Awesome Living

Amazon updates its family of Alexa-enabled devices. The 2017 Echo speaker has a more compact design, with better speakers and voice recognition. The new Echo Plus is also a speaker but with a built-in smart home hub. The Echo Spot is a smaller version of the Echo Show.

This handy pocket tool is made from lightweight and durable 0.125″ thick carbon fiber, and not only pops open bottles with ease, but has 1/4″, 5/16″, 3/8″ and 7/16″ wrench cutouts, and a 1/4″ hex bit holder, making it more versatile than your average bottle opener.

Perfect for shared workspaces, Poppin’s cozy chair provides a degree of privacy while checking emails or just vegging out. Comes in a variety of solid and two-tone colors, and offers an optional power module for keeping charged up. Also, check out the matching ottoman.

Alabama-based Southern Growler offers handmade and hand-painted ceramic growlers and steins. The growlers have large and comfortable handles and come in 32oz and 64oz sizes. The steins are microwave- and dishwasher-safe and hold up to 24oz.

It’s the perfect time of year to head inside to the fireplace and make s’mores, and now it’s even easier with these roasting skewers from our friends at Fred. Sold in sets of four, with a nice mallow grip and a 12″-32″ telescoping handle that makes cooking campfire food a cinch.

Make your no-pants-zone area an official invited guests only spot by protecting it with this fierce foo dog throw from Society6’s missmonster. Made of 100% super cuddly fleece, available in three sizes and machine washable too, in case you spill your snacks.

This special edition fixed-blade knife features an extremely durable 4.5″ CPM 3V steel blade, and a sculpted handle made from grippy, camouflage multicam G10 Micarta. It comes with a custom felt-lined Kydex sheath, and is also available with a walnut wood handle.

Do you fart $100 bills and dig slow jams? Grab the BeoLab 50 Speakers ASAP, then. The deluxe speaker delivers 2100w via seven drivers and seven 300w amps, and Active Room Compensation measures room acoustics and creates custom filters for it. (Thanks Todd!)

Transform your ordinary toggle light switches into interactive works of art with these whimsical wood light switch plates from Green Tree Jewelry. Each one adds an unnecessarily complex gear mechanism to make turning your lights on or off more entertaining.

The BioLite FirePit lets you enjoy a campfire or grill with barely any smoke. It uses a rechargeable fan to more efficiently burn wood or charcoal and drastically cut down on smoke. The electronic module can be detached and used as a power bank.

Inspired by characters in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Statesman is a small batch offering blended from hand-selected casks of Old Forester Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky aged in secret hot spots in the warehouse. Minimally filtered with loads of bold character.

If you need to perform tasks in a dark place, this pocket-size flood light is the perfect accessory for your EDC kit. It’s got both a magnetic base and a pocket clip, and casts a bright, but diffuse 175 lumen LED for up to 7 hours on a set of 3-AAA batteries. In yellow or camouflage designs.

The Z-Arm is a desktop robot arm that is incredibly versatile, yet relatively affordable and easy to use. It can move on four axes, has a variety of interchangeable tool heads (including 3D printing, laser engraving, and gripping), and can be controlled via PC or mobile devices.

Grid Beams look and work a lot like Meccano girders, except they’re large and sturdy enough to make furniture, structures and other usable objects. They come in either recycled Douglas fir (with 5/16″ holes) or aluminum (with 7/16″ holes). Learn more in the Grid Beam book.

Laurel Hwang’s Plier is a room divider that can also perform the opposite of its original function. It has hydraulic pistons that let you fold its upper half down, turning the divider into a table. Its translucent surface alludes to its inclusive design.

The ultimate everyday carry for germaphobes, the Gryp is a germ-resistant silicone sleeve that attaches to your keyring and allows you to use your fingertips to grip doorknobs, hold handles, push ATM machines, and use other public things without touching them directly.

A motorized standing desk that not only can automatically adjust its height, but its built-in tablet provides fitness and health feedback, and also works as an AI-powered digital personal assistant which can interact with other smart devices. Full tech specs and dimensions here.

Keep your drinks chill with a big Millennium Falcon ice cube thanks to this fun silicone ice mold. The dual mold makes a pair of intergalactic freighters, guaranteed to make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs – assuming “Kessel Run” is just the name of a cocktail.

Sometimes you reach a point in the workday when everything you had hoped would happen that day absolutely doesn’t. If that’s the case, go grab a cup of coffee in silence and use this mug. Since we’ve all been there at one point, the only thing people will do is laugh.

This versatile stainless steel tool will not only make you feel like Batman, it’s a great way to get items up to a higher point. Its center prong detaches and works as a rope tie, and its claw can even open bottles. Not intended for climbing. Full review here.

With so many keychain tools on the market, it’s rare that we see one we haven’t encountered before. But the Spike + Bar is unique – offering a super-sharp titanium keychain tool that can be used to pry, poke, open, and gouge with its precision machined tip.

LEXON’s cordless lantern serves multiple purposes: a Bluetooth speaker with dual 3-watt drivers, a warm LED ambient light, and a 4000 mAh battery pack which can be used to charge up to two devices. Comes in aluminum, brown, or gold finishes.

Etsy shop Dilnahammer makes ready-to-mount wooden homes for birds and other animals. One of the shop’s most popular products are honeycomb cell “hotels” for bees, ladybugs and other small insects. They come in different combinations and colors.