There used to be a Roasted Red Pepper variety of Tostito’s chips. I was perfectly able to eat an entire bag of that in one sitting because it was just so unstoppably good. I guess I should be relieved that they don’t make that anymore, because I’d weigh three times what I do now. 

I also consider Peanut Butter M&Ms;an almost completely good thing, though again, I try not to eat many of them.

I also dearly love Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper.

Shure SCL-3 Earphones.

Noxema.

(asahi) pentax cameras.

i have two ancient K-mount SLRs (a K1000 and an ME) which are fantastic and rugged, and i’m saving up for a K200D dSLR.  basically the ME is my little buddy and i carry it around far too often.

I’ll bite and be the first to lob this bomb.

I don’t know what I did before the iPhone and I can’t imagine a future without it.

Apple is the no brainer for me, especially now that I have an iPhone. This is about the closest you can get to cyberpunk universal connection short of surgery.

The other big one is the Black and Decker EasyShot staple gun. I have no idea why it took so long for people to figure out that putting pressure at the opposite end of the staple gun is inherently unstable.

Tivo!  In fact I endorse it constantly to people who don’t even know me.  I like to think I’m a kindred spirit with John Stewart.

Oh, and I just posted that from my iPhone so I’m in ageement on that as well.

Magic sponge!

Lush soaps & shampoos.  And castille soap for the kitchen and camping.  And I think my husband would say Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven.

Lush - expensive, but so far the only soaps that don’t wreck my skin and are actually helping

Castille soap because it smells good, doesn’t take much, and isn’t absolutely wretched on the skin or environment.

Lodge dutch oven - because you can throw in tons of food and make something divine.  Or you can just take the biscuits and fry them on the lid, which is also divine.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser—You know the little honey brown specks of almost unremovable grease/fat that stick to appliances and walls if you actually cook in your kitchen? Dampen a Magic Eraser, wipe, swipe, spots gone! Scum in the bathtub? Swipe away. I hate cleaning. But it’s much less of a chore with these babies.

Shout Color Catcher—You throw one of these in the wash and it soaks up any color leaching from your clothes. You never know, when you’re washing brights, when one of those is going to decide to run onto something else. And even a pair of new tan socks in a light load can bleed green (where does it come from) onto the other clothes. But this little piece of cloth/paper keeps that from happening.

I can’t believe you grabbed dibs Dr. Bronner’s first.  Boo.

The Chipotle chain of burrito joints.  I love Chipotle so much that I’ll happily go there even when I’m in parts of the city where there are dozens of cheap healthy not-a-chain alternatives.  I just don’t care.  It probably has something to do with the 100% customizability of any mexican dish you can come up with.  They have a big steam table of different ingredients (not unlike Subway) and you can tell ‘em what you want, no matter what.  Also their vegetarian option on anything is a dollar or two cheaper, and includes free guacamole (whereas guac is an extra couple bucks if you also want meat).  Oh, and they’re one of the few big restaurant chains out there to have any real commitment to healthy, organic, sustainable, humane, etc. I don’t care that it’s fast food.  I love them.

Uniqlo.  I don’t think this is anywhere in the US except New York yet, but be warned, because it’s inevitably coming to you.  Uniqlo is a Japanese version of H&M;, except higher quality and a little more avant garde in terms of fashion sense.  The main reason I love it is that, since their jeans are designed for Japanese people, they tend to fit short and slim-hipped/non-curvy folks like me.  They also do free same-day alterations on pants, even if the pants were on sale.  And every winter they do a huge wall of cashmere sweaters, in every color of the rainbow, for some ungodly price like $39 or something.  What’s not to love?

Oh, crap, thought of a couple more things, though I’ll keep them short:

Sabra hummus.  Apparently they put a little extra tahini in, which makes the texture much nicer.  They’re also one of the only pre-packaged hummuses (?) out there which come even slightly close to the stuff you can get from middle eastern groceries around here.  So if you see it at your supermarket, know that it’s the real thing.

Le Crueset cookware.  Which probably makes me an absolute brat, even just for having it.  I only have one, the 5-gallon stock pot, and oh how I adore it.  And not just because it’s pretty.  It makes almost anything taste better (I even use it for pasta), and more importantly it’s actually fun to cook in.  It is indestructible.  When I die, my grandchildren will probably cook a big post-funeral meal in this baby.  This stuff is such a lifetime investment that there’s now a shop somewhere in Brooklyn dealing entirely in vintage enamelware.  Because you will die before your Le Crueset pots do.

I’ll second the Tivo love.  Such a great product.

I also love Netflix.  It’s even better paired with one of the Roku Netflix Players, even though there isn’t a lot of stuff available for streaming yet.

I’ll never leave my couch again.

Triple posting, because:

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser—You know the little honey brown specks of almost unremovable grease/fat that stick to appliances and walls if you actually cook in your kitchen? Dampen a Magic Eraser, wipe, swipe, spots gone!

OMG REALLY?!!!11ELEVENTY ONE!1!11!!! 

I have been trying to figure out what to do about those years and happen to have a pile of those stashed away in a cupboard.  I almost tossed them a few weeks ago, actually, because I bought them to clean up this one thing one time and never used them again for anything else.

If this is a bit obnoxious, I’m sorry, but: Shoei motorcycle helmets. If I’d been wearing a lower-quality helmet in 1995 I probably wouldn’t have lived to find out what a “blog” was.

Given the price on a 1.5 qt covered casserole, I can’t even fathom how much a FIVE GALLON Le Creuset stockpot would cost. 

/sticker shock

Smartwool socks.

Rowan yarns- if only for free yarn (cos I spend way too much money on yarn already)

&

OxyClean- that stuff soaks away years of stains off of Goodwill/ValueVillage purchases. Yes.

Honeycrisp apples. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, you should try some. Warning: they’re unavailable from around May to late August.

JC

I have to agree with Smartwool Socks and the Swiffer.

Once I bought my first pair of Smartwools, I threw out all my other socks. They feel *so* nice.

And I’d add my Sony Vaio laptop. This is the third one I’ve had and I doubt I’ll ever buy anything but.

2 things.  #1, that should have said 5-quart, not 5-gallon.  d’oh!  I doubt I could lift a 5-gallon enamelware pot…  and #2, I don’t think the price goes up proportionally to the capacity of the pot.  The 3 quart version of the one I have only costs $20 less.  Also, regarding the sticker shock in general, the bottom line is, as I said above, they last forever.

Qiagen DNeasy kit, because I’m lazy.

I second Netflix, especially the “watch instantly” feature.

Warning: they’re unavailable from around May to late August.

No apples are worth eating at that time of year anyway, so why bother?

My mini-Swiss Army Knife with built-in thumb drive and tiny flashlight. It’s the best Christmas present I ever got. I plan to dramatically increase my daughter’s inheritance—assuming there’s anything left when I leave this mortal coil.

Let me tell all you fine folks about a new product that’s sweeping the nation:

Made from the finest ingredients, and the quality, hand-tested water that only the Milwaukee municipal system can provide, “Old Style” is the name on lips of America’s tastemakers.

Wait, we can list our “brands” of beer/wine/liquors as well?  Wow, that just opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

Tom’s deodorant and toothpaste (that’s two products; unlike Dr. Bronner’s.)

Proactiv- I’ve been prescribed Differin, Benzymycin, Retin-A, and Tetracycline for my acne.  To tell the truth, I could totally shirk all the topicals and the antibiotics were what was really working.  Birth control pills did nothing.  However, dang Proactiv does everything the commercials say it does.  It truly is amazing.  Just don’t sign up for the club where they send you the pack every month, because you’ll go through different parts of the system at different rates, but you’ll never use as much as they send you.

Bikram yoga. 30 days will change your body and change your life! (and change your pocketbook, because it’s pretty expensive everywhere)

It’s so hot lately in my (only nominally air conditioned) yoga studio that I’m really not sure I could handle Bikram.  Funny, I was thinking about recommending my school of yoga, too—though mine isn’t actually trademarked as an official “brand” in the way that Bikram is. 

I’d like to someday be so free of consumerist brand-whore nonsense that when someone asks me this question, I will tell them my favorite tomato cultivar, yoga school, etc.  I’m still pretty far away, though, because I thought of another: Cabot dairy products.  Especially their extra-sharp white cheddar.

This is prosaic, but: Excedrin Migraine. Nothing else works on my headaches.

Bojangles fast food chicken biscuits. Yum! I’d eat them every day if I didn’t care about my health. They also have really good iced tea, sweet or unsweet, which is on sale right now, a huge cup for 90 cents. I love their biscuits so much that once I asked them if I could buy a “staff” t-shirt like the staff all wear. They said I could have one if I worked a shift, and if I hadn’t had someplace I had to be that morning, I would have done it.

And, someone mentioned Lush so I have to plug Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab perfume oils. I never wore perfume before BPAL, and if they closed up shop I would never wear it again.

Eddie Bauer’s long-sleeve twill shirts.

Oh, and Izze fruit soda.

RejeX.  Silly name but I’ll never go back to using wax on my car.  Goes on easier, looks shinier and bird shit just slides off.

What a great question!  I’ll tout something affordable (I too loved Bikram yoga but not the price nor the grimy studios): everyone should have a Jetstream uniball pen.  Its blue ink is a handsome shade of dark indigo I hadn’t seen before.  Pressure and inkflow feel exactly right—midway between ballpoint and marker.  Makes signing a happy occasion.

they last forever

Oh I know.  I don’t own any…yet.

Benadryl. My life would be an uninterrupted chain of miseries without it.

Opponax - yes, you are a total jerkbag for owning le creuset cookware, and enjoying the many discernably better-tasting meals you have undoubtedly been able to subsequently compare.

Seriously I’ve used these things and regular cookware right next to each other and the stuff that comes out of the le creuset just tastes effing better.

Subquestion:

Anyone have favorite brands or products that aren’t available in the US (or your home country if you’re not an American)?

Scratching a mosquito bite just reminded me that I really miss the ubiquitous Indian brand of insect repellant: Odomos.  Which reminded me of my love for Coke in Europe (it’s made with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup), Terry’s Chocolate Oranges from the UK, this crazy soda in India that tasted like Sprite with ginger added, and the hilarity of discovering “Brooklyn” brand chewing gum in Italy.  There was also some weird breathmint that involved liquorice, in Italy, but I don’t remember the name.

iPod. (Don’t have an iphone-yet) Whether it’s music, podcasts of radio shows, or audio books, that little sucker just rocks. This pick could count as Apple in general.

And the programmable coffee maker. When you’re not a morning person, setting it up to brew about 5 minutes before the alarm goes off ensures the first thing you smell is fresh, hot coffee as you wake up.

DVR’s are pretty cool too.

Blackberry. The touchscreen-only keyboard on the iPhone (yes, I’m sure I’d get used to it, eventually. If I had to) makes it really difficult to type out the number of lengthy emails I send on a daily basis.

Dr. Bronners soap and Tom’s deodorant & toothpaste already got mentioned, so…

John Frieda’s Frizz-Ease Hair Serum.  It keeps the humidity *in* in the cold, dry New England winter and kept the humidity *out* in the hot, muggy Southern summer.  Too expensive for me to use every day but if I win the megabucks I’m buying a lifetime supply because DAMN, I like controllable hair and this product does it for me.

And hat tip to a local, Maurice Bonneau’s Sausage Kitchen.  Carnivores, weep if you do not live in Maine, because he is (so far) only able to ship in state.  (I heard a rumor he’s building a bigger sausage kitchen in downtown Lisbon, ME, that will meet USDA manufacturing certification requirements, and if this turns out to be true, then he’d be able to ship out of state within the US.)  Small batch pork, turkey or lamb sausage that is worth every penny.  The only time I’ve been disappointed is when I’ve been down in the neighborhood, swung by, and he was closed.

Netflix++ Especially when I was off work for 8 weeks due to hand surgery and unable to read or use the computer. Saved my sanity (esp. when combined with Vicodin).

Blue Diamond Nut Thins. Best gluten free snack I’ve found (darn celiac)—I can snarf down a whole box in, oh, minutes flat. So much for self-control. :D

The Opoponax, you can probably get Mexican Coke, which is also made with sugar, not HFCS. Check your local Mexican shops or Costco. I’m in Washington state and I can find it pretty easily.

(It would be illegal for Mexican distributors to sell it here, they have specific territories. Anyone can buy it in Mexico, then resell it here in the states. Yes, it’s more expensive, and that’s why. Totally worth it!)

Gold-toe heavy men’s socks.  Regular socks wear way too fast at the heel for me (I wear loafers a lot) and the Gold-toe just last long enough that I actually feel I get my money’s worth

And a toss-up for the other between a chili mix, Wick Fowler’s Two-Alarm chili and Millstone/Brothers (both P&G;nameplates), specifically “Foglifter” blend.

Although like most Mac owners, I sing the praises of my Mac to whomever expresses an interest in coming over from the darkside.

CHUN’S Fish Sauce

Interesting, TheOtherWA, as I could have sworn the Lebanese deli up the street from my last apartment carried Coke that tasted… different… and yet… familiar…  but wrote off my suspicions about it being the “international” coke.  “Kosher For Passover” coke is also made with sugar and not HFCS, which might be how you were able to get it all the way up in DC - it’s supposed to only be available seasonally in places with demand for that sort of thing, but then I’m guessing that the leftovers probably go to costco or ultra-discount bodega type places.

You can also get Terry’s Chocolate Oranges some places in the states—usually shops that carry UK imported foods will stock them, especially at Easter.

d’oh, how did I not discern that you’re in Washington State—anyhoo, my comment still stands…

Rain X.

A windshield application, rain water beads and flies off the glass to the point that wipers are sometimes rendered superfluous.  For that reason alone, it’s an absolutely fantastic safety feature.  Cheap (The $4-$5 range), and easy to apply, it also serves (don’t ask me how) to keep a windshield far cleaner, far longer during dry weather.  If you haven’t already, but some and try it.

Kano Kroil is probably the best rust penetrant ever made; WD-40 is a truly marvelous product but pales in comparison when it comes to rusty bolts.  Kroil comes from Kano Laboratories in Nashville, TN, and has been a real lifesaver for this shadetree mechanic who has decades-old vehicles that have suffered the ravages of the rainy and humid South.

  Above-mentioned shadetree mechanic (pardon the use of the third-person narrative) often has to deal with oil, grease, paint, and tree sap (!); the best hand cleaner so far encountered is Phil Wood’s hand cleaner which is 100% biodegradable and vegan to boot.  Phil Wood is an American bicycle manufacturer (in California) and ever so thoughtfully came up with this amazing product which seems to have some kind of wood pulp in it and works just fabulously without shredding the skin.

  The two items above are unfortunately difficult to find and usually have to be ordered online or by snail mail, so i’ll add a third recommendation, Kirk’s castile soap, which is usually fairly readily available in grocery stores, usually tucked away on a bottom shelf amidst the shelves and shelves of bar soaps that seem to be nothing but tallow and perfume from exploitative mega-corporates (yeah, i’m looking at you, Pam, for endorsing something from P&G;, qualifier about conscientious buying notwithstanding); it’s reasonably priced and long-lasting with a nice lather and vegan to boot.  Dr Bronner’s soaps are excellent products but unfortunately have a tendency to render the hands red and even chapped; my spouse doesn’t have that problem but our young ‘uns and i do, so Kirk’s has been a real blessing in our household.

  Always nice being able to put in a word for relatively small businesses & their deserving products; just warms the cockles o’ the heart to do so :p

General Motors. I don’t care that the armchair quarterbacks over at The Truth About Cars are cheerleading for GM to declare Chapter 11, nor do I care about the people that actually believe the crap from Who Killed The Electric Car. I just want a Camaro. Or a Corvette, a Corvette would be nice.

Smith & Wesson J frame revolvers. Model 642 in particular. Great little concealed carry gun. Fits in the purse or a fanny pack, no problem. 38 Special +P packs a punch.

MacBook Pro. Best laptop made. Period.

I b uy it in bulk, at the health food store , or Co-Op; dead sea salts, (for bath). Makes you feel as if you’re soaking in the Israeli sea of total relaxation…good as a massage.

My most insanely specific brand preference:

Bonne Maman 4 Fruits jam, which must be purchased at Sahadi’s in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (because they sell it at an outrageously cheap price compared to other supermarkets).  I also like their “wild fruits” blend, but Four Fruits is the classic.

Since Dr. Bronner’s has already been mentioned, I’ll throw Kiehl’s out there. It’s pretty much all I use on my body. And, for a second, how about Aveda hair care products.

Local food place- Boca Grande- best burritos in Boston!

Anything Apple.

Trek bicycles (I average over 50 miles a day on my Trek).

i would happily endorse Moxie.  They tinkered with the formula a few years ago (I think when a new company bought the brand), and they made it sweeter and less weird tasting.  Which was a mistake.  But I’d still endorse it.  And if I endorsed it, maybe they’d start selling it somewhere within a few hundred miles of where I live.

And our cats endorse catnip.  Any brand.  In abundance.

Grandma’s Secret Spot Remover, sold at Hancock Fabrics (and possibly other places as well). It <b>actually works</i>, which isn’t something I’ve been able to say about other fabric stain removers. Wonderful stuff!

Dove shampoo is good, too.

There are a couple of other things that once I’ve tried them I’ve thought, “Oh, wow, how did I ever live without this?” but now I can’t remember what they are. Sigh.

For you, Pesto:

http://www.moxiefestival.com/

I’m Douglas Scheinberg, and I approve this message.

Spray-on tanning.  After spending decades cooking my skin to achieve a ‘healthy glow’ I have finally wised up and stay out of the sun.  So when I have the longing to be bronze I just step into a booth for a few seconds and come out looking like I spent a week in St. Tropez.

I’ve never liked the way I look with a tan, but after hearing a friend describe her spray-tanning experience it sounds so bizarre and hilarious that I really want to try it.

Burt’s Bees—Lip balm that is not horrendously flavoured and feels really good on your lips. About half the varieties are just tinted enough to be a little femmey without being like lipstick.

Vegan mutton—As far as I know, only available from King’s Café in Toronto, but they import it from somewhere. Anyway, it’s made from mushrooms and is incredibly tasty. You can cook it in a stew or curry, or just fry it up on its own.

Peach Berserk—Heh, I do know the person who invented it. My favourite clothing store, specializing in funky, over-the-top silkscreen patterns. People are always asking me where I got my bright red Karl Marx dress; it’s from there, as well as a large percentage of my wardrobe.

My list of must haves:

Pink Dove bar soap
Avon French Lilac Bubble Bath
Jelly Belly Licorice pastels (pug loves ‘em too)

And I love my 1940’s era Presto Pressure Cooker and use it daily. Over 20 years, actually had to replace it!! Weighs a ton but is easily the most important item in my kitchen, as it makes perfect 5 lbs’ worth of fudge every time… make about 100-150 lbs a year some years.

(Ginmar- here is the secret to my success!!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Presto-4-QT-Cook-Master-Model-604-Pressure-Cooker_W0QQitemZ110276624801QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item110276624801&_trkparms=72:552|39:1|66:1|65:12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14.l1318#ebayphotohosting

Spray n’ Wash Stain Stick. I’ve tried various stain removal products on my clothes, but this one is not only effective on everything I’ve been hit with so far, including blood, but it’s a no-brainer to use. Just take off whatever stained garment you’re wearing, rub the stick on it, throw it in your laundry hamper and wash whenever the next laundry day is. I no longer have to spray other products on a stain and rub and fuss for the correct period of time before I wash.

Shout Carpet Cleaner (stain and spot remover). We all know that cats vomit for sport, but as tempting as felicide can be, you have to find an alternative. This product gets regurgitated Science Diet out of my light grey carpets without stinking up the joint with weird chemical smells (I’m looking at you, Spot Shot.)

More proof? A cat I used to have developed a weird sensitivity to canned beef cat food. (Just beef: she was fine with poultry.) She twice vomited garish, nasty, smelly red brown awfulness on both my comforter and its cover, and the light grey carpet, before I figured out that she just shouldn’t eat beef.  The Spray and Wash Stain Stick rescued my bedclothes—twice—and the Shout got rid of a huge stain on the carpet that I was convinced would be ineradicable.

Netflix- I don’t watch TV, I have Netflix.  hello, anime, foreign films, and indie stuff!

Gravenstien Apple juice- you can get this at World Market, and Whole Foods has 100% gravenstien apple juice, too. It just tastes sooo much better than the regular stuff.

HiChew in lemon or green apple.  is it candy? Is it gum?  Heck, I don’t know, but I love it!

Vallomilk candy cups.  Chocolaty marshmallowy goodness!

Playstation 2.  Our DVD player died 3 years ago.  We never even noticed- PS2 saved the day.

Ebay- is there anything you can’t find on Ebay?

The Dyson vacuum I have three dogs and burned up three or four vacuum cleaners before getting a Dyson and the thing has worked very well for the last three years.

Coke Zero!  After finding out I had type 2 diabetes, it was necessary to find a sugar-free substitute for my soda addiction.  I hate the taste of most diet sodas, but Coke Zero is delicious!

1) tivo
2) itunes/ipod
3) chemex
4) burt’s bees

5) TIKI CAT (tuna and calamari)  never any complaints.
6) Jarittos soda- esp. mandarin or grapefruit (real sugar, no fructose)

I’ll stop now.

Netflix, Apple, naproxen sodium (Aleve), Twinings English Breakfast, Lindt dark chocolate truffles (the ones in the blue foil), Ajax cleanser.

Branded things aside, can I just say how much I love, love, love the internet?  LOVE!  (I have such pity for those computer/net-phobic types.)

Aeropress coffee maker. I can have delicious fresh-ground coffee in less than 3 minutes, latte or cappuccino in under 4. The device is simple and cheap (around $25), and makes significantly better coffee than my highly-rated drip coffeemaker.

High-speed laser printers. When I completed my first book in 1986, I had a daisy-wheel impact printer. At 3 minutes per page it took nearly a day to print my ms. When I got my first HP laser printer and printed over 300 pages in half an hour I just about cried.

Natural Balance original ultra cat food. If your cat’s barfing up the Science Diet, check the ingredients: There’s corn in there.

Natural Balance stopped one of my cats from ripping out her fur and serves all my cats well. Blenty of meaty goodness for a dry food, and a sprinkling of duck bones and guts for good measure.

Have to add two more…

* Dyson vacuum cleaner. We’ve gone through two POS Hoovers and this Dyson picks it all up.

* Reynolds Release foil: What a clean up time saver!

I’ll go ahead and admit to my geekitude.

Macintosh

I had a fantastic MacPlus back in 1986 and now several Macs later in 2008 I am posting this from an amazing MacBookPro.

Apparently, my tastes run directly parallel to the opoponax. Someday, I will own a set of Le Crueset. Really, I will. One piece at a time. After I finish my set of Wustoff knives. (Two down, three to go.)

Breakstone’s cottage cheese. It’s the only one without a weird aftertaste. (Though if I’m cooking with it I don’t care what brand it is.)

Gluten Free Stuff: Pamela’s - especially the all purpose pancake / baking mix. Bob’s Red Mill GF hot cereal. I’d eat that stuff on purpose. They also carry powdered xanthan gum, which makes so many things possible.

International stuff: the UK standard flavours of crisps include “cheese & onion”  and “prawn cocktail”; that, and Bounty bars (think Mounds, but better), and Boot’s brand witch hazel products. And PG Tips tea. (I stock up on these things when we go.) Gali sandals from Israel. Each pair I’ve had has lasted 10-15 years of hard wear (summers only, though). Al-Safa frozen chicken patties (halal product) - not GF, but the family appreciates fast-food style hot sandwiches.

One am. Must leave computer, or spouse will defect… oh, hey, i’ll second the internet… later…

The first things that popped into my head:

Yardley’s English Lavender Soap—the real, expensive stuff made in England, not the horrid copy made here. Just pure soap: it washes off instantly with no film residue, and it smells divine. I put my extras in my cedar chest with my woolens, and everything thing smells great!

Lundberg Rice, any type, but especially Golden Rose Brown Rice. They raise incredible organic and “ecofarmed” rice very responsibly, and the rice just tastes better. Thumbs up!

Thorlo socks. I wear them night and day. They are cushy, soft, long lasting, and they keep my feet warm at night in bed.

Online organizers of all types: Delicious for organizing bookmarked internet sites. Ravelry for organizing all my yarn-related supplies, patterns, and projects. And etc. They save me countless hours, relieve my life of clutter, and keep me from losing track of important info.

Seconding the love for Dyson vacuum cleaners.  My household consists of two long-haired adults, two toddlers, and three cats.  The Dyson is a miracle machine.

The Green Mountain Diapers website.  It’s my go-to for cloth diapering supplies and advice.  It’s also run by a work-at-home-mom who provides excellent customer service.

Oh, and Pizza Hut P’Zones.  Yeah, they’re really terrible for you.  But they’re also really tasty and great comfort food.  The fact that they reappear every time I’m pregnant makes me almost believe in God.

I also agree about Breakstone Cottage Cheese, as I ate it every day for years before switching to yogurt. They key is to find real additive-free cottage cheese without carageenen, guar gum, or all kinds of icky stuff put in it. Breakstone uses a tad of cream with the cottage cheese curd, IIRC, and it tastes the way it’s supposed to.

Natural Balance original ultra cat food. If your cat’s barfing up the Science Diet, check the ingredients: There’s corn in there.

Natural Balance killed my cat—they were the only company that put rice gluten from China in their “natural” dry food and the melamine in it was lethal to cats, including mine.  They were the only dry food with the gluten problem—all of the others were wet foods with wheat gluten in them.

Natural Balance is my anti-recommendation—I tell everyone what happened to my cat because they decided to save some money and get rice gluten from China.  But it’s true that the cats really liked the food until it started fucking with their kidneys.

An actual recommendation:  I would not be able to live without my Knitpicks Options Harmony needle set.  Love love love, the TSA will have to pry it from my cold dead hands to keep me from bringing it on the plane next week.

The Leatherman tool, whose knife blades, screwdrivers, and pliers let me do all sorts of minor repairs without having to make a trip to the tool box.
The Sharper Image handheld steam vac, which lets me completely suck up the pee from canine accidents.
Nature’s Miracle, which removes every bit of stain and odor from such accidents.

Wow. This thread got really long really quick.

I haven’t bothered to read past the first six or eight comments, but I want to second (probably more, by now) Scott’s endorsement of peanut butter M&M;‘s in the very first post. I love the hell out of those things.

Apple, obviously, although as much as it pains me to say so, I’m going to be replacing my now-busted laptop with a windoze-PC.

With two cats who dearly love copious vomiting, I’ll endorse any carpet cleaner that works. Right now, I’m using Resolve.

Already mentioned: Dr. Bronner’s, Leatherman, SmartWool socks (the first pair I ever bought didn’t have the price tag on them, and if I had known how much they cost before I was in the check-out line at REI, I never would have bought them, but I love, love, love my SmartWool socks).

Not mentioned yet (I think): the Miracle Wrap. It’s like a little pouch/straight jacket for little babies, and it was the most wonderful thing for swaddling the kid when he was a wee one. He would fight it going in, but as soon as he was in, he would calm down instantaneously. And it was the only thing that kept his arms in all night. Yeah for babies sleeping through the night!

Nature’s Miracle odor removal products. Have you tried this, Dan? It uses enzymes to break down the bacteria that create the odors, so it’s really effective without a really heavy perfume or chemical smell. They have ones specially formulated for dogs or cats, and it did a really good job when my kid threw up strawberry yoghurt and potato chips all over the back of the car. They also make - listen up, pet owners - wipes that you can use instead of washing your dog. When the dog starts smelling really doggy, just pet him or her using the wipe and you have a month or two of non-smelling dog. It’s awesome.

International stuff: Paraguayan yerba mate. I lived there for two years and got hooked on mate. The Paraguayan stuff has a much stronger flavor. I’m not sure if it’s the soils or the method of preparation or the leaf to stem ratio or what, but there is a distinct difference. Several Argentine brands are available in most health food stores, and it’s fine, but it’s not the same. And the Web site I used to use to order it shut down when DHL raised their rates so high it just didn’t make sense for them to continue (like $20 per kilo shipping for a $3 kilo of yerba - I don’t blame them, but I am sad).

MacBook Pro and iPhone.  These are parts of my brain.  No you cannot touch it for a minute and check your email or just check one score.  (Dan, don’t do it.  You’ll regret it.  That’s like quitting marijuana to become an alcoholic.  Never a good idea.  Plus, You’ll be shunned.)
The kind of yoga class I take (maybe people will notice a trend of people recommending their yoga class and decide to just take some yoga class.)
Donut Peaches. 
amazon.com.  I love books and buy tons from here.  The best website to shop at.
These little chocolates with psilocybin wrapped in gold foil I got in a bag years ago back in college.  I would be the first to do a commercial for those.  “if you want to know what communion would feel like if your religion actually worked, try cocoshrooms.  if you want to understand the ways what you think are free choices are actually robotic behaviors imprinted by accident at various vulnerable times, and reprogram those imprints to better enable you to figure out what you should do with your life, try cocoshrooms.  Want to have a conversation with the buddha on why buddhism might be the wrong path for you, and disillusioned with capitalism and a culture of instant gratification and quick fixes to deep problems?  Have we got the solution for you!!!  Buy buy buy cocoshrooms.”
Bob’s Scottish Oatmeal.  Good Breakfast.

Glad the Swiss Army Knives got mentioned early.  Everyone should be issued one at birth.

I am totally addicted to Kashi’s frozen entrees—esp. their Chicken Florentine and Rosemary-Lemon Chicken; nummers.

For anyone who ever has to do video learning, JVC used to make a few VCR models that let you watch at faster-than-realtime speeds, but still hear (and perfectly understand) the soundtrack—with pitch compensation, so the lecture doesn’t sound like Alvin.  At 1.5x, the time savings is 33%; at 2x, it’s 50%.  My students could not survive without these.  (Best models were HRS-7600U and HRS-9800U.  You can find them on e-bay from time to time.)  I understand the software exists to accomplish the same thing with streamed video, but have yet to find it in consumer applications.  Anyone know of this?

And I’m a huge fan of Amazon’s “Marketplace”—new & used books, CDs, DVDs from individuals and dealers small and large, often at ridiculously low prices if you’re patient enough, and with commentary from other users, some of it well-informed and perceptive.

Oh, and OxyContin.  (Only in moderation—and by valid, legal prescription, of course.)

NPR used to be on the list; too bad those days are gone.  (Though “This American Life” and “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” are still fun.)

Oop—forgot to second JL’s 10:29pm paean to Rain-X, with the additional note that, when applied to bathroom mirrors, it keeps the shower from fogging up the mirror.

Amy’s Kitchen frozen dinners.

Even a carnivore like myself can enjoy them.  Yum.  (I’m just lucky I can get it at all here—there’s No Vegetarian Food in Japan, so importy stores import it to add veggie options.)

Aleve, no question.  It’s the Activity Maker.  After that, Electra bicycles and the xtracycle bike extender.

Bose QC-3 noise-canceling headphones.

+1 for Peanut Butter M&Ms;and Coke Zero.

Netflix
Swing-a-Way can openers
Fender Telecaster
Campari
mechanical pencils
cherry tomatoes
openoffice.org (free substitute for Microsoft Office)
Prozac & siblings
“Look-Alikes” by Joan Steiner
Craftsman (by Sears) tools

NYC tap water. Kept my skin clear like nothing else. I’m considering moving back from jersey just for that.

Also, Fanta in any country that makes it with sugar instead of corn syrup. Lemon’s my favorite.

My yarn swift & ball winder. Oh, the joy of being able to wind a 1000m skein of cobweb weight yarn without making a tangled mess and turning my hands into painful claws in the process.

My iPod. I don’t know how I managed to walk around in public without it. Blissful freedom from hearing assholes offer commentary I don’t want to hear.

Oh, and another shout-out for the Dyson. I have two cats, and hair down to my ass. The Dyson is by far the best vacuum cleaner I’ve ever owned.

jessilikewhoa, where do you find that soap?

Clif MoJo bars! Love the peanut butter flavor, can’t live without them. Also their ‘Z-bar’ for kids is terrific. Peanut butter flavor again.

My Alpine car stereo with the ipod connection. Yes, it’s a little hard to search through the 80G of music but the bliss of not listening to standard radio is worth it. I was going to say Sirius too but some of the channels repeat the music day after day or have the same groups songs at the same time every day. I used to be a DJ back when DJ meant spinning those big black things.

I have a Steelcase office chair that I love. The kind with the arch across the back. Got it relatively cheap and it’s worth it, every cent.

Back to Nature granola. It’s not at all like the over sugared, over processed ‘granola’ that other companies put out (and better than Uli’s). A bowl of this with some Stoneyfield farms low-fat plain yogurt and I’m set for breakfast.

Blue Diamond Natural Oven Roasted Sea Salt Almonds. Not too salty and crunchy. Also their ‘raw’ almonds are fantastic (no-salt).

Pentel EnerGel purple pens.

IMac and Macbook Pro. Yeah, they are really that much better as others have said BUT I use VMWare Fusion too and aside from a few quirks, find it the best way to flirt with the ‘dark side’ when I have to.

Hey: Target! I sometimes wander the local store and have found the absolute best deals!

Amazon MP3 downloads. DRM free and they used to be cheaper than itunes and still are for many album downloads.

AppleTV and HandBrake. Ditto laser printers although I’ve got one that’s a stinker. See the other thread…

TIVO: Tivo is my friend, my confidante, and my trusted major-domo. He is a tireless servant who has changed my life, and I will fight to the death anyone who says their generic cable DVR is just as good. Not only does Tivo keep us on our own schedules so we can watch BATTLESTAR or PROJECT RUNWAY at our lezzz-YOUR, and keep our daughters always a few button presses away from SESAME STREET, WORD WORLD and SPECTACULAR SPIDER MAN, it also, through Amazon Unbox, allowed us to watch 2 full seasons of DEXTER without having Showtime.

ROOMBA: Roomba is, if you have hardwood floors, so much more than a gimmick. Roomba is not the “set it and forget” cleaner who will automate your house-work, neccessarly, but if you let him (all my robot-servants, I default to male gender. Sorry) go while you’re doing laundry or straightening up or doing dishes, he helps you get more done in less time. He also gets under stuff like sideboards or desks, and you’re always shocked at how much crap he gets up when you empty him.

STEP 2 INTERLOCKING EXERCISE MATS: These are sold as kid-stuff in toy stores, but they’re better than the adult-marketed exercise flooring options at sometimes 3x the price.

ETHNIC GOURMET FROZEN MEALS: Not really high in salt like a lot of frozen stuff, and genuinely tasty. Anywhere from 200 to 400 calories, these are good, go-to freezer items when I don’t feel like actually making a meal.

CUISINART STICK BLENDER/PROCESSOR: I don’t know the exact name; I got it as a gift and it has changed the way I use the kitchen. It is a hand-held “wand” with a high-power, high torque mixing blade attachment. It also comes with a small chopper attachment and whisk attachment, but the mixing blade is the big thing. For soups and sauces, you blend in the same pot you’re cooking; it is wonderful. Also, it makes making home-made baby food a 5 second affair with no processor to clean up. We throw some cooked vegetables from the garden, or some fresh fruit from known, locally picked places, and boom, baby food that we don’t have to wonder about.

AMAZON KINDLE: My dad has this; we got it for him for his birthday, as he is the most voracious reader on the planet. My parents’ house is overflowing with books, and has been since i was a kid, and my dad is 71, so atguments about the tactile neccessity of printed paper fall flat. Kindle is so perfectly designed, so effortless, and so wonderful for real readers. It is like a magic book from Wolfram and Hart; a lightweight omni-book with everything in the world at your fingertips.

My dad is always reading 4 books at a time, and instead of having a series of dog-eared paperbacks and dust-jacket-flapped-inserted hardcovers getting lost in various places around the house and misplaced, there’s one small, easy-to carry and read “book” that keeps all (and more) books in one spot, where you never lose your place from book to book. He also now reads 4 newspapers, cover-to-cover, and generates no paper-waste. Kindle kicks all manner of ass.

I second Release foil. If you line a baking sheet with it, drizzle the foil with olive oil, lay down a few pieces of chicken/fish/tofu/meat chops, and some vegetables, hit everything with salt, pepper and a bit more olive oil, and put it in a really hot oven for 20-30 minutes (flipping things over about halfway through), you end up with a wholesome, tasty, no-brainer dinner with nothing to clean.

Also: Braun electric toothbrushes. I got one after my dentist hinted very heavily about it and the difference in my teeth was immediately obvious, and the difference in my gums was obvious within a week or so. My first one was about $80 and worth every penny, but now they make them in conjunction with Oral-B for under $30.

NYC tap water. Kept my skin clear like nothing else. I’m considering moving back from jersey just for that.

Wondertramp—Get one of those Brita systems.

Of course, NYC water through a Brita filter is terrific.

Zebra pens: shiny metal barrel, like an affordable Macbook in pen form.

Mirena.  I shill for this all the time to female friends with complaints about their form of birth of birth control.

The Keeper (from before I got my Mirena and still had periods).

USB Flash drives! (Lexar Fire Flys) Able to carry gigabytes in your pocket and whip it out and save the world! I’m so glad that floppies died…

Speaking of e-books, anyone have experience with the Sony e-book reader? I remember almost buying a Rocket Book a few years ago. I do have one of the first ‘e-books’. It’s a Sony Discman DD-1EK. Great idea but they never put out anything but what came with it that I was ever aware of. It uses small CD cartridges nearly like the now dead MiniDiscs. Came with a rechargeable battery and a battery holder for standard batteries. It was a great idea but no follow through. Well, and bulky. I’m too afraid that the Kindle will be a flash in the pan product and like those that did buy the Rocket Books, will end up like the DD-1EK, forgotten and no support…

So many good things in this thread!  I aspire to Dyson ownership someday. I have a huge Le Creuset saute pan that my mother gave me for my birthday a few years back. It is awesome.

No one has yet mentioned Zipcar, but I would shill for them in a second. If you live in an area where there’s a high concentration of them, it makes not owning a car virtually penalty-free, because you can always use one for groceries, picking up large items like furniture, or taking the occasional afternoon trip to the beach.  They’re a fantastic deal.

Firefox.  Nuff said.

Also, a bittorrent client.  I couldn’t live without one.

Sambal Oeleck.  Best spicy ever.  Just tastes like hot peppers.

My dinners would be unhealthy messes of starch without frozen veggies, so I guess bags of frozen veggies.

“Pain is Good” Jamaican hot sauce.  Batch 114.  OMGWTFBBQ. best combination of heat and flavor ever discovered.

Ducati motorcycles.  They are their own justification.

Jake, I have to say my mind was blown when I discovered that it’s just as cheap, quick, and easy to cook your own fresh vegetables, except it tastes a million times better.  Of course, not every vegetable—this is why most people buy canned pumpkin.  But the classics, definitely. 

Frozen veggies, however, are good for cooking into other dishes, because seriously, nobody is going to be able to taste the difference when you add a dozen other flavors to the mix.  And there it really does save time.

But if all you want is some straight-up veggies, seriously, do it fresh.  It takes virtually the same amount of time and will taste a million times better.

Man, I love them cocoshrooms.

Opo, the frozen veggies generally go in stir fry, and it saves me the time of washing and chopping, which is nice.  Nothing is as fast as dump, heat, eat.

More:

Emme plain lowfat yogurt. It’s just yogurt, no funky additives, so it has a wonderful pudding-y texture and clean flavor that’s perfect with some fresh fruit and a bit of grape nuts for breakfast.

TiVo is my live-in boyfriend.

Cuisinart anodized aluminum saucepans—I got two when a local department store was going out of business and I really want the other pans. Nothing sticks. Even if you burn something it washes right out. Heats evenly. Just love them. I hope someday to have saute pans and have them be just as wonderful.

The Reynolds vacuum bags with the little vacuum. Takes up much less room (It’s in the drawer with all my bags, foil, waxed and parchment paper, etc.) than other vacuum sealers. Easy to use. And it really does work—not just to keep frozen things from getting freezer burned, although that works, but also with fresh veggies and cheeses keeping them from getting moldy or icky before a single person can finish them. I now can buy fresh organic veggies and not have them go bad before I get a chance to eat them all.

Products I have to resist the urge to stop people on the street and tell them about:

C-4 cream, which isn’t marketed specifically for coldsores, but stops them dead in their tracks. You put a little bit on a coldsore, once, and it shrinks up and disappears forever.  And the freaky thing is that once you’ve used it two or three times to kill coldsores, you never seem to get another one (there’s a small n problem here, it’s just me and a few other people I’ve told about the stuff but based on that: it’s a miracle, honestly! It’s an obscure little herbal product, sold in two or three places online, but its manufacturer could be a billionaire. Obviously I can’t say to every acquaintance and stranger I meet who has a coldsore “You know what’s really great and amazing and would stop you ever having to leave the house like that again?” but I keep on wishing I could.

(I have googled on the stuff as I was curious about the miracle: it seems to be related to the very dangerous “black salve” products, being a diluted version of one, but I’ve checked and it doesn’t have the specific herbs which make black salves dangerous.)

The Shock Absorber sports bra. God, I hate seeing someone running in a bra that doesn’t support properly, i wince with every bounce. I don’t care what shoes I wear to run but I can’t do without this bra. (I’ve tried an Enell as well but IMO the Shock Absorber is better—separate cups feel more supportive. It also looks nicer than the Enell.)

Leatherman.  No question.  I’ve got about 5 now and I’m always using one of them for something.

I’ve also got this nifty watch with a built-in altimeter/barometer, compass, and a thermometer.  The thermometer isn’t really that useful unless I leave the watch off (bodyheat prevents it getting ambient temperature), but the barometer, which includes a display showing the past several hours readings and little symbols showing sunny, mixed, cloudy, or precipitation, is great, especially where I live.  When you see a graph with the air pressure diving, you know it’s not likely to be an outside day.  In winter, it’s “Get the hell inside NOW” time.

My Opinel knife. Super-cheap, classic. Makes me happy to be cutting something.

Sriracha sauce.  When I die, I want to be marinated in the stuff.

Hickey Freeman trousers.  They are classy, more comfortable than pajamas, durable and most importantly, come with the supernatural power to make my ass not look gigantic.  Thanks to the internet, you can get them for the cost of non-magic pants.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.  It’s not a stretch to say it saved my life.

Opo, the frozen veggies generally go in stir fry, and it saves me the time of washing and chopping, which is nice.  Nothing is as fast as dump, heat, eat.

Hm, if you’re doing your stirfry right, you’re definitely going to want fresh veggies.  Believe me, you will taste the difference.  For things that are meticulous to prep, ok, frozen, sure.  But most veggies that go into stir fry are not.  In fact, the only vegetables I can come up with that I usually put in my stir fries that are readily available frozen and require more than 30 seconds of very simple prep are… ummm… bell peppers?  Maybe?  Do they have frozen bell peppers?  It’s your aromatics that take a long time, and afaik they don’t sell frozen diced onion and/or garlic. 

I guess frozen vegetables might save you a couple minutes of prep time, but the resulting stir fry is going to be borderline inedible (imho, of course).

Well if I ever invite you over to dinner, Opo, I’ll keep that in mind.  Maybe in the mean time you can reflect on the fact that different people have different opinions on such subjective matters as taste, different amounts of free time, and different priorities about how that free time gets spent.

Not to mention on the fact that I haven’t had a go at you about the products you feel you can’t live without.

Fage Greek yogurt
Smuckers natural peanut butter
Trader Joe’s green chile and cheese tamales

Back to add:  Barq’s root beer, Cape Cod polishing cloths, Turkey Hill Columbian Coffee ice cream, Haagen Das Dulce de Leche ice cream, those ice cream sundae cones, any brand (gods, I’m craving ice cream!)

Opo: Although most of what I eat was picked fresh that morning, I realize frozen vegetables have one key advantage: Fresh produce spoils if you don’t eat it within a reasonable time, while frozen veggies don’t. So you can stock up on frozen veggies once a week or even once a month, without fearing that they will go bad before you can eat them. Especially if you live on the far end of the food chain, where your produce has taken days or weeks to get to you.

I think spoilage is the main cause of food deserts in urban areas: Small shopkeepers cannot afford to throw away old produce, so they simply don’t stock any. Instead they stock food possessing eternal life, like Twinkies, hot dogs, and soda pop.

Pill Pockets.  If you have to give a cat a pill, try a Pill Pocket.  It works best if you pinch off the extra meat flavored stuff after squeezing the pill in.  The smaller the final bundle is, the better since there is less risk of your cat trying to chew it and inadvertently biting into a bitter pill.  They are available at PetsMart.

Edy’s Double Churned ice cream. Sure, the fat/calorie savings come because they whip extra air into the ice cream, but you’ll still be satisfied with the same size helping, so who cares?

Simply [name of fruit] juices. I recommend the lemonade and the grapefruit.

Le Creuset, as previously mentioned by lots of people. I have a 5-quart pot and a little saucepan handed down from my boyfriend’s mom. They’ve got to be 30 years old, and I bet my not-yet-conceived kids will use them in their own homes someday.

Using oil to cleanse your face. I like 2 parts olive oil + 1 part castor oil + enough drops of grapefruit oil to make it smell nice. Massage on, steam/rub off with a really hot washcloth until it’s gone, enjoy happy pores. Also use the oil to moisturize your body before getting out of the shower.

8 Seasons Knitting Shop on eBay. 15 bamboo circulars for $13 including shipping, and they’re nice!

Qdoba is better than Chipotle, by the way. But less widespread. My current town has neither, but there’s a nice simulacrum called Barberito’s that also has excellent sweet tea.

Honeysuckle White turkey sausage, any kind, but especially the hot Italian.

DHC mild soap (made with olive oil). Gets your face really clean but doesn’t dry your skin out. One bar lasts a long time.

Herbal Aid Creme, made by Kettle Care, a company in Montana selling all-natural body-care products. I really, really can’t do without it. Smells fantastic, lasts a long time, and is absolutely the best thing out there for chapped skin. Great for applying around your eyes, too.

Trader Joe’s frozen pizzas $5-$6 each.  Especially their Palermo’s (w/everything) and their vegetarian pizzas.  They beat the heck out of the fare you find in regular grocery stores.

Hector, it’s not that I don’t think frozen vegetables have any merit whatsoever, I just think it’s a damn shame to throw frozen sugar snap peas into a stir fry simply because it saved you 30 seconds.

I usually stock up on vegetables once a week or so, and I have to say that except for the extremely delicate stuff, I don’t have a lot of trouble with things going bad.  And I don’t know many people who only shop for food once a month. 

Actually, my main reason for being so vociferous against frozen vegetables is that I’m pretty sure the main reason I ‘hated’ veggies as a child was because 99% of the ones in our house lived in the freezer.

Biz non-chlorine bleach powder (in a navy-blue box in the detergent aisle).  I wear a lot of vintage stuff, and for my 50’s cotton skirts, which are usually multi-colored prints, scenes, florals, etc., there is abs0lutely nothing better.  When you first bring home a vintage skirt or dress and notice those weird little brown age spots, just fill a bucket with the hottest water you can get and throw in at least one good scoop—more for bad stains—of Biz powder; then, pre-rinse your item in water to remove any shop dirt, wring it out, and soak it in Biz solution overnight.  It’s brilliant stuff, and it works well for tablecloths that someone spilled wine and cranberry sauce on, too.

Ghirardelli Brownie Mixes (the one with chocolate chips is my fave).  I swear, I cannot make better brownies from scratch, and I’m someone who loves to bake.  When I have to bring treats for one of my sons’ classes and I am pressed for time, I whip out a couple of boxes of this stuff, a couple of eggs, and some butter, and in no time flat, I have warm panfuls of gooey brownies.  The secret is to ignore the box’s instructions to use vegetable oil and instead use the same amount of melted sweet butter.  Be sure your oven doesn’t over-bake (I have to set mine a good 50 degrees lower than called-for, or stuff burns on the bottom) and check the brownies frequently as they approach doneness—you want them somewhat underbaked for the best chocolate-goo experience.

Hector, it’s not that I don’t think frozen vegetables have any merit whatsoever, I just think it’s a damn shame to throw frozen sugar snap peas into a stir fry simply because it saved you 30 seconds.

It isnt 30 seconds, it’s washing the snap peas, cutting off the ends, etc. If you’re putting onions, broccoli, green peppers and snap peas in a stir fry, you’re really looking at 10-15 extra minutes. Some of us dont have that or don’t want to spend it cooking.

As Hector pointed out, one of the issues that I also have with fresh veggies is the spoil factor. I don’t have time to run out for fresh veggies several times a week, I’m lucky if I can online order groceries twice a month. Fresh veggies, especially if you’re cooking for only one or two people, often go bad before you have a chance to use them. The frozen stuff stays good for ages.

I hated veggies as a kid, and I’m guessing I’m quite a bit older than you are - the reason I hated them was CANNED veggies, which my mother then cooked until they were a grey nearly gelatinous mass. Frozen veggies are *crisp*, colourful and have actual flavor…and they havent spent 3 years sitting on a shelf packed in brine. I never had frozen veggies until I was a teen.

I’ve only been to QDoba once, as a takeout order at work, and they royally messed up my order.  Which was annoying.  I’d be willing to give them another try, though, probably on an eat-in basis, because they have awesome queso salsa (which I think you can even get in your burrito if you want), which Chipotle does not.

Oh…one more thing for the love list - my laminate floors. When I bought my house I needed to replace the carpeting (I have asthma) and since I’d just put so much into the house, having hardwoods done was prohibitively expensive - about 3 times what I paid for the laminate. It really does look like wood if you buy a higher quality…but cleaning it is unbelievably simple. Vacuum and Swiffer. 25 year guarantee, no refinishing, no staining, no waxing, no muss, no fuss. Way simpler than the hardwoods I’d lived with in rentals for years.

The only thing I like better is the slate I splurged on for the master bedroom. Heaven! (No, it isnt too cold in the winter and Im in Colorado)

Red Wing makes Vasque and all the things that apply to the work boots apply (at least for me) to the hiking boots as well. Put it this way: I’ve had two pairs in thirty years, used them hard and was sad to see them go. This depends on whether they fit your feet, of course, but if they do, they wear like iron.

Apple, of course.

Patagonia for design and longevity.

Four places in Iowa City: Exile Tattoo, Prairie Lights Books, New Pioneer Co-op and Real Records.

I just think it’s a damn shame to throw frozen sugar snap peas into a stir fry simply because it saved you 30 seconds.

Like Broce said, it isn’t 30 seconds, it’s several minutes, and if you’re having green beans, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc. then it’s several minutes per vegetable.  Not to mention the cost.

And for that matter, I think it’s a damn shame to spend obscene amounts of money on clothes (and I consider anything over 10-15$ for a shirt or pair of pants obscene), not to mention incredibly idiotic to exclaim about finding clothes that “fit short and slim-hipped/non-curvy folks like me,” as if it’s skinny folks that have a hard time finding clothes that fit.  But I didn’t mention it.  Why not?  Because Pam specifically stated that this is a thread to endorse the things that we individually really like and find useful, and implied that we shouldn’t jump up and judge each other for our preferences.

Red Wing makes Vasque and all the things that apply to the work boots apply (at least for me) to the hiking boots as well.

I didnt know this! I’ve probably owned 15 pairs of hiking boots over the years because I’m hard to fit and I had never found a pair I was comfortable in. Finally I got smart and tried some La Sportivas, because one kind of their climbing shoes (Mythos) fit me like a glove. The La Sportiva hiking boots fit me better than any other pair I’ve owned, but I havent owned them for more than a few years and havent had occasion to put them through too many serious hiking challenges. So far, so good. But my son likes his Red Wing work boots, so I’m thinking the Vasque hiking books might fit him better than what he’s tried so far.

Broce, I make stir fry (with fresh vegetables) pretty often.  As I said above, the only labor intensive parts of the prep are chopping your onions, peppers, and garlic, which last time I ventured down that particular supermarket aisle were not available frozen and pre-chopped.  My stir-fries rarely take an unreasonable amount of time to prepare.  I also don’t have significant problems with spoilage, and I only grocery shop every 10 days to 2 weeks. 

Look, I didn’t want to start WW3 here or specifically castigate people for buying frozen vegetables.  My original intention was to let Jake know that fresh vegetables really aren’t as hard to cook as a lot of people think they are, and that, seriously, naked veggies cooked fresh are about a million times tastier than frozen ones.

as if it’s skinny folks that have a hard time finding clothes that fit

Trust me, it can be. Im small and curvy and have a hell of a time finding clothes that fit because Im also long legged and armed for a tiny person with bird bones.

My sisters are both bigger women and complain about fit as well, so I dont know who manufacturers are making clothing *for*.

To add to the love, I recently found Levis 515 jeans actually FIT me! It’s taking me almost to my 50th birthday to find a pair of jeans that I actually like the way I look wearing.

to exclaim about finding clothes that “fit short and slim-hipped/non-curvy folks like me,” as if it’s skinny folks that have a hard time finding clothes that fit.

Yes, actually we do.  I didn’t wear jeans for over a year because I was tired of having to spend $50-60 on a pair which would inevitably be too long and leave a 2-inch gap at the waist where my hips are supposed to be and with back pockets that ended somewhere around my mid thigh.  The idea that thin people just miraculously find copious clothing that fits perfectly is absolute fiction.  Sorry my endorsement of a brand of clothing that actually fits me and looks nice and is affordable and appropriate wasn’t PC…?

As I said above, the only labor intensive parts of the prep are chopping your onions, peppers, and garlic

I honestly dont taste the difference between frozen and fresh in a stir fry, but then I tend to use a ton of garlic and ginger. I find chopping broccoli and carrots and such very labor intensive. Thankfully, mylocal Safeway does sell chopped onions and peppers frozen, both separately and (yey!) together in the same bag. Smashing garlic doesnt take too long, but you can also buy that chopped in a jar of oil.

The frozen ones seem to cook a tad faster if you’re talking a thick veggie like broccoli. Any dinner I have to spent more than 10-15 minutes preparing before I eat is not likely to get cooked - I hate cooking and have very little time anyway.

The only veggies I have a real preference for fresh are corn and asparagus.

back pockets that ended somewhere around my mid thigh. 

Or if the sleeves are long enough, there’s enough material in the torso for two of me, and the shoulder seams are somewhere halfway down my biceps, and that seam under my arm is halfway to my waist!
If it fits in the torso and the shoulder seams are where mine is the sleeves end somewhere above my wrists…and I may not be able to get that one button over my bust to close.

Which is funny because the only frozen vegetable I’m willing to give leeway to eaten straight-up is off-the-cob corn.  It’s a bitch to prepare fresh, and who wants it out of a can?

Which is funny because the only frozen vegetable I’m willing to give leeway to eaten straight-up is off-the-cob corn. 

That one, I notice a huge taste difference in fresh. Broccoli? Not so much, certainly not enough to make wrestling with the broccoli worth the time. Asparagus frozen is foul.

I’m not much on tomatoes, so I dont even know if those are available frozen, but I’d think that might be another one better fresh.

I cannot believe I didnt mention this before, and that no one else did either.

The George Foreman Grill. Even I cant complain about the amount of time it takes to cook in this thing, and the food comes out *grilled*!

Seconding DarcyPennell on Excedrin Migraine.  I would not be functional for about a week out of every month if it weren’t for that stuff.  I can’t even imagine living without it.  If you have migraines, I highly encourage you to give it a try—it’s over the counter, widely-available, comparatively inexpensive, and works freaking miracles.

I haven’t noticed anyone mention Etsy yet.  If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a site that allows independent sellers to sell their jewelry, crafts, vintage finds, etc.  I have yet to be disappointed buying from any seller.

Last and least, I really liked Chocolate Cherry Diet Dr. Pepper.  I am probably in the minority here.

It’s not so much that the corn doesn’t taste any different (because it so, so does), just that corn taken off the cob really will add significant cooking time and effort.  Of course, when I eat corn alone and not cooked into anything else, I tend to like it on the cob, in which case fresh, no-brainer. 

The only vegetables I hate chopping and find tedious to work with are onions, really.  OK, I had a recent brawl with a whole fresh cabbage that scarred me a little, but then again I don’t eat cabbage very often and feel like it’s something I could definitely throw frozen into a stew or whatever it is you’re supposed to put cabbage in.

My original intention was to let Jake know that fresh vegetables really aren’t as hard to cook as a lot of people think they are

Right, because I’ve never cooked with fresh vegetables before.  Where, exactly, does all this information about what I do or don’t know about cooking come to you from?  Look, I just mentioned something that I like because it makes my life easier.  I wasn’t interested in your opinion, and I’m pissed that you assumed that I don’t know the first thing about cooking/grocery shopping just because I happen to make one culinary choice that you don’t.  I’m also pissed that you felt the need to jump on my one inoffensive convenience.  Seriously, what do you care what kind of food I eat?

Sorry my endorsement of a brand of clothing that actually fits me and looks nice and is affordable and appropriate wasn’t PC…?

Exactly my point.  Pam specifically told people not to feel guilty if the stuff they mentioned wasn’t PC, so nobody said anything about the various non-PC things that other people brought up.  Until you decided to get a bug up your ass about my using frozen vegetables.  You don’t get to play peacemaker with your bullshit “Look, I didn’t want to start WW3 here.” You’re the one who started bitching someone else out about their convenience item.  All you had to do was drop it.  Hell, that’s still all you have to do.  Meantime, fuck you.

convenience item.

I do think the microwave oven might be the best invention of the last century…or second to the internet. Im not sure which I’d be willing to give up first.

Personally, if I had to choose between my microwave and the internet, the microwave would be out the door in a hot second.  Sure, it’s faster and more convenient than the stove/oven for many things, and I’m glad I have one, but the internet?  That’s where I do so much of my reading/writing/communicating/learning/fun…  It’s not just blogs and news.  I get music, tv, and movies online; I keep in touch with all my out of town friends online; I book travel online; I look up information online; I find recipes online; I do most of my scholastic and professional communication online.  There’s very little of my life that isn’t in some way tied in to my use of the internet.  I’m young enough that I’ve had internet in some form or another for my entire adult life, and I honestly don’t know what I’d do without it.  I remember atlases and card catalogues and store catalogues and stuff, and I have a big OED just for the awesomeness of it, and I have a bit of a cookbook fetish, so I own a bunch of those, but really… gotta have the internet.

Broce, in a battle between microwaves and the internet, the internet wins hands down for me. I rarely use my microwave, and have gone without for years and almost never missed it. 24 hours without the internet and I start feeling twitchy.

gotta have the internet.

I’d have to agree, I guess…but I’d have to live on takeout or starve without the microwave (yeah I hate cooking *that* much)

It just occured to me that a lot of microwave meals could probably be heated by sticking them in a pot of boiling water.  I mean, you might have to transfer the frozen meal to a waterproof container first, but I bet it would work.

It just occured to me that a lot of microwave meals could probably be heated by sticking them in a pot of boiling water.  I mean, you might have to transfer the frozen meal to a waterproof container first, but I bet it would work.

Yeah but that would mean dirtying something other than a fork, and waiting for the water to boil.

I use my oven *maybe* six times a year…and that’s probably generous. I use the burners on the stove to heat water for tea maybe once a month for pasta or to fry an egg. I could probably get along entirely without it.

The George Foreman Grill.

Make sure to get a model with detachable grill plates, which are much easier to clean.

Oh, another thing I’m glad I have: hand blender.  It makes making blended soups and smoothies so much easier, and means you don’t have to clean out the pitcher of a regular blender, which is a pain.

Are we allowed to mention the normal stuff that everyone has?  Because, odd though it may be, I’m much more excited about my bookcases, fans, clothes hangers, and alarm clock than I am about my more gimmicky or luxury items.  I mean, imagine life without those things!

I really have to add Neutrogena shampoo and their UNSCENTED liquid face soap. The scented stuff smells like ass or something close to it. I pass on it if I’m out and that’s all there is. It keeps my face clean and no breakouts and my hair clean and not stripped or ruined.

Logitech Harmony 550 remote! Finally something that doesn’t take a graduate degree to setup and controls all my stuff, even my Wii (turn on/off) and AppleTV.

Microsoft Bluetooth Laser Mouse. Works without a dongle on my Macbook Pro. Kingston memory.

Has no one said Diva Cup yet? My friends are all sick of me trying to get them to buy one.

I can’t use the Diva Cup because it gives me insane cramps, but I use cloth pads and haven’t paid money for menstrual products in years.  Love it.

Oh, and my KitchenAid.  Can’t live without it!

Oh, I was going to say the Diva Cup, but Lauren beat me.  Two other things that haven’t been mentioned (I see a lot of things I could second):  if you have cats, I heartily recommend both The Furminator (a grooming tool) and Feline Fresh Scoopable Pine Litter, which lasts longer and smells better than any litter I’ve ever tried.  Totally love it.

President’s Choice brand almost anything. (It’s a Canadian grocery store brand).

Glaceau Vitamin Water. The only one I’ve found that has no artificial sweeteners. Their Formula 50 tasted like the end of a grape freezie, and just makes you feel better! Their Energy drink gets me through an hour with the personal trainer when I missed lunch. Now if only I could find the flavours/effects I like around here, instead of all the fruit-punch-tasting ones that seem to be sold in my neighbourhood.

Le Sportsac bags. Fun prints, and practical shapes.

New Balance trainers with a rollbar. My mum has all her friends wearing them-even the orthopedic surgeon who specializes in feet! She finds them more comfortable than her $500 orthotic inserts! The salesguy at the store conviced me to get the rollbar crosstrainers instead of the snazzy silver and pink ones, but he was right (picture me in an ankle-length linen skirt, one rollbar shoe, and one pink and silver, doing lunges in the middle of the store, to test the balance and stability)

Oh, and The Craft Kit Company storage boxes. Little boxes for beads, in lovely cases.

And La Canadienne boots. Feel like slippers, look awesome, and the best customer service. I emailed asking about certain boots in certain colours, and rather than the typical ‘Here are the stores in your city that carry our brand’ they told me exactly which stores had the styles and colours I wanted, as well as the stores that would have my boots shortly, and added that a particular style wasn’t available as no stores in my city had ordered it.

Philly Cream Cheese and Box of Wine

My two most beloved consumer products are both mere containers:

Faulks Tubtrug flexible gardening bucket in hot pink. It’s tough, doesn’t fade, and helps me schlep weeds to the compost bin or water to the plants.

Laken water bottle. Widemouth, resin-coated aluminum with a lid that only takes 2.5 twists to open or close.

Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream, Body Lotion, et cetera.  My skin can’t tolerate oil-based lotions so I require water-based ones, which this one is; plus it as a subtle, non-intrusive scent (if you get the unscented kind).  Oh yeah, and I’m actually Norwegian, so that’s another plus.

My Swiss Army knife.  GENUINE Swiss Army knife, made by Victorinox or the other manufacturer.  I had a clone years ago, and it fell apart… wasn’t worth having.  The Real Thing is dang near indestructible, and more than worth the cost.

But seriously, I carry my SWK with me all the time, and I use it ALL the time, even the little toothpick and tweezers.  Mine is one of the mid-range ones, about 5/8” thick, with the two screwdriver/can-bottle opener blades, a scissors, two knife blades, and a couple thiother things on the other side.

I use this thing everywhere—at work, at home, in my car, all over the place.  I’ve told everyone I know they need to have one (and only half-jokingly, at that).  My SWK would definitely be on my “stranded on a desert island” list, that’s for sure.

Well, what a thread. Will any of you libtard socialists acknowledge the CAPITALIST system that brings you all these great products on the cheap? That’s a “product” I can’t live without.

How much of this ‘stuff’ is damaging to the environment?

What I hate is people saying we should be somehow ‘grateful’ for the likes of Wal-Mart that screws the world for their profit.

Profit for profit’s sake is wrong. Dressing yourself up as a ‘great place to buy things’ and screwing the people that make it all possible and screwing the people that spend their money at your stores is flat out wrong (although appears to be politically popular). If that’s what ‘capitalism’ is, then maybe ‘capitalism’ IS the evil that we all should fight. Before it’s too late…

Wal-Mart ran out all the local stores in the ‘heartland’ and Podunk towns and now acts like a parasite feeding off them. It’s a great tactic but are the rural areas ‘fed’ by Wal-Mart really better for it? Bush league ‘conservatism’ just like Wal-Mart style ‘capitalism’ will hopefully be short for this world.