick products? As usual, my review is all my own opinions. I received products to sample, but would purchase this product without hesitation, and am looking forward to trying more of the Life Scents range.

At any rate when you are in need of a way to freshen up your home quickly, or get rid of manky smells, I'm all for using Air Wick Life Scents products. I am planning to keep a supply on hand at all times that way I can grab them and plug them in whenever I am planning to entertain or have company over but don't have time to clean from top to bottom. Plug in, straighten the house and nobody will know the difference, they will think you spent the day cleaning. I won't tell if you won't!

Footy Fashion (Queenslander!)

So we all know that international colour authority Pantone announced Marsala as their 2015 Colour of the Year. Because that's a thing.

Described as a naturally robust and earthy wine red, according to the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, Marsala enriches our mind, body and soul, exuding confidence and stability.

Now I don't know about that, because stability and confidence are not my natural jam, but I DO know that Marsala bears a very strong resemblance to my sports colour of choice... maroon. Whether you say mar-own or mar-oon, it's the only colour to sport at football games of any code in Queensland during Winter.

If you're not a sports-follower, feel free to click away now (I'll provide a helpful link to cute puppy videos here, you're welcome). But if you do like watching sportsters play sports and get interviewed about sports and talk sports in Queensland, it's a fairly good bet that you've got a maroon jersey or two in your wardrobe.

Me, I have two; and I'm pretty sure BB has three. My first and forever football love will be the Queensland Maroons in State of Origin footy, but of course I support the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL competition. Neither of us can get behind the Brisbane Lions though, that's just embarrassing.

Ok, so let's talk jerseys. It's so hard to wear them well, and by well, I mean cute. They're invariably a heavy cotton, with a collar that just wont sit right; but they can be cute.

Now, my husband would probably kill me if he read this, but I firmly believe the trick to looking good in a jersey is to pick a team with a great colour. I'm talking the teals, the royal and navy blues, the maroons. Avoid barracking for a team whose colours are mustard gold or brown (sorry Hawks fans), and you'll probably be fine. This is why my AFL team is Collingwood - everyone looks amaze in monochrome!

And for Pete's sake, don't dress up too much. A flat boot and a skinny-leg jean are really all that you can pull off with something as casual as a jersey; and the real footy-loving girls will always mock that sporty sister who is trying to wear a pencil miniskirt or pointy heels with her recently purchased jersey, just to impress the new boyfriend. (Although, we've all done it.)

QLD Maroons jersey from Rebel Sport, Katies Uplifting Slim jeans, Supersoft by Diana Ferrari Brianne boots, Louenhide Arden crossbody bag, Rimmel Oh My Gloss in Snog, Rimmel Salon Pro in Urban Purple, Saba beanie

Someone who can pull off a great footy look with a jersey and a skirt is my lovely friend Brooke of Blonde Ambition; I love the navy boots and opaque tights!

Adorable sidenote: Brooke was born on Origin night (I'm not telling how many years ago), and her father, a typical QLD publican, still managed to get to the game on time! I don't know if she could be any more of a Queensland girl!

Here's another photo of some seriously stylish jerseys. No, you're not seeing double - Peta and her twin Vanessa look rather cute in their matching Maroons gear.

On Wednesday night, BB and I were fortunate enough to be guests at a corporate State of Origin viewing at the Gold Class cinemas in Chermside - can we all just take a moment to appreciate how cool it is to watch a great footy game in the comfort of a leather recliner, with delicious meals, alcohol, popcorn and choc-top icecreams brought right to you? Lush. I've gotta thank Suncoast Asphalt for the great night out!

I wore QLD Maroons jersey from Rebel Sport, Katies Uplifting Slim jeans, Colorado Tara boots, Louenhide Crossbody bag, Rimmel Oh My Gloss in Snog, Rimmel Salon Pro in Urban Purple

Who's your team? And did you choose them based on their colours?

Weekends don't need to be fancy to be excellent

How does that saying go? A Sunday well-spent brings a week of content? Well, how about a long weekend spent doing not much around the house brings a week of overdue laundry?

I've been lucky enough to enjoy two long weekends in a row - well, last weekend was a regular two day weekend, but due to my dropping a shift a week at Lorna Jane, I now get both Saturdays and Sundays off, like regular working people! And this past weekend was a divine three-day weekend that I got to spend with BB, doing lovely Wintery things, thanks to the Sunshine Coast Show holiday.

To be honest, the long weekend started pretty poorly. I wasn't feeling at all well when I got home from work on Thursday evening, even though BB text me this photo:

How I wasn't excited about receiving this text from BB as I counted down the last hour of work

before heading home on Thursday evening, I'll never know!

After a delicious dinner of spaghetti bolognaise and an early night, Friday dawned grey and cool. We shmoozed around with Stevie in the house for the morning before heading out for a coffee and perhaps a stroll around the local Homemaker Centre, looking for bedroom furniture inspiration. As often happens, we got pretty sidetracked and ended up buying an entire room for furniture... for the family room!

I've taken some before shots, and will blog about this room's transformation as we go - it's going to be quite the change. (On a sidenote, if you're near the Sunshine Coast and interested in buying a chocolate leather three-seater recliner couch and two recliners in excellent condition, shoot me an email - we'll need them out of the family room soon!)

The buying process at Oz Design Furniture actually took two days, with the whole 'must head home and measure up' thing; but both BB and I love the direction we've chosen for that room. It's currently a room with a big TV on one wall and a couch facing it, but we really want to make it more social and welcoming, more of a place for conversations and interactions, so we're getting two couches to face each other instead. We have a cosy media room as well, so it's going to be nice to have the family room less about the TV.

Sunday was another very relaxed day, but slightly more social - we met up with Trainee Mama and family for Australia's Biggest Morning Tea before heading up the range to enjoy a hearty lunch together at the Mary Cairncross Reserve Cafe - thank goodness there was a were blankets at each table and a large fireplace burning when we arrived, the cafe literally sits in the clouds!

I chose the toasted lamb wrap with shredded braised lamb shanks, sweet potato and beetroot ($14.95);

while BB decided on the chicken fajita ($17.95) - it was the largest fajita I've ever seen, he could hardly get his big man-hands around it!

Now, this ain't a restaurant review blog, but it must be said that the meals were incredibly filling and good value for money, and pretty darn tasty. It's a great space for a family get-together, and the blankets to tuck over your legs were a nice touch.

Peta and I obviously couldn't leave without an outfit photo, although a flat grey background was about all we could muster - remember, we were in the clouds!

I wore Dotti long-sleeve tee, French Connection vest and jeans, and brightened it all up with my Tangerine Louenhide Baby Switch and coral Oroton brolly. 

I was pretty toasty in my furry vest; I've had it a few years now but only pull it out once or twice a Winter. Peta was rocking a fluffy vest as well, and the husbos thought it was funny to joke that they had tweeted each other prior to meeting up this morning to arrange to wear matching hoodies. In hindsight, open-ish ballet flats were a bad idea, my feet were frozen and I was jealous of Peta in her Hunter wellies. (Note to self, keep an eye out for coral Hunters ever going on sale!)

Good times with these two, although I confess I was really only hugging Ned because he's like a little soft squidgy radiator, emanating heat. 

I think I've got back into the swing of having two days off with my husband pretty well, we're hoping more short camping trips are on the cards  over the next few months as well as more more local Sunday drives and exploring.

How was your weekend? Was it long? And did you manage to avoid all household chores like me?