I nearly cried today when I discovered bleach stains all over my beloved $500 APC coat!  It came back like this from the dry cleaners.  I had it dry cleaned weeks ago but didn’t notice it until today.  I was so upset.  Recall how devastated I was when the same dry cleaners destroyed the hem line of my brand new Jesse Kamm pants. I’ve had battles with this dry cleaners for years.  The owner is very disorganized and seemingly has severe ADHD.  He’s also very annoying and talks too much.  I debated going back there to complain but the BF convinced me to just leave it alone.  Instead I wrote an honest review of the establishment on Yelp.  This dry cleaners is very close to my apartment but from now on I’ll walk 4 more blocks to more competent cleaners.  I googled “how to repair bleach stains” and learned that you can use permanent markers.  I was able to repair it to some degree with a green marker but the stains are still visible because the colors don’t match exactly.  SAD!

In other news, I’ve been staying on top of my Barre3 work outs, doing at least 5 videos per week.  On some days I only did 10 minute work outs because I got home late or just felt lazy.  The 10 minute work outs still work up a sweat though.  My favorite exercises involve the resistance band and ball, which target the core and butt muscles in ways I didn’t know possible.  I’ve been wearing cotton bike shorts and a t shirt for most work outs but when our heater stopped working yesterday I wanted to wear leggings to stay warm.  I searched all over my closet for a pair of leggings and realized I no longer own any!  I mean I do own two winter leggings from AA, but those are very thick and compressive, not really suitable for working out.  I bought 3 Uniqlo leggings years ago but one by one threw them out when they tore or became transparent around the knees and butt area.  I haven’t bought leggings since I’ve started shopping more ethically, and I was so shocked at how damn expensive ethical leggings are.  I was practically drooling over the Outdoor Voices leggings and crop sports bras, but I just could not swallow the $90 price tag for leggings (especially after what happened to my coat).  So I found some secondhand Patagonia work out clothes on Poshmark and called it a day.

Actually, it didn’t end there.  I also purchased a couple other secondhand items from Poshmark:  a Lauren Manoogian ribbed tee in cream and a pair of cream colored corduroy Black Crane carpenter pants — at like 75% off retail price.  I’m really excited for these things to come in the mail.  These were things that I had in mind for 2018 even before I found them secondhand.  So I felt like I really scored here.  I felt really good about the purchase because #1 it met my goals of adding higher quality and lighter colors to my wardrobe, #2 they were made from ethical brands, and #3 on top of being ethical, I got them secondhand making them even more environmentally friendly.

Ever since Christmas, I’ve been burning scented candles like crazy.  In the past, I could never really enjoy scented candles because to be honest, they are expensive and whenever I burned them it felt like I was burning dollar bills.  I would try to conserve the candle and couldn’t really let go and enjoy the aromatherapy.  But because I got a bunch of scented candles for Christmas and didn’t want them to clutter the apartment for too long, I burned them freely, all day, every day.  Then I realized that I really enjoyed them, it seemed to help me relax and fall asleep more easily at the end of the day.

Yesterday night I decided I wanted to learn more about scented candles and did some internet research and discovered a whole world of candle aficionados.  There a lot of people on youtube who review scented candles and they know an insane amount of information on candles.  They collect candles.  They have very specific vocabulary they use to describe aspects of scented candles, like “throw” and “cold sniff”, “high notes”, “base notes”.  And they remember limited editions scents produced by candle makers from 2004, similar to the way sommeliers speak of wines.

I also learned that certain scents have been shown to reduce peoples appetites.  Peppermint is one of them and I realized that two of the candles I had been burning non stop were peppermint!  I noticed that since burning candles I haven’t been craving as much junk food.  I’ve lost 4 pounds since Christmas.  It’s hard to know if this is because of the candle or if its due to my new work out routine and healthy eating mindset.

A lot of “candle-heads” on youtube rave about the 3-wick candles at bath and body works.  I haven’t tried them yet and honestly haven’t walked into a Bath and Body Works since my high school mall days in the 90s, and generally have a low regard for their products, but the candle heads were such big fans, that I decided I’d give their candles a try.  They were on sale for half off and I was able to combine the sale with a 20% coupon (with promo code:  DISCOVER20) to buy 3 candles:  rose, donut campfire, and eucalyptus (with mint).

Another candle company that is to die for is the Brooklyn Candle Studio which is run by an African American female entrepreneur in Brooklyn.  Their candle scents are sophisticated and dreamy and I love their “minimalist” line of candles.  They are similar to the quality of Dyptique but without the insane price tag.  I just got the Rose Botanica and LOVE the smell of it, but do wish the “throw” (how far the scent travels when lit) was farther.  My nose is very weak though, so if you have a good sense of smell then you’ll love it.

I’m hooked on candles now.  No longer will I save them for special occasions or bubble baths.  I’m going to be lighting up candles day in and day out, and stocking up when I find good candles on sale.  It’s a whole new world, lol.

In other news, the BF re-arranged his office space and I think it looks really nice!  He’s going to be away at work tomorrow so I’ll try to sneak a few pics in to complete my apartment tour for you guys.  And my dog Freddy’s DNA ancestry test results are back and we were so surprised about what we found out.  I’ll post the results tomorrow as well. Stay tuned!