Roundup: Registry Gifts that Make Life Easier

Because you have better things to do than weigh coffee beans

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When a Keurig first showed up in our household, I acted with the haughty disdain of someone who knows she’s too good for something she doesn’t know anything about. You know the routine. I wasn’t that sure what a Keurig did, but I was sure that as people serious about good food and coffee, we were obviously not that into it. So it surprised me when my foodie husband started using it immediately. He bought the reusable My Keurig filter that works on the Elite machines, which allowed him to use his own beans, and went to town. “Why?” I asked. It turned out that, since my foodie husband is also a gadget-loving husband, he’d done his research and realized that the Keurig allowed him to make sure that the water for his coffee was always the precise temperature of hot, and in contact with the beans for the precisely right amount of time. “A consistently good cup of coffee every time,” he told me, not even mentioning the five-seconds-till-done thing.

It was like the time I declared that the chocolate sauce that hardens when you pour it on ice cream obviously had something horrible and cancer causing in it… and I was told that the ingredient that made it work was coconut oil. Oh. Whoopsy, then.

Maybe it’s because I live in the land of bragging about how you weigh your coffee beans every morning, maybe it’s generational, or maybe it’s just my natural stubbornness, but I’ve learned over the years that I’m really good at making things unnecessarily hard on myself. If a gadget promises to make my day-to-day life easier, I regard it with deep suspicion. “A machine that does the wash?” I say. “That can’t possibly be safe.” As I hit my mid-thirties, I’m working to correct that character flaw, for my own sake, and for the sake of those around me. Because so often gadgets that make our lives easier are just smart uses of technology that I should enjoy and stop fighting. You know, while I eat my ice cream with the hardened chocolate sauce.

So today, in honor of what I learned about the new Keurig 2.0 while I was down in LA last weekend (turns out it not only makes really good coffee, it makes me a mean cup of tea in a few seconds), we’ve rounded up our best registry items that make life, and marriage, just a little bit easier. Add ’em to your registry. Buy them for a friend. Or hell, just get them for yourself. You deserve a treat.

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Coffee Made With Science

The Keurig 2.0 Brewing System ($149.99–$199.99) The old-school Keurig that we have in our house is pretty good, but the Keurig 2.0 is a far better machine. The company has made a whole bunch of technological improvements, including changing the basic way that the coffee is brewed. Water doesn’t just pulse through the K-cup anymore, it now brews with a washing machine type motion, resulting in a really good, solidly strong cup of coffee. Plus, the new machines have a “strong” button, if too-dark-to-drink coffee is your thing.

Also, the Keurig 2.0 doesn’t just brew single cups of coffee, it now also offers carafes that allow you to brew two to four cups of coffee, making it perfect for your married morning. Better yet, the carafe K-cups are totally recyclable (save for the lid, which you just have to remove first), as part of Keurig’s goal to offer only recyclable K-cups by 2020. The new machine is able to read what type of coffee you’re making from the K-cup packaging, and adjusts its brewing process to the ideal conditions for that cup.

The Keurig 2.0 gives you a fast and painless way to make each other a cup (or four) of coffee as you’re dashing out the door, to show each other you care (when you’re under a time crunch). But mostly, it just makes a damn good and damn consistent cup of coffee. At the end of our weekend in LA, one of the top coffee experts in the country came to talk to us about things like the $1,200 coffee grinder he has in his garage, and about the way Keurig uses an even more expensive grinder than that, then vacuum seals the grind right away. He told that while he uses a fancy coffee set up with weighed beans on the weekend, during the week he goes for coffee made by science and technology. Easy, good, no guilt attached.

Feed me…

1. Electric Griddle ($32) Frying pans without borders! A griddle is worth it for making bacon alone, and it really comes in handy if you’re making multiple grilled cheese sandwiches. (And who ever just makes one?)

2. Measuring cups and spoons ($16–$42) Stainless steel measuring cups always make me feel like I at least look like I know what I’m doing in the kitchen. But more importantly, these cups and spoons come in odd sizes, which is really helpful for those of us who are… not so practiced at math anymore (adding and subtracting fractions has real world implications, y’all). Also cool? If you need to melt butter or warm up milk, you can put these measuring cups directly on the burner. #lazygirlsftw

3. Kitchen scale ($14) Here’s how cooking so often goes at our house: Okay, you need seven ounces for the recipe. How many ounces are in a cup again? Let’s ask Google. Crap, this is in metric? Okay, let’s convert it. Wait, where did that measuring cup go again? You know what? Let’s just call it half a cup. I’m sure it’ll be fine. A kitchen scale is like having a direct line to the psychic network for your food. It just knows.

4. Nutri Ninja Pro ($130) One unexpected drawback of working from home is that I have to prepare every single meal for myself. One great option is using a bullet blender for green smoothies. This is perfect for when you’re too lazy to make real food. Maddie has tried every iteration of the bullet blender, and she swears by Nutri Ninja for quality and cost. (Pro Tip: It’s $30 cheaper at Bed Bath & Beyond.)

5. Silpat ($18) Once you have one of these silicone baking mats, you’ll wonder how you lived without it. Actually, go ahead and register for two… you won’t regret it. I mean, who actually has parchment paper just lying around? Okay, David does. But even still, these mats can be reused forever.

Getting clean & getting dirty…

1. Tempur-Pedic pillows ($129) A good night’s sleep makes me a better human, and a better partner. It’s cheesy, but pillows are one of those often-overlooked items that can make a huge difference in your everyday life. (See, now don’t you want to buy someone a nice pillow?)

2. Memory foam mattress topper ($259–$379) See above note regarding good sleep. Now, actual Tempur-Pedic beds are… expensive, and too big for a registry anyway. But one of these luxurious mattress toppers can turn an inexpensive mattress into a heavenly dream cloud of amazingness.

3. Bath sheets ($109) As one friend said after trying bath sheets, “I feel like bath towels were lying to me this whole time.”

4. Shark Lift-Away Professional Steam Pocket Mop ($122) You know who you’ll find just casually licking the floor? A toddler, or a dog. Instead of cleaning with potentially dangerous chemicals, this steam mop uses water to clean and sanitize hard floors. There’s a great little version, but the more expensive one comes with a detachable handheld steamer, which is a nifty little bonus if you accidentally got rid of your iron in the move to Oakland and never bought a new one.

5. Fire extinguisher ($20), smoke detectors ($25), carbon monoxide detectors ($20), and A Fire ladder ($35) Because you’re gonna be burning up the sheets, amirite? (No but seriously, fire safety is no joke, and it’s surprising how many people forget to purchase these items for themselves.)

For the modern couple…

1. Wi-fi camera card ($40) As the name suggests, Wi-Fi camera cards transmit photos wirelessly. Like magic. I don’t know why I don’t have one already. Seriously. WHY?

2. Bose iPhone docking station ($200) Gathering around the Bose docking station to listen to podcasts or audiobooks is the new fireside chat. It’s also a really good compromise for couples who are trying to unplug more at night (light from your TV or smartphone is not good for your sleep cycle) but who also want to be entertained as they wind down. Like, say, us.

3. DIT gift cards For project supplies ($5–$500) While Lowe’s and Home Depot don’t currently offer a gift registry, you can let the grapevine know that gift cards to either store would be much appreciated.

4. External hard drive ($70) If you store anything important on your computer (like your wedding photos, for example), you’re gonna want to back that thang up. As a photographer Maddie owns a ton of hard drives, but she swears by this one, mostly because it’s shock- and water-proof.

5. Evernote gift card ($45) Getting organized as a couple takes some effort. Evernote is the best for keeping track of shared to-dos, important PDFs (hello, living will!), the measurements of your bedroom, and the instruction manuals for your griddle and steam mop. A yearlong Premium subscription is just $45. (Note: you do have to create a free account to be able to send a gift card.)

What’s the one household item you can’t live without? Which gadgets (complex or super simple) feature most prominently in your everyday relationship routine? Did we leave anything out that should be added to our Amazon carts immediatelY?

This post was sponsored by the new Keurig 2.0 brewing system. Thanks Keurig for helping make the APW mission possible!

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