Friendlier

A week of breakfasts and lunches We love to talk about food and share another installment of a week of meals, this time focused on our breakfasts and lunches. We were originally inspired by The Mom Hour's episode of a week of dinners , and have previously recorded our own week of dinners and a week of snacks . Links we mentioned: Coconut Baobab granola Spicy cashew butter dressing Biscuit breakfas...

Talking to kids about tough stuff Inspired by a listener question, we discuss how we talk to our kids about tough stuff--politics, current events, race, gender, sex, cancer, and death. Inspired by a listener question, we discuss how we talk to our kids about tough stuff--politics, current events, race, gender, sex, cancer, and death. Links we mentioned + books our families love that we didn't list...

Entertaining ourselves and our people at home We've had a lot of time at home, and more to come this spring. We share how we've keeping ourselves and our families entertained, the best and worst of our time at home, and our entertainment aspirations as we look ahead. Links we mentioned: Aaron's Thinking Putty Boggle Quixx Azul Splendor Carcassone Drawful Codenames Temeraire books by Naomi Novik Sc...

Mood boosters What better time to discuss mood boosters than the middle of a pandemic + the gray days of winter? We share our favorite mood boosting activities, products, and foods. Links we mentioned: SAD light cards: tarot , goddess , and animal Poshmark Life lately Abby has been listening to The Bengsens . Sarah's kids have started finger-knitting , inspired by Hyacinth from the Vanderbeeker no...

The state of our home (dis)organization We discuss our home organization wins, challenges, and inspiration. We may not have many tips to offer, but there's plenty of commiseration to go around. Links we mentioned: Abby's tool organizer Art cabinet Sarah hopes will solve her family's craft area problems Young House Love Clutterbug podcast Life lately Sarah is facing down the gray days of winter. Ab...

New year's intentions, 2021 We reflect on the year that was, set intentions for 2021, and share some of our favorites from 2020. Links we mentioned: Last year's intentions episode and our mid-year check-in Schitt's Creek The Good Place Merge Dragons Life lately Abby's building a chicken coop. Sarah has abandoned one holiday tradition and remembered how much she loves another. Reading lately Abby l...

We take a look back at our reading life in 2020: our challenges, our wins, and of course, our favorite books. Highlights from the year: Fiction:  The Far Field  by Madhuri Vijay,  Such a Fun Age  by Kiley Reid, and  Nothing to See Here  by Kevin Wilson Non-fiction:  The New Jim Crow  by Michelle Alexander,  Boys and Sex  by Peggy Orenstein, and&nbs...

Celebrating 100 episodes + listen q&a We reflect on the last four years of making the podcast, then answer listener questions. Thank you to everyone who submitted questions! We cover everything from how we knew our families were complete to whether we have a personal theme song. Listeners, we are so grateful to have you with us on this podcasting journey. Here's to the next hundred episodes! G...

The holidays are fast approaching. We share our plans for the season, including activities, food, gifts, how we plan to stay connected to loved ones, and what we are doing to take care of ourselves. Links we mentioned: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren Winter Street series by Elin Hilderbrand Decolonizing Thanksgiving Blueland holiday soap scents Life lately Sarah continued her gamble of painting...

How we've changed We each share three ways we've changed since adolescence, one way we've stayed the same, and an area we'd like to change going forward. Life lately Abby's chicks have arrived! Sarah is dreaming about 2021 and bought a new planner (which she heard about from Sarah Hart Unger ). Austin Channing Brown perfectly captured the essence of this purchase in her Instagram post last year. R...

Food quirks From melted cheese on a plate to raw sweet potatoes, we discuss what we ate as kids, what unusual preferences we still have, and any quirks of our partners and kids. Life lately Abby has solved her backyard storage problems by finishing this cabinet and adding these feet . Sarah's had a rough start to the school year, but is hoping to reset by restoring some healthy habits. Reading lat...

We share the details of our days from Tuesday, September 15th. We did a similar episode two years ago if you’d like to see how our days have changed. Things we mentioned: Bluey The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall Calm sleep stories (HP’s favorites are Wonder, the Night Train, and the Christmas Train) Blue light glasses Life lately Sarah has creatures roaming her duct work and Abby is loving Bluelan...

Our work lives We share our work-related history, what jobs we have now, and how those jobs are working for us. And here’s that beautiful essay about choices by Cheryl Strayed that Abby mentioned: The Ghost Ship That Didn’t Carry Us . Life lately Listening to romance novels on audio is really working for Sarah, and Abby hates sidewalk chalk. Reading lately  Sarah read The Antidote for Everyt...

We share strategies we've used to raise independent kids, independence wins and fails, and our favorite resources. Visible Child Facebook group Free Range Kids: How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts With Worry) by Lenore Skenazy The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fea...

We discuss our sleep needs, habits, and quirks, and reveal which of us snores and which of us talks in her sleep. Here are the links we mentioned in the show: Natural Calm supplements Calm sleep stories Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker Life lately Sarah shares about the start of online school and Abby recounts her recent secondhand wins. Reading Lately Sarah...

Fall decisions in light of COVID We had a mid-year update six weeks ago, but given the ever-changing nature of the pandemic, we wanted to check-in again to talk about how we've made school decisions for the fall, what our work lives look like, and how we are thinking about opening (or not opening) our circles of social interaction. Life lately We share our thoughts on J.K. Rowling's anti-trans let...

We share our aspirations for our outdoor spaces alongside the reality of their current state. Let us know your favorite/least favorite yard work task so we can celebrate/commiserate with you. Life lately Sarah's fixing up patio furniture and Abby is loving her kids' pediatrician. Reading Lately Sarah read The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Abby discovered a new favorite author--Talia Hibbert...

We reflect back on music in our lives growing up, our musical aspirations, instruments we've played or hope to someday (can you guess which one of us considered taking up the sousaphone?), and the songs we love to listen to on repeat. Links to things we mentioned in the show: Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen Dear Theodosia from Hamilton Stand by Me by Ben E King Hey Delilah by the Plain White Tee...

There have been quite a few things we didn’t expect in the first half of 2020. We reflect on those, as well as on the intentions that we set in December and how they’re guiding us in this pandemic and election year. If you want to take part in the movement to dismantle white supremacy and systemic racism, we recommend donating to: National Bail Out Black Mamas Matter Find your local bail fund in t...

What's getting us through With stay-at-home orders and social distancing we have had more time at home than ever before. We share some of our favorite things that are bringing us joy and helping us through this unprecedented time. Here are the links to things we mentioned in the show: Home Cooking podcast Pod Save America Gourmet Makes Call of the Midwife Dance Moms Schitt's Creek Cosmic Kids Yoga...

Laundry and dishes We review our laundry and dishes routines, product recommendations, what's working, and what's not. Links mentioned in the show: Planet 2x liquid laundry detergent Dropps pods for laundry and dishwasher Skoy scrubs Oxyclean spray stain remover Blue Dawn dish soap (for grease stains) If You Care sponge cloths Life lately Abby shares about Storytime Durham with Amy Godfrey, which...

The pandemic has changed a lot about how we shop for food and plan meals. We discuss what those changes look like, as well as the snacks we’re enjoying and the things we might want to take forward after things settle. And we come at this topic from a place of privilege. If, like us, you’re doing okay with food, check out Feeding America for ways to help others who are experiencing food insecurity....

We all have things we’re proud of and things we’re not when it comes to parenting. We share some of our wins and fails, and we’d love to hear yours—parenting or otherwise. Life Lately Sarah is using Epic to read with her kids while the library is closed, and Abby has been pulling a lot of weeds. Reading Lately Sarah read Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery by Ian Morgan Cron a...

Improving ourselves We discuss what we think of the self-improvement industry generally, our favorite self-help books and resources, and what does not work for us when trying to make changes. Here are the links we mentioned in the show: Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed Dear Sugars podcast Glennon Doyle and her memoirs ( Carry On, Warrior ; Love Warrior ; and Untamed ) Clear Your Clutter wit...

We discuss whether making decisions is generally easy or hard for us, analyze our results from this quiz , share decision making strategies, and think back on memorable past decisions. Life lately Sarah enjoyed more structured workouts through the winter and Abby went on a family hiking adventure. Side note: we recorded this episode March 9, which is right before COVID-19 really impacted our commu...