I'm Asian and have a flat nose which means that glasses are always falling off my face. Metal nose pads are key for fit but I rarely find ones that I find "cool." The only downside is the price, which frankly is a lot for some acetate. Upside is that they cost so much that I've been very careful not to lose them.

Miltzen Sun w/ Nose Pads

This laser projects three 360 degree perpendicular beams. It's an extremely useful tool for tiling. I've even pulled it out for adjusting my bike seat. 

Three-Plane Leveling and Alignment-Line Laser

I frequently reach for this small offset spatula instead of a butter knife. From cutting butter, spreading condiments onto a sandwich, applying layers to a lasagna, lifting a slice pizza, you will keep finding uses for your lil spatula.

Offset Spatula

A shallow bowl is the perfect eating vessel. It's low enough to do some cutting, high enough for saucy dishes. This East Fork one is beautiful and the perfect volume. I'm a big fan of East Fork's business practices.

Everyday Bowl

We used Benjamin Moore Advance on some cabinets and trim. It's a waterborne, alkyd paint that has excellent leveling. Leveling is as it is sounds, it's the tendency for the paint to become a smooth, streakless surface. Unfortunately like with most paint, there's no free lunch. You have to wait extremely long between recoats, nearly 24 hours. It also is not low VOCs so you have to agressively air out this paint out.

Advance Interior Paint

I have a lot of opinions on cultery. Too flimsy. Boring. Too old fashioned. Bad ergonomics. I also don't like the combination that you get in most sets. Ex. I really don't see the need for two forks. I don't care proper table settings! Sabre solves almost all these problems. 

I like that Sabre Paris lets you assemble your own set with no upcharge for doing so. I counted how many forks I used compared to spoons and knives in my dishwasher and built a set based on real world usage.

Fun colors. They feel both fun and classy at the same time

The knife has real knife energy. It wouldn't be the best for steak but it could do okay.

My biggest criticism is that the soup spoon is almost too large and teaspoon is a little small. I'd rather a spoon that was right in the middle and just have one spoon to rule them all.

A dream would be for them to have matching chopsticks with the same colors.

Bistrot Cultery

Everything is slower with the donabe. It's slower to heat and slower to cool. It's perfect for delicate soups and stews where you almost want to lull your food cooked. This one from Toiro is very attractive and lives on my stove.

Rikyu Tokusa Donabe

These rainbow hexes are as premium as it gets when it comes to hex wrenches.  Not only are the colors are a delight, they serve a purpose. The colors help remind you which one to reach for. For example, I know orange is for the thru-axles on my bike.

Rainbow Hex Tool

I purchased this fude brush directly from Hakuhodo in Japan. It is my all time favorite makeup brush and my only regret is that I wish I had gotten the bigger version. It's not a vegan brush, it's made out of a combination of weasel and synthetic hair. The reason why it's so good is that the hairs on this brush to some degree resists the makeup so when you deposit makeup onto your brush and face, it actually transfers instead of being absorped into the brush. The result is a predictable even finish that wastes very little makeup.

G518 Foundation Brush

We updated the electrical in our house and fish tape was essential for pulling wire. My husband was in the ceiling and the glow in the dark functionality was an added bonus.

Glow in the Dark Fish Tape

Sometimes in public I wonder if something is level. This tiny level is ready to be on the go!

Pocket Level

San Francisco has compost pickup and I've been using this bin for the last 9 years or so. I have never had an issue with odors and bugs. I think the secret is that this bin has good air circulation.

Fresh Air Compost Bin

I'm bit of a luddite when it comes to lighting and home automation. For our 1927 home, I prefer using these push button switches. They are super satisfying to press. 

Push Button Light Switch

People may find this gross but I rewear my wool socks. I find that with wool socks I can wear them a few times before they smell or feel icky. I went on a work trip where I forgot to bring a change of socks. I was able to snag these and wear them for the remainder of the trip. Darn Tough has many patterns but this one is by far my favorite.

Farmer's Market Wool Socks

The blow drying functionality is not especially impressive. I'm not very dexterous so I can't blowout my fair with a hair dryer and barrel brush so the Airwrap helps in that department. You'll achieve more robust curls with a curling iron.

Airwrap

One day, my scientist dad asked me out of the blue if I knew "traceability" was and what defines the source of truth for things like distance? I was like well yeah, here in the US, NIST sets the standard. He seemed surprised that I knew. I happen to know what NIST is because the Thermapen is NIST certified. Because it adheres to a standard, you know your readings are on the same scale as professional recipes or food safety recommendations. In addition to the accuracy, the thermometer reads very quickly and is generally robust. The probe point is very pointy.

Thermapen ONE

This is the wheelset I use on my road bike. The 3.4 AR is the wider version of the plain 3.4 SES. I had a hard time choosing whethere I wanted the AR and how deep I wanted the wheel. Ultimately, I decided that I didn't want the deeper dished 4.5 because it was heavier and as a small rider it would be more punishing in crosswinds. And for more panache, the hubs are Chris King. I have them setup tubelesss with 28mm Schwable Pro One and it is just such an amazing ride. I'm often in the top percentile on Strava descents and that's me being well within my limits.

SES 3.4 AR Disc

I own two Atom LT Hoodys. Everyone in my family has at least one. It is my number one favorite jacket and it is my go to in San Francisco. The hoody is lightly filled with Arcteryx's synthetic Coreloft except in the sides/armpit area. The jacket reminds me of a sleeping bag and I especially love traveling with it. I've tried competitor's equivalent and they aren't quite right. A nice bonus is that Arcteryx does a fabulous job with colors every year.

Atom LT Hoody

The Wooster shortcut is my goto paintbrush for trim and detail work. It's comfortable and I can freehand paint trim without the need to mask with painter's tape.

Shortcut

This soy sauce is my all arounder. I stock Pearl River Bridge Light and Dark but this one falls somewhere in between. Unlike Pearl River, it's also produced in the US. I like the idea that my soy sauce didn't have to travel so far to get to me.


As for other variations. I don't like low sodium sauce or tamari. I find that they are not interchangeable flavor wise. For the things I cook, I would never use either unless a health condition necessitated it. At one of my workplaces, we stocked soy sauce but it was the Low Sodium Kikkoman. I'm not a big fan of Kikkoman but was hoping we could at least get the normal sodium one. When I saw that they had reordered the low sodium, I took it as another sign that I should leave.



Moscot

Bosch

Ateco

East Fork

Benjamin Moore

Sabre

Nagatani-en

PB Swiss

Hakuhodo

Klein Tools

Stabila

Full Circle

Classic Accents

Darn Tough

Dyson

Thermoworks

ENVE

Arcteryx

Wooster

Wan Ja Shan