apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I'd love to test it! My apartment's heat is faulty and I live in upstate NY! Brrrrrrrr!

Are you kidding me? I'd make the perfect guinea pig for AT. My whole life, I've been plagued with cold toes, fingers and nose, even in warm weather. I couldn't imagine living without thick warm socks, plenty of hot cocoa and especially cozy blankets to wrap myself with while I watch TV on the sofa. And worst yet, with oil prices on the rise, the last thing I can think about is cranking up the thermometer to keep warm in my apartment this winter. Give me the blanket and trust that I'd try it out several times and give you an honest review it.

I really need this- my apartment (former tenement) is so cold all winter! The curtains blow gently even with the windows completely closed and towels stuffed in them. It is the norm to have ice crystals on the inside, yes inside! of my windows. My cats get under the covers with me and even with those little living furnaces, i'm still cold! I'd give it an honest review.

I'm turning 49 on Monday -- which probably makes me older than everyone here -- and I'm having my midlife crisis this year instead of next. The least you can do is send me this blanket to warm my old arthritic bones. I promise undying gratitude and an excellently written review.

--Catherine
http://www.ourladyofperfection.blogspot.com

This year, I've decided to see how long I can go without turning on the heat in my apartment. Yes, I'm crazy, but I'm also tired of watching my utilities bill jump from $45 to $150 in the wintertime. Thus far, my keep-warm solutions have included: lots of mugs of hot tea and chocolate, a waffle throw from CB2, my HU sweatshirt, and a fuzzy bathrobe (sometimes simultaneously!).

The perfect addition to my arsenal would be this blanket; coupled with my formidable writing skills, I think this makes me the perfect tester.

(And you want pithy? Pith got me a journalism degree!)

This year, I began wearing gloves in August.

In the house.

I get cold, and how. My fingers, my toes, and my tush. And I live with a man who sweats when the windows are kept closed. These days he's shirtless and barefoot, eating ice cream -- while I'm shod, in three layers, donning a wool cap.

I've tried wearing draping blankets. I've tried hand warmers in my socks. I drink mugfuls of tea. I use gingko to increase circulation. Nothing's solved it yet...and I'm not sure this could. But my chilly body is game to try it.

I'm up for the challenge! My hands and feet are pretty much continually cold from October until April. When my feet get really cold, the cold travels up my legs, and everything from my knees on down is cold to the touch. I even sleep in a wool sweater - my down comforter just isn't enough! Right now, my feet feel like blocks of ice even though I'm wearing thick smartwool socks and these handsome (ha!) slippers:
http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?page=wicked-good-slippers&categoryId=23777&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&parentCategory=9997&cat4=9978&shop_method=pp&feat=9997-tn

I'd love to have the chance to see if this blanket could do the trick and help me keep warm.

I grew up in the tropics. (Manila, Philippines, to be exact) Philippines, located on the equator, only has 2 seasons - hot and hotter. This year, I moved to Toronto, where the winters, I hear, are brutal and punishing. I have been warned; fear now lives in my heart. To stave off winter blues, I am stocking up on coco, woolen garments, and St. John's Wort. I guess this cold, lonely, homesick girl could use some thermofine warmth during Her First Ever Winter.

I would love to test it! Living in the damp Pacific Northwest (Portland) its that kind of cold that just gets deep in your bones and stays there and despite popular perception Portland does get quite cold sometimes with ice storms and below freezing temps not uncommon in Jan/Feb. In addition I live in a 1920s bungalow with bad insulation. It gets cold in here! Heating bills are expensive to I try to conserve heat by only having one of those plug in oil filled electric radiators in the bedroom and a big down comforter, but I'd love to have a throw or lap blanket for when I am watching TV or working at my desk.

I'd be interested to see how this product holds up...

Could you please tell us more about your heated mattress pad?
I am having a long-term affair with a smallish heating pad, and would like to find something bigger.

Because I need some way to stay up beyond 8:00 pm, when I am so cold in my drafty house that I climb into bed under my heated blanket.

My husband's always hot. Me, I'm always cold. But, being an awesome wife, I let him control the thermostat. Secretly, I resent this. So, SAVE OUR MARRIAGE. Give me this blanket!

I would be perfect for a test subject. I not only would have my opinion, but the opinions of my 7 children who would also have to try it out. We live in super-cold Minnesota, and with heating costs going up, in both natural gas costs and electricity, we need to keep the temp as cool as possible without freezing.
I love doing reviews, so I am experienced with product reviews and enjoy writing funny and sassy comments.
So, if you pick me, you get 9 total guinea pigs for the price of one, plus someone who is experienced and enjoys reviewing products, AND someone with a need for a heated blanket!

My husband is obsessed with warm, soft blankies...he's been lusting after a heated one for 4 years!!! This would help me not lose my mind from the whining and he is really eloquent, so he'd write the review.

I have a few excellent reasons for wanting this blanket.
Reason the First: Canada is cold. Really, really cold. It's winter already here. I'm so not kidding! A warm blanket would be ace, especially since my slumlord hasn't yet turned on the heating, our windows don't seal, and I sleep in my winter coat.
Reason the Second: Who doesn't love warming things? Those little USB plug dealie cupwarmers, armwarmers, heating pags -- all good things. All things I love. Possibly related to the cold thing.
Reason the Third: My partner has wanted a warming blanket for years, hoping that it would provide enough dry-warmth to fend off his back pain without burning the skin (the way a heating pad does!)
Reason the Fourth: These things are dead expensive. (Well, they are!)
Reason the Fifth: Did I mention how cold Canada is?

There are more, but my poor freezing fingers are chilled to the bone. And also the tip of my nose! You know what would help? A warming blanket. /nod.

Please let me test your blanket. Like many of the other posts, I am often cold inside. I haven't found a blanket that is cozy and warm--I have tried them all--fleece, wool, snug sacks...I can't find the right combo of warm and cozy...still doing the search. Maybe it's micromink?

I just turned 39 on Tuesday the 13th. This time of year is always cold and now that I am getting older, I find that I chill faster. I would love to try out this blanket and would gladly review it on my blog.

blogged ya: http://laurawilliamsmusings.blogspot.com/2007/11/thursday-edition-of-contests-galore_15.html

like everyone else, i get pretty cold in the winter.

But the main reason I want to try it is because I was just watching My Dinner With Andre, and there's a scene (can you call it that? when it's almost one scene from beginning to end?) where they're talking about how we've created so many comforts for ourselves in society.

Andre: I think that means that instead of living under the sun and the moon and the sky and the stars, we're living in a fantasy world of our own making.

Wally: Yeah, but I mean, I would never give up my electric blanket, Andre. I mean, because New York is cold in the winter. I mean, our apartment is cold! It's a difficult environment. I mean, our life is tough enough as it is. I'm not looking for ways to get rid of a few things that provide relief and comfort. I mean, on the contrary, I'm looking for more comfort because the world is very abrasive. I mean, I'm trying to protect myself because, really, there's these abrasive beatings to be avoided everywhere you look!

Andre: But, Wally, don't you see that comfort can be dangerous? I mean, you like to be comfortable and I like to be comfortable too, but comfort can lull you into a dangerous tranquility.

Apartment Therapy, I would like to be lulled into a dangerous tranquility. The moment where Wallace Shawn describes his blanket - nothing has ever made me crave a heated blanket more.

I'm your girl. Although my new old house has lovely double-paned windows, there appears to be no insulation in the wall or attic, and nothing under the floor but crawlspace. I kid you not, it is often colder inside than outside. To make matters worse, the TV corner of the living room is far away from all heater vents. This heated blanket would be the perfect energy-efficient solution for our house, and would get a vigorous test run. In addition, since anything that enters my house is immediately covered with dog hair (whether or not the dog goes anywhere near it), I'll be able to give a detailed review of the washability of the blanket. Finally, I'm not opposed to exploiting my child, so I can promise absolutely adorable pictures of a happy, warm, 4 year old with dimples and curls, wrapped up in this blanket.

My father could desperately use this product. He's just been diagnosed with circulatory problems and will have an angioplasty on his legs Monday to see if that will help his blood flow. He is constantly cold- I would see him wearing a sweatshirt and afghan around him in our house- even when it was 90 degree and above! He's constantly cold, something the doctors warned us about because of his disease. We're looking for an electric blanket or something of that type to keep him cold during the Chicago winters. I think he'd be the ideal person to test your product. Thanks for the opportunity!

I still remember this moment like it was yesterday. It was the summer of 1991. On a bright, warm, and sunny Sunday morning, the day of my communion, I walked up to the altar to receive "the body of Christ" for the very first time. The dashing young priest (I had quite a crush on him!), sporting a smile to melt your heart, took my little hands in his, when suddenly his expression turned into one of sheer bewilderment as he uttered: "Poor child, how your hands are cold!!! After the service, as he talked with my parents, all the grown-ups had quite a laugh over the "deathly" ice cold feel of my hands, while I looked on puzzled. This "problem" has plagued me all my life, and to this day, my grown 24 year old self cannot give a friendly nudge, nor caress a lover's face without a pesky comment for something I have no control over.

AT, I'm a "cold" person with a warm heart :-(
Please send me this blanket so that I can regain some sort of dignity, and finally enjoy once again holding hands with my lover as we relax on the couch of my badly heated Montreal apartment!

Oh, and did I mention I lived through the Ice Storm of '98? Mommy didn't even want to be near me, let alone touch me at the time! Coupled with my "cold" physiology, I figure I've got more than plenty credentials to be the perfect tester for this magical blanket!

Ice queenly yours (literally!) :-O

Katia

I withdraw my self-nomination and if Laura K's pop wants to write up his experiences with it, I'd choose him.

I would love to test this product. I live about 30 minutes outside of NYC and I have unfortunately been affected with raynaud's disease. This is a disorder that constricts your blood vessels therefore causing blood to not flow to certain extremities (specifically my nose, fingers and feet). I never take my jacket off at work and often spend the entire day with my gloves on and with a cup of tea just to keep my hands warm. While home I LIVE with my space heater and the minute I leave it I freeze (I sit with it within inches of my body). To make matters worse, the heat in my apartment is terrible and it is quite drafty. I have been looking and researching different heating blankets and have tried different ones in the past, but this one looks like it might help keep me warmer for longer periods. I hope to have the opportunity to test this product.

Thank you
Amber