This list was hard to narrow down because it was accidentally a combination of January and February thanks to poor scheduling on my part. Ha. But the sheer quantity of things I’ve been discovering has been ramping up in a big way, too. On top of new shows and podcasts, I’ve stumbled upon an enormous bundle of newness that I am very excited to share. For now, though, here are five things I’ve been diggin’ on this year.
Tiffany Haddish
Recently, I read a description of the 38-year old comedian and actress Tiffany Haddish that would have annoyed me if it were about anyone else. Someone called her “the funniest person alive right now,” and – while that’s an extreme title for anyone to hold – it actually… totally fits. Yep. She is probably the funniest person alive right now. Deal with it.
You might have seen her hosting SNL as the first black, female comedian in the show’s history, or maybe you saw her in the incredibly popular Girls Trip, but the point is – you’ve seen Tiffany Haddish. She’s everywhere right now, and her success owes its thanks to her incredible hustle. I love her because she makes it even more fun to be a girl. Her stand-up routines are all about chick-problems, and her general demeanor kind of a middle finger to the standards applied to women in Hollywood. She’s changing the game for women in comedy, and it’s inspiring to watch.
On top of that, Tiffany’s life story belongs on the Lifetime Network… after 11pm. Talk about a chaotic upbringing! It should be hard to hear her talk about how she grew up, but her attitude is so contagiously positive that you find yourself laughing at her years of foster care and abuse. What? This chick is magic!
…No seriously, she really is magic. She’s The Last Black Unicorn, which is also the name of her recently published best-selling book. One of my favorite Tiffany Haddish interviews was with Charlemagne Tha God. Prepare to fall in love!
My 2018 Bullet Journal
Thanks to YouTube, I’ve been k-holing my way into becoming an expert lettering artist with an indie washi tape company. I’m burning up from bullet journal fever. You mean I can restart this whole thing and conveniently forget about how I ditched the ol’ bujo habit sometime around July ’17? Sign me the eff up!
Aside from expense-tracking and budgeting bullet journal spreads, I love all of the Netflix trackers, weekly layouts, and goal tracking layouts I’ve been seeing on Pinterest and YouTube. It’s got me all riled up to be a productive member of society in 2018!
I also love any excuse to nerd out over pens, brushes, paints, and paper. Blank journals have always been something I collect with reckless, aimless abandon, so getting nit-picky about the type of cover and weight of paper makes me giddy.
Wacaco Minipresso Portable Espresso Machine
Before I started making coffee at home, espresso drinks were one of my biggest cash drains. Every day, I shelled out around $5 for a cup full of three ingredients. What!? $150 a month?! Yeah, I can’t be responsible for that kind of damage, so learning how to get my fix at home became imperative. These days, when I’m not making the best iced cold brew coffee of my life, I’m using a mechanical, portable espresso machine like this one, the Minipresso.
This is actually the second contraption like this that I’ve tried, and I like it more than my other one, coincidentally named Staresso. It makes a perfect shot of espresso within a few minutes – we’re talking maybe 4 minutes, total. Seriously, this coffee looks like it came out of an advertisement, or a hipster coffee house, or the first few episodes of Master of None, season two. It’s. Perfect.
And this perfect espresso shot requires no electricity or batteries, just hot water and the energy from your raging arm muscles. Basically, you pump hot water through the espresso grounds by creating air pressure with the hand pump on the side. It’s so unbelievably cool, you guys, and it makes my morning Americanos cheaper than gas station coffee.
(Thanks for the kickass gift, Aleah!)
Schmidt’s Lime + Bergamot Deodorant
You guys, I would wear this as a perfume. The Lime + Bergamot scent seems totally weird in deodorant context, but as a standalone fragrance it is absolutely mindblowing. I’m a sucker for woodsy, masculine scents, but this one is the perfect balance of fruity and deep.
Once I went through the sample size, I got the full size from Whole Foods for $9.99. Naturally, I found out later that you can get it for $8.99 on iHerb, or two on Amazon for $17. Damn you, Whole Foods. If you want to pick on up locally, Target carries a smaller size for $4.99
As far as, like, being a deodorant goes… This stuff is a little bit below adequate. I wouldn’t take it on a long hike, and I definitely wouldn’t take it on a date… except as a perfume. It seriously smells that good, but it doesn’t do a great job of preventing or masking any sweatball smells.
Stash Tea Power Breakfast (Black Tea + Maté)
Like everyone else in your Facebook feed, I got sick this month. It was all in my head and my chest, you know, the good phlegmy kind of cold. As a result, I was off of my regular coffee + cream for a few days. Dairy and I just don’t get along when there’s raspy coughing involved. But… caffeine!
Don’t worry, fellow addicts, I found my perfect non-coffee fix. Stash Tea makes a blended tea called Power Breakfast – and it really, truly is powerful. The combination of black tea (much caffeine) and yerba maté (much, much caffeine) is not only buzzy and excellent, but it’s really delicious! It doesn’t really taste like green or black tea, but it has a warm, woodsy tea flavor that lends itself really well to gross, dark, cold winter mornings.