Friendlier

Parenting, revisited We give an update on all things parenting: what's going well, our biggest challenges, mantras we rely on, and intentions going forward. Links mentioned: Previous parenting episodes: parenting , at home parenting , and parenting wins and fails Teacher Tom on bickering Parenting Without Power Struggles by Susan Stiffelman Life lately Abby is biking with Pepper using a Mac Ride ....

We share quick and easy meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, what we keep in our pantry, and what is not feeling quick and easy about feeding our families. Life lately Sarah is happy to have made it through January. Abby presented at a science communication conference. Reading lately Sarah read the domestic thriller  Apples Never Fall  by Liane Moriarty. Abby is going through Mhairi M...

Claiming rest We reflect on what rest means to us, how society's view on rest impacts us, activities we find restful, and our rest aspirations. Life lately Abby has joined in on the Wordle craze. Sarah thinks she's found the perfect time to get groceries. Reading lately Abby read the novel Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy and Sarah read Kate Baer's newest collection of poetry: I Hope...

We revisit the topic of community (which we first talked about five years ago), including the state of our current communities, what we need from our communities, how to cultivate community, and future community dreams. Links mentioned in this episode: Our first  episode on community Life lately Sarah’s family is making some serious tidying progress. Abby shares a frugal win. Reading lately S...

New year's intentions, 2022 We reflect on the year that was, set intentions for 2022, and share some of our favorites from 2021. Links we mentioned: Last year's  intentions episode  and our  mid-year check-in Ted Lasso Baking Impossible Bake Squad Life lately Pepper is fully weaned and Abby's found a great  new bra .  Sarah joined a buy nothing group to aid in her family's...

We take a look back at our reading life in 2021: our challenges, our wins, and of course, our favorite books. For our highlights from the year, please visit our show notes . Life lately Sarah is recovering from surgery. Abby is enjoying a break from work before nursing school starts. Reading lately Sarah read Holly Jackson’s  A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder  and  Good Girl, Bad Blood...

We reflect on our relationships with our bodies and exercise, as well as how that influences our parenting, especially during the holidays. Links to folks doing the work: Aubrey Gordon and her podcast Maintenance Phase Jessamyn Stanley, both her p ersonal and business Instagram accounts Virginia Sole-Smith's Instagram Christy Harrison's podcast Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole F*ck It Diet by Ca...

We share our ideal holidays along with what we are doing (and not doing) to make the holidays special this year. Links mentioned in the episode: Lego advent calendar Vanderbeekers of 141st St  by Karina Yan Glaser Life lately Sarah recommends the  This Land  podcast. Abby got into nursing school! Reading lately Sarah read Kate Bowler’s new memoir  No Cure For Being Human . Abby...

Therapy thoughts We share our experiences with therapy and insights we've learned along the way. Life lately Abby completed fall planting around her house. Sarah is doing lots of push-ups . Reading lately  Abby listened to State of Terror , co-written by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny. Sarah read (and absolutely loved) One, Two, Three by Laurie Frankel. Eating lately Sarah tried a cheesy hashbr...

We discuss our Halloweens growing up, the current state of Halloween in our families, how we handle all the candy, and tips and tricks for making Halloween a success. Life lately Sarah completed her first 5k in more than fourteen years. Abby finally finished the chicken coop repairs. Reading lately Sarah read the YA mystery  The Inheritance Games  by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Abby listened t...

What's getting us through Inspired by episodes from the Girl Next Door and Lazy Genius podcasts, we share the big and small things that help us get through when life feels overwhelming. Links mentioned: Abby's new water bottle Zapp's sweet creole onion chips Trader Joe's ice cream sandwiches Simple cheese dip Life lately Abby made some living room updates by adding this ottoman and lampshade. Sara...

We discuss the ways in which people being snobby about books has affected us and our kids. Things we mentioned: Read Aloud Revival Hot and Bothered Saga Dogman Thoroughbred Life lately Sarah is in between trips, having just completed one home to see family and looking forward to a week away with Neil. A neighbor’s tree fell in a storm and took Abby’s chicken coop roof with it. Reading lately Sarah...

We discuss our organizational style, the easiest and hardest areas for us to keep organized, organizational aspirations, and tools that help us keep it together. Links mentioned: Home Edit Fair play cards Tough Lough Self-Care Challenge Life lately Abby is loving overalls. Sarah had to re-book a vacation rental after a tree fell on the original. Reading lately Abby the sports romance Kulti by Mari...

We share our back to school routines, what school looks like for our kids this year, and how we are feeling about going back to school as adults. Links mentioned: Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner  by Amy Schwartz The Day You Begin  by Jacqueline Woodson Life lately Sarah is going to make more masks for her children so she doesn’t have to panic wash them at night. Abby and Andrew are watchi...

The Enneagram 8 experience We discuss our thoughts on the Enneagram and our experience as type 8s. Enneagram Institute Free Enneagram test The Honest Enneagram by Sarajane Case (who also runs @enneagramandcoffee ) Life lately Abby is feeling anxious about COVID again, thanks to the delta variant. Sarah reflects back on the summer. Reading lately  Abby read Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. Sarah...

We discuss our gardening history, current status, aspirations, and favorite and least favorite things. Take a photo of a plant you love and tag us ( @friendlierpodcast ) in your story on Instagram! Life lately Sarah is moving into a new role at work. Abby loves the  Tushy  she got for her birthday. Reading lately Sarah listened to  What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat &nb...

2021 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 is making her way through nursing school prereqs. Sarah is thankful the Brood X cicadas have come and gone. Reading lately Abby is reading the Bergman Brothers series by Chloe Liese, and particularly recommends and Always O...

We discuss our currently reality, whether it matches how we imagined life in our mid-thirties would be, and our hopes and dreams for the next ten years. Life lately Sarah’s been optimizing routines, inspired by our discussion in  our last episode . Pepper got his first haircut! Reading lately Sarah listened to  A Burning  by Megha Majudamar and Abby read TJ Klune’s  The Cerulea...

Routines: the ideal vs reality We discuss our ideal morning, afternoon, and evening routines and how it compares to our current reality. Links we mentioned: Previous routines episode The Skimm and What A Day newsletters Life lately Abby is back at an in-person yoga studio. Sarah applied to library school for the fall. Reading lately Abby listened to two slow burn romances by Mhairi McFarlane: Don'...

We discuss the everyday things that might not sound like superpowers at first, but definitely make our lives easier, as well as basic things that we’re really terrible about. Life lately Sarah’s kids have been watching  Alone  with Neil. Abby recently installed this  sandbox  (a gift from her sister) in the backyard and her kids are into it. Reading lately Sarah read the own vo...

Splurging and saving We discuss our general approach to purchases, three areas or items where we've splurged or saved, categories where we'd like to splurge or save more, and our splurge regrets. Links mentioned: Female altar form sculpture Swimsuit from Unique Vintage Jade yoga mat Life lately Abby just got back from a weekend away with friends. Sarah gives an art shelf update, which she first ta...

Life lately Sarah’s family is recovering from illness. Abby is enjoying her newly-installed ceiling fan. Reading lately Sarah loved listening to  Behold the Dreamers  by Imbolo Mbue and Abby was thrilled to read the third installment Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters trilogy– Act Your Age, Eve Brown . Connecting with our partners We share how we like to connect with our spouses, what forms o...

Our camping lives We discuss camping in our youth (including one memorable backpacking trip together in college), what we love about camping, what we could do without, and our favorites tips and resources. Links mentioned: Kelsey's camping packing list Kitchen chuck box Abby's family's tent , cooler , techni ice , and sleeping mats Life lately Abby is trying a new skincare routine, inspired by She...

Now that we are a few months into the new year we wanted to check-in with each other to find out what has and hasn’t been working in our lives. Links we mentioned: Yoga With Adriene 30 Day Challenge The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street  by Linda Yan Glaser The Penderwicks  by Jeanne Birdsall Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat  by Lynne Jonell Life lately Sarah got a new bike (after...

Things we hate, media edition We spend a portion of every show talking about what we love in the books we read, but what about what we hate? We share our dislikes in books, favorite and least favorite romance tropes, books and shows other people loved but we couldn't get into, and what we don't enjoy in movies we watch. Links mentioned: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell Gold by Chris Cleeve Such a Fun Ag...