The Strategist Haul: What the Editors Bought in January

Over the holidays, someone gifted me a Monstera from the Sill, which — to be absolutely clear — is a very nice gift. But there is a reason I’ve never bought myself a Monstera: I live in New England, which is the opposite of the tropical climate that Monstera needs to survive, and I have a notoriously black thumb. But I am doing everything I can to keep this plant alive, if not thriving, and that has included buying this not-too-expensive plant stand on Amazon, so I can prop it up as close to a south-facing window as possible. (It’s going okay — and at least the planter itself looks nice.)

After seeing this in last month’s haul and reading that senior editor Casey Lewis loves it as much as her dog, I, too, bought the highly praised, highly entertaining snuffle mat. Now, my dog can’t get enough of it, but to the point that she refuses to eat out of anything else.

My fiancé’s birthday is in January. He is wonderful in all ways except for the fact that he is very hard to shop for, so when he mentioned wanting a new kitchen knife, I snuck out and bought him this set of Wusthof knives as soon as I possibly could. I know very little about knives, so I did a bit of research online, and then after my weekly acupuncture appointment, I popped into the best kitchen store I know — Tarzian West Housewares on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope. The salesperson pointed me toward this set after I told him a little bit about our cooking habits. The knives are sharper than anything I have used, and the weight of the handle makes cutting fun even when it’s a pile of onions.

Even though I’ve been working from home for nearly a year now, this is the first purchase I made to improve my ergonomic setup. I should know better from talking to a bunch of chiropractors for different Strategist stories on posture and ergonomics, but I tend to slouch and sit in all kinds of weird positions that are probably terrible for my body. I’ve been using it for about a week now, and it’s pretty incredible what a difference this little lumbar pillow makes. It fits right into the curve of my lower back, forcing me to sit up straighter and release the tension in my back and shoulders. I actually bought one for my husband, too, and he says it’s “life-changing.”

I finally wrapped up all the big purchases for my apartment this month when I finished my dining room (a.k.a. the corner of my studio where I put a table and two chairs). After much deliberation, I went with a 32-inch tulip-style table, instead of the standard 40-inch Docksta from Ikea, and these two Safavieh cane chairs. I considered what feels like a million other options but kept coming back to these and decided they were worth the investment. It helped that I found them at Target for relatively (and only relatively) cheap at $305 for the pair. I bought two to test first, and when I went back to complete my dream set of four, they were sold out. They’re available elsewhere, but they are much more expensive.

For the past several decades, I’ve been using the same metal colander I got at Ikea during one my various post-college hauls. It’s held up great, and does the job, but its long handle has always been a bit of a “pain point.” (The handle makes it hard to store efficiently, and it tends to get caught in the tangle of pots and pans in my cabinet.) One recent evening, when I was trying to get it down to strain some pasta and it got hung up on a bowl, which came crashing down, I thought, Life’s too short to have a colander I dislike. In looking for something more compact (but not the foldable kind; I used one recently at an Airbnb and did not like it), I stumbled on this Joseph Joseph duo. The big one is wide and deep enough to handle a full pot of pasta, and its shape creates a spoutlike situation wherein dumping its contents into a pot is a breeze. But it’s the baby one that I love the most: While it looks tiny, I’ve been using it to strain my toddler’s pasta, large handfuls of blueberries, and bowls of rice. Washing it is a breeze, and obviously it stores very neatly into its mama strainer. It’s hard to get excited about a colander, yet here we are, I suppose!

I finally bought this cult favorite after thinking about it for years. My lips had been so chapped, and I was desperate, even though it felt a bit silly to spend $22 on what is essentially glorified Chapstick. But as soon as I opened it, I was immediately taken with its berry scent and pink packaging, since I love candy and anything that reminds me of candy. It comes with a tiny applicator that looks like the world’s smallest rubber spatula, and I love dipping it into the luxurious balm, then using it to lather the balm on my lips. The formula definitely feels stickier than your average lip balm, but I always immediately forget about it because it just soaks in. In the morning, my lips feel rejuvenated. Sadly, the moisture doesn’t stay locked in all day (I still have to put Burt’s Bees on throughout the day), but for nighttime, it’s great.

While binging the newish Jenna Lyons series on HBOMax, I got the sudden urge to try the pajama-shirt-as-everyday-shirt style she helped popularize back in her J.Crew days. (If now’s not the time to wear PJs all day, then when?) I’ve never shopped for proper pajamas, though, and (understandably) most come as pricier sets, something I didn’t want to spring for because I knew I wouldn’t wear the bottoms — and might not even wear the top if it looked silly. After a bit of hunting, I discovered that Lands’ End sells pajama separates and, like it is now, the standard pajama top was on sale. I gambled on liking the style and bought three (navy, “mariner-stripe blue,” and chambray). They’re not the finest-made shirts — or even the finest-made pajama shirts — but they’re perfectly comfortable. And, when styled under a heavier denim or flannel shirt and tucked into most any pant, they definitely achieve that Lyons look I sought.

I’ve been on sort of an insane quest to find dining chairs. After my initial set from Target, a pair of upholstered yellow chairs that I loved, were destroyed by my cats Stella and Dakota, I had to rethink my approach to seating. After hours upon hours of searching, I settled on a set from Urban Outfitters, and though I liked them a lot, one came without a base and they had to be returned. I finally settled on these from Amazon, which meet my criteria and will (hopefully) look nice with my wood dining table.

For years, George Saunders has taught a course at Syracuse University, where his entire syllabus is built around some Russian short stories he thinks hold the keys to good writing and a good life. I’ve long been jealous of his students and feel beyond lucky that he’s just published a book version of the course for the rest of us.

Some friends just had a baby girl, and while searching for a gift, I felt a little uninspired by all the baby stuff I looked at. This is their second kid, so I figured they’d have a lot of newborn clothes and toys to use already, and I didn’t want to get them anything that would just sit around for months while she grows. But when cruising the aisles in Target, I saw these adorable flannel blankets, except they felt a little plain. To spice them up a touch, I embroidered the baby’s name on them in different shades of pink and purple. Her parents loved them, so I’d say it was a successful craft project.

Lately I’ve been eating a lot of sauerkraut (on salads, as a dinner side, just piled on a tomato), and this dill-and-garlic Saverne one is the best I’ve tried. I’m honestly not sure what makes it better than others. Maybe it’s the texture, or the fact that the resealable bag feels easy to handle, or that it’s cheaper than other ones? Whatever the case, I think most things are better when covered in dill, and this sauerkraut is no exception.

[Editor’s Note: Availability on Instacart depends on your location, but you can get three 16-ounce jars of Saverne Artisanal Dill & Garlic Kraut on Amazon for $35.]

Until it shattered, I never thought through exactly why I loved my favorite mug. But when I had to hunt down a replacement, I realized all the appeal was in the porcelain. It was fine, translucent, and very lightweight. It felt good in my hand. Drinking out of the fine porcelain somehow elevated my coffee-drinking experience. I had to piece together the bottom of my broken mug to find out it was bone china and made in England. I searched for those characteristics on Amazon, found this mug, and crossed my fingers. It holds just the right amount of coffee, is lightweight, and I even like the pattern, which is an actual thing because the majority of fine bone china patterns are too busy.

[Editor’s Note: The shamrock-printed mug that Crystal bought is currently out of stock, but this in-stock pair is also made of fine bone English china.]