Posts Written by Vic Arkoff

Springtime brings flowers — including plastic posies. The LEGO Brick Botanicals jigsaw puzzle from Chronicle Books is a blooming, pretty one depicting a heck of a creative build using thousands of LEGO bricks and specialty pieces. Bonus: the 25 x 20” puzzle has 1,000 flat cardboard pieces that don’t hurt like real LEGOs when stepped on.

The Italian distillers of our favorite almond liqueur introduce Disaronno Velvet, an incredibly smooth cream dessert liqueur with the sweet aroma of almonds and nuances of chocolate and vanilla. The velvety drink is ideally served over ice or to add an elegant touch to cream cocktails like the Disaronno Velvet Batida.

The “I love you — I know” pliable silicone ring set from Enso Rings woos Star Wars lovers with lines uttered by Princess Leia and Hans Solo in The Empire Strikes Back… engraved in Aurebesh. The metal-free, bendy, and comfy rings come in faux finishes like platinum, black pearl, rose gold, and icy silver.

Engineered to be strong without the heft, Able Carry’s Daybreaker 2 does everything you could ask from a 20-ounce ultralight activity backpack. Made with durable ripstop nylon, it sports a full-length zip for easy access, an internal bottle pocket, and stretch divider made to fit bladders, and a comfy cushioned back panel.

Showcasing Nathan Myhrvold’s obsession with food, photography, and science, Food & Drink is a slip-cased art book collecting 200+ delicious photographs from the award-winning Modernist Bread and Modernist Pizza plus Myhvold’s Modernist Cuisine Gallery, the first gallery showing food photography by a single artist.

Neither snow nor rain nor soggy uniforms keep a Formula 1 racing crew from the swift completion of their intense pit crew duties. After perfecting a rugged umbrella for the pro golfers, Weatherman teamed up with the McLaren Formula 1 Team to engineer a racetrack-worthy limited-edition McLaren Collection umbrellas.

Harry’s makes shaving awesomer with their limited-edition Kevin Lyons Shave Set, a fun collaboration with the monster murals street artist. Lyons’ grinning critters cover his Harry’s box kit containing a colorful version of Harry’s best-selling Shave Handle, a matching stand, two German-made blades, and monster art stickers.

Maraschino cherries are meant for desserts, not cocktails. Italian Black Cherries from Filthy Premium Mixers & Garnishes are the secret to the best Manhattans and Old Fashioneds served in the world’s best bars. They’re made from natural Amarena cherries, slow-cooked in copper pots.

The next best thing to having cocktails in NYC at the award-winning Via Carota restaurant is having their mixed drinks available at home 24/7 in these Via Carota Craft Cocktail Sets. Each boxed set includes two ready-to-drink cocktails and two Italian-made crystal low-ball or Nick and Nora glasses.

Make the best of van living downtime (with or without an actual van) with this board game that fits in the glovebox. Van Life by Ridley Games steers 2 to 5 players around the board to punny places like Silly Cone Valley, Wood Sock, and Vanhaven on fictional Vantopia island.

One of the most elaborate custom pianos in history, Pictures at an Exhibition, was created by noted painter/pianist Paul Wyse. The one-of-a-kind Steinway & Sons Model D concert grand piano features 24-carat gold, cast bronze, and classically painted scenes to pay tribute to Modest Mussorgsky’s most profound composition for solo piano.

Call it a thruple, if you will. Crafthouse ready-made cocktails got cozy with Dark Matter Coffee and Traverse City Whiskey Co. to beget a limited-edition Coffee Old Fashioned cocktail in a bottle. The result is a perky caffeinated cocktail featuring a whiskey blend of straight bourbons with two high-rye mashbills aged 2 to 5 years.

Après Hours’ ready-made espresso martinis make cocktails easy, and combined with the Drunk Après Hours Drinking Game, it makes happy hour even happier. This collaboration with Drunk in Love is a simple game for three or more requiring players to follow prompts correctly or take a sip.

Next time you’re enjoying the most important meal of the day, wake up your ears with the Fruity Pebbles limited-edition of JLab’s popular Go Air Pop True Wireless Earbuds. They’re as colorful and bright as the sweet breakfast cereal, with 32 hours of Bluetooth playtime, custom EQ3 sound, and touch sensors.

On the MSC Seascape mega-ship, thrill seekers can get their adrenaline pumping on the ultimate amusement ride at sea. Robotron is a giant robotic arm holding a gondola for three riders to turn, flip, and swoop up and over a ship edge 175 feet above the ocean. Take that, snooze cruises.