Have you ever thought about the things that you use all the time? Which of those things have elevated themselves to where you love to use them? We recently canvassed the team and asked, what are five things that you love today? Here’s what they said.

Chloe

Peloton

Awesome example of a brand powerhouse! What other fitness instructors are basically celebrities, where their audience gossips about them and trades who their favorite is? Awesome music, outfits, instructors, brand and musician collaborations, AND you're getting healthier while also having fun!

Beats Studio Buds

Somehow Beats has better Bluetooth connectivity than the competition (I don't use air pods, so I can't compare). They're dead easy to connect and have great sound.

Vests

Yes, this is a weird one, I know. But I sit at a desk for the majority of my day and I get cold. A fuzzy LL Bean vest is my life saver. I probably own 10.

Carafe

Following the warm theme, especially during cold months I like to drink herbal tea during the day. A basic insulated carafe acts as my tea pot and keeps my tea piping hot throughout the day, meaning I don't have to keep making multiple cups of tea. Also I feel like I'm being efficient with my tea bag use. (LOL, I bet you don't hear that every day!)

Google Pixel phone

I know all you Apple folks will be looking askance at me (don't worry, I'm used to it, my family does it a lot). Most of my accounts and apps are all linked through the Google ecosystem, making it so fluid to access emails, documents, websites and passwords on my phone. Everything truly feels so seamless.

Vy

AirPods

I wish I could be comfortable in silence… but I can’t. These earphones go with me everywhere, on a walk, grocery store, gym, etc. In a way, they keep me company while I go and live my mundane life. I do hate it when I forget to charge them.

Whiteboard Calendar

Planners have never really worked for me. I have a monthly calendar on my wall where I write down events for the month. This way it is in my face whenever I enter or leave my room. It is also very satisfying crossing off the box at the end of the day.

Taylor Swift ‘Folklore’ album

If I were to be an album… that’s all.

Journal

I am someone who prioritizes gratitude, reflection, and growth. Writing my thoughts, life, and goals down helps clear my head. It’s like a time capsule that I can look back years from now and see the growth.

Blueberry bagel

Current hyper fixation food. With some strawberry cream cheese, you cannot go wrong.

Mick

Chai Tea

Specifically, my own homemade version. I’ve been making it for years (decades?) and it has morphed over and over and over, and become deliciously extra- (over-?) spiced. Makes drinking cafe chai lattes grimace-inducing. I feel in a particularly good stretch of chai creativity and consistency in recent months.

CHGO

Chicago sports podcasting, streaming, hard-working, terrible ranting, etc. If you are a Chicago native, hometown sports become ingrained into your identity. The Bears haven’t had a lot of success in many years, but they’re becoming much more interesting. Same for the Blackhawks. The rest of the local teams? Ehhh. The CHGO crew covers it all.

ChatGPT

Specifically, ChatGPT as a product. Model this, model that, blah blah blah. Too many are missing the forest for the trees. ChatGPT is a great product. I don’t want a conversation embedded into everything I do online (offline coming soon!). I want a single place to have a consistent experience. They’ve knocked it out the park (both big idea and small UI) and I still don’t think people realize that because of all the broad AI hype.

(unintentional “Ch” theme). Let’s go with: Chicago altogether

Particularly warm weather Chicago as the first day of Spring has passed. I have not been to Chicago in the Spring for many, many years. A small longing of (warm weather) homesickness.

Chains

As in chaining around LLMs; aka, agents. Aka, the REAL power of this wave of AI. Chatting is a phenomenon, as already mentioned. Automated integrations (a la Zapier) with LLMs at the center are transformative – a dangerously ambitious and in the category of overused words – but dismiss this one at your own peril.

Rally

iPad

This is my everything device. It’s my main leisure device. I watch movies, videos, surf the net, read books, draw, shop, listen to music... It’s also an important work device. I use it to take notes and make sense of my thoughts - I’m a big fan of the Apple Pencil - and with an external keyboard, I can do most of what I can do on my laptop which allows me to get work done without being tethered to my desk. My iPad really hits a sweet spot for me - small enough to feel effortless to take anywhere but big enough for the experience to feel undiminished.

Nespresso

I love good coffee. I’m also lazy, so I won’t consistently expend the effort you need to make it properly. But that hasn’t stopped me from constantly searching for a device that amazing coffee with no effort. I’ve experimented with a lot of pod-based machines, but they’ve always left me disappointed. Until I picked up a Nespresso machine. This is the one that hit the sweet spot. Making coffee (or espresso) is effortless: turn it on, pop in a capsule, and press a button. The capsules keep the used coffee self-contained, so clean-up is as simple as dumping them into an envelope that Nespresso provides for recycling. And the coffee itself is pretty good. As an added bonus, the machine itself is small, cute really, and fits perfectly in an unassuming spot on our kitchen counter.

AirPods Pro

This is one of those products that hits the balance of quality, convenience, and usefulness. I just pop them in and they work. (On the flip side, on the rare occasions when they don’t work, it’s unbearably frustrating.) Transparency mode was a revelation for me. Now I could leave them in and interact with my environment as if they weren’t even there. Combined with them being so comfortable, it makes the entire experience of using them completely seamless.

Adidas Tiro pants

My love for these pants was a direct result of being stuck in my house during the pandemic days. There was no reason not to be completely comfortable and these pants fit the bill. They’re light, fit great, and I love the sporty look. They make me feel like I still have some shred of athleticism in me. Even as I've re-evolved back to our normal day-to-day interactions with the world, these pants are, by far, what I wear the most.

Noxgear Tracer 2 running vest

The Noxgear Tracer 2 is an illuminated running vest. I usually run before sunrise so from November through early April, I’m running in the dark. I live in a city, so illuminating my path isn’t a problem. What I worry about is being seen, and this is when the Noxgear running vest comes to play. Since the whole thing lights up, I know I’m extremely visible (I’ve seen others running using it and it works great). But what makes me love this vest is that it’s so light and it fits so well, I forget it’s there when I’m running. It’s waterproof, sweatproof, and over the last three years of use, 100% reliable.