Awesome Living

Ok, it isn’t new, and at best it’s still a prototype, but still we must give a tip of the hat to Chris Dimino and the way he repurposed a Corona typewriter into a jumbo waffle maker. Because it rules.

We still rue the day that President Palmer left to do Allstate commercials, but we enjoyed all 8 seasons of Bauer Power enough that we’d still like the box set – all 57 discs of it. Don’t fight it.

We’ve posted thousands of goodies this year, and figured we’d help you guys out with your holiday shopping by picking some of the most awesome items of the year – in case you missed ’em.

Most laptop stands are bulky and hard to carry around. Not the AviiQ. It transforms into a plate about a quarter of an inch-thick when not in use, and easily folds out when needed.

Stadler Form’s elegant and versatile MAX fan heater is a reliable space heater capable of being just a fan during the summer and a toasty heater in the winter, since it blows both hot and cold air.

An annual membership to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society gets you access to limited edition bottles from 120 distilleries, four testers of single malt scotch, and other goodies. Renewals just $60/yr.

Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek created this warm faux-wood wallpaper, which perfectly apes the look of real distressed wood. While it doesn’t have actual depth, it won’t give you splinters.

It seems like such a simple concept, but getting a match to stay lit in the rain or wind isn’t easy. These incredible sticks from REI not can hold up to just about anything you can throw at ’em.

It’s not as magical as this chair, but Christian Desile’s creations is still a design marvel. When folded, it’s a mere 0.8in thick, meaning you can stack 100 chairs in just 7ft of space.

Moleskine’s Extra Small Planners measure just 2.5″ w x 4″ h, come in daily and weekly formats and are compact enough to throw in a bike bag, or even your pocket with the skinny weekly version.

Designed with practicality and ease of use in mind, its tiny ceramic blade makes short work of paper and plastic, even those pesky clam shell packages. Has a built-in magnet and key ring hole.

Adrian Johnson saw a wrecked BMW coupe and was surprised to see that the back seats were in good condition. Now he reuses them by installing the seats in used refrigerator bodies.

Amazing how a tiny piece of plastic can extend the usefulness of a device. Made for the iPhone 4, the Glif serves as a tripod mount but can also be used to prop up the phone in several positions.

Clean up your act with element number 92, Uranium. This periodic table-inspired soap bar not only teaches you a science lesson, but it emits a “radioactive” glow when the lights go down.

Inspired by WWII letters, this durable oil-cloth sleeve for 15″ laptops looks like a weathered envelope. Each sleeve even comes with a 1930’s – 1940’s era European or American stamp.

Most of us already have calendars in our cellphones, but if you insist on carrying a printed calendar, try business-card sized full year wonder by Grafish Design. Just download and print.

These limited-edition truffles are the perfect gift for the guy with good taste, and a taste for chocolate. Exotic flavors include black truffle, Guinness stout, Macallan whiskey and black sesame + wasabi.

Every once in a while, we need to take a break from videos of cats in cardboard boxes to watch something educational. This fascinating video which shows how far we’ve come over the last 200 years.

Combining a work desk for your laptop with an audiophile-grade, room-filling 7-speaker, 120-watt sound system, the La Boite Concept LD 120 is a real thing, despite the “concept” in its name.

We’re rubbing our eyes over here after watching this brief video about a dude and his chair, which has been made portable in the coolest way. Now though, we want to see him sit on it.

Planning a winter vacation on a tropical beach somewhere? Drop these ice cubes in your glass in tribute to the suckers back at home. Set comes with 6 eyes made out of coal and 3 carrot noses.

Calling this desk unique would simply not suffice. Its balustrade is made of hand-turned solid elm, while the desk surface are elm timbers reclaimed from 19th-century courtyard floors and doors.

Leather Head’s Melzer’s Boxing Club Chromexcel Medicine Ball’s rugged and manly shell will make you want to work out. Made of Chromexcel leather, it weighs 12.1 lbs and has an 11.5″ diameter.