This year marks our 10th annual Friendsgiving in our home. It started the same year my boyfriend, now husband, and I moved into our apartment we still share today. Both of us are Minnesota transplants with our families scattered across the country. The nearest member is a five-hour drive away, but most are nine hours […]
Prune Plum and Rhubarb Cornbread Torte
My first recipe post, y’all! My mom requested that all recipe posts have the recipe at the top. Sorry, Mom, I wanted to, but I see why no one does that because it’s just not attractive. I got you a ‘Jump to Recipe’ button though! For my first recipe I was thinking I’d do something […]
Is An Apartment “Enough”?
Our language is not very descriptive sometimes. You can know someone, as in you have heard their name before and could pick them out of a crowd. Or you can KNOW someone, as in you’ve held their hair while they’re sick and delivered a speech at their wedding that had even distant cousins in tears. […]
Hiking Minnesota Before and After Baby
As a Minnesota transplant, I have a lot of catching up to do if I want to cover this great state on foot. I’ve lived here for almost twelve years now and I’m still blown away by the magic of our trails and waterways. I found out I was pregnant in May 2017. Among plenty […]
Gearing Up to Go “Back Home”: A Mental and Physical Checklist
My husband Tyler and I are getting ready to take our 17-month-old daughter to my hometown. We’ll see lots of family and go to some of my favorite places. This is my daughter’s third trip, my husband’s 10th-15th, and probably my billionth/25th-ish. Somehow, each time it seems to get harder to prepare my mind and […]
My Daughter’s Dad’s Father’s Day
Since today is Friday and Father’s Day is Sunday, today was really my day to figure out what to do for my husband. Of course my mind automatically does what most minds do and thought, “What would I want? Do that!” Then hopefully most of the time we say no, silly brain, that’s not how […]
You Don’t Need a Reason to Have PPD/PPA
Mental illnesses are not dependent upon any outside life conditions or events. Somehow I let that lesson slip after the birth of my daughter, despite having dealt with depression and anxiety for most of my life. Knowing I was susceptible and thinking that I knew what to look out for still didn’t keep me from […]
The Meaning of a Bike Ride
Summer is here, well spring, but in Minnesota we just seem to say summer because really it’s either winter or it’s not in which case it’s summer. Anyway, it’s here and in typical form it’s a mad dash to pack in as much fun as possible while sitting back and soaking it all in. Dash, […]
Mindfulness Tips From Someone Who Sucks at Mindfulness
May is Mental Health Awareness Month y’all! Is a month of awareness adequate for a nation of people who are getting sadder and more disconnected every year? Of course not, but it’s a fine excuse to check in with yourself and others if you wouldn’t otherwise. I’m choosing to focus on mindfulness today because I’m […]
Do’s and Don’ts of Camping With a Baby
I have to camp. At least a few times every year or my brain and body ache. You know how some people get hangry when they haven’t eaten? I get like that when I haven’t camped. Campangry? Cangry? Having a baby and ending my school and work lives for the foreseeable future a few months […]