Patience & Pearls I’m not going back to Nassau Hall quite yet, even though my ten year Princeton reunion is just next year (wow, I’m old!). I am going back to medical school at age 31. I know you read my entire treatise on the reasons that I needed to leave medical school last year, and I completely stand by my decision to leave. It was the right decision at that time, and I am so grateful to have had this year to heal, reflect, take a long deep breath and survey my life from a perspective of wellness. It’s funny how life can take you for a loop, but after everything I have been through, I ..read more

Pexels I am challenging myself to a minimalist budget for 2022, mostly because we are finally getting settled into our new home and our new routine. We want to get on the right foot financially, and so I thought it would be a great time to evaluate our spending with a very simple filter. Every time we are about to spend money, we are going to ask three questions: Do I need this/can I survive without it? If I need it, can it wait a month, six months, a year? Can I get it for free/highly discounted? These questions will apply to necessities like groceries, household items and regular bills. The ..read more

I always intend to write these year-end reflection posts, but I am either too preoccupied, or frankly, too lazy to do it. Even this time around, I procrastinated and have found myself writing this on New Year’s Eve, on the eve of the first day of 2022. This past year, 2021, was a doozy, and it deserves to be recorded. Trials are just a normal part of life, but sometimes it feels like things are incredibly tough. I really hope 2022 takes a turn for the better, but let’s commiserate for just one second. Year-End Reflection 2021 – Patience & Pearls The Trials Now, I am only naming these trial ..read more

It’s so hard to choose between a real vs fake tree, how do you decide? As Christmas approaches and folks are starting to consider decorating for the holidays, you can usually find people rigidly entrenched in one of two groups: team real tree or team fake tree. Those who prefer artificial trees either love them because of the ease of setup and clean up, or because they don’t care for the smell of pine. Team real tree generally likes the idea of picking out a unique tree every year and craves the smell of fresh pine. If you have not established a holiday tradition where trees are concerned, or ..read more

Do you listen to podcasts? I am always looking out for the best podcasts for women like me who are interested in wellness, work-life balance and frugality. They are such a great way to receive information, to learn something new and to promote self-improvement. I also really like the idea of learning while I work. I will turn on a podcast at night when I am cleaning up the kitchen or in the morning when I am getting ready for my day. My podcast time is my self-care and my alone time. I like to mix in shows about faith, motherhood, career, frugality and lifestyle, with staples like Freakonomics ..read more

I wish someone had given me some moving tips on how to make moving easier for me and my family when we made the move this past summer from Chicago to South Georgia. Moving is so hard. It wasn’t too bad when I was a single lady living on my own in a studio apartment. But when you have settled in a three-bedroom home for several years, and have added a baby into the mix, everything takes triple the amount of time to get done. After contemplating my experience, I have come up with the moving tips that I think could be helpful in reducing stress and overwhelm, and just getting it done! This post i ..read more

Recognizing that I needed a therapist was a great first step, but searching for a therapist near me was so challenging. I have experienced this first-hand trying to get connected to a mental health provider when I was dealing with my postpartum depression. Finding a mental health provider is such a challenge because there aren’t enough of them available. Furthermore, if you happen to find a therapist in your area, they might not be a great fit. This post is sponsored by Ray of Hope Counseling Services. Pexels Life can get so stressful sometimes. Between making sure everyone else has everything ..read more

You may have read our moving announcement that I posted a couple of months ago and are now wondering what more I have to share on the topic. Our initial move from Chicago to where we are currently staying was just temporary. We thought it would be easier on us all if we stayed with family while we waited on our Chicago home to sell and while we searched for the right home here in South Georgia. While “easy” is not an accurate description of the past three months, we learned a lot about patience. 90% of our things are packed up in boxes, either in a storage unit, in a shed, or in our minivan. I ..read more

Need some meal prep ideas? Meal prepping is the solution to getting dinner on the table during busy weeknights. The idea of meal prepping makes a lot of sense, but it is hard to know where to start. Both my husband and I work at least from 9am to 5pm everyday, sometimes starting earlier in the mornings or working later nights to get things done. Outside of work, when our son is home from daycare, we want to make sure that we are spending as much quality, undistracted time with him as possible. This means that we don’t need to be wasting time stressing about what we will eat for dinner.  A ..read more

It is no secret that Fall is my favorite season, so of course I have my favorite Fall entertainment favorites that I am excited to recommend. Some of these are Halloween related, others just give a very relaxing Fall vibe. If you are looking for something new to enjoy this season, check out my favorites below! Pexels Music: Autumn Jazz Radio on Pandora This has been my favorite station to turn on when snuggly Fall thoughts start popping into my head. Last year, I started listening to it in August because I couldn’t wait. I generally like to start listening in September, because to me, Fall doe ..read more