With this episode, we’re starting a new schedule for Friendlier. We’ve decided to release new episodes on the first Tuesday of each month, instead of every other week, as we’ve been doing. As our lives have gotten busier, it’s been tough to fit in podcasting, but we love this creative project and connecting with all of you, so we’re hopeful that the new schedule will help us continue to fit the pod into our lives.

Life lately

Sarah and E enjoyed seeing Annie together.

Abby has a nest of baby birds on her front door wreath.

Reading lately

Sarah loved Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Abby is deep into The Ravenels series by Lisa Kleypas.

Looking ahead to summer

We discuss our summer plans and aspirations, as well as how this summer will be different from summers past.

Eating lately

Abby introduced her children to toaster strudel.

Sarah was inspired to make shrimp tacos.

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!

Life lately

Abby has poison ivy.

Sarah just got back from the SEC gymnastics championships in Georgia.

Reading lately

Abby enjoyed the cozy fantasy The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna.

Sarah read Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died.

Our K-12 school experiences

We share the highs and lows of our experiences in elementary, middle, and high school.

Eating lately

Sarah’s family is having pancakes for breakfast nearly every day.

Abby’s enjoying hearty salads for lunch at work.

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!

Life lately

Sarah took the kids to their first public meeting.

The neighbors fixed the fence at Abby’s house.

Reading lately

Sarah enjoyed Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel.

Abby got into the cozy fantasy/romance Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree.

Less and more

We discuss what we want more of and less of, as well as things that are just right in our lives.

Eating lately

Abby resurrected a childhood frozen favorite: Mrs. T’s Pierogies.

Sarah brought back delicious gummy bears and chocolate from Germany.

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!

Life lately

Abby shares the sad news that her beloved cat, Duncan, passed away last month.

Sarah just got back from a ten day to trip to Germany.

Reading lately

Abby listened to, and loved, Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson.

Sarah read the tennis novel Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

Technology

We share our most used tech in daily life, technology other people seem to love but we don’t, favorite tech related to kids/parenting, and our technology aspirations. Links we mentioned:

• Kindle strap
• Wireless headphones
• Wyndy app
• Calm app

Eating lately

Sarah a new to her dining experience–Michelin star restaurants in Berlin.

Abby tried a sheet pan dinner with roasted veggies and sausage.

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!

Life lately

Sarah and Neil rented and watched Free Solo.

Abby remade some old pillows with new stuffing and is enjoying how they look on her couch.

Reading lately

Sarah read Spare by Prince Harry.

Abby listened to Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion by Gabrielle Stanley Blair (AKA DesignMom, also the author of this Tweet thread).

Family food culture

We talk about cultivating a family food culture: what we want food and eating to feel like in our families, what is working and not working in our family food experience, and resources that we’ve used in developing family food culture. Links we mentioned:

• Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
• Virginia Sole-Smith’s Instagram
• Ellyn Satter’s Division of Responsibility
• Visible Child

Eating lately

Abby made meat loaf in the Instant Pot.

Sarah and her family are loving Cool Ranch Doritos.

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!

Life Lately

Abby used this kit to pierce a second set of holes in her ears.

Sarah’s kids are enjoying sleepovers with friends.

Reading lately

Abby read Out of the Clear Blue Sky by Kristan Higgins which was a recommendation from a listener—thank you Chrissie!

Sarah and E enjoyed the Friends series of graphic novels written by Shannon Hale and illustrated by LeUyen Pham: Real Friends, Best Friends, and Friends Forever.

Our winter days

The days are dark and cold, at least in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere. We thought it would be fun to share what is bringing us joy, comfort, and generally helping us get through these months until spring arrives.

Eating lately

Sarah made vegetarian beef stroganoff (with Impossible meat) from this Damn Delicious recipe.

Abby treated herself to chocolate mousse from Costco.

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!

Life lately

Sarah’s enjoying her newly installed windows and an accompanying living room rearrangement.

Abby passed the NCLEX (nursing board exam) and is now an RN.

Reading lately

Sarah read a cozy mystery, The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman.

Abby loved the most recent romance in the Spoiler Alert series by Olivia Dade, Ship Wrecked.

Our homes

We discuss our favorite spaces in our homes, the projects we want to tackle, and how we want our homes to feel.

Eating lately

Abby was pleasantly surprised by how well this Instant Pot beef stroganoff came out.

Sarah and her kids have been making energy bites for the kids’ lunches, which they are packing independently.

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!

Life Lately

Abby shares a toy all six of her cats love.

Sarah and Neil attempted a calendar meeting to moderate success.

Reading lately

Abby read The Bookwoman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson, the sequel to The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek.

Sarah read Sophie Cousen’s Just Haven’t Met You Yet.

New year’s intentions, 2023

We set our intentions for the year, share our words for the year, and discuss specific goals in different categories.

Eating lately

Abby is loving the chipotle pot de creme from El Barrio.

Sarah is eating fancied up ramen noodles multiple times a week.

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!

Listen here.

Life lately

Sarah and her family took an awesome train trip to California, and Abby is struggling with the transition away from school.

Reading lately

Sarah listened to Calm Christmas and a Happy New Year by Beth Kempton, and Abby enjoyed The Stand-In by Lily Chu.

2022 Reflections

We look back on the past year and discuss our words of the year, how it went in several categories, and do a lightning round of 2022 favorites.

Eating lately

Abby made an autumn sangria (subbing champagne for white wine and bourbon for brandy) on Thanksgiving, and Sarah and her family ate plenty of dessert on their train trip.

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. Thank you for listening!

Life lately

Abby has finished nursing school and Sarah is starting a new job.

Reading lately

Abby read the novel We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman.

Sarah read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

Our year in books, 2022

We share the highs and lows of our reading year as well as our favorite books in the following categories:

Fiction: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar, How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue, We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman, The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik, The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd

Non-fiction: The Power of Fun by Catherine Price, How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith, and Listen to Me Good by Margaret Charles Smith and Linda Janet Holmes

Romance: Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane, Palace of Rogues series by Julie Anne Long, and Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigridar

Most enjoyable: The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Lady Harleigh series by Dianne Freeman, K-Pop Confidential by Stephan Lee, Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan, Monk and Robot series by Becky Chambers, and the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells

Memoir: Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad and Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C Ford

Read-aloud: Astrid the Unstoppable by Maria Parr, Vanderbeekers on the Road by Karina Yan Glaser, and Little Witch Hazel by Phoebe Wahl

Audio: Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane, Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigridar, My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, and Brodi Ashton, and How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith

Eating lately

Sarah attempted this caramel sauce while Abby enjoyed two new cheese dips from Trader Joe’s.

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. Thank you for listening!