Comfort: Part 1

Comfort: aren’t we all looking for it this time of year? At least those of us on the east coast in the northern hemisphere: comfort food, comfort wear, just complete comfort care. For me, on this last day of January, here in Vermont, comfort would be a day spent in my pajamas. Yet, despite the fact that comfort is what we all seek, our at-home comfort-wear almost always is on the shabby side.  I became painfully aware of this after a nasty-cold then achy-cough kept me bed-couch bound for a few days. Searching for something comfortable I rummaged through my bottom dresser drawer and pulled out a trusty over-size cotton tee and equally time-tested flannel bottoms; I can’t say I looked stylish, nor did it do my ego very good to pad around wearing what the Salvation Army would toss, so I started an online search to find lounge wear… I quickly discovered there is  a world to choose from, so I narrowed my focus on what styles I like to wear, what fabrics I want on my body, ultimately, what comfort means to me. Here are my favorite finds, so next time, when I’m feeling not quite up to par, these lovelies can lend their own particular ease to my disease and hopefully yours too!

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Downton Dreams

VPT-screening-300x300Yes, the Downton Abbey craze has hit my home, and by all measurable stats, this phenomenal series has entered living rooms and imaginations all around our globe.  Ever since Season 1 premiered in England during September of 2010 the buzz has only gotten louder. The show now is available in over 100 countries including Sweden, Russia, South Korea, and across the Middle East, propelling Season 3 to their largest audience to date. In my own family, it is followed with earnest devotion by my 85 year old mother, my twenty-something daughter, my middle-age self, and just about everyone in between.

120 million people have watched this show–5 1/2 million caught the Season 2 finale. So what is it about the Crawley family and the downstairs crew that serve them that compels across generations, across nationalities, or any border what-so-ever? That is the very question I have been asking myself ever since I, along with several hundred others donning period costumes, attended the super-fun one-day-early Vermont Public Television Season 3 premier on the Big Screen Downton Affair…

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By the people, for the people

Going a wee bit crazy finding the right gift for a hard-to-shop-for-person on your list? Driving from box store to 4photoshopping mall in a blur seeing the same gift all over town? Yes, that was me… But no more, for I am leaving those mass market gifts to the masses, and instead supporting artists and their small cottage industries by buying a handcrafted gift. This decision is not just because I live in Vermont, a haven for the imaginative, for no matter where you live these crafty folks can be found, besides now-a-days they are all online! Here are two perfect examples, one an east coaster, the other on the west, yet both as close as your keyboard.

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