9 minute read
THE BUZZ
CALIFORNIA BAKED
A modern take on classic vanilla makes baking more fun.
If the pandemic and lockdown showed us anything, it’s that we all have a secret desire to cook and bake. From cakes to breads to mu ns or cookies, it’s safe to say we all did our fair share of baking these past 16 months. For making baked goods extra special, Vnlla Extract Company is our pick. The packaging and branding utilizes sleek design, minimalism, clear nutrition and origin information, and the product is made using a 200-year old vanilla-making process. This is no ordinary vanilla extract.
Founded in partnership with Symrise, Vnlla Extract Co is a new line of vanilla extracts that deliver inspiration and unleash creativity. This new line takes the vanilla extract concept and reimagines it by adding natural avors with fruit and spice extracts. “We start with Bourbon vanilla beans grown and harvested by our partner farmers in Madagascar, who carefully hand-pollinate each vanilla orchid,” says Symrise. “Then we extract and bottle that goodness in the United States to capture the essence of each and every bean.”
Knowing that Mother Nature can be ckle, the company plans ahead by blending its pure vanilla extract with other natural avors so taste and quality remain consistent—as does the price.
“Creating the best possible product demands the best possible vanilla crop,” Symrise says. “That means working closely and sustainably with local farmers and partnering with NGOs to achieve this. We go beyond securing a sustainable supply chain; we help farmers and local communities improve cultivation practices by training in crop diversi cation and soil management. By helping farmers maintain their plots year-round and grow a wider range of crops, we can help them improve their nancial security.”
“These extracts from Vnlla are a game changer,” says Sam Mason, chef and owner of Oddfellows Ice Cream in Brooklyn, New York. The vanilla extracts have inspired new avor pro les in his ice cream, utilizing a vast array of spices and citrus to always push the palatable limits of creative taste. Vnlla Extract Co. prides itself on working with chefs everywhere.
$15 available on amazon.com / vnllaextractco.com
Load and Go
Little demicups neatly hold your ower.
Looking for the most e cient and discreet way to pre-load your ower? BudKups are the solution. With a little bit of prep and the tools included in the BudKups kit, you’ll be prepared to get the perfect amount when the need arises—and you can t it into your purse or pocket. Founded in 2017 by sisters Gia and Juliana Franzone, BudKups began as a passion project in an e ort to access the pure and beautiful potency of natural ower in order to aid in treating one sister’s chronic pain and helping the other manage her anxiety.
“We quickly found that using cannabis ower in its natural form is inherently messy and limiting. We knew there had to be a better way—one that didn’t sacri ce all the powerful properties of the plant for the convenience of concentrates,” according to the Franzone sisters. Inspired by their grandfather’s manufacturing and engineering innovation in 1953, BudKups is an easier way to improve the experience of vaping cannabis ower.
BY THE NUMBERS
246
MILLION
How many people who su er from depression worldwide
SOURCE: World Health Organization, 2020
46
PERCENT
Small business entrepreneurs who are between the ages of 41 and 56
SOURCE: 2021 Guidant Financial study
150
MILLION
Number of hot dogs eaten by Americans on July 4th
SOURCE: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council ... yep, that’s a thing
Green Light
This CDB recovery system is made for athletes.
In 2018, the World Anti-Doping Agency removed CBD from its list of prohibited substances—in or out of competition— which opened the door for athletes to explore the benefi ts of CBD for pain management. Champions + Legends is a CBD recovery system created specifi cally for professional athletes, and it is now available to everyone. It’s made with full-spectrum CBD using an extraction method that retains a full profi le of cannabinoids, terpenes, and phenolic compounds to ensure all of the molecules are present in the fi nal product.
The three Champions + Legends systems include: Prepare Series, which utilizes superior pre-workout CBD resources to help elevate your training and achieve better results faster (25–1000mg CBD available in tincture and soft gels); Perform Series, which supports taking your performance to the next level by incorporating potent CBD tools for more eff ective training (250mg oral spray); and Recover Series, which has a comprehensive arsenal of post-workout CBD tools to accelerate recovery after intense physical activity (25–1000mg CBD available in soft gels, muscle rub, muscle cream, tincture, and transdermal patch).
$60–$100 / championsandlegends.com
BILITIES
BY STEPHANIE WILSON, EDITOR IN CHIEF
1 GETAWAY CAR: Parking space is the new personal space. Pinterest Predicts, the brand’s “not-yet-trending report” prognosticates that in 2021, cars will become the new “third space” for everything from date nights to man caves—which I can totally see happening ... for people who drive something larger than a Fiat.
2 FIFI THE FIAT: My car didn’t come with an owner’s manual; she came with an app. And the rst time I opened it up, it greeted me with this statement/question combo: 85% of Fiat owners name their cars. What’s your Fiat’s name?
3 FIFI. Her name is Fi .
4 I BROUGHT HER HOME ONE DAY IN AUGUST ALMOST
EIGHT YEARS AGO, and she still makes me smile when I see her. She’s just cute, and her name ts her.
5 NOT MUCH ELSE FITS IN HER THOUGH, WHICH BRINGS ME BACK TO THE ORIGINAL POINT: Fi doesn’t o er much
space inside, but she can get me to places where space abounds. I am forever grateful for her tiny little engine that struggles a whole helluva lot trying to get up Colorado’s mountains. (Fi ’s more of a Florida girl at heart—#same. And also #soon!
6 AS IN: As soon as cannabis becomes legal for recreational use in the Sunshine State, expect to see Fi cruising back to the tropics. If you tag or send us an Insta of your and your (named) car (@stephwilll), we’ll be sure to wave if we see you when we’re out there on the road again.
PACE YOURSELF
This planner will help you crush your goals one moment at a time.
While you indulge in the summer swell, consider planning for what’s next in your life, career, and family. The Lamare line of planners is one of the most useful, inspiring, and motivating organizational product lines we’ve come across. It may take a little work to get it all set up, but with the di erent Lamare planners, the process of self-awareness, introspection, and setting goals makes all of those dreams you’re dreaming tangible.
The One Day At A Time planner is quite literally an invitation to break down your goals into bite sizes. Pages include 12-week goals, monthly focuses and re ections, weekly layouts, and a section for all those copious get-my-life-in-order notes. The goal is to spark creativity, bump up your con dence, indulge in some self-love, and reign in the feelings of being overwhelmed by taming the growing task lists you create.
The Remember Why You Started food and tness journal is ideal when you’ve really decided to put your health rst. If we’re being totally honest with ourselves, we all kind of suck at keeping up with food and tness logging on our phones—mainly because we get lost in the Instagram wormhole. This journal is more practical and allows you to see any eating or tness patterns that need reevaluating.
Lamare planners and journals set you up for success. Other products include Dream Life Workbook, Be You (a rmation cards), Do It (weekly planner), Abundance ( nancial planner), Track Me (habit-tracking calendar), Wander Always (travel journal), 30-day Challenge, and more.
WATCH LIST
You absolutely need to add these new shows to your binge list.
The Nevers, HBOMax
The quick version: a show about badass women—and a few guys—known in their steampunk society as “the touched” (no, not that way!). They all have powers given to them by a celestial alien being referred to as “the light,” and they basically are the underworld superheroes, but twisted and super smart.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Disney+
The quick version: taking a page from a far more intricate character backstory, this series does a deep dive into race, corruption, politics, and of course a lot of very cool ght scenes with Bucky (aka Winter Soldier) and Sam (aka Falcon). We learn more about Captain America, and we meet two new versions—Captain America 2.0 and 3.0—though (spoiler alert) 3.0 is the best one.
Loki, Disney+
The quick version: Tom Hiddleston. Need we say more? Okay ne, we will. Loki takes the Marvel universe’s greatest villain and gives him a far better story to unravel. Arrested by the timekeepers because well, he’s not a rule abider, Loki is so much fun to watch as he faces some major revelations. And yes, he’s still villainous and charming.
Ginny & Georgia, Net ix
The quick version: a story about a mom and a daughter, and Austin the little brother, that tracks the dynamics that exist with a potentially outlaw mother and her angsty teenager. At rst it seems campy, but it takes some pretty deep and entertaining turns.
The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu
The quick version: Holy. Fuck. Season Four ain’t messing around when it comes to getting right down to vengeance. From the very rst episode, you wonder when the damn eye is gonna lose control, if the handmaids will actually survive, and you question June’s motives (and Fred and Serena’s, even though we know for sure they’re crazy AF). By the end of the season, you’ll say the rst two words of this breakdown: holy. fuck.
Other strangely interesting shows: Solos (Amazon Prime), Workin’ Moms (Net ix), That Damn Michael Che (HBOMax)
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