Well, here we are. One full year into a global pandemic. Not in a million years would I have guessed we’d be locked down in quarantine for an entire year of our lives. A whole year. My brain doesn’t know how to process that information. A whole year lost. A life in suspended animation. I can’t even so of course I’m going to make a list and focus on the things that make sense. Here’s a Best Purchases of the Pandemic List. Worst Purchases will follow soon.

And to be clear upfront, Mike and I have NOT been paid to advertise anything here. We bought all of these things with our own cash, using coupons and Rakuten to score the best deals.

BEST PURCHASES

Herman Miller Nelson Swag Leg Desk Replica

Like a lot of people, we did not have a dedicated home office prior to the pandemic. At the start, Mike and I were both working at the dining table. Simultaneous Zoom meetings across the table do not work, so I began outfitting the room off the kitchen into a proper office for myself.

My dream workspace would be pulled entirely from the iconic catalog of Herman Miller office furniture. Timeless, beautifully crafted, stylish yet minimal, and the perfect balance of form follows function. But I do not have thousands of dollars to spend. I do have Google and was able to find a perfect replica of the Herman Miller Nelson Swag Leg Desk on Wayfair for only $629. Stack on a 15% off coupon I found on the internet and I was able to snag my dream desk!

The desk arrives mostly assembled, you just screw the legs on. It’s really really beautiful. There’s real walnut on the sides with bright colorful cubbies for all your desk stuff. There’s even two drawers seamlessly tucked under the large workspace that have even more compartments to keep your essentials tidy. It’s extremely well built and sturdy. This is a solid piece of furniture and I’ve loved working from it every day.

If you’re shopping for a Nelson Swag Leg Desk and don’t have $3,000, try the replica at Wayfair. If that’s out of stock, Overstock.com also has a Nelson Swag Leg Replica for $997. Both great options if you’re looking for the classic Herman Miller vibe on a budget.

LED Ring Light

I think we all bought ring lights during the pandemic. While the office is really spacious and quiet, it’s on the side of the house that doesn’t get a lot of natural light. So I got a cheap little 8” ring light off Amazon with adjustable brightness and temperature modes. After a bit of experimenting, I was able to get a really well-lit image for Zoom meetings. Not pictured here, but just as valuable, is a laptop stand that raises my laptop up to face height so I’m not giving everyone a tour up my nostrils.

Mindd Bras

For those sized above a DD cup, your bra life is set on hard mode. Most retail stores don’t carry your size, you will have to buy online. Nearly every bra in your size will be either beige or black (fun colors are only for small cup sizes). The straps will be two inches wide and the wires will be so heavy gauged you will set off TSA metal detectors.

And if you’re busty and want a wire-free bra, because you’re suddenly spending all day at home and don’t need the structural integrity of a wired bra but you still need light support to go up or down stairs, exercise, or do any sort of physical task, then you find yourself in the innermost ring of bra hell. You order every bra you can find off the internet and cry when they don’t fit and spend your days walking bubble mailers of returned bras to the post office.

For a 34G (sometimes H) cup, wire-free bras are a complete joke. The overwhelming majority of no-wire bras are made for smaller breasts which is ironic because those are the people who need bras the least. The few bralettes that claim they can handle larger cup sizes are woefully inadequate at doing so or they only come in larger band sizes, ignoring the large swatch of women who posses the small waist / big boob combo that society deems “ideal.” It’s especially maddening when it comes from brands who tout “inclusive sizing.” Looking at you, Savage X Fenty.

By mid-summer last year, I’d bought and returned 14 different bras. I’d almost given up but I took one last chance on an “Instagram brand” that popped up: Mindd Bra. Mindd Bra is specifically designed for large cup sizes, by a woman with a large cup size, who previously worked for Victoria’s Secret and Under Armour. I ordered one and then, after wearing it for one full day, promptly ordered four more.

THIS IS THE BEST BRA EVER. It’s soft, comfortable, supportive without cutting into your ribs or leaving red marks under your boobs. The straps are normal sized, not a horse harness and they don’t dig into your shoulders. The fabric is pretty and lacy and stretchy. It provides a gentle light support, but avoids giving you a uniboob like a sports bra. So yeah, I love these bras and I’m never wearing anything else.

Tushy Bidet Attachment

The Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020 left many Americans stranded. Mike and I did have a 36-pack of Charmin in the basement that we slowly rationed and thankfully never ran out. But the potential for future shortages prompted us to give bidets a try. Fast-forward to 2021 and we now have bidets in every bathroom in the house. I have also bought a portable “travel” bidet because I am never going back to those heathen ways.

If you want the ultimate shower-fresh bum, then you have to try it. You will ascend to a higher plane of hygiene enlightenment and feel sparkling clean every day, all day. Bidet attachments are cheap, easy to install on your existing toilet, and can be removed easily if you’re renting or moving. Amazon and most home improvement stores have them starting at $35 and they can be installed in about fifteen minutes flat using just a screwdriver and wrench. No plumber required.

I wrote a full review of the Tushy Bidet we bought back in November which you can read on the blog here. Tushy is a bit more expensive than the ones on Amazon but I think they look nicer, style-wise. Our next goal is to install one of those fancy bidet washlets in our master bathroom, the one with a heated seat, air dryer, lights, and remote control. In this house we pamper our butts.

Nike React Phantom Run Flyknit

Exercise is definitely a struggle when you can’t leave your house because of the plague. I decided to get as much walking in as possible doing laps around my backyard. I started off in a pair of old Converse but they were pretty deteriorated. When I could see my toe poking through the sole, I gave in and upgraded to these new shoes. A deep dive into online walking shoe reviews led me to the Nike React Phantom Run Flyknit. They’re very comfortable and I love the acid neon green option, but best of all they don’t have laces. Just slip on and go. I think I’m done tying shoes. The future is laceless.

Treadmill

Obviously walking in loops around the backyard was insufficient exercise. And on rainy or snowy days, you’re shit out of luck. So I got a treadmill. I thought for sure there would be some free treadmills on NextDoor or LetGo. I couldn’t find any free ones and the ones I did find were pretty huge and $300+. So, again, Amazon. The one I ultimately bought after reading thousands of reviews was the OVICX treadmill. Two big factors for me were compact fold-ability and a simplified interface.

One the first factor, this one folds absolutely flat and can be wheeled around, slid under a bed, or stored folded upright in a closet. We currently keep it in this weird unused hall space behind the stairs. On the second factor, the UI is nice and uncluttered. I’m not going to do any programs, connect any devices, or follow any instructor. I just want to jog on rainy days and listen to True Crime podcasts. This one also has a nice shelf for a phone, book, or tablet. It could use a cup holder but that’s the only detracting factor.

Yogibo Bean Bag

On the opposite end of the treadmill/office spectrum is this bean bag. We had only been in our new house for six months before the pandemic, so we were still unpacking and figuring out rooms. The room off the kitchen transformed into an office space for me, but it also became a TV room for when one of us wants to watch football and one of us wants to watch Broadway musicals. Space is important in relationships.

We couldn’t afford to buy a couch for office just yet, so I bought a bean bag to just have a place to sit. This is the Yogibo Max and it is everything. It’s a space-age bean bag, super light and really conforms to your body in a way that my old 80’s bean bag could never. Mike and I take turns dragging it around the house and laying in. We’ve even thrown it into the bed of our truck, headed to the drive-in, and had THE most comfortable outdoor movie experience. Our Yogibo is the Star Wars edition, but they have a rainbow of colors and sizes available. They also have a lot of sales, we snagged our on Memorial Day and got 20% off. Huge fans.

Spice Jars

I don’t know why we didn’t get these sooner. You can’t buy happiness but you can buy zen-like peace gained from an organized spice drawer. We bought a $25 pack of square spice bottles with labels, decanted all our random sized spices into matching glass jars, applied the labels and have now attained kitchen nirvana.

Rough Linen Summer Cover

You know how when it’s hot during the summer and it’s too hot for a comforter or quilt but you still want something covering you while you sleep but also a sheet is too thin or light? I finally found that perfect solution for sweaty nights: a Summer Cover. It’s thinner than quilt or coverlet. It’s thicker than a bed sheet. And it has just enough weight to drape over you while remaining breathable. These are pretty luxurious, so it was a bit of a splurge for us, but we cannot live without it now. Especially Mike who runs hot 365 days a year. The linen covers are locally, ethically, sustainably, hand made from natural materials and are extremely durable. So amazing all around. Eventually I hope to be able to put them in the guest room too.

Crosley Turntable and Marantz Receiver

For the longest time, Mike has had crates upon crates of vinyl records in storage with no means to play them. Now faced with a load of downtime, Mike made setting up a stellar sound system his quarantine hobby. Through his vast network of music people, he acquired a beautiful Marantz receiver which another acquaintance helped to refurbish. Then he added a Crosley turntable and speakers purchased from yet another music friend. Now we have an incredible stereo that fills our house with immaculate sound. And all those old records are making their way up from the basement to have a spin once again.