My Favorite Things

Ever wonder what I use every day? My favorite products, apps, and services? Well here you go, and all in one place!
Disclaimer: The following links may contain affiliate links that allow me to receive a small percentage of sales if you decide to purchase an item. The proceeds from these links help to support this blog. Your support is greatly appreciated.

My Main Gadgets

  • Apple iPhone 16 Pro (Desert Titanium) – I’ve been an iPhone user since the iPhone 4. At this point I feel like iPhones have somewhat reached feature maturity, so I upgrade every few years as needed. If I’m being honest, I probably didn’t need to upgrade from my 14 Pro, but the Desert Titanium is as close to Rose Gold as one can get and along with the Apple Intelligence features, I couldn’t resist. As beautiful as it is, you can always find it in a Spigen case. My go-to recommendation for years has been the Spigen Ultra Hybrid case.
  • Apple Watch Series 10 Rose Gold 42mm
  • Apple AirPods Pro (Second Generation) – These headphones are nothing short of magical. I had been using my Gen 1 AirPods but they were starting to die. I was a little worried that these wouldn’t fit my ears since I’ve had problems with earbuds like these in past, but they’re even more comfortable than my old Airpods. I purchased a silicone case from Elago so I could continue clipping them to my bag. The noise cancelling is surprisingly good enough to use on a plane, but my usual headphones for traveling by plane are my Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones because I’m too scared to lose my AirPods.
  • iPad Pro 10.5 with Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard
  • 14″ MacBook Pro– Let me just say this computer is perfect. It has all the ports I could hope for and the battery lasts for an entire day. I also love that I can charge via MagSafe or USB-C which means I can still travel with my favorite USB-C charger that can charge all my devices whether I’m plugged in or needing to run on battery power.
  • Apple Studio Display– When I’m working from home, my MacBook Pro is almost always attached to this display. Yeah it’s overpriced, but it’s gorgeous and I love being able to plug my laptop to everything (power and all my devices) in with one cable.
  • Logitech MX Master 3S Mouse – This is my 5th MX mouse, and no I don’t keep buying them because they break. I buy them because they’re that good and somehow keep getting better with every iteration. I hate using a computer without one. I’ve also gifted a few to people over the years after hearing them complain about how awful their mice are. PSA for those considering the white color though, it shows all the dirt. I wish I had gotten the black.
  • Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition – I’ve used a Kindle Paperwhite for almost 10 years now. I even found a way to add wireless charging to my first Kindle which is still alive and kicking, but it’s been retired as a backup device in favor of the new Signature Edition. The Signature Edition is truly everything I could ever want in a Kindle – waterproof, warm lighting that doesn’t hurt your eyes and even auto-adjusts, and finally wireless charging. I liked it so much I actually bought a second one. I can carry a library in my pocket with me wherever I go, and trust me – my Kindle comes just about everywhere with me now.
  • Wireless Chargers – I have wireless chargers everywhere. I keep this Anker 2-1 Charger which has a built in magnetic battery pack by the front door so I can always have a battery pack ready to go. At my desk I use this 2-in-1 charger because it looks nice. Next to my bed, I use a Twelve South 3-in-1 HiRise which lets me charge my Apple Watch. For travel, I have one of these 3-in-1 folding chargers. The one I purchased is no longer available but it’s nearly identical to the one I do have. I pair it with a 65W Anker power bank which handles all my charging needs including my laptop.

Smart Home

  • Amazon Echo – Let me just say I feel like a wizard with this in my house. Need to know when your favorite team’s playing? Need to add something to a shopping list? Need to set a timer while you’re hands are a mess? Or maybe you just want to be lazy and turn on some smart lights or hear some music. Just ask Alexa. Simple as that. I also have an Echo Dot in my bathroom so that I don’t need to scream to the kitchen.
  • Meross Smart Plugs – I can’t get stress how useful these things are. I have my bedroom lamps connected to one that turns on and off automatically each weekday morning. My Christmas tree was connected to one and set to turn on at sunset each night. They’re also great for lamps that are awkward to turn on and off. They work with HomeKit and they’re inexpensive. I also have Meross LED strips behind my TV and Studio Display, a few lightbulbs in the overhead lights, as well as an outdoor plug on my patio.
  • Nest Thermostat and Nest Protect – The Nest thermostat was one of the first smart home devices I purchased. Being able to control the temperature from wherever I’m at is cool enough, but admittedly one of my favorite features is the motion sensors on these. With the help of a now-defunct Mac app called Inversion, I get alerts whenever either one senses motion. The Nest Protect also has a handy Pathlight feature which serves as a convenient night light for anyone walking down the hallway late at night.
  • 55″ Samsung Frame TV – I do watch TV, but, if I’m honest, I hate having one in my house. My compromise is the Samsung Frame TV which can turn into art while not in use. People always ask about it when they come over. Pro tip: they usually goes on sale around Super Bowl time.
  • Sonos Beam and Sub Mini – I’ve had a lot of surround sound systems over the years, and none have sounded as good or been as simple as my Sonos system. I also scored a deal on IKEA’s Symfonisk bookshelf speakers which are a collaboration between IKEA and Sonos that I use as a set of rear speakers. Pricey, for sure, but in terms of being able to add to and swap out parts of the system overtime, it’s been worth it.

Services

  • Apple Fitness + – I was never a workout person before finding Apple Fitness +. At $79.99/yr it’s a no brainer. For a little more than the price of a Starbucks drink, I have access to a ton of workouts that I actually stick to. I finally work out regularly and am healthier than I’ve ever been.
  • Google Calendar – I can’t imagine where I’d be without Google Calendar. It’s one of the major parts of keeping my life organized.
  • Gmail – All of my email accounts are through Gmail. It just works.
  • Sanebox – After having Sanebox for a week, I couldn’t go back to life without it. Instead of getting distracted by advertisement emails throughout the day, I get 1 email at 4PM each day that I can skim quickly. It’s been well worth the price.
  • Goodreads – I track everything I read at Goodreads. I’ve even set up shelves to know what is available to check out or what I’ve recommended at my local library e-Library site.
  • Reader by Readwise – I’ve essentially rebuilt my entire read it later workflow to use Reader. It really is a powerhouse service allowing me to consolidate everything I want to read as well as highlights. I also use Readwise to sync my Kindle highlights and review them periodically.
  • You Need a Budget (YNAB) – There’s no single service that has changed my life as much as YNAB. I feel fully in control of my finances thanks to YNAB. At this point, I can’t see living without it, and even better, I’m on track to be financially independent within the next 10 years.
  • M1 Finance – As I continue on my financial journey, I’ve started using M1 Finance to handle my investing. They may it dead simple to follow JL Collins’ financial independence advice in his book The Simple Path to Wealth.
  • Backblaze – Offsite backups are a must. Having the piece of mind to know Backblaze is always running in the background keeping my data safe in the event one of my other physical backups fails is well worth the $5/mo.

Apps

  • Paprika (iOS/Mac) – I used to save all my recipes to Pinterest until I realized how many of those recipes were gone thanks to broken links. Paprika is the best recipe manager, and the browser extension to save recipes with 1 click is just fantastic. It’s also great for meal planning, generating grocery lists, and even timers.
  • Fantastical (iOS/Mac) – Fantastical is one of the few apps that lives in my menu-bar. The natural language makes it easy to add a calendar event, and it’s a quick, compact way to see the date and check my calendar without having a calendar app open at all times.
  • Spark (iOS/Mac) – Spark is my email client of choice. It took some time for me to wrap my head around its Smart Inbox, but it allows me triage my email effectively  as well as snoozing or sharing emails to both Things and Evernote.
  • Things (iOS/Mac) – Where to begin with Things… coupled with Google Calendar, Things allows me to get through the day with a purpose. For more on how I use Things 3, read the numerous posts I’ve written.
  • Bartender (Mac) – Every app seems to want to live in my menubar these days. Thanks to Bartender, those apps no longer stretch across the top of my 27″ display. Instead, my menubar is kept to 1Password, Fantastical, Volume, and the time. Anything else lives hidden in Bartender until there’s something trying to grab my attention where it’ll pop into the menu bar for a set amount of time.
  • Keyboard Maestro (Mac) – Technology is supposed to make your life easier, and Keyboard Maestro helps with that. When I get to work in the morning, Keyboard Maestro automatically opens the apps I need for the day, and before I leave, it shuts everything down. The possibilities are endless, and it one of the many apps that make everything I do each day possible without having an assistant.
  • Alfred (Mac) – Alfred is another one of those apps that I install as soon as I get a computer. Command-Space is just ingrained in my muscle memory. When it’s not running on a computer I’m lost. I use it to search the web, open apps, do calculations, and do a myriad of other things.
  • Hazel (Mac) – I refer to Hazel as my assistant. She quietly sits on my computer filing away all my papers and looking for any trivial tasks that can be done. One of these is my job’s weekly report. When Hazel sees the weekly report has been downloaded, it renames the file, runs a script to convert the file type, and opens the folder in Google Drive to upload it.
  • Streaks (iOS) – As much as I love to track everything, I’m pretty lazy about it. What’s nice about streaks is that it integrates with Apple Health Data so now I don’t even need to bother to track most of my habits.

Books

Podcasts

  • Cortex – If there was every one person’s mind I wanted to pick apart more than anyone else’s in the world (not in a creepy way), it’d be CGPGrey. The intentionality he lives by is incredible, and the relationship he has with Myke is great.
  • Budget Nerds – Finding people that share my love of YNAB is hard to come by, so I always enjoy getting to nerd out with Ben and Ernie as they talk all things YNAB.
  • The Lazy Genius Podcast – Can I just be friends with Kendra? Every time I listen to her podcast, she puts a smile on her face, and I love her philosophy of being “a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don’t.”
  • Sleep With Me – Whenever I can’t fall asleep, this podcast is what I turn to. It’s unlike any other podcast I’ve ever listened to so don’t be alarmed when you first hear it. Scooter is right when he says it’s a podcast to keep you company not listen to and it takes most people a few episodes to get used to it. His meandering tangents force my brain to give up on trying to make sense of things and I fall asleep every time.

Other Products

  • Real Techniques Make Up Brushes – High-quality brushes without the high price.
  • The Wet Brush – I have incredibly long hair and without this brush, I’d never be able to get a brush through it.
  • Conair Infiniti Pro Hair Dryer – After taking a terrible chance on an expensive NuMe dryer years ago, I opted for this Conair Dryer. At less than 20% of the price of the NuMe, this dryer blows the more costly dryers away, and I’ve actually bought three so that I can have one for travel and in my guest room.
  • COOP Eden Cool+ Pillows – I’m really picky about my pillows which is why I stuck with my old memory foam pillows embarrassingly well past their life span. I kept seeing these recommended on the Buy It For Life subreddit, but hesitated buying them because they’re quite the investment. Eventually I saved up and bought them, and boy do I wish I’d bough them sooner. I can’t say enough good things about them. They’re the perfect mix of soft and supportive whether I’m sleeping on my back or side and stay cool as well. If you prefer to buy directly from COOP, this link will get you a discount.
  • Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat – My nails NEVER dried until I found this. I’d get my nails done at a salon only to have them still wet or tacky days later. Seche Vite is a super affordable, and it lets me do my nails in 10 minutes and move onto something else without worrying about smearing them for days.
  • Dagne Dover Bags – Where do I even start with these bags?! I have both the Legend Tote and Midi Tote. Both have a place for everything. The Legend is my work bag and fits my laptop, tablet, phone, ID cards, keys, pens, wallet, water bottle, and room to spare, and still manages to not look like I’m carrying a suitcase. I had my first for over 10 years before I decided to replace it with the same model. My only complaint is that I don’t have one every single color.
  • Hidrate Spark STEEL Water Bottle – I’m terrible at making sure I drink enough water. I’ve tried just about everything to stay hydrated and this bottle is the only thing I stick with. For starters it’s a smart bottle. The app adjusts my daily goal based on my activity as well as the weather. All I have to do is drink from the bottle and it tracks it in the app automatically. The app also integrates with Apple Health so I can use Waterminder for the times I’m drinking something else. The battery is rechargeable so no fiddling with replacing batteries anymore. Third, it’s insulated which is a must for me. I love that I can put ice in it in the morning and wake up the next morning with ice still. Oh and the fact that you can actually put ice or something other than water in it is huge.
  • Flexispot Sit/Stand Desk – I purchased this desk once it became obvious I’d be working from home more often. It was incredibly easy to set up, sturdy, and it looks great. It’s also super functional given the charging ports and the desk at the front. I have a sit-stand converter at my desk at work, but I almost never use it because it’s a pain to use and I’ve never been able to quite get it to the correct heights for me. This desk, however, can be raised or lowered to the perfect height with the touch of a button, so I find myself switching from sitting to standing multiple times a day. I also opted for the optional wheels, which means that if and when I have guests over, I can easily unplug the power strip I mounted under the desk and wheel my entire set up into the other room in one easy step.

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