My wife has a similar predicament, a short commute and (the resulting) terrible FE. Unfortunately, she doesn't have the motivation to do much about it.
I'd try a grill block (helps with the warming up sooner) and a block heater. As for passing the wifes approval, I always just try to pass it off as "normal maintenence"
And in your case, if you do the install yourself (
TomO has a nice DIY) it shouldn't be too pricey.