Today is my husband's birthday. We've been celebrating for a week already. We affectionately refer to this as his birthday season. This is a very talented, thoughtful, innovative, hardworking and stylish man. To celebrate him, I thought I'd share some of his very favorite things with you, Dear Reader. Why? Well, because his picks are often solid recommendations for gifts for the ones you love. 

 

Things My Husband Loves That You Might Love Just as Much.

1. Photography.

Justin takes all sorts of photos. From nature photography to Poplin client photos, his kitchen masterpieces and everything in between, there's a whole lot to inspire.

2. Esquire.

I'm going to take credit for introducing him to this, but he's taken it to an entirely new level. As far as I'm concerned, every man should have a subscription to Esquire. I just bought him the collection of What I've Learned essays, one of my very favorite parts of the magazine. 

You can get a sense of Justin's style when reading the blog post about him on the Nordstrom Men's Blog from a few years ago. 

3. Science & Books about Science.

Last night he raked in some extraordinary gifts from friends. Two of the big science-related hits were the NASA graphics standards manual and the new Michael Lewis book, The Undoing Project. He credits Lewis with inspiring him to become a designer. 

4. Efficiency, Innovation and Easing His Wife's Frustrations.

I can get pretty bent out of shape when technology is not making my life easier. My unwavering insistence that this is the sole purpose of technology helps drive Justin's work at Atlas. The team of achievers is behind Recall, software that remembers everything you've done on your computer and makes it effortless to find what you are looking for whether it's a website, a file, a photo or so much more. It will blow your mind. Check out the beta here and try it out for free.

5. Music.

The latest quest started with Chance the Rapper but led him to find all the other musicians who have worked with Chance as he explores new music. He spends a great deal of time on Spotify, but Sound Cloud also offers music from artists that you might not otherwise discover. Right now, he's into Francis and the Lights and Donnie Trumpet (check out the album Surf which is, "essentially a second Chance the Rapper album under Donnie Trumpet's name.)

6. Lego.

Holy cow. We are a serious Lego family. We visited Oslo and Helsinki a couple of years ago and the Oslo Opera House inspired him to create a Lego version of the building. Here he is in a Lego documentary about the piece. 

7. Affordable Finds for Tall Slim Men.

J. Crew Factory and Old Navy make medium tall sweaters and tees that fit perfectly. At 6'5", it isn't easy to find shirts with sleeves that are long enough, for example. These two never disappoint.

8. Cooking. 

Yes, I cook. But, I cook to live and it does the job. If you want REALLY tasty goodness, you really need to come over when my husband is making dinner. A life long cook and devoted Alton Brown fan, he especially enjoys the science of cooking. He reads multiple recipes before trying something new, then dives in to create his own version. My son got him Mad Genius Tips, for his birthday and it looks like it will be a hit. We also have lots of success with cookbooks from Anthropologie, including Home at 7, Dinner at Eight.

9. Giving Back.

Back in my public service days, when Justin and I were just friends, I used to ask him to design t-shirts and other marketing for me. Beyond his years of offering design, photography and editing skills for my various projects to make the world a better place, he volunteers at the YouthCare styling sessions, when he can, to help the youth learn how to tie neck ties and so on. He's amazing. 

10. Our kid.

Samuel and Justin REALLY love reading dense, fact based books together. Because of this, I'm always on the hunt for children's books that are equally compelling to both of them. Right now they are both truly obsessed with multiple books from the same author, David Macaulay — City, Mosque and Castle, for starters.

And there you have it. A little love letter to my husband that should also prove very useful to you, Dear Reader. It's all about offering resources to one another. Let's hope this gives you some fresh ideas. As always, if you like something, please click through from this post as Poplin may receive a small commission on items.