I'm a terrible sleeper. I have an excessively overactive mind, a sensitivity to light and sound, and a tendency to overheat. Not exactly conducive to quality shut-eye. To compensate, I am notoriously picky about the environment I create to sleep in. Blackout drapes or shades? Since childhood. External noises? Canceled out by the loudest white noise machine known to humankind. Overheating? Apartment's set to 65 degrees every night and usually there's at least one limb sticking out of my covers. I have the softest, cushiest mattress, the plumpest pillows and the coziest quilt. To round out the perfect-bed equation, I've always wanted to splurge on nice sheets.
What makes a nice sheet? According to some of the research I've done online, the thread count, material, pattern, and even dye can affect the quality of a finished sheet. "Nice" sheets, too, are super objectively defined. When I started shopping around, I found everything from Pottery Barn's luxe sheets at around $200 to Pratesi and Frette linens that cost well over $1000. It would be sufficient to say that, while I value my sleep and think sheets do make a difference, I'm not willing to drop almost a month's rent to make better sleep happen.
I got crazy-excited when, in browsing Anthropologie's sale section one day, I noticed these beauties:
They're 300-thread count, 100% organic cotton with the prettiest diminutive floral pattern. I was interested, but decided to wait in the name of spending all my money on buying things for others instead of myself. But then Anthropologie's sale went to 25% off and those babies were in my cart faster than you can count a sheep. According to this great Real Simple article, 100% cotton gives that "light, cool feel," and organic cotton will keep them from irritating my skin, which gets extra sensitive in the winter.
I got particularly excited when I received them, opened them up and realized they're the crisp kind of sheets! I personally feel like there are two distinct kinds of sheets: the ultra-soft, cuddly, buttery kind and the crisp, smooth, linen-y kind. My other sheets are the soft kind, and who doesn't like a little variety now and then?
Bam. It might be a frivolous thing to be totally satisfied by, but I just love getting into a perfectly made bed with fresh, fancy sheets. Happy to check this guy off my 101 in 1001!