Friendlier

The days are dark and cold, at least in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere. We thought it would be fun to share what is bringing us joy, comfort, and generally helping us get through these months until spring arrives. Life Lately Abby used this  kit  to pierce a second set of holes in her ears. Sarah’s kids are enjoying sleepovers with friends. Reading lately Abby read  Out of th...

We discuss our favorite spaces in our homes, the projects we want to tackle, and how we want our homes to feel. Life lately Sarah’s enjoying her newly installed windows and an accompanying living room rearrangement. Abby passed the NCLEX (nursing board exam) and is now an RN. Reading lately Sarah read a cozy mystery,  The Thursday Murder Club  by Richard Osman. Abby loved the most recent...

New year’s intentions, 2023 We set our intentions for the year, share our words for the year, and discuss specific goals in different categories. Life Lately Abby shares a toy all six of her cats love. Sarah and Neil attempted a calendar meeting to moderate success. Reading lately Abby read The Bookwoman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson, the sequel to The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek . Sarah...

We reflect on the past year and discuss our words of the year, how it went in several categories, and do a lightning round of 2022 favorites. Life lately Sarah and her family took an awesome train trip to California, and Abby is struggling with the transition away from school.  Reading lately Sarah listened to  Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year  by Beth Kempton, and Abby enjoyed&n...

Our year in books, 2022 We share the highs and lows of our reading year as well as our favorite books in fiction, non-fiction, memoir, romance, audio, most-enjoyable, and read-aloud. Life lately Abby has finished nursing school and Sarah is starting a new job. Reading lately Abby read the novel We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman. Sarah read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabr...

Life lately Sarah and her family had a lovely Halloween, and Abby gives a winter garden update.  Reading lately Sarah enjoyed the nonfiction read,  Achtung, Baby: An American Mom on the German Art of Raising Self-Reliant Children  by Sara Zaske, and Abby read two romance novellas from the  Love Unscripted  series by Olivia Dade. Gift giving and receiving We share our philo...

Life lately Abby successfully completed her longest solo-parenting stretch to date! Sarah is headed into a cold-weather camping weekend; wish her luck! Reading lately Abby read  Mistborn: The Final Empire  by Brandon Sanderson, the first book of a fantasy fiction trilogy. Sarah stepped outside her usual genre and listened to the classic novel  Another Country  by James Baldwin....

For better or worse We share the best and worst traits we and our spouses bring to our marriages. Girl Next Door's Best Spouse / Worst Spouse episode Life Lately Abby has started her practicum in a labor and delivery ward. Sarah cut off her hair and is rocking the buzzed look again. Reading lately Abby read the unique and quirky Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Sarah's been reading more gra...

You all submitted a wide variety of questions, and we loved answering them. If you sent in a question, but didn’t hear it, it was probably so meaty that we’re saving it for it’s own episode later on. Thank you for being such great listeners! Life lately Sarah shares updates on her latest 5K and 10K, and Abby just took her final exam of nursing school.  Reading lately Sarah enjoyed the YA grap...

Novelty and progress We share how we feel about novelty and progress, where we most enjoy them in our lives, where we prefer the comfort of the familiar, and how our thoughts have changed over time. Life lately Abby prepared her garden for fall, including removing all the giant zinnias. Sarah is gearing up for two races despite limited training. Reading lately Abby listened to  How the Word i...

We chat about the seasons, including our favorite and least favorite things about each one, the best seasonal foods, and whether there are seasons we’d skip if we could. Life lately Sarah’s kiddo HP took his first trip away from home without family along—and did great. Abby and her family watched Coco with the family and loved the Dia de los Muertos vibes.  Reading lately Sarah had fun readin...

Personal policies We share mantras that guide our lives, boundaries we maintain, things we always say yes/no to, and aspirational policies we'd like to bring into our lives. Mentioned on the show: Girl Next Door episode  on personal policies Sow Connected episode  on rules to live by B Team Facebook group Life lately Abby is enjoying her new art from Nicole Simmons . Sarah is getting new...

We chat about how we’re coping with inflation, what frugal tricks have helped, and our frugal aspirations. Reading lately Sarah read another family gap year memoir,  We Came, We Saw, We Left  by Charles Wheelan. Abby was compelled by but is not sure what to think of  Magic for Liars  by Sarah Gailey. Life Lately Sarah and her kids cleaned the kids’ room. Abby is  almost &n...

Flexibility We share where it's easy for us to be flexible, where we find it more challenging, and how we've grown more and less flexible over time. Life lately Abby got another cat and Sarah has Covid. Reading lately Abby flew through the  Ravenswood series  by Talia Hibbert. Sarah was moved by Imbolo Mbue's latest novel  How Beautiful We Were . Eating lately Sarah wants to perfect...

We discuss the things giving us life at the end of the summer. Links to Abby's bathing suit top and bottoms (although it looks like black is sold out). Life lately Sarah loves the towel racks and trash can Neil custom made for their new bathroom. Abby is so thankful for her nursing school friends. Reading lately Sarah read My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress by Rachel DeLoache William...

2022 update We do our annual mid-year review, reminding ourselves of our goals and intentions and checking in on how things are going halfway through the year. Life lately Abby took a spontaneous camping trip and Sarah is showering in her new shower. Reading lately Abby read I'll Show Myself Out: Essays on Midlife and Motherhood by Jessi Klein after enjoying her article in The Cut . Sarah enjoyed...

We share the details of our days from Wednesday, June 15th. You can also listen to our  first day-in-the-life episode  and a  similar episode  from two years ago if you’d like to see how our days have changed. Links we mentioned: The Penderwicks  by Jeanne Birdsall YouTube Swim Lessons Life lately Sarah loves physical therapy, and Abby’s ebike dreams have come true. R...

Capturing family memories We share our philosophy around capturing family memories, our best strategies, and how our approach has changed as our kids have grown. Little Hoots Five year line-a-day journal Life lately Abby has a cat adventure to share. The remodel at Sarah's house is (finally) underway! Reading lately Abby read Listen to Me Good: The Story of an Alabama Midwife by Margaret Charles S...

We talk about how our processes of discernment look and rave about  this essay  by Cheryl Strayed. Life lately Sarah is enjoying TV, especially  Bridgerton.  Two and a half years after moving to Birmingham, Abby finally feels like she has friends. Reading lately Sarah read Remember:  The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting  by Lisa Genova, a popular scien...

Pets in our lives We share our history with pets, our current pet situations, the best and worst parts of having (or not having) pets, and our future pet dreams. Life lately Abby's planned lots of short trips for the upcoming months and Sarah is loving all the outdoor play happening in the neighborhood. Reading lately Abby enjoyed the second Bellinger Sisters' novel by Tessa Bailey: Hook, Line, an...

We share the favorites in our families that have stood the test of time. Visit our show notes for links! Life lately We share our plans for the upcoming summer. Reading lately Sarah read  I Must Betray You  by Reta Sepetys, a young adult historical fiction novel set in Romania at the end of the Ceaușescu regime. Abby loved  The Book of Longings  by Sue Monk Kidd. Eating lately...

Trying new things We share new things we've tried as adults, our trying new things fails, mantras/mindsets that help us when trying new things, how parenting intersects with our approach, and new things we aspire to try in the future. Life lately Abby is almost done with her first semester of nursing school! Sarah is watching a lot of NCAA gymnastics. Reading lately Abby was disappointed by ...

We share how we find new books to read, strategies for managing our holds queues at the library, and what influences the kind of book we want to read next. Links mentioned: Sarah  and  Abby  on Goodreads Shelf Awareness  and  Maximum Shelf newsletters Booklist newsletters Reading the Past  (for historical fiction) Smart Bitches Trashy Books  (for romance) Tor &nb...

Division of labor We give an update on how we divide the housework in our families: who does what, how we feel about it, outsourcing, and what we have found to be most successful. Life lately Abby's family welcomed two new cats to their home. Sarah took an overnight trip to St. Louis. Reading lately Abby is obsessed with the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells. Sarah read the graphic memoir A...

We discuss what it’s been like to be back in school as adults, including what we are studying, the best and worst parts, and tips for anyone thinking of going back to school. Life lately Sarah is relishing riding a bike with working brakes. Abby shares that Pepper was vaccinated as part of the Pfizer COVID clinical trial! Reading lately Sarah read the the cozy food mystery  Arsenic and Adobo...