Crush and Covet: Gin, Ponchos & Dirty Apps

Back to school, back to work, and back to coveting what we need (or think we need) to soothe the back to routine crush.

Jeni Marinucci: I want this gigantic bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin.

I want to see it on my counter, where I will view it like running into an old friend at the supermarket.

I want to notice the late afternoon sun shooting through the glass, throwing a gorgeous spray of blue crystals onto the side of my refrigerator. I want to open the black cap with a confident crack, inhale the crisp scent of juniper and revel in knowing that later, at night when everyone is sleeping, I will have lime juice on my fingers and ice in my glass.

Candace Derickx: Walking through The Hudson’s Bay Company the other day I fell in love….nay lust…with this heather grey poncho from Ralph Lauren. I feel like if I wrap it around my shoulders a Scot by the name of Jamie may sweep me away to another dimension. What? As if you haven’t dreamed about that wedding scene. Poncho available at the Bay for $175. Jamie, only in your dreams.

Leslie Foster: I am definitely crushing on my new Instant Pot. This 7-in-1 cooking appliance sautés, slow cooks, pressure cooks, makes yogurt, steams, cooks rice and porridge and a lot more. I’ve always wanted to try pressure cooking and now that I have, I can’t believe I waited this long! Beef short ribs are notoriously challenging to make but they came out delectably fork-tender in the Instant Pot in just an hour! That would have been an all-day, hit-and-miss affair in my slow cooker. I also love that I can sauté right in the Instant Pot before setting something to slow cook or pressure cook, reducing the clean-up to one pot. I’m getting rid of my slow cooker and replacing it with my Instant Pot.

Laureen Farnam: While at first “meatbag” could be perceived as offensive, once you think about it from the CPU’s perspective it’s just telling it like it is. You need a thick skin if you plan on installing my latest crush, Carrot Weather, on your desktop. The weather reporting is accurate, and the jabs are hilarious! You will open secret locations by updating the app a lot to hear the latest weather report (I unlocked Thasos, Greece), which can start cool conversations with the kids about the world and the people who live in it. That’s where the nice ends — you’ve been warned — and there’s some glorious heckling happening here and if you happen to be experiencing high humidity Carrot Weather might hurt your feelings. I’ll let you know if the evil penguins are as scary as they sound.

Katja Wulfers: I have a love/hate relationship with running. I love running once I’m past the feeling my lungs will explode. I’m a solo runner and I love the complete disconnect from everything else; it’s my meditation. And I especially love running once I hit the high that comes with endorphins rushing through my brain and body. I hate getting my ass out the door because there are always 1001 other things tugging at me. Fun and functional gear makes it that much easier to get outside and the Work It Word Leggings from Ninth & Knox went on the list the moment I saw them. Life’s too short to wear boring workout gear.