How to Save Money on Books + My Book Recommendations

This post contains affiliate and referral links. Thank you for supporting this blog! When I was in middle school, I proudly read through the young adult section in my local library. Since then, my interest in reading hasn't been nearly as persistent. As I was finishing out my college career a few months ago, I finally started picking up books to read for pleasure and I'm so glad I did. One thing that has changed since I was thirteen is the price of books. I'm currently trying to save as much money as I can before we move and buying multiple books is not in the cards. Today, I'm going to be sharing with you how I've been able to save money while reading new books and share some of my ... read more

101 in 1001 Check-in #4

Welcome back to another installment of "Let's see how much progress Kristine has made on this list of goals she wrote two years ago." Yes, ladies and gents I'm talking about the 101 in 1001. If you're not familiar with this list, it's a list of 101 goals you want to complete in 1001 days. Sounds good, right? At the end of the post, I share a little bit of why I've been struggling. Without further ado, here's my progress. ... read more

Why You Need to be Intentional With Your Words

In reading the title of the this post, perhaps you are wondering why I'd bother writing about a topic that may seem obvious to some: the weight and meaning that words carry. It seems like every day we are hearing of more instances that someone's behavior and/or actions created a feeling of chaos. My goal for this post is to show you how words can also have the opposite effect. I truly believe that for as much as words can hurt and tear someone down, they serve a much better purpose: to teach, soothe and heal. I want to show you how to be intentional with your words. ... read more

My Favorite Inexpensive Wines for a Night In

Whether you're having guests over for a finger food party or you and your best friend are spending the night watching your favorite romcoms, the right bottle of wine makes even the most run-of-the-mill experiences a little bit more special. One of Tuck and I's favorite pastimes is flipping through HBO, finding a movie and enjoying that time together on the couch (bonus points if it's a Disney movie or Harry Potter). As we're both homebodies, these movie nights led to us discovering some of our favorite inexpensive wines. Continue to check back to this post over the next few months as we continue to discover new favorite wines that will get added to this list! ... read more

Recipe: Fried Pickles

My fried pickle recipe is probably my most-requested recipe. I first had these fried beauties years and years ago. They are both one of Tuck and I's favorite (if not the favorite) appetizers and we order them at every restaurant that has them. After refusing to buy them 3 days a week, we looked up a recipe because "How hard could they be to make?" Not hard at all. Here is my tried and true recipe for the most delicious fried pickles ever. ... read more

How to Beat Anxiety Caused By An Interview

I have written many a post about how to prepare for a job interview by preparing your resume, doing research about the company, etc. Today’s post is taking a slightly different approach to preparing for an interview. For the last two interviews I’ve had, I felt like I was prepared in terms of the information I had about the company and understanding how to leverage my qualifications, but I was anxious. As I’ve gotten older, my anxiety has begun to manifest itself in a much more intense way than I’m accustomed to – hives, nausea and migraines. In an effort to calm my nerves, I have found a few things that make me feel better. After doing these things, I feel more at ease and ready to take on ... read more

3-Ingredient Drinks: Irish Mule

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting this blog! Over at our house, we're a whiskey family. One of both mine and Tuck's favorite drinks? The Irish Mule. If you're a fan of ginger ale and/or whiskey, the Irish mule is definitely the next drink you need to whip up for yourself. As per my other 3-ingredient drink recipes, at the end of this post I have listed out ways you can tweak this recipe to better suit your taste preferences. Enjoy! ... read more

How to Clear Out Before Moving

Thankfully, the picture above is not of my own house but rather one of my favorite bookstores because books are heavy to move. In chatting with a handful of my blogging pals on Twitter over the last few weeks, I've come to the realization that a good number of us will be moving soon. If you've read my post sharing tips for moving in your twenties, then you know just how much I love this process (yes, that is sarcasm you've detected). As I am also going to be moving soon, I thought I'd write down and share my process for clearing out my junk stuff with you. ... read more

Book Review: In a Different Key By John Donvan & Caren Zucker

I received this book for free as part of the Blogging for Books Program. If we're friends on Goodreads, then you know I've been struggling to get through this 500+ page abridged history of what we now know as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)  for quite a while. As I describe later on in the post, this book is very information dense, which I greatly appreciate. That being said, each chapter, each group of five pages contained so much important information that I could only absorb so much in one sitting. If you are a proud non-fiction book enthusiast like myself, you need to pick up In a Different Key. ... read more

How to Extend the Life of Produce

I will be the first to admit that I love grocery shopping. I love browsing the produce aisles to see what looks fresh and coming home with my Meijer bags filled with new ingredients to cook with. I aim to go grocery shopping once every three weeks or so, depending on what else I've got going on. While that may seem like a large span of time in between shopping trips, I'm not (always) eating quick-cook ramen and peanut butter sandwiches. I have learned a few tricks to extend the life of produce so that I can continuously eat well from shopping trip to shopping trip. ... read more