Hunter Packable Tour Rain Boots

We owned our beloved navy blue Hunter wellies for almost six years.  We wore them almost every day for six months out of the year and never had a complaint.  They kept us warm, they worked with our skirts and dresses and leggings and jeans, forever looking classically stylish, and - most importantly - they kept our ten little piggies dry no matter the rain, hail, sleet, or snow thrown our way.

Eventually all good things must come to an end though and earlier this winter we started to noticed a few tiny hairline cracks in the rubber.  And our feet were a little damp by the time we'd walk home in the rain or sleet.  We continued to make do because, yes, Hunters are expensive, but we knew the love affair - with this particular pair of boots at least - would be fading sooner rather than later.  

And so, back to the Hunter website we went to explore our options. Amazing, the colors and styles this classic company had started to turn out in the past few years.  We knew we wanted classic and tall, that part was easy.  Then our eyes landed on a single word that utterly intrigued us.  Packable.

Our interest peaked, we started to investigate the Original Packable Tour Rain Boots.  They were the same price as the Original Boots, same look, style, and color options as well.  BUT - they folded at the ankle? So you could actually pack them in, say, a suitcase or a gym bag or a schlep into work carry-all? Eureka!

While still apprehensive that the quality might be sub-par after what we'd come to know and love with our original pair we decided, ultimately, to just throw caution to the wind and give this packable idea a chance.  Order made.  

Our boots (dark green this time) arrived last week.  And reader, we have never once looked back.  They are so light!  So comfortable!  So easy to stroll, strut, and speed walk in!  We never, ever thought anything else would come between our love for our original wellies, but this packable option has, thus far, been able to do exactly that.  It's like the geniuses behind Hunter were able to take their already great and reliable product and make. it. better.  

That's just like those lovely old Brits, isn't it?

Average Price: $148

Rating 5 out of 5!

Bubble Umbrella

Let’s be honest. Singing – or walking - in the rain isn’t all Gene Kelly made it out to be. Unless you’re the lucky owner of a Bubble Umbrella.

The bubble umbrella invention is pretty genius. The umbrella – or bumper shoot as our friends across the Atlantic like to call it – is built to act as, well, a bubble around you. It hangs lower than most umbrellas (ella, ella, ella) and almost wraps around your head and shoulders to keep you dry – especially when that pesky wind starts up mid-storm. Of course, since the brolley is clear, you can see through it and navigate – or sing – your way right through whatever storm is headed your way.

Average Price: $ 20.00

Rating: 5 out of 5!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

The Pink Mixer loves her mother. Earth, that is.

We realize, with Earth Day happening yesterday and this being Earth Week everyone and their mother (ha.) is busy telling you about the urgency and importance of saving our planet.

We're not going to jump on that soapbox here. (But it is important and urgent.) Instead, we're going to tell you a story.

A few days ago, the brains behind The Pink Mixer had plans to go to a concert. While waiting for the friend who was also attending the concert, she went into a convenience store and bought a plastic bottle of Vitamin Water. When it was time to enter the concert hall, concert-goers were padded down by security and bags were searched. As she suspected they might, the security guards asked our heroine to throw out her Vitamin Water bottle.

She looked at the trashcan. She looked at the security guard. Then, she saw a green recycling bin just a foot behind the security guard, advertising the benefit of recycling our plastic bottles instead of tossing them into the garbage.

"Could I please recycle it instead?" she asked.
"The bins are the same." the security guard snarled.
"But they're not," she insisted. "Could we please recycle it?"
"They. are. THE. SAME." the guard yelled, while grabbing the Vitamin Water bottle from our heroines hand and tossing it in the garbage can.

Our heroine shook her head and walked toward her seat with her friend, who had witnessed the whole unfortunate escapade. Once they both sat down, the heroine turned to her friend. "I can't help but feel terrible," she whispered. "I know that plastic bottle is going to sit in a landfill and will still be sitting there hundreds of years later. Long after I, myself, have left the planet. It doesn't seem fair."

Let's all vow to not live our lives like that nasty security guard. In fact, let's all work extra hard to off-set that sort of mentality. The trash bins and the recycling bins are not the same. Get educated, be smart, do your part to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Mother Earth is going to thank you.

Let's rise to the occasion, yes?

Average Price of a Healthy Planet: Immeasurable
Rating of a Healthy Planet: 5 out of 5!!!

LL Bean's 180 Degree Ear Warmers.

My Dad is a pretty good gift-giver. He thinks a bit outside the box and generally pays attention to items one might really want or need.

This Christmas, one of the gifts found under The Pink Mixer's tree were LL Bean's 180 Degrees Ear Warmers. I can honestly tell you I probably would have gone years before picking these ear warmers out for myself simply because I don't think I would've thought about how utterly useful items they could be. The wrap around protection of the fleece keeps your ears warm on the coldest of days (this is especially good if you're a girl who wears earrings) and they fold-up conveniently the minute you remove them from your head, ready to be stashed away in a purse or jacket pocket.

Santa Dad gave me a red pair but they come in a wide variety of colors. And at only $20 a pop, it just might make sense to get yourself more than one pair...or at least pair for each of those little holiday elves running around your house.

Average Price: $19.95
Rating: 4 out of 5

SmartWool Socks

I’ve known and loved the always warm, totally genius SmartWool brand socks for so long that I take it for granted everyone already knows about them. In case you don’t though, let me take a minute to sing their praises.

In a word, they are perfection. I know, I know, you think socks are socks right? Wrong. These socks offer the warmth of wool without the scratchiness, they wick away water – be it sweat (eeww) or wet snow, and they continually keep your toes at a perfect, warm temperature.

SmartWool offers a wide variety of styles as well – socks for skiing in the winter, running in the summer, they even make some pairs that are suitable for the office.

And yes, just in case you’ve procrastinated with your holiday shopping, they do indeed make excellent stocking stuffers.

Average Price: Between $12-$20

(Prices vary depending on socks)

Rating: 5 out of 5!

SIGG Water Bottle

When all the hoopla about some polycarbonate plastic #7 bottles leaching the chemical BPA hit the streets a few months ago I panicked. I adore my Camelbak and have found myself staying much more hydrated now that I keep one by my side at all times.

After reading one too many new articles about the ill-effects of these chemicals I decided I would shell out some hard earned money and give those expensive metal Sigg bottles a go.

Pros: Cool designs, I dig the colors.
Not plastic.
Aluminum keeps your water cooler, longer.
Small enough to easily stuff in almost any backpack or purse.

Cons: $22 for a water bottle?? Really? (And yet, I did buy one, didn’t I?)
That damn lid. The reason I adore the Camelbak is because it makes water so accessible and easy to drink! I never used my wide mouth Nalgene beyond the random outdoor excursion because I always ended up sloshing water all over my work clothes. That straw in the Camelbak has made all of the difference in the world, I swear. Sigg offers several lid options. I knew I didn’t want a screw off top. (Too reminiscent of the Nalgene.) I opted for an “active bottle top.” It has a flip-top lid and looks like it should let your hydrating liquid of choice flow easily. Except, it doesn’t. I end up screwing the whole thing off ½ the time (again, exactly what I didn’t want to do) to get a good sip of H2O. I would like to try their “sports 3 stage top” to see if that works better, but haven’t yet found one at any of the stores carrying Sigg.
At 0.6 liters, it is smaller than I’d like and I find I finish off a full bottle of water way too quickly.

Bottom line, I’m not sure, at this point if they’re worth the money. If they could find a way to make a better lid or work the beloved straw into the design I’d be sold. I find I do rely on my Sigg bottle over the weekends when I’m tooling around the city but my Camelbak is still by my side every single day I head into the office. (And, I hydrate way more through the work week then Saturday and Sunday combined. Coincidence?)

Average price: $22/0.6 liter sized bottle
Rating: 3 out of 5

CAMELBAK WATER BOTTLE

We all know the drink water drill. Stay hydrated, drink eight glasses a day, our bodies are 75% water, etc. etc. While I think Nalgenes are a great idea in theory, I found myself often frustrated with the screw on/screw off top. When trying to drink out of a wide mouthed bottle I found myself spilling more than I was actually drinking and eventually gave the whole thing up.

A few months ago, a friend commented on how much more water she finds herself drinking when she uses this Nalgene-esque water bottle from Camelback. Last month I finally picked up one for myself and am madly in love with the design. The built-in straw really does encourage more water consumption and stops any spillage before it happens. I love that I only unscrew the top when I’m filling the bottle itself and then I am able to just flip up the straw and drink.

It does take a minute to get used to the idea of biting the blue top of the straw to get water but after a day I doubt you'll give it a second thought. (And no, amazingly enough, the bite marks don’t show.) It’s portable, functional, and comes in several snazzy colors.

One tip the folks where I made my purchase passed along is to not put the bottle or the straw/lid contraption in the dishwasher. Apparently, over time the heat breaks down the plastic materials in said bottle and that's just not healthy.

So, to review: Drinking plenty of clean water? Yes. Plastic breaking down in that water? No. Stick with hand-washing this one.

Average Price $12.00

Rating: 5 out of 5!