We write about hundreds of products each week. Here, in our version of the Sunday circular, we’ve plucked some of our recent favorites: expert-recommended essentials, life-changing stuff you didn’t know you needed, newly launched gizmos, and very good deals we uncovered while trawling through the vast online-shopping universe — including an ottoman that doubles as a coffee table, one writer’s preferred pair of UGGs, and eccentric sneakers that don’t skimp on comfort.
The current Stranger Things cast obsession
Stranger Things fans, rejoice! Season five may not be in sight, but actor Finn Wolfhard clued us in to the classic word game he and his co-stars are playing to stay entertained on set: Bananagrams. “It passes the time really well, and it’s a social game, so you can talk to your friends and still be working toward this goal together,” he says.
The UGGs that made a convert of a longtime UGG hater
“I always thought I was too good for UGGs,” says Strategist writer Lauren Ro, but her “perpetually icy” feet recently forced her to abandon her disdain for a pair of Ultra Minis. Unlike the classic silhouette, which Ro calls bulbous, sloppy, and unrefined, the ankle-baring Ultra Minis are decidedly un-bootlike: “The proportions were all wrong but so right.” Ro has embraced UGGs, but she still has boundaries: “For dignity’s sake, I only plan to wear them in the neighborhood or on weekends; a part of me still believes that UGGs are not meant to be real shoes.”
A heavy-lifting ottoman for dinner-party hosts
Like many New Yorkers with a passion for hosting, Strategist kitchen and dining writer Emma Wartzman has “always figured out how to accommodate quite a few people in small square footage.” To help like-minded New Yorkers make the most of their shoebox spaces, she tapped small-space experts and her own experience to turn up a number of hosting tools and tips. For instance: “If you have ottomans, putting trays on top of those so people can set down a plate or drink without worry is great, too,” Wartzman says. For a purpose-built option, there’s this ottoman, recommended by small-space consultant Alison Mazurek and interior designer Shamika Lynch, that comes with its own tight-fitting removable tray.
Our gift recommendation for a food-obsessed valentine …
Valentine’s Day is just two weeks away, so you’re running out of time to find the perfect gift for your S.O. We’ve put together gift guides for every type of valentine, including the one whose heart is best reached through their stomach. The food gifts span a range of tastes, but we’re partial to this sweet option from Dandelion Chocolate. Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang has received it as a gift and says she was “bowled over by how intensely rich and chocolaty it was,” calling it a “very special and sophisticated treat.”
… And an option for the S.O. with expensive tastes
For recipients with designer tastes, Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo recommends gifting little luxuries “that will make your valentine feel rich and glamorous without draining your savings account.” Top of the list is this golden pencil that “livens up boring tasks like making to-do lists and taking notes.” There are small delights for dog lovers, beauty aficionados, and fashionistas, too.
The travel accessory one opera singer can’t fly without
“It’s hard to imagine that anyone feels amazing after breathing airplane air for several hours, but as a professional vocalist, the resulting scratchy throat and sniffly nose isn’t just an annoyance. It can render me unable to perform my job,” says Strategist contributor and mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein. For years, she would avoid flying and singing on the same day to save her vocal cords, but the HumidiFlyer mask, which retains moisture and allows her to breathe easily, made days with airports and an audition possible. “I haven’t boarded a single flight with an unmasked mouth since then,” she says.
Kids’ furniture for adults …
A recent topic of conversation on the Strategist Slack about “the joys of co-opting children’s furniture and home décor for adult use” led Ro to scour the internet for the best objects specifically made for children that you could easily incorporate into your home. After all, “the products tend to cost less, fit smaller city-size spaces more efficiently, and, of course, delight in a way that furnishings for grown-ups typically don’t,” she says. Her search turned up a number of delights, including this bulbous floor lamp from Crate & Kids’ Jenny Lind collection.
… And a rainy-day activity for kids
As for items designed for kids that we’re actually recommending for kids, try this cheerful bug-themed sticker book from Cupkin that Corsillo suggests for budding entomologists. “Stickers, and sticker activity books in particular, are an affordable way to ease a wide range of challenging kid-related situations,” she writes. “Rainy day with no child care? Sticker book. Flying with a toddler? Sticker book. Stumped on what to give a friend’s third-grader? Sticker book.”
A Telfar that’s actually in stock
When it comes to Telfar’s debut at the Museum of Modern Art, the words “Don’t Dillydally” aren’t hyperbole. The so-called “Bushwick Birkin” is exclusively available at the MoMA Design Store in its newest style: the Tyvek shopping bag, which comes in brown, silver, and black.
Some outlandish sneakers that are comfortable, too
Despite many valiant efforts to achieve a “No Buy January,” we’re Strategist editors, so we inevitably shopped and shared our January purchases in this month’s Strategist Haul. Among the fashion buys from the month, writer Erin Schwartz scored some eccentric sneakers from Nike. “There is a scene at the beginning of the 2005 rom-com Elizabethtown in which Orlando Bloom’s character has designed a pair of sneakers so weird that he thinks about killing himself. That is what I want, and that is what Nike Shox are,” writes Schwartz. “I am purely in it for the aesthetic, but I am pleased to report that they are also very comfortable!”
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
