Friendlier

We explore how books and reading are part of self-care, including our favorite snacks, our ideal reading experience, and how parenting and reading for self-care intersect. Here are some of our favorite books to reach for when we are in need of a self-care reading experience: The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston Still Life and other Inspector Gamache novels by Louise Penny Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling Ella Enchanted and other Gail Carson Levine books The Wedding Date and other Jasmine Guillory novels And if you’re looking for thoughtful commentary about romance novels in our culture, check out Hot and Bothered, a new podcast by Vanessa Zoltan and Ariana Nedelman.Life latelySarah shares happy news about her health.Abby laments her children’s inability to sleep through the night.Reading latelySarah was inspired by The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction by Meghan Cox Gurdon. Abby enjoyed Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak.Eating latelyA friend of Abby’s made Chocolate Nemesis for her enjoyment.Sarah experimented with buckwheat flour using this pancake recipe.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show notes, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're back! We thought it would be fitting to check back in with our intentions from January and see where we are as we head into the fall.Reading latelyAbby read (and LOVED) Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.Sarah read The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. Thanks to listener Kristen for the recommendation!Eating latelySarah made falafels and strongly recommends adding the suggested binding agents.Abby was gifted an ice cream maker attachment and made this cherry garcia recipe in an attempt to recreate the Ben and Jerry's version.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We give a quick update on what's been happening in our respective families and announce that we'll be taking a break through the summer. We appreciate your support and look forward to being back in your earbuds this fall! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Home decorWe share our style, favorite pieces, and struggles with home decor. We may not have a lot of tips to share, but we can both wholeheartedly recommend our friend Kady's shop.Life latelyWe have both been playing family games, including Hoot, Owl, Hoot!, Zingo, and Uno.Reading latelyAbby read Kindred by Octavia Butler and Sarah finished There is No Good Card For This: What To Say and Do When Life Is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love by Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell.Eating latelySarah enjoyed stuffed french toast, based off this recipe.Abby's neighbor brought over a delicious biscuit breakfast casserole.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We share how we view mental health, positive influences on our mental health, our experiences with therapy, and our favorite mental health insights and resources. In this episode, we discuss: Light therapy lamp Calm app for meditation and sleep stories Dooce blog, especially this article Audio companion to Mindful Birthing by Nancy Bardacke Life latelySarah is seeking advice on the perfect paint color for her kitchen.Abby’s found a new technique for cleaning her shower.Reading latelySarah was along for the ride in Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty. Abby loved Jenny Han’s YA series (and movie!) To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.Eating latelyAbby’s family has been enjoying pigs (cows) in a blanket.While they are as good as in Texas, Sarah’s been loving the tamales from her co-op.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show notes, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We share how we plan meals and grocery shop, including what's working and where there's room for improvement.Life latelyAbby tried furoshiki to wrap Plum's birthday presents--a success!Sarah is loving attending local theater productions.Reading latelyAbby loved Royally Screwed by Emma Chase. Special thanks to listener Katie for the recommendation! Sarah read How to Stop Time by Matt Haig. If you want a more in-depth discussion, check out the Girl Next Door's book club episode.Eating latelySarah has another Budget Bytes favorite: vegan red beans and rice.Abby tried out two Asian dishes--beef with broccoli (a success!) and lo mein (might need some tweaks). Sarah tried this lo mein recipe and loved it.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We share our favorite ways to treat ourselves, when we are most likely to indulge in treats, and frugal treats we love. And we reference this blog post: Treat Yourself: More Like Defeat Yourself by Mrs. FrugalwoodsLife latelySarah shares her distaste for vacation planning.Abby’s cats are feeling cozy in their new heated bed.Reading latelySarah read An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green and Abby flew through Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin.Eating latelyAbby has been enjoying frozen chocolate and almond croissants from Trader Joe’s.Sarah’s whole family loved this enchilada casserole.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show notes, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We discuss into everything pregnancy related: what we loved, our biggest challenges, cravings and aversions, favorite splurges, and the resources we recommend. Maternity underwear from Kindred Bravely Pregnancy pillow The Longest Shortest Time podcast Mindful Birthing: Training the Mind, Body, and Heart for Childbirth and Beyond by Nancy Bardack and the accompanying guided meditations Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong--and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster Life latelyAbby is loving prenatal yoga, both as a student and a teacher.Sarah is happy to have invested in pelvic floor physical therapy.Reading latelyAbby loved Nicole Chung's memoir All You Can Ever Know and Sarah finished The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.Eating latelySarah is thankful the internet saved pizza night with this no-yeast pizza crust recipe.Abby's whole family is enjoying chili nachos.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We discuss our clothing buying and wearing philosophy, how we shop for clothes for ourselves and our kids, our biggest clothing challenges, and how we feel about the whole enterprise. Links featured in this episode: Buy Nothing groups Poshmark Kidizen ThredUp Stitch Fix Life latelySarah shares a routine that is working for her family: grocery shopping on Fridays.Abby laments that she is too pregnant to tie her shoes.Reading latelySarah read The Eating Instinct by Virginia Sole-Smith and Abby listened to Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (the sequel to Beartown).Eating latelyAbby enlightens us about the different Girl Scout bakeries.Sarah made a cozy dish in the winter: cheesy cauliflower potato soup.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show notes, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

BudgetingMany people use the new year as an opportunity to reevaluate their finances and set financial goals, so we thought it would be a good time to explore budgets and how they work in our families. We share our budgeting philosophies, challenges, tips, and resources. Our episode on finances Our Freaking Budget Frugalwoods Frugal Month Home Budget app Personal Capital Life latelyAbby is using a new strategy to help Plum nap.Sarah is now organizing her passwords with LastPass.Reading latelyAbby read The Cactus by Sarah Haywood and Sarah enjoyed Jasmine Guillory's romance novel The Wedding Date.Eating latelySarah made dragon noodles for an easy lunch.Abby upped her yogurt game by using the Cabot brand Greek yogurt as a starter.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The new year is often a time to evaluate old routines and establish new ones. We share our feelings about routines in general, what routines we have in our lives, our routine aspirations, and routine fails.AND we are getting ready to put new groups together for the Friendlier Reading Experience where we’ll connect you with four or five other listeners to form your own virtual bookclub. If you are interested, be sure to sign up by the end of January.Life latelySarah and Abby share recaps of their holidays.Reading latelySarah read Becoming by Michelle Obama and Abby read Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.Eating latelyAbby made a strata that froze surprisingly well.Sarah was inspired by the Great British Baking Show to make her first yule log.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show notes, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We reflect back on 2018, look ahead to 2019, and share some of our favorites from the past year. Visible Child article on graciousness and corresponding Facebook group Black Panther To All the Boys I've Loved Before The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel The Good Place The Great British Baking Show Kindred Bravely maternity underwear Tub shroom Bumble Ride Indie Twin LL Bean slippers Life latelyAbby is officially debt free!Sarah shares a milestone: first lost tooth for HP!Reading latelyAbby read the first book in a trilogy: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison. Sarah read Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver.Eating latelySarah discusses the correct way to make hot chocolate.Abby made baked brie with puff pastry.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We take a look back at our reading life in 2018: our challenges, our wins, and our favorite books of the year. We’d love to hear your favorite books of the year! Fiction Sarah: The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, An American Marriage by Tayari Jones, and A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Abby: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel Non-fiction Sarah: Louise Penny’s Gamache series, Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Outdoor Design by Charles Montgomery and Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond Abby: Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy Most enjoyable Sarah: Crazy Rich Asians trilogy and From Twinkle With Love by Sandhya Menon The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang and Hamilton’s Battalion: A Trio of Romances by Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, and Alyssa Cole Memoir Sarah: Educated by Tara Westover, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown, and When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrice Khan-Cullors Abby: We’re Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True by Gabrielle Union and Everything Happens For a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler Ones that missed the mark for us Sarah: Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer and the Darker Shade of Magic series by V. E. Schwab Abby: The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne Looking forward to in 2019 Sarah: Re-reading Harry Potter Abby: Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny, Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Too by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, and Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne Life latelySarah reports back on her cold weather camping adventure.Abby got to see Hamilton!Reading latelySarah read There, There by Tommy Orange and Abby read the follow-up to the All Souls Triology: Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness.Eating latelyAbby made a shepherd’s pie with her Thanksgiving leftovers.Sarah made these brownies after a cookie dough disaster.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show notes, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Graceful quittingWe share why neither of us are quitting averse, our most memorable quitting (and not-quitting) moments, quitting regrets, gracefully quitting relationships, and our thoughts on quitting books and television shows. Freakonomics episode on The Upside of Quitting Twitter thread about setting boundaries Life latelyAbby successfully completed her longest solo-parenting stretch to date!Sarah is headed into a cold-weather camping weekend; wish her luck!Reading latelyAbby read Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, the first book of a fantasy fiction triology. Sarah stepped outside her usual genre and listened to the classic novel Another Country by James Baldwin.Eating latelySarah is searching for simple lunches to incorporate into her family's life.Abby is looking forward to eating roasted cranberry sauce, both on Thanksgiving and for many days after.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With the holidays upon us, we thought it would be the perfect time to take a step back from the madness and discuss simplicity. We share how we try to find it in our schedules, stuff, relationships, and holidays. Resources we mention in this episode: Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne Cohesive Home podcast Minimalist Moms podcast Joshua Becker Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston Our episode on minimalism Life latelySarah's loving relaxing weekends with her family.Abby is struggling with a moth infestation.Reading latelySarah read How to Be a Happier Parent: Raising a Family, Having a Life, and Loving (Almost) Every Minute by K.J. Dell'Antonia and Abby finished Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi.Eating latelyAbby's happy to meal plan again after not being excited about food in the first half of her pregnancy.Sarah experimented with adding cocoa to the best chocolate chip cookie recipe to make chocolate chocolate chip cookies.If you’d like to join in the conversation, please leave us a comment on our show notes, email us at friendlierpodcast@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram @friendlierpodcast. Thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.