As the Eater team looked back on what we bought and loved for the month of April, I noticed that our best buys fell on both sides of the spectrum: My coworkers are down to become savvy DIYers to save money, but they also recognize the power of a strategic, serotonin-boosting purchase. One of Eater’s editors, for example, gave me his Amazon shopping cart list of everything you need to make boba at home, while another shared a vegetable-themed Rachel Antonoff dress that could have walked out of the Rothschild Surrealist Ball. In the words of my beloved Mother Witch, Gwyneth Paltrow, life is about “finding the balance between cigarettes and tofu.”

Last month, Eater staffers waxed lyrical about a cult-fave Japanese toaster, a confetti-colored cutting board, and a moka pot by Alessi that deserves a place in a modern art museum. This month, our staffers are sharing how the items they bought this month make their life better on a practical level (Liquid I.V.! microplanes!) but also noted their coolest, most aesthetic purchases — see: a kitsch candelabra cake topper and a Stagg kettle dupe — that add a lot of panache without breaking the bank.

Here’s a big, heaping tablespoon of what Eater staffers bought (and loved) in the month of April.