Here are some things that, months later buying them, I'm still really enjoying. This is a great test of your purchases: do they continue to be used, and used with pleasure? Or are they discarded and lonely?
- 1. Boos Wooden Cutting Board: if you spend any time in the kitchen, you are cutting and slicing things. If you have young children, you will be cutting up small portions and pieces. Why not make it easy and enjoyable? Having a large cutting surface out at all times is invaluable, rather than small cutting boards that require constant shifting around. After all, Jacques Pépin uses one.
- An AeroPress: Here is $26 of heaven, along with a quality coffee grinder and some fresh roasted beans (which are harder to find than you might think; grocery stores don't stock them, you either must be near a roaster, or have them shipped). The morning ritual of weighing, grinding, steeping, and pressing out my coffee makes it taste even better.
- Apple Thunderbolt Display: I shuddered at the cost, but it really is wonderful. This display, along with a Thunderbolt Mac, becomes a hub for peripherals, wakes fast, looks great, and gives you lots of screen space to work with. I hadn't realized how long my old external monitor took to fully brighten up until I switched to this sort of quality display. I bought mine off the Refurbished Page of the Apple Store, which made it less financially painful. But it makes the computer glorious. I doubt a Retina External Display of this size will be made anytime soon, and it would be much more expensive, so I don't feel like I'll be outdated anytime soon.
- iPad: The iPad is marvelous, a magic window that becomes whatever you want it to be: internet recipes for cooking, an e-reader, a calendar, a newsfeed, taking attendance in class, lecture notes, access to your files, gaming, Netflix--it is perhaps the most amazingly versatile piece of electronics ever made. The iPhone is close behind, of course, and is great for portability and usefulness, but the iPad is where serious work can get done quite easily. As Apple said after its announcement, it's magical. And it truly is.