A High-Def Projector
When the movie theaters closed in March, I tried to watch films on my laptop, but all I could think of was how much better they would have been on the big screen. In July, my wife gave me the Epson Home Cinema 1060, a marvelous device enabling me to project streaming movies on the wall of my study. I mined the Criterion Channel for the works of Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky, China’s Jia Zhangke, and Hong Kong’s Wong Kar-wai, to name a few of my pandemic crushes. I became completely addicted. It was only recently that I realized that I don’t have to watch an incredible movie every evening. But how about tonight? —Devin Leonard, project & investigations reporter, Bloomberg Businessweek
Making Dutch Babies
Yes, I know, everyone became an Instagram-worthy chef during lockdown, but my skills in the kitchen are limited, and the pandemic wasn’t going to change that. So when the New York Times told me in May that I needed just five ingredients to make a Dutch baby—also known as a German pancake—I was intrigued. Turns out it’s easy to make, forgiving if you’re imprecise with your measurements, and open to alteration. Add apple pie spice to the batter? Why not. Top it with honey? Sure. What about marmalade? That works, too. Bonus: It looks pretty impressive popping out of a cast-iron skillet.—Daniel Taub, finance editor, Bloomberg News
Fancy PJs
Printfresh was started by Amy Voloshin, a textile designer and fashion entrepreneur, and the site describes its 100% cotton poplin designs as being “inspired by plants, animals, home decor and a penchant for the 1970s hippie and surf culture.” Who knows what that actually means, but I love its sophisticated, bright designs, as well as the fact that the pajama pants have pockets. I own a pair of their Unicorn’s Garden pajamas, which remind me of the unicorn tapestries that are in the Cloisters, and an indigo pair of their Bagheera pajamas, which are covered with fierce-looking leopards. —Suzanne Woolley, personal finance reporter, Bloomberg News
Biking for Pleasure
I’ve always enjoyed biking as a commute, but this year I rediscovered how much fun it is to bike for leisure. My partner and I drove for hours to find a bike shop with stock, but it was worth it. I got a Giant Contend AR 1. Every weekend we bike some gorgeous roads in the mountains of upstate New York, the Catskills of Sullivan County. The upsides to biking in the mountains are numerous; the downsides—the uphill climbs, the Catskills of Sullivan County? —Rakshita Saluja, equality editor, Bloomberg News
Livestreaming Public Radio
Everything got better when I stopped reading Twitter and started to use my phone to livestream the great Newark, N.J., public radio station WBGO. The DJs are the coolest; the whole vibe is totally chill. I swear it makes me a better person. —Christine Harper, editor, Bloomberg Markets
Composting Service
When New York indefinitely postponed its nascent food-scraps recycling initiative at the beginning of the pandemic, it felt like another damning omen of a city permanently changed. Every time I tossed a banana peel or teabag in the overflowing trash can, it was a reminder that a virus was running rampant and life as we know it was on hold. I investigated buying a pile of composting worms for under the sink, but even their army was too small for the roughage generated by my mostly vegetarian family of five. Then I heard about Groundcycle, a doorstep compost pickup service started by native New Yorker Vivian Lin in the spring. For $12 a week, her team will pick up your scraps and haul them to local farms to be turned into nutrient-rich fertilizer. For an additional $30, Groundcycle will swap your compost for a bucketful of organic produce from the farms you’re helping. Lin’s team will send you weekly totals showing your tallies of pounds produced (I’m now close to 90) and carbon tons offset. Power-washing my jumble of random veggies has become a soothing Sunday ritual, and it’s one of the small ways I’m attempting to combat the helpless feeling the pandemic has wrought. I never thought a bag of turnips would bring me such joy, but 2020 has been a year of surprises. —Devon Pendleton, reporter, Bloomberg News
Frida Kahlo Puzzle
I never thought I’d be into puzzles, and then my husband brought home this 1,000 piece Viva La Vida Frida Kahlo one, and I finished it in a week. It was so damn satisfying to put together something beautiful, “solving” something while the world outside was so crazy and sad. Bonus: It’s from eeBoo, a woman- and working mother-owned specialty toy company that commissions 100% original artwork. —Bernadette Walker, digital producer, Bloomberg Media
Bottled Cold Brew
Pre-Covid, going out to get a midday coffee with my work BF was the highlight of my day. Then the pandemic shut down almost all the coffee places in my neighborhood. So I did a taste test of storebought cold brews, and Califa Farms is absolutely the best: powerful and smooth, the coffee not over roasted. Also, it’s super convenient to just be able to grab it from your fridge. I need to transition back to supporting my local coffee places, but it will be hard to break up with Califa. —Kate Krader, food editor, Bloomberg Pursuits
A Speakeasy Grocery
This appointment only, locally sourced market—Tannat’s “speakeasy grocery”—kept us eating and drinking well through the darkest days of the pandemic (with the satisfaction that we were contributing toward keeping both this small restaurant and their local farmers and suppliers afloat). Some of the best wines and cheeses I’ve tasted, all with the white glove service that appointment-only brings. —Alex Gittleson, executive producer, Quicktake News
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.