The Kettle with Meagan Francis

From ‘you only have 18 summers with your kids, enjoy every moment!’ to a sunk-cost mentality about how we used our time in our younger years, midlife can be full of hangups about time: how we save it, how we spend it, how we value it. I was thrilled to have a chance to chat with my longtime writer friend Laura Vanderkam about her newest book, Big Time: A Simple Path to Time Abundance , and how the...

There’s nothing like being taken out with a bad cold in the first week of December to humble and hobble one’s best-laid holiday plans, is there? And even before I started getting the sniffles on December 1, I had the nagging feeling I was already behind. But…behind on what ? What if the problem isn’t that the season (or the year!) is too short, but that I’m crowding it by trying to do too much - n...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit meaganfrancis.substack.com It's finally December, and my hands are itchy to make things . How about you? Today, I’m settling in with a cozy journal episode all about making ( which includes, of course, baking) —the creative, connected kind that feels especially grounding this time of year. I recorded this on the last day of November, af...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit meaganfrancis.substack.com This time of year brings with it a certain tension: we want to soak up every last moment of the waning warmer weather, while also preparing to turn inward for the colder, shorter days, and longer, cozy nights ahead. How can we ease that inner conflict to get what we need out of this liminal season while readyi...

The history and tradition of tea is so much richer than indicated by that little row of boxes on the supermarket shelf. In this episode I’m taking you behind the scenes of the process I’m undergoing to become a Certified Tea Sommelier: what the program is like, what I’m learning, and how I hope to use my newfound knowledge as I dive more deeply into this fascinating world. episode links Last year’...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit meaganfrancis.substack.com After spending nearly three weeks living in our RV in the Upper Peninsula, I’m back home and settling in, and in this month’s Journal - exclusively for paying members of The Kettle - I’m reflecting on my routines and priorities and how they evolve with the season. From baking bread in an RV kitchen, to steppin...

Have you ever wondered about the different paths available to becoming a historian - and how historians choose the topic areas that fuel their passions? In this episode I chat with author and consumer historian Jan Whitaker to explore a fascinating corner of American history: the rise of rural tea rooms in the early 20th century. These small, often women-run businesses offered a rare space for ind...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit meaganfrancis.substack.com The idea of “prepping” often elicits eye-rolls. But you don’t have to be awaiting the apocalypse to find value in stocking your shelves. The truth is, a little pantry planning and preserving can help us ride out price spikes, lean times, and supply-chain issues so we can live (and eat!) well even when life is...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit meaganfrancis.substack.com After a sad and stressful start to the month, I came home to a full house, stuffed fridge, bursting container garden, and some seriously disrupted routines. And while I once wouldn’t have recognized my all-over-the-place, can’t-focus-or-settle-down state of mind as a symptom that something wasn’t quite right,...

Hi friends. I usually publish my monthly Journal episode on the first of the month, but in the wake of a devastating loss in our family, I’m instead putting up a short (and, warning, hastily edited!) episode in the public feed. My sister-in-law, Jen, died on Tuesday, leaving behind her husband Adam (my stepbrother) and my niece and nephew Elia and Judah, just three and five. As family and friends...

Ever cringe at how much of your monthly budget goes to restaurants? Yeah, been there - and so has CJ, creator of the food and book blog, A Well-Read Tart and a self-described former “restaurant rover and takeout queen.” While CJ and I both know how easy it is for eating out to become the default solution for everything from boredom to overwhelm to lack of planning, over the past couple of years th...

The July journal episode of The Kettle is all about the idea of “smallness” and what that means to me right now. In the episode I share some specific ways I’m leaning into smaller-scale efforts in my real life and the results. From working on my new book (a fiction project!) a little at a time, to the small-but-oh-so-satisfying yield from my modest-sized container garden, to the small space I’m in...

Can you remember the first time you had a really good cup of tea, or maybe a tea experience that left you feeling inspired intrigued, and wanting more? Today’s guest Henrietta Lovell, the founder of the Rare Tea Company and author of the laugh-out-loud funny, informative, and inspiring memoir, Infused: Adventures in Tea , has made an entire career (and life!) from drinking good tea, journeying to...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit meaganfrancis.substack.com Monthly Journal episodes and the accompanying post, which includes links to our upcoming community events, are a benefit for paying members of The Kettle. As a reminder, annual memberships to The Kettle are on sale through June 5 - just $30/year. Happy June, friends. I don’t know about you, but over the last w...

Hello friend, Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve given eleven livestreamed interviews and three or four (or was it five?) podcast interviews. I’ve been on TV twice, done two in-person signing events and have two more coming this weekend. And my book has only been out for nine days. A launch is an exercise in stamina, and this one is hitting me pretty differently at 47 than it did when I wrote my...

How might the experience of forming and raising a family change if we felt more able to share honestly and openly about our struggles, joys, and everything in between? Today I’m talking with Rebecca N. Thompson, MD, a family physician and public health physician who specializes in women’s and children’s health—and the author of the new book Held Together: A Shared Memoir of Motherhood, Medicine, a...

When you think of your children growing up, do you view their leaving as the end of an era - or the beginning of something new? In this episode, renowned happiness expert, author, and podcaster Gretchen Rubin joins me to discuss her “open-door” approach to parenting young adults, her brand-new, instant-NYTimes-bestselling book Secrets of Adulthood, our midlife lady hobbies, the way we remember (an...

This spring a lot of figurative “seeds” that I planted long ago, like my upcoming book launch and an expansion of my brick-and-mortar business, are starting to bear fruit - just at the time I am also hoping to literally put seeds in the ground. Sometimes, a bounty of good (but energy-consuming) things comes at the same time we’re also trying to invest in the next thing, and we can’t always plan on...

For most of us, getting groceries automatically equals “going to the supermarket.” But does that brightly-lit jumble of logos, packaging, and confusing nutrition labels have to be the only - or even the primary - way we fill our fridges and pantries? For the past few years, as I’ve been committed to sourcing more and more of my food locally and seasonally, it’s automatically led to me relying less...

Have you ever heard the phrase “March is the hungry month”? In this month’s Journal episode, I discuss how scarcity can actually help us more deeply appreciate abundance, thoughts about how 24/7 supermarket shopping skews our perception of food’s value, and why there’s nothing as satisfying as a simple meal produced at home. Be sure to scroll down as there are a lot of details in this post that I...

Are you even a midlife lady if you don’t suddenly drop everything and start a garden? In today’s episode, I talk with Christine Koh about our shared adult-onset passion for herbal medicine and our attempts - with varying degrees of success - at growing things. Christine shares how her adventures in gardening and herbalism - part of what she jokingly calls her #gloriouswitch transformation - were a...

More and more, people are talking about leaving social media for good. But how? It’s easy to feel trapped by these networks that have become so intertwined in every aspect of our lives, from shopping to socializing. In this episode of The Kettle, I catch up with my good friend and business partner Sarah Powers to discuss her decision to walk away from Instagram over a year ago, and how the exit im...

Deep breath, friend: you don’t have to come into the New Year raring to go on January 1. In the first episode of the newly-named and slightly-refocused podcast, The Kettle (formerly The Tea’s Made) I take a different, slower approach. I reflect on my holiday celebrations, offer an alternative to the idea of ambitious (or restrictive) New Year’s resolutions and goals, reflect on the impact of small...

What could be cozier than a holiday baking session based on your favorite book? In this episode I talk with CJ of A Well-Read Tart , a blog for book and food lovers, where CJ shares book reviews, food inspiration and recipes based on her favorite literature. Listen on to hear us share what we're each reading right now and some favorite cozy holiday food scenes from books, as well as CJ's i...

In our monthly Journal, I share a special message for moms of older kids who aren't feeling quite so magical about the holidays these days, plus Christmas-inspired teas, my plans for decorating and baking, and some hopes for the Advent season. Listen for a cozy chat! Episode Links: November Journal episode Episode 37: Why connecting with our food matters, with Alison Kay Smith Tea - Morning Light...