4 tips to help kids wear masks safely at school

2020-10-062020-10-06willo You might find this helpful Tags: angelrox, Atsko, beak, behind the head, big, CDC, change, Charlie's Soap, child, children, Comfort Mask, comfortable, cotton, Country Save, covers, COVID-19, detergent, eczema, extra, eyeglasses, fabric, face covering, facial covering, fit, flannel, flat, fog, fogging, fragrance, free, free & clear, hack, itchy, kid, laundry, loose, mask, metal, nose, nose wire, nylon, observations, odor, over the ear, pandemic, pantyhose, playground, polypropylene, protuberant, rayon, replace, school, Sensi-Clean, Sensiclean, sensitive, silk, skin, slides, sneeze, spectacles, substitute, surgical, synthetic, tights, tissue, trick, twist, uncovers, wash, washing, wear Leave a comment

I’m a volunteer safety monitor during lunch and free time a.k.a. recess at a school serving grades 1 – 8. Aside from keeping the usual eye on the kids, during COVID-19, this job also emphasizes maintaining social distance and wearing face coverings properly.

With a few weeks of the school year under my belt, here are my top tips for parents who hope to help their kids keep their masks in place while they play.

Disposable surgical mask My top four playground observations regarding children and masks:

Fit matters
Fabric matters
Washing matters for re-usable fabric masks
Instruct kids on how to sneeze before they need to know

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Angelrox “The Loop” scarf vs. the Shawl: sustainable fashion well suited for travel

2018-05-212018-05-21willo Would this solve your problem? Tags: accessories, accessory, Ahnu Sugarpine, alpaca, angelrox, Aria Sleeves, arthritis, care, cashmere, chronic pain, clothes, clothing, color, compare, cotton, cubelet, delicate, designer, dimensions, Doublet, Eileen Fisher, fingerless gloves, gentle cycle, Glow Gown, Goddess Dress, Goddess Gown, infinity scarf, knit, launder, laundry, linen, machine wash, Made in the USA, Maine, measurements, Miele, New England, Opera Sleeves, organic cotton, packing, pashmina, price, rayon, Roxi Suger, scarf, shawl, silk, stretch, sustainable, the loop, Tom Bihn, Travel Cubelet, value, violet, wardrobe, weight, wool, wrap Leave a comment

If you’re anything like me, you’ve browsed the Angelrox online store and yearned for one of each garment in all your favorite colors.

I love this women’s clothing brand from designer Roxi Suger for reasons I’ve gone on about before†. A quick recap, Angelrox offers:

Made in the USA
Woman owned business
Small New England (Maine) company
Celebrates bodies of all sizes in its imagery
Beautiful colors in figure flattering silhouettes
Comfortable, sustainable knit fabrics including organic cotton
Great customer service

Most of these factors also make Angelrox garments moderately expensive. The prices are fair, but you’re not going to hit a big closeout sale and overhaul your entire wardrobe at a bargain price like you might at a retail giant importing its goods from low wage nations.

Angelrox is not fast fashion. Consider a purchase from them a way to shop your values and invest in a sustainable wardrobe.

You might like Angelrox if you also wear Eileen Fisher.

The Loop and the Shawl by Angelrox

Here’s a preview of the two specific pieces I’m comparing today, The Loop $38 (infinity scarf) and the S hawl $78 (wrap)

I make repeat buys of the silhouettes that I know and love. Between the Goddess dress $158, Glow gown $188, and Doublet $78, I’m dressed in Angelrox several times each week.

With most orders, I also splurge on at least one new accessory. I’m curious about many styles, and there’s always another color I’d like to see in person. You can only judge hue so well using pictures on the internet.

Accessories are the most affordable way to get my hands on the whole rainbow of Angelrox options. The least expensive choice, The Band $10, doesn’t suit my positively Medieval forehead, but I wear their fingerless gloves (Sleeves, Aria $22 or Opera $28) almost daily as a balm to my arthritic small joints.

Recently, I’ve added The Loop and the S hawl to my Angelrox collection. I ordered both in Violet, a bold magenta. Angelrox Loop Shawl comare table

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What I wore in New Zealand: summer capsule wardrobe for 10 days out of Christchurch

2018-03-212018-03-21willo Travel, You might find this helpful Tags: A45, accessories, Aeronaut, Ahnu Sugarpine, Amazon.com, August Silk, autoimmune disease, automobile, Aviator Kit Bag, base layers, Beach Hat, Big Bull Roll up, boots, bottoms, BugsAway, Buzz Off, Cafe Bag, Canterbury, capsule wardrobe, car, cardigan, carry on, casual, checked bag, Christchurch, chronic illness, chronic pain, clothes, clothing, Columbia Sportswear, Coolibar, cotton jeans, cotton underwear, Crocs, cut, cyclone, Ex Officio, Extra Small, February, flight, Frogg Toggs, gear, Gore-Tex, hand wash, hot water bottle, Insect Shield, itchy, itinerary, jacket, jeans, jewelry, joint pain, laundry, layering, layers, lightweight, luggage, mary janes, medium, natural fibers, New Zealand, nightgown, NYDJ, Organization, Outdoor gear, overpacking, poncho, preparedness, Propet Travelactiv, quick dry, rain, rain hat, raincoat, rayon, Red Oxx, reduce, REI, repack, road trip, robe, rolling duffel, rolling duffle, Rolo bag, scarf, Shop Bag, silk, silk base layers, silk caftan, silk long underwear, skirt, sneakers, Solumbra, SPF, summer, sun cream, sun hat, Sun Precautions, sun protection, sun sensitive, sunscreen, sweater, tank, through glass, Tilley travel socks, Tom Bihn, tops, train, trim, tunic, turtleneck, tyvek hat, umbrella, unpack, UPF, UV, voltage transformer, wardrobe, weather, week, West Coast, what to wear, wool, wool socks, XS 3 Comments

Nothing, not even living through the experience, will reconcile my mind to a summer capsule wardrobe for a February trip. That’s the reality of visiting the antipodes, however, and it was quite a treat to leave the wretched winter weather of New England for a respite in New Zealand, however brief.

Even 10 days is brief when you’ve flown 9,300 miles to get there!

NZ capsule wardrobe pictorial accessories - 1 I planned a wardrobe for this trip,* and then, after some reflection, cut it back further to roughly what’s shown in the first image. As I traveled with it, I realized that it was, in fact, a tiny bit larger than it needed to be. I wore all but one miniscule garment that I carried, though, and we weren’t burdened with an unmanageable amount of stuff.

NZ Hagley Park me walking Most important of all, I had what I needed to be comfortably dressed throughout the ten day trip. I’m a traveler with joint pain and an autoimmune condition who remains bound and determined to make it to more corners of the globe. Smart packing isn’t a hobby for me, it’s a necessity.

The week before we arrived, our primary destination, Christchurch, baked in 90º+ F temperatures, but we had a cooler trend and the remnants of a cyclone to deal with. What I packed would have worked for either week’s weather, so it was a solid wardrobe plan.

Whether or not you choose to carry enough to cover last week’s weather as well as the forecast temperatures is a personal choice. I’m more comfortable being over- than underprepared, especially when setting a modest pace with no special events that demand tight connections or a particularly quick turnaround between destinations. Continue reading →

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4 tips to help kids wear masks safely at school

Angelrox “The Loop” scarf vs. the Shawl: sustainable fashion well suited for travel

The Loop and the Shawl by Angelrox

What I wore in New Zealand: summer capsule wardrobe for 10 days out of Christchurch