Oprah gets to tell everyone what her favorite things are, so I thought I’d do the same. These are the things that I keep coming back to, buying in bulk (where applicable), and heartily recommend after lots of wear and tear.
Darn Tough Socks
At some point in a man’s life, he realizes that holes in socks are inevitable and so continuing to pay for socks that are going to get holes in them is a bit of an endless cycle of disappointment. That is, until that man discovers Darn Tough Socks. These merino wool socks aren’t cheap (around $16 for a low-cut pair and around $16 for a mid-calf pair), but they have a lifetime warranty. I’ve gotten holes in a few pairs, I ship them back to Darn Tough and they give me a credit to get new replacement socks. You’d think you’d save money with this system, but I’ve found it’s hard to stop buying these socks because they’re just that good. They feel and look great and the merino wool keeps your feet dryer and significantly less funky smelling.
My favorite low cuts are the No Show Lightweight Athletic and my favorite calf height are the Hiker Boot Midweight Hiking.
Get the socks at DarnTough.com or find an occasional sale of up to 25% off at GoBros.com.
AirPods Pro
If you’ve ever had your ears nearly separated from your head due to the sudden sensation of a headphone cord catching on something, you already know that wireless headphones are a dream come true. The big bummer about wireless headphones is that the connection is often finicky and the batteries rarely last long enough to make it through the day. AirPods are not like normal wireless headphones. If you’re an Apple user, you’ll get the added convenience of your headphones automatically connecting to whatever device you’re on, so you can switch between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac and your headphones just know which device you’re using and it connects to that device automagically. No drilling down into a bluetooth menu or watching the connection dial spin around endless–these things just work. The AirPods Pro also have noise canceling, which is an especially handy feature when you’re rocking a wailing infant. Bless your ears with these bad bones and there’s no going back to the wired past.
Snag AirPods Pro on Amazon for the best price.
Threads 4 Thought Triblend Hoodies
It took me many years of regular hoodie wearing to realize that the weight of a hoodie might just be the most important element. The triblend hoodies from Thread 4 Thought are the perfect hoodie because they are the perfect weight. They are warm enough for the fall and winter, but they aren’t too warm to wear in the spring or on a summer evening as things cool down. The material is super soft and it comes in tons of colors. This is my Steve-Jobs-black-turtle-neck equivalent and a wear one of these hoodies almost every day.
My favorites are the triblend full-zip and quarter-zip
Baron Fig Confidant Hardcover Notebooks
Committing to a journal is a serious endeavor. It helps if you’ve got some nice paper where you can scratch down your deepest thoughts. It’s a bonus if the journal has a nice binding and a book mark. Baron Fig notebooks have all that along with nice, thick pages, a few perforated removal pages in the back, and a clean, timeless design that makes you want to display them on your shelf when they’re not open on your desk. You can select from the small pocket sized journals, medium flagship journals and plus nearly full-page sized journals, and I love all three for different reasons. You can also choose from blank, lined, or grid paper in a variety of colors as well. Once you use one of these notebooks, there’s no going back.
My most used is the flagship size blank journal, but I love the plus for sketching and planning.
Sakura Pigma Micron 05 Pens
If you’re looking for a quality pen to go along with your quality notebook, the Sakura Pigma Microns are it. They’re especially handy if you’re a lefty and you don’t like smearing ink across the side of your south paw. These archival ink micron pens come in a variety of thicknesses, and the Micron 05s are my favorite. (Anything thinner than the 05s are so thin they sometimes scratch or cut the paper.)
Snag them on Amazon in a variety pack or just the 05s.
Codenames Pictures
This is the type of game even people who don’t like games can get into. It’s a mixture of creativity, mind melding, and risk to beat your opponents. The replay value is incredibly high because the possibilities are endless. The black and white artwork is incredible, and I think this is the best iteration of all of the Codenames games.
Buy it at your local game store or Amazon.
AirTags bluetooth trackers
I’m the kind of a guy who always puts his wallet in a different place in the house because I love the thrill of not being able to find it right before I’m ready to walk out the door. Fortunately, Airtags make my life a bit less chaotic. Airtags are better than any other bluetooth tracker because if any iPhone passes by, it will show you the AirTag’s location. With billions of Apple devices roaming the earth, there’s never been a better network to find your lost stuff. It also has cheap replaceable batteries that last for up to a year, so you don’t have to worry about recharging them frequently or replacing them entirely when the batteries give up the ghost. My favorite place I’m using one of these babies is hidden on my bike.
Meross Garage Door Opener (with HomeKit)
Did you know that just about any garage door opener can be converted into a smart garage door for under $50? You don’t even need to send it to garage door school. You just buy a Meross Garage Door Opener (with Homekit, if you want to be able to tell Siri to open your garage door), connect a few wires to your garage door opener, and plug it in. You’ll need a tiny bit of wiring know-how to install it, but it really is as simple as connecting a two wires to your garage door opener unit. It’s incredibly convenient to be able to walk out of the house without any keys knowing I can just tell my phone to open my garage when I get back. We’re living in the future, you guys.
Order here to educate your garage door.
Scribd
Scribd is like Netflix for books. I know that libraries were the original Netflix for books, but Scribd gives you access to its entire library, including audiobooks, without having to wait behind every other person in your town who wants that book. The Scribd catalog of books runs incredibly deep for Christian books, including things like commentaries and scholarly resources, and there are tons of popular books too. We get our money’s worth on an annual subscription in the first few months of the year.
Download the app and use my referral link to get 60 days for free here.
YNAB
We’ve been zero-based budgeters for over a decade now, and we have used YNAB (short for You Need A Budget) for almost that entire time. It’s still my absolute favorite app for budgeting. The de sign is incredible, you can update your budget on any device, it syncs with your bank accounts, and they are constantly adding new features. If you’re serious about getting your finances in order, this is worth the subscription fee many times over.
Check out the rest of the features and get started here.