A Survival Guide for Winter Wardrobes

dryel, downy wrinkle releaser, suede protector

This post is intended for winter wardrobes. If you’re a human, move aside and call your sweaters and boots over. I don’t care if they’re hungover. These tips will make them feel better.

Ready, wardrobes? OK. Take notes on these 5 seasonal must-haves.

1.  Dryel At-Home Dry Cleaner*

Oh hey, wools and delicate fabrics. Feeling dirty but have separation anxiety? You don’t have to go the dry cleaners if your owner has Dryel because you can get freshened up at home in the dryer. Have motion sickness? Can’t help you there. You do have to tumble around, but it’s super quick and the scent of Dryel will soothe you.

2.  Lint Roller

If you don’t have one of these within 20 feet at all times, there’s a problem. Especially if there are animals in your home. Why does your owner insist on picking up the cat while wearing you? I can’t explain her poor life choices, but I can tell you that a lint roller will change your life. Never let it run out.

3.  Sweater Shaver

Listen, knits. We all get older, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If you’re starting to pill, it just means you’ve lived a full life with someone who loves to wear you. (It could also mean you’re a cheap piece of crap, but I’m sure you have a great personality.) While there’s no magic solution to make you live forever or look brand new again, a sweater shaver can prolong your life and make you look presentable. I’ve heard a Mediterranean diet is also helpful.

4.  Leather & Suede Protector

This one’s for you, boots. Unless you’re made of rubber, don’t go out in bad weather without protection. Your owner didn’t save up her money to buy you just to have you go and get ruined during the first snow of the season. Have some pride, for goodness’ sake.

5.  Downy Wrinkle Releaser

Fear the evil iron no more (well, at least hardly ever). Just take a shower in this stuff the night before you’re going to be worn, and you won’t make your owner look like the hot mess that she actually is. This is as close as a miracle product as you’re going to get. You can thank me later.

*This post was sponsored by Dryel, but the opinions, content, and strange tone are all me.

Grinch Smoothie

green smoothie recipe, spinach kiwi smoothie recipe, greenbean delivery review

It’s been a few months since I got an offer to do a review of Green BEAN Delivery, which is a service that brings fresh, organic produce (and other groceries, too) right to your door. I kept putting it off because I wasn’t sure how well it would fit in to my regularly scheduled programming of “hey, look, here’s something else I wore.”

But recently I’ve been feeling extra awesome in everything I wear, and that’s partly because I’ve been replacing a small percentage of the cookies I normally eat with some slightly better things. Turns out, exercising and watching what you eat can make you healthier. Who knew, right?

Since we’re in the depths of the sugar-filled holiday season, I figured this was a good time to finally try out Green BEAN Delivery and share a healthy recipe made with their tasty fruit! This is a green smoothie, but to make it more festive, I’m calling it a Grinch Smoothie!

green smoothie recipe, spinach kiwi smoothie recipe, greenbean delivery review

Ingredients:

spinach (as much as you want – probably about a cup)

1 banana (frozen if you want a thicker smoothie!)

1 kiwi

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

approx. 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or other liquid

green smoothie recipe, spinach kiwi smoothie recipe, greenbean delivery review

green smoothie recipe, spinach kiwi smoothie recipe, greenbean delivery review

Green – ahem, I mean Grinch – smoothies are super easy because the exact ingredients and measurements don’t matter. In general, I start by throwing in a couple handfuls of baby spinach leaves. I promise you won’t taste it. For a vegetarian, I’m not very good at eating my vegetables, so putting spinach in a fruit smoothie is pretty ideal for me.

Then add in a banana. I’ve gotten in the habit of saving my slightly brown bananas before they go bad, cutting them in a few chunks, and putting them in zip lock bags in the freezer. Then they’re ready to go whenever I want to make a smoothie. Frozen banana really makes a big difference. The smoothie is thicker and colder so it feels more like a treat than just a cup of juice.

Then add whatever fresh fruit you want. I did a lot of strawberries and raspberries over the summer. This time I stuck with kiwi so the color would be nice and Grinchy. If you’re in to supplements or other extra healthy things, go ahead and throw them in. I’ve been adding chia seeds to my smoothies for the Omega-3s.

Finally, you’ll need some liquid to help everything blend nicely. If you’re using frozen banana, you’ll need a little extra. I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk because it adds a little bit of flavor and not too many extra calories. You can also use water, regular milk, juice, vodka, whatever. Just start with a healthy splash or 2 and see how it goes. You can always add more and blend again until you have the consistency you want.

I use a Nutribullet so I can blend right in the cup, but you can also put your smoothie in a glass with a cute straw if you’re feeling fancy!

green smoothie recipe, spinach kiwi smoothie recipe, greenbean delivery review

There ya go! Drink up, and feel slightly less guilty about all the fudge you’ve had recently.

Along with the spinach, banana, and kiwi I ordered from Green BEAN Delivery, I also got a bunch more yummy produce that I’m still munching on. Including some of the best blueberries I’ve had in a long time. Oh, and all the ingredients for a killer guacamole that got good reviews at my Christmas party last weekend. Basically, I was impressed. Green BEAN just gave me the one bin for free, but I’m planning on continuing the service voluntarily just to make sure we keep healthy stuff around the house more often. The bins start at just $35, and you can adjust the schedule as often as you want! Green BEAN only delivers in certain cities in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri. To find out if they deliver to you, just visit their website and type in your address. If you end up trying it out, be sure to use the promo code 15SRLml to get $15 off your first order! The code expires in a week so hurry up, and then let me know how much you like your Grinch smoothie.