In our pilot episode, we introduce ourselves and our podcast. You can learn more about us on our personal blogs: Inviting Joy (Abby) and Affirmaison (Sarah).

Reading lately:

Abby is reading This is Where You Belong: the Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live by Melody Warnick. Reading it has made her reflect on how place-attached she is to her current home and how hard it will be if they have to leave down the road.

Sarah just finished Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West. We both listened to a recent This American Life episode—Tell Me I’m Fat—that featured West and her book. Both the podcast and the book challenged her to examine her biases and see the world in a different way.

College:

We met at Hendrix College in the early aughts and have a lot to say about our time there. We were feeling especially reflective as we will be attending our ten year reunion next spring. We chat about what we studied, what we did outside of academics (lots and lots of ultimate), what we loved most, and what we liked least. Photo above shows us one month into college, hanging out in the dorms.

Eating lately:

Sarah’s been using her Instant Pot to make red lentil curry with a fried egg on top. The curry is similar to this one, though she uses curry powder instead of curry paste. The concept is forgiving by nature and can handle all sorts of veggie and spice substitutions.

Abby’s also been putting her Instant Pot to use making black beans to serve on Mexican Rice—an economical dish the whole family loves. She uses brown rice instead of white, which increases the cooking time, and adds frozen corn.

Corrections:

We’re going to release Friendlier every other Tuesday, not every other Thursday.

Abby called her favorite podcast the Girls Next Door Podcast, when it’s actually called The Girl Next Door Podcast. Sarah said it correctly.