Custom Suit from Mon Atelier: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such square shoulders; they’re also really broad relative to your waist, your legs are extremely long
and your torso is short; nothing on this rack will fit you.”
Thank you Mr. Nordstrom suit salesman, my
alien body and I will look elsewhere.
I
was sharing this experience with a friend when he told me he “has a
guy.”
Enter Ali Rahimi with Mon Atelier
in Los Angeles.
Pick your fabric, your
jacket liner and let Ali do his magic.
Most importantly, it won’t break the bank.
Mon Atelier
Armani Prive Bois
d’Encens: Giorgio Armani created this scent to remind him of his altar boy days.
I
too was an altar boy (before Sister Marie kicked me off for having uncontrollable
laughing attacks) and still love the smell of incense.
It’s subtle with a mixture of dark wood.
I was at a volleyball match the other day and
a father came up and told me I smelled really good.
While not my target audience, I’ll take it.
Yeti Cooler: How
can a cooler have a cult following?
Well, it does, and the Yeti is the Mayor of Coolerville.
I’m not a hiker, hunter or fisherman, though
I fancy myself one walking into REI or a Bass Pro Shop.
Nonetheless, I still had to see what all the
fuss was about.
Our first test was an
eighty-five degree beach day – cooler was filled with ice, which never melted
and all our drinks stayed cold all day.
The only caveat is the weight, it’s thick and heavy, but sturdy as they
come.
I love the rubber hooks, the nylon
handles and the Carolina blue color rocks.
If you don’t have to carry this cooler a long distance, this is the one.
www.yeticoolers.com
Handel’s Ice Cream:
This company started in 1945 when Alice Handel starting serving home made ice
cream out of her husband’s gas station in Youngstown, Ohio.
They have slowly expanded over the years and
are now in six states.
Lucky for me, one
of their three California locations is right down the way in Redondo
Beach.
The ice cream is made fresh every
day and their insane flavors, including Banana Cream Pie and Graham Central
Station will bring you to your knees.
Hands down, the best ice cream on the planet.
Ellenos Real Greek Yogurt:
My sister introduced me to this on my last trip to Seattle.
I had it every day and it was all I could
talk about.
The creamiest, best tasting
Greek yogurt ever – I really think it’s Handel’s Ice Cream disguised as Greek
Yogurt.
The passion fruit flavor is my
favorite, but unless you want to pay obscene shipping costs, you’ll have to
wait for your next trip to Seattle; you can find it at Tully’s Coffee shops,
Uwajimaya, and their flagship store at Pike Place & Pike Street.
Marvis Contemporary Toothpaste:
After eating all that ice cream and yogurt you definitely need to brush your
teeth.
Sporting your state-of-the-art Sonicare
DiamondClean toothbrush from last year’s list (you can get it in black and pink
now) you’ll need some cool new toothpaste.
Crest, Aim, and Auquafresh have been around since childhood and Tom’s is
a sell out.
Want something cool and
new?
Try Marvis Contemporary Toothpaste –
they have crazy flavors, my favorites being “Amarelli Licorice” and “Jasmine
Mint.”
It also says “Dentifrice” on the
tube – I like that word; who doesn’t need toothpaste, oops, I mean dentifrice
made in Italy?
www.marvismint.com
Calvin Klein Body
Modal Sleep Shirt: Except for hot summer nights, I’ve always been a boxer
and t-shirt sleeper.
That is until I was
introduced to the CK Modal shirt.
It is
so comfy and not tight fitting like some of the other options.
Sleeping in a t-shirt now feels like sleeping
in sandpaper; I’ll never go back.
If
you’re shopping online it’s design U5551 and it comes in both crew and
regular.
Rainbow Sandals:
A collective yawn from all my Southern California friends, but for those a
little further from beach, this is the standard issue footwear from Santa
Barbara to San Diego.
I wear mine almost
every day and their comfort increases over time.
They are a little stiff in the beginning, but
give them time.
I prefer the double
layer premium with arch support in Sierra Brown.
www.rainbowsandals.com
Squatty Potty:
When my wife said to me, “Please don’t put this on your list” I knew it was an
automatic selection.
However, I will
refrain from describing this product – instead, I will direct you to the
absolute best product review ever written by Mark Jaquith (
Squatty Potty Review); it’s titled “This
Changes Everything…” Couple this product with my #1 Favorite Thing
from my very first list, The Toto Washlet E200 and you may never leave your
bathroom.
Do you remember the movie “The
Jerk” when Steve Martin lost everything and is leaving with his lamp and
thermos?
Well, if I experience the same
fate, it will be me in my Calvin Klein Sleep shirt and Rainbow sandals holding
my Squatty Potty and Toto Washlet.
Aeroccino+ Frother:
Move over Capresso, there’s a new kid on the block.
I recommended the Capresso Froth Pro last
year, but the Aeroccino+ by Nesspresso blows it away.
It looks better and most importantly froths
in about 20% of the time.
NutriBullet: This
feels like upside down blending, with better results and consistency, no
chunks, and easy cleaning.
We make a lot
of protein/fruit shakes in our house and my kids love using the different cups
for blending their own shakes before volleyball practice.
Make sure to get the NutriBullet and not the
MagicBullet.
Throw in some Sunwarrior
Raw Vegan Protein in Natural Flavor with some frozen bananas, blueberries,
strawberries, water, a little fresh juice and some Health Warrior Chia seed and
your off to the races.
Beltology: I’m
not sure what I like more, the founder’s story or the product.
A former surgeon, left to get a Harvard MBA,
trudged a couple years at Bain Consulting before launching his own fashion
company specializing in what his research showed, the underserved men’s
accessories market.
Think of this
company as the belt equivalent of Happy Socks.
Aside from the unique and fun colors, the belts flex, so, these are
perfect for wearing to Thanksgiving dinner.
The belts also come in great packaging, cool boxes and bags, this makes
a great gift.
www.beltology.com
Boys in the Boat:
I suggested this book to my wife’s Great Uncle Gary.
This is the email I received from his wife,
Ellen: Gary ordered "Boys in the Boat" then put it down to go do
something else; I picked it up and 4 hours later I finished it! What a
touching homage to the triumph of the human spirit, Joe, Joe and Joyce's
love story, the individual journeys of each oarsman and coaches set on
both a familiar NW and historically accurate global stage pre
WWII Olympics. Poignant life insights and lessons learned about
trust, preserving, hard work, survival, forgiveness and teamwork. Those
who help us along the way and those we reach out to help. Inspiring
for young people. Lives well lived.....Yes, I liked it, Aaron.
Canon EOS D70: “I
don’t need a camera, I just use my iPhone.”
I hear a lot of that and I subscribed to that philosophy for a while
until I got this baby.
I’m not saying
modern phones can’t take great photos, I’m just saying there’s a time and place
when you will want, need a DSLR.
The
most noticeable difference is when shooting sporting events – the images,
especially the action shots are head and shoulders better than any iPhone or
Android smart phone.
This camera will
also come in handy for those big life moments such as first communions, bar
mitzvahs, weddings, birthdays, homecomings, proms, etc.
Moto 360: If you
are my 98% of friends with iPhones then you can just skip this and wait until
Spring 2015.
For my two or three Android
friends, The Moto 360 is the best looking smart watch you can buy right
now.
I have grown accustomed to wearing
this watch and now feel naked without.
It gives me all my notifications so my phone can stay in my pocket most
of the time.
As with all Android
products, it’s fully customizable.
The battery
life is good enough to get you through a full day and the charger is an awesome
little, wireless charging cradle.
Roku 3: Give your
DVD player and all your box sets to your Grandparents and plunk down $99 for
the best digital streaming device on the market, the Roku 3. With over 1,800
channels to choose from, this is the fastest, best streaming player you can
buy.
We have Apple TV, Roku, and Google Chromecast.
Our family is always fighting over the tv
with the Roku player.
Why?
Because of the content.
It is the most open platform so it offers the
best services.
It has: Netflix, HBO GO,
Showtime Anytime, Vudu, Google Play, Youtube, Spotify, and the fastest growing and least expensive service, Amazon Instant Video.
The Roku remote has RF technology so the receiver can be in a closet or drawer and it also has a headphone jack that will mute your tv when plugged in - this way you can watch your show while your
partner sleeps.
Kindle Voyage: I
sat down in our town’s little book store, grabbed a few books off the shelf and
spent about twenty minutes reading.
I
felt guilty walking out without buying anything and purchased a book even
though it was 50% more than what I would pay on my Kindle.
I tried my best to keep reading this book,
but within days I gave in and re-purchased it on my Kindle.
There are two main reasons I prefer the
Kindle, the first is the lighting, you are always lit perfectly no matter what
time of day or where you are, inside or out.
The second, I love to select words I don’t know, I always feel like
somebody is going to make me retake the SAT, so I better be prepared.
It’s also best for kids as the Kindle saves word searches and creates digital flash cards – way cool.
With 300 dpi, this year’s screen is awesome, flush with the bezel (first time) and there is a new page turning feature based on soft touch technology. Most importantly,
with a
Kindle, I just plain out read more.
Mailbox: If you
don’t have Gmail or iCloud email then you can skip this.
This app was created by the geniuses behind Dropbox.
The goal is to keep your inbox at zero; do
this and you’ll be rewarded with a cool little picture of the day.
This forces you to deal with your email by
either, deleting, archiving, snoozing or adding it to a “to do” list.
I tried
the new Google “Inbox” and “Gmail 5.0” for a while but came back to
Mailbox.
It’s the most efficient and
satisfying email App for task oriented people.
