diff --git a/chi/context.py b/chi/context.py
index 0a94001..fd1a741 100644
--- a/chi/context.py
+++ b/chi/context.py
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import logging
 import os
+import re
 import sys
 import time
 from typing import List, Optional
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ def default_key_name():
 _auth_plugin = None
 _session = None
 _sites = {}
+_lease_id = None
 
 version = "1.1"
 
@@ -440,6 +442,70 @@ def on_change(change):
     else:
         print("Choose site feature is only available in an ipynb environment.")
 
+def use_lease_id(lease_id: str) -> None:
+    """
+    Sets the current lease ID to use in the global context.
+
+    This configures the lease so it can be stored for ease
+    of restoring suspended sessions. Further lease validation, 
+    visualizations, and selectors are available in the lease module.
+
+    Args:
+        lease_id (str): The ID of the lease to use.
+    """
+    global _lease_id
+
+    if not re.fullmatch(r"[A-Za-z0-9\-]+", lease_id):
+        raise CHIValueError(f'Lease ID "{lease_id}" is invalid. It must contain only letters, numbers, and hyphens with no spaces or special characters.')
+
+    _lease_id = lease_id
+
+    print(f"Now using lease with ID {lease_id}.")
+
+def get_lease_id():
+    """
+    Returns the currently active lease ID, if one has been set.
+
+    Returns:
+        str or None: The lease ID currently in use, or None if no lease has been selected.
+    """
+    if _lease_id is None:
+        print("No lease ID has been set. Use `use_lease_id()` to select one.")
+    return _lease_id
+
+def get_project_name(project_id: Optional[str] = None) -> str:
+    """
+    Returns the name of a project by ID, or the current project name if no ID is given.
+
+    Args:
+        project_id (str, optional): The ID of the project. If None, uses the current session project.
+
+    Returns:
+        str: The name of the project.
+
+    Raises:
+        ResourceError: If the project cannot be found or the request fails.
+    """
+    keystone_session = session()
+    keystone_client = KeystoneClient(
+        session=keystone_session,
+        interface=getattr(keystone_session, "interface", None),
+        region_name=getattr(keystone_session, "region_name", None),
+    )
+
+    try:
+        if project_id:
+            project = keystone_client.projects.get(project_id)
+        else:
+            current_id = keystone_session.get_project_id()
+            project = keystone_client.projects.get(current_id)
+    except keystone_exceptions.NotFound:
+        raise ResourceError("Project not found.")
+    except keystone_exceptions.Unauthorized:
+        raise ResourceError("Failed to retrieve project. Check your credentials.")
+
+    return project.name
+
 
 def list_projects(show: str = None) -> List[str]:
     """
diff --git a/chi/lease.py b/chi/lease.py
index d663c2f..50a7fa5 100644
--- a/chi/lease.py
+++ b/chi/lease.py
@@ -1,20 +1,23 @@
 import json
 import logging
 import numbers
+import os
 import re
 import time
 from datetime import datetime, timedelta
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, List, Optional, Union
 
+import pandas
 from blazarclient.exception import BlazarClientException
+from ipydatagrid import DataGrid, Expr, TextRenderer
 from IPython.display import display
-from ipywidgets import HTML
+from ipywidgets import HTML, Box, Layout
 from packaging.version import Version
 
 from chi import context, server, util
 
-from .clients import blazar
-from .context import _is_ipynb
+from .clients import blazar, connection
+from .context import _is_ipynb, get_project_name
 from .exception import CHIValueError, ResourceError, ServiceError
 from .hardware import Device, Node
 from .network import PUBLIC_NETWORK, get_network_id, list_floating_ips
@@ -259,6 +262,135 @@ def _populate_from_json(self, lease_json):
 
         # self.events = lease_json.get('events', [])
 
+    def _ipython_display_(self):
+        """
+        Displays a styled summary of the lease when run in a Jupyter notebook.
+
+        This method is called automatically by the Jupyter display system when
+        an instance of the Lease object is the final expression in a cell.
+        It presents key lease attributes using ipywidgets for readability.
+        """
+        layout = Layout(padding="4px 10px")
+        style = {
+            "description_width": "initial",
+            "background": "#d3d3d3",
+            "white_space": "nowrap",
+        }
+
+        status_style = style.copy()
+        status_colors = {
+            "ACTIVE": "#a2d9fe",
+            "PENDING": "#ffe599",
+            "TERMINATED": "#f69084",
+        }
+        if self.status:
+            status_style["background"] = status_colors.get(self.status, "#d3d3d3")
+
+        children = [
+            # HTML(f"<b>Lease ID:</b> {self.id}", style=style, layout=layout),
+            HTML(f"<b>Status:</b> {self.status}", style=status_style, layout=layout),
+            HTML(f"<b>Name:</b> {self.name}", style=style, layout=layout),
+        ]
+
+        if self.start_date:
+            children.append(
+                HTML(
+                    f"<b>Start:</b> {self.start_date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')}",
+                    style=style,
+                    layout=layout,
+                )
+            )
+        if self.end_date:
+            children.append(
+                HTML(
+                    f"<b>End:</b> {self.end_date.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')}",
+                    style=style,
+                    layout=layout,
+                )
+            )
+
+        remaining = None
+        if self.end_date and datetime.now() < self.end_date:
+            remaining = self.end_date - datetime.now()
+
+        if remaining:
+            days = remaining.days
+            hours = remaining.seconds // 3600
+            minutes = (remaining.seconds % 3600) // 60
+            children.append(
+                HTML(
+                    f"<b>Remaining:</b> {days:02d}d {hours:02d}h {minutes:02d}m",
+                    style=style,
+                    layout=layout,
+                )
+            )
+
+        # Reservations
+        children.append(
+            HTML(
+                f"<b>Node Reservations:</b> {len(self.node_reservations)}",
+                style=style,
+                layout=layout,
+            )
+        )
+        children.append(
+            HTML(
+                f"<b>FIP Reservations:</b> {len(self.fip_reservations)}",
+                style=style,
+                layout=layout,
+            )
+        )
+        children.append(
+            HTML(
+                f"<b>Device Reservations:</b> {len(self.device_reservations)}",
+                style=style,
+                layout=layout,
+            )
+        )
+
+        if self.project_id:
+            try:
+                project_name = context.get_project_name(self.project_id)
+                children.append(
+                    HTML(
+                        f"<b>Project Name:</b> {project_name}",
+                        style=style,
+                        layout=layout,
+                    )
+                )
+            except ResourceError:
+                children.append(
+                    HTML(
+                        f"<b>Project ID:</b> {self.project_id}",
+                        style=style,
+                        layout=layout,
+                    )
+                )
+        if self.user_id:
+            user_id = connection().get_user_id()
+            if self.user_id == user_id:
+                label = os.getenv("OS_USERNAME")
+                children.append(
+                    HTML(f"<b>User Name:</b> {label}", style=style, layout=layout)
+                )
+            else:
+                label = self.user_id  # [:8]  # or just show a truncated ID
+                children.append(
+                    HTML(f"<b>User ID:</b> {label}", style=style, layout=layout)
+                )
+        if self.created_at:
+            children.append(
+                HTML(
+                    f"<b>Created At:</b> {self.created_at.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')}",
+                    style=style,
+                    layout=layout,
+                )
+            )
+
+        box = Box(children=children)
+        box.layout = Layout(flex_flow="row wrap")
+        display(box)
+
     def add_device_reservation(
         self,
         amount: int = None,
@@ -1078,6 +1210,119 @@ def list_leases() -> List[Lease]:
 
     return leases
 
+def _status_color(cell):
+    return "#a2d9fe" if cell.value == "2-ACTIVE" else (
+           "#ffe599" if cell.value == "1-PENDING" else (
+           "#f69084" if cell.value == "3-TERMINATED" else "#e0e0e0"))
+    
+def show_leases() -> DataGrid:
+    """
+    Displays a table of the user's leases in an interactive, sortable format.
+
+    Uses an ipydatagrid to present key lease attributes such as ID, name, status,
+    duration, and reservation counts. The grid supports sorting, filtering, and 
+    scrolling for easy exploration of lease state.
+
+    Returns:
+        DataGrid: An ipydatagrid widget displaying the leases.
+    """
+
+    def estimate_column_width(df, column, char_px=7, padding=0):
+        if column not in df.columns:
+            raise ValueError(f"Column '{column}' not found in DataFrame.")
+        max_chars = df[column].astype(str).map(len).max()
+        return max(max_chars * char_px + padding, 80)
+
+
+    leases = list_leases()
+
+    rows = []
+    for lease in leases:
+
+        try:
+            project_name = get_project_name(lease.project_id)
+        except ResourceError:
+            project_name = lease.project_id[:8] if lease.project_id else "Unknown"
+    
+        if lease.user_id == connection().current_user_id:
+            user_label = os.getenv("OS_USERNAME")
+        else:
+            user_label = lease.user_id if lease.user_id else "Unknown"
+    
+        if lease.start_date and lease.end_date:
+            duration_hrs = round((lease.end_date - lease.start_date).total_seconds() / 3600, 1)
+        else:
+            duration_hrs = "N/A"
+    
+        # Inside your row-building loop:
+        if lease.end_date and lease.end_date > datetime.now():
+            remaining_td = lease.end_date - datetime.now()
+            remaining_str = f"{remaining_td.days:02d}d {(remaining_td.seconds // 3600):02d}h"
+        elif lease.end_date and lease.end_date <= datetime.now():
+            remaining_str = "Expired"
+        else:
+            remaining_str = "N/A"
+
+
+        # prepending status with numeric makes it possible to character sort
+        # since ipydatagrid does not allow custom sort functions
+        status_order = {
+            "PENDING": "1-PENDING",
+            "ACTIVE": "2-ACTIVE",
+            "TERMINATED": "3-TERMINATED"
+        }
+        
+        rows.append({
+            "Name": lease.name,
+            "Status": status_order.get(lease.status, f"4-{lease.status}"),
+            "User": user_label,
+            "Project": project_name,
+            "Start": lease.start_date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M") if lease.start_date else "",
+            "End": lease.end_date.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M") if lease.end_date else "",
+            "Remaining": remaining_str,
+            "Total Hours": duration_hrs,
+            "# Nodes": len(lease.node_reservations),
+            "# FIPs": len(lease.fip_reservations),
+            "Created": lease.created_at.strftime("%Y-%m-%d %H:%M") if lease.created_at else "",
+            "Lease ID": lease.id,
+            "_is_user_lease": 0 if lease.user_id == connection().current_user_id else 1
+        })
+    
+    df = pandas.DataFrame(rows)
+    df = pandas.DataFrame(rows)
+    df = df.sort_values(by=["_is_user_lease", "Status", "Created"])
+    df = df.drop(columns=["_is_user_lease"])
+
+    renderers = {
+    "Status": TextRenderer(
+        background_color=Expr(_status_color),
+        text_color="black",
+    ),
+        
+    }
+
+    display(DataGrid(
+        df, 
+        layout={"height": "400px", "width": "100%"},
+        column_widths={
+            "key": 30,
+            "Name": int(estimate_column_width(df, "Name")),
+            "Status": 120, 
+            "Remaining": 80,
+            "Total Hours": 50,
+            "# Nodes": 30,
+            "# FIPs": 30,
+            "Project": 100,
+            "User": 75,
+            "Start": 95,
+            "End": 95,
+            "Created": 95,
+            "Lease ID": 30, 
+
+        },
+        renderers=renderers
+    ))
+
 
 def _get_lease_from_blazar(ref: str):
     blazar_client = blazar()