Sand-sational.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at a house party for Himself's sister's 17th birthday - not as an attendee, but as a chaperone with Himself's other sister.

I know. I'm that old now.

And when I wasn't busy biting my lip to keep myself from accidentally blurting out things like "That's not a skirt, it's a belt!" or "Nice dress, when have you to go back for the rest of it?" or similar Dad-isms, I was biting my lip to keep myself from roaring laughing at all the very earnest not-taking-the-piss-this-is-actually-the-way-we're-speaking OMG-ing that was going on.

I mean, you'd be used to hearing it in Dundrum Town Centre but hearing it in Portlaoise is just bizarre in the extreme.

Anyway, I had a bit of an OhEmGee! moment myself this morning when I stumbled across an alternative use for sandpaper. No, not as an unwanted hair scuffer-offer or an extreme facial dermabrasion tool. Turns out that fine grit sandpaper is very effective at removing bobbles (or pills, if you're fancy) from clothes.

Now, I have a winter white coat from River Island that I adore - it's a fab dressy coat, great fit, and machine washable at 30˚C. I may have bought it in a panic in advance of our first trip to Monart because my good winter coat (a vay nice khaki military stylee number from Mango) was at the dry cleaner's. And if you think that's bad... well, let's just say that Himself may have fasttracked his plan to change his car because of the impending Monart visit and their valet parking ways.

Lovely and all as that coat is, however, it is an absolute beeatch for bobbling, regardless of whether it's dry cleaned or machine washed. (I don't do hand washing, so don't even suggest it.) I've tried those little hand-held comb things, but without fail they just make things worse. Usually I borrow a Remington fabric shaver gadget from Dad and give it the once over - his is an ancient, well-made model unlike the crappy ones with rough edges specially designed to stick in clothes that seem to dominate nowadays. (Jesus, I really am old.)

As recommended by Apartment Therapy, this morning I pulled out some 100 grit sandpaper to do the job instead and I actually think it worked even better than the Remington yoke! I used a lint brush to pick up any fibres that were left behind and my coat is now soft and bobble-free. In fact-ah, I'd go so far as to say it's as good as new.

And definintely ready for its next trip to Monart.