I discovered the joys of quality bed linen several years ago and have vowed never to go back to the days of cheap, coarse sheets and pillow cases.

At the risk of sounding like Jennifer Lopez, I seem to sleep better on bed linen that is Egyptian cotton or has a higher thread count. It’s so much softer and more comfortable than your everyday el cheapo bed linen, and seeing as we spend one-third of our time sleeping, why not have the best?

Target has two good offers on quality linen this week. You can get an Egyptian flannelete sheet set for $59.95 (that’s 50% off) or a 300 thread count sheet set for the same price (also 50% off).

And can we talk about latex pillows (not as kinky as what it sounds). Latex pillows changed my life. Okay not quite, but they have helped me get a better night’s sleep. Latex pillows are denser than your average pillow so they don’t lose their shape and are more supportive for your neck. They are also better for anyone with allergies.

Target is currently selling a twin pack of latex pillows for $69.95 - and before anyone has a conniption over the idea of paying $35 for a pillow, trust me when I say it is well worth it for a better sleep. This is a really good price for latex pillows - often you’ll pay around $70 or more for a single pillow.

By Caroline Warnes

As we head towards the Beijing Olympics, Panasonic is giving you the chance to win a whopping $25,000 prize package each day in its Swim2Win promotion.

The competition runs from June 17 until August 25 and each daily prize pack consists of over $25,000 worth of Panasonic goodies, including a notebook computer, a high-definition camcorder, a Blu-ray player and more.

There are also 5000 instant win prizes up for grabs, including Blu-ray players, camcorders, portable DVD players and digital cameras.

To be in the running to win, you must purchase any Panasonic TV, Blu-ray player, DVD recorder or home theatre system from participating retailers during the promo period, then register online.

Visit this link for more details of this competition, or click here to find offers on Panasonic home theatre products near you.

To celebrate the start of winter, this week we have five family passes to AMF Bowling to give away exclusively to Lasoo members.

Each Family Fun pass includes one game of bowling and shoe hire for two adults and two children (under 14 years).

AMF Bowling centres around the country have a range of deals for under $20 that will keep you busy during the warmer months, including:

* Two games of bowling, a hot dog, fries and a regular coke or water)
* Two games of bowling, chicken nuggets, fries and a regular coke or water)
* Two games of bowling, a ham, cheese and tomato toastie or muffin with coffee or water
* Two games of bowling, four amusement tokens and a regular coke or water.

Plus, bowl at AMF during June and you can help raise money for SIDS and Kids in the lead up to Red Nose Day on June 27. AMF will donate $2 to the SIDS and Kids charity on the package offering two games of bowling, shoe hire plus a choice of either fries and coke or a muffin and coffee ($20 per person or $75 for a family of four).

To be in the running to win one of five AMF Bowling Family Fun passes, email competitions@lasoo.com.au with the word BOWLING in the subject line and tell us in 25 words or less what you love about bowling. Entries close next Thursday.

Competition terms and conditions

Walking to work this morning in Sydney’s lovely rainy, windy and generally cold weather, I was confronted with one of the worst cases ever of clothes-related wrongness.

Strolling towards me as if walking the beaches of Tahiti, who should I see but a woman wearing a singlet top. Now I am no wowser when it comes to wearing singlet tops - in summer. But we are in the middle of a cold and rainy winter.

But there could be a reasonable explanation for the singlet top debacle, I hear you say. Perhaps she had just flown in from the Tropics or is some sort of bionic woman. I would argue that neither of these things were the case as thrown around her neck in a jaunty fashion was a woollen scarf.

In other words, this lady stood in front of her mirror this morning and thought, “hmmm, it looks cold outside… better wear my woollen scarf”. She didn’t consider wearing a jumper. Or a coat. Or even a FRICKING T-SHIRT. No, she somehow decided that this one scarf was going to be enough to keep her warm in the middle of winter. Perhaps it is some sort of magical scarf, but I doubt it. She was doing the fashion hokey-pokey - one foot in winter and one foot in summer.

The fashion hokey-pokey really bugs me, not just because I am an a crotchety old crank but also because it looks stupid and makes the rest of us feel cold in winter/hot in summer/generally confused about what season it is.

Yet another example of the fashion hokey-pokey is when ugg boots are worn with a mini-skirt. Ugg boots should not be worn out of the house FULL STOP, unless you are trying to be Pamela Anderson (in which case you should rethink your life goals), but if you must, please don’t wear them like this.

Why people deliberately want to uglify themselves is beyond me.

By Caroline Warnes

Panasonic has always been a market-leader when it comes to DVD players and recorders, and the DMR-EX77 is another standout.

The DMR-EX77 is a combination DVD/HDD recorder with a built-in standard-definition digital tuner - which is a very nice package considering the $549 recommended retail price (although you can pick it up for less in-store… so read on).

It boasts a 160GB HDD and recording to this is both excellent and easy to do, thanks to the one-touch recording feature and time-shift function. Thankfully, the remote control is also easy to master, as is the built-in editing tool.

As there is only one tuner you can’t watch one channel while you’re recording another, however there’s no problem if you want to recording to the hard drive while you’re watching a pre-recorded show or DVD.

The DMR-EX77 DVD recorder can also upscale DVDs to 1080p, which is a nice touch but a little superfluous given there’s only a standard-definition tuner within the unit.

Betta Electrical is currently offering the Panasonic DMR-EX77 for $498 - find out more here or find offers on other Panasonic DVD recorders here.

By Caroline Warnes

Okay first of all I just want to say, what the hell has happened to the Wayne Cooper official site?

The last time I was on there was just over a month ago and everything was working fine then - and now it seems to have mysteriously disappeared.

Attention Wayne: probably not such a good time to forget to pay your web hosting fees, considering you are currently advertising a storewide sale!

Anyway, as mentioned above, the Wayne Cooper sale is starting tomorrow, with up to 50% off storewide.

Seeing as the site has disappeared you can’t preview what’s on sale or even find store locations, so for the latter I’ve done the work for you:

NSW

* Strand Arcade, Sydney
* 16 Oxford Street, Paddington

VIC

* GPO, Melbourne
* 22 Albert Coates Lane, Melbourne
* 450 Chapel Street, South Yarra

QLD

* Wintergarden on the Mall, Brisbane

WA

* 337 Stirling Highway, Claremont

By Caroline Warnes

I hate to gloat, but I told you it pays to be a Myer One member.

Well really I don’t hate to gloat, it’s actually shamefully fun, but in any case Myer’s “Australia’s Biggest Stocktake Sale” starts on Wednesday but if you’re a Myer One member, you get first crack at the discounted stock tomorrow.

The Myer Stocktake Sale is always a standout and this one will be no different. Some of the better discounts on offer include:

* 30% off a selection of women’s clothing, shoes, sleepwear and intimate apparel

* 30% off men’s suits and 40% off Florsheim shoes

* 50% off Jamie Oliver by Tefal, Anolon and Essteele saucepan sets

* 40% off books.

The preview event for Myer One members starts at various times tomorrow around the country - in WA from 8am and all other states from 5.30pm.

By Caroline Warnes

If you’re looking for a basic multifunction printer for use in a small or home office, the Canon Pixma MX850 is a likely candidate.

It has a good array of features that make it suitable for office use, however if you require a printer for making photo prints, look elsewhere as its colour reproduction is slightly below par.

It has the usual features that you’d expect with a multifunction device, including black-andwhite and colour printing, copying, scanning and fax facilities.

Print quality in black-and-white mode is good, and also fairly speedy, and the scanning function is also excellent. As previously mentioned, the Pixma MX850 is slightly lacking when it comes to colour printing, however this may not be an important requirement for the small or home office.

The MX850 is also fairly easy to use and set up, making it an ideal printer for any small business with a limited IT budget.

Click here to find offers on Canon Pixma printers near you.