THE BLANK LIST: 10 Things We're Obsessed With as Summer Nears
A wireless meat thermometer, a sky blue croc bag, a blender that heats and chills and the Sarah J. Maas book everyone is waiting on: ten things we keep coming back to.
THE BLANK LIST is back with the things we cannot stop thinking about right now. The days are warming up, the barbecue is getting dusted off and the to-do list has somehow turned into a shopping list. Ten things from ten very different corners of life, and the only rule is that we keep going back to them.
1. MEATER Pro Wireless Smart Meat Thermometer
The first barbecue of the season is a high-stakes event, and nobody wants to be the person who served a dry roast or a worryingly pink chicken. The MEATER Pro is a wire-free probe that sits in the meat and tells your phone how it is going, so you can stop hovering at the grill and actually talk to your guests. The newer Pro is tough enough to stay in over a hot grill and reaches a long way from its bamboo charger, which means you can be inside topping up drinks while dinner looks after itself.
2. Flint Gold-Plated Whiskey Stones
A drink that is cold but not watered down is a small luxury, and these do it with a bit of shine. The Flint set of six gold-plated stainless steel whiskey stones lives in the freezer and goes into the glass when you pour, so your whisky stays chilled while the flavour stays put. They look like a little pile of gold bars on the bar cart, which is half the appeal, and they also make a handy present for the whisky fan in your life. Not sure how to drink whisky yet? Our beginner's guide to whisky covers the five easiest ways to get started.
3. Aspinal of London Mini Mayfair in Sky Blue Croc
Every list needs one thing that is purely about joy, and this is ours. The Mini Mayfair with skinny scarf in deep shine sky blue small croc is a small top-handle bag in a glossy croc finish, in a pale blue that looks like a clear day by the water. The silk scarf knotted on the handle does the styling for you, and the whole thing is a lovely excuse to carry a lot less. It will happily lift a white linen shirt and jeans into something that looks planned. The Mayfair style has a famous fan club: Taylor Swift, Gigi Hadid, Jennifer Lopez and Kate, the Princess of Wales, have all been seen carrying it, and shiny croc is having a real moment this season too.
4. Block Blue Light Multi-Mode Book Light
Some of us have a long-running habit of reading in bed until the book lands on our face. The Block Blue Light book light clips onto a book, a tablet or an e-reader and gives off a soft warm glow instead of harsh white light, with three colour modes and adjustable brightness. It charges up rather than eating batteries, and it travels well, which is handy when the holiday reading pile gets serious.
5. Skylight 15 inch Smart Family Calendar
If your household runs on a group chat and a vague sense of panic, a big touchscreen in the kitchen might be the answer. The Skylight 15 inch smart family calendar pulls everyone's calendars into one colour-coded screen, with space for chores, dinner plans and shared lists, and you can update it from the app on the go. It is the sort of thing that ends the daily question of who is picking up whom.
6. Ninja Foodi Blender Cold and Hot HB150
Smoothie weather is nearly here, and the Ninja Foodi Blender Cold and Hot delivers cold, fluffy ice, which is the texture that separates a proper frozen smoothie from a chunky one. The clever bit is that it heats as well, so the same jug that makes your summer drinks can turn out a soup on a cooler evening. One machine, two seasons, and a little less bench space gone.
7. Schoko Chocolates Signature Collection Gift Box
Put these out at your next dinner party and watch the table go quiet. The Schoko Chocolates gift box is a tray of handcrafted Belgian chocolates made in Victoria, with a chocolate bar of your choice alongside, and it looks as good opened on the table as it tastes. Get in before the weather heats up, because chocolate and a hot day were never going to be friends.
8. DeWalt 2.0 3-in-1 ToughSystem Tool Box Bundle
Not glamorous, but the garage drawer of mystery screws is real, and this is the fix. The DeWalt 2.0 3-in-1 ToughSystem tool box bundle stacks three boxes onto a wheeled base so everything has a home, and the whole lot rolls out to wherever the weekend project is. A touch of much needed organisation, with portability thrown in.
9. A Court of Splintered Harmony by Sarah J. Maas
Fans of the series have been counting down to this one, and the wait is nearly over. A Court of Splintered Harmony: The Valkyrie Cycle, Movement 1 is the latest release from Sarah J. Maas and the sixth book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses saga, landing on 27th Oct 26. If your group chat has been quietly losing its mind about it, you already know.
10. frank body Original Coffee Scrub
Summer skin starts a few weeks before the first beach day. The frank body Original Coffee Scrub is the Australian classic that made the coffee scrub a bathroom staple: a quick buff in the shower to slough off dry, dull skin before the shorts and sundresses come out. It smells like a good morning, and it is the easy, inexpensive one on this list.
Verdict: the Aspinal bag is the one to save up for, the Ninja blender and frank body scrub are the sensible summer starters, and the Sarah J. Maas book is the easiest way to make 27th Oct 26 a good day.
