Courtesy of Markus Spiske @ Unsplash.com

The 10 Best Things I Bought This Month

And Other Random Thoughts Regarding January

1. MEC Backpack, on sale, $33, Navy Blue, fits my laptop in the back pocket, fits all my notebooks and lunch containers in the front pocket, big enough to pack clothes for an overnight trip - definitely 5 stars. Doesn’t hurt my back either!
2. Herb-crusted Goat’s Cheese Log, St. Lawrence Market, ate it sliced on sliced tomatoes a la bocconcini, might have changed my life.
3. Leuchtturm1917 x Whitelines Link Academy Pad, Medium, Dotted Notebook - perfect for Bullet Journaling, which is exactly what I am going to use it for - hat tip: Aliza.
4. Lemon-salted, Duck Fat Fries from the Beer Bistro - seriously, so good it’s not even fair - big thanks to Alina for helping me finish them. Worth the $6, just trust me here and buy them. Perfect along with a Schneider Weisse as well. You’re welcome.
5. Nachos and Beer at Jack Astor’s to celebrate Peter’s birthday. Despite the Leafs getting totally blown out, it was awesome to catch up with Matt and Pete and show them my new place. Couldn’t have made it through the last year without these two - and we have certainly had our fair share of ups and downs along the way - so taking some time to celebrate that was well worth it. Hat tip: the best roommates a guy could ask for.
6. Trius Red 2013 - One of the best wines I have ever had. Worth the price, and glad to share it on a special occasion with the most amazing girlfriend I could ask for. She’s toughed it out with this buffoon for almost 3 years now, so the least I could do is buy the good wine. Glad I did. Won’t be going back anytime soon.
7. Disaronno+Kahlua - I made a cocktail out of one of my cookbooks called an Orange Ki - from Nobu West, the cookbook, if you’re interested - which involves Blood Orange, Apple Juice, Cinnamon, Amaretto, Kahlua, Whiskey, and some ginger ale to give it some bite. Holy mother-of- all-that-is-good-in-the-world. This is a total game-changer. Everyone loved it. I’ve never seen that before. EVERYONE. Seriously, knocked it out of the park on that one. Unreal. 100% will make again.
8. AM Coffee - Salted Caramel - sold as “coffee for tired people” - AMEN. Ran out of grounds at home, and this is surprisingly good. Not the best coffee I’ve ever had, but a huge step up from this “green tea” crap I’ve been drinking. So much for kicking that habit.
9. Wireless Keyboard - I have my Mac Mini hooked up to the TV in the front room, along with the PS3 and the speaker system. This let’s us listen to Spotify, watch Netflix, play Youtube videos, and now, even stream live hockey games. What a time to be alive! The wireless keyboard also lets me control everything from another room if I want, along with blogging, searching for movies, and asking Google stupid questions - all from the couch. My keyboard even has a touch pad built in. What a time, indeed.
10. Headphones with a mic - this is actually the best thing I have done for my productivity in years. Not having to hold the phone with one hand while I do something is a lifesaver. I can do dishes, clean my apartment, and still have a full conversation with my girlfriend at the same time. She loves it, I love it, my roommate loves it - everyone gets what they want. They only cost me $15, and it has doubled my productivity while talking on the phone. Plus my hands don’t freeze.
11. BONUS: Coconut oil to put in my coffee in the morning. Sounds totally insane, it’s not, there’s some science or something behind it. I don’t actually know if it’s true, but I feel much better when I do it, so deal. Recipe: make espresso, put a big glob of coconut oil in it, use steamer on espresso machine to froth them together, consume ravenously, be a flippin’ superhero.
12. DOUBLE BONUS: I didn’t buy this in January, but I just started really using them together: my gaming mouse and my 3D mouse (think of it like a joystick for CAD). Doing solid modelling has transformed from a mild pass-time to a serious career. I crushed all previous records I had with myself, including reverse-engineering an entire printer in 3 days, making a series of professional renders, and a complete exploded view video - might have landed us a huge contract in the future because of it. These two pieces of hardware have turned something a little tricky into second nature. Would highly recommend.

That’s it for now.

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