178 of you took my recent survey, and I’m so grateful! I loved learning more about y’all, and especially hearing more about what you love about Em for Marvelous and why you read. In fact, I think you fired me up for at least another 8 years – so thank you, truly. Many of you asked about seeing survey results, and I agreed it would be fun to share a few. So here we go!

Love my four friends from the earliest days! Pretty sure that number includes my Mom and two sisters. The biggest lump of you have been reading for at least a few years, which is neat.

I was a bit surprised by just how many of you are married. Always, always happy to have my non-married folk in the mix, though, too.

I’m no statistician, but I believe we’d call this a bell curve! But really, not a statistician – I didn’t realize I gave my 30 and 35 year olds two choices until I was making these graphs. Oh well, you get the idea :)

I sorted the 22 people who chose “other” into one of my categories – nurses, teachers, counselors, journalists, etc. went into traditional, and stay at home moms went into “not currently employed” (no shame in that!). I love that most of you have a “traditional” job, and am glad you are finding some of what you are looking for here.

I was limited to ten questions, but if I had had an eleventh, I would have asked how many of you have kids! Still curious about that…

The favorite posts numbers roughly broke down into three categories. Personal finance, goals, travel, love and marriage, parenting, life updates, and deep thoughts were across-the-board popular. And the finance posts, wow! I was a bit surprised to see that they were the most beloved, but I suppose I shouldn’t be. It’s obviously something I’m passionate about, and I guess that’s a bit contagious. It’s also one of my more unique offerings. Regardless, I’m so glad you love them, and since you do, I’m going to do my best to make sure I write at least one a month going forward.

Bringing up the rear were spotlights, Triangle features, and wedding things. Not terribly surprising, and I’m also reminding myself that just because y’all didn’t mark them as favorites doesn’t mean you don’t like them – in fact, many people brought up the spotlights as being very helpful when answering my next question.

Which brings us to… open-ended feedback! To a number, every single person wrote something sweet here, and I truly treasured each comment. I was actually kind of like, where’s the constructive criticism?! But I’m not going to complain :) You guys are just the best. Here are a few selected quotes from what you love and don’t love to read:

— “We visited my aunt in Beaufort and rather than staying at a traditional hotel we stayed at the hotel you recommended. I would have never taken the chance if I didn’t read your review.” Some of my FAVORITE comments were when you told me you took action on something you learned through EFM, whether related to travel, finance, a wedding reading, or a purchase.

— “Your interviews with great moms were some of my favorites!!” Marvelous Mama came up over and over again! I do plan to continue this series off and on, and have a few more pending from the first batch that I’m hoping to get up soon.

— “I can’t wait to see those Triangle guides!” Bless this person’s heart. I just had to laugh when I came across this response. Whenever they get posted, the Triangle guides and our wills will go down as the most long-suffering posts in EFM history.

— “I think you have a real gift for simplifying complex topics like budgeting and marriage! I love your thoughtful posts on “why” or “how” you live your life – I think it elevates the idea of living by your values and helps me think about my own values.” I wanted to hug this person! At my best, I think my posts equip you and help you feel confident, and the best way I know how to do that is to walk you through my thought processes.

Next, a few things came up over and over again in response to “why do you read Em for Marvelous?” The most common:

— authentic, honest, and genuine
— real life and relatable
— cheerful and positive
— practical and helpful
— good writing and grammar (ha!)
— wide range of topics
— you care about me and like following my family’s story

And something SO many people said: “I feel like we would be friends in real life!” Yes, I wholeheartedly believe that we would. Probably because you’re all so nice!! Seriously.

Finally, y’all put me in some great blog company. Ladies that came up over and over: Call Me Callie, Cup of Jo, Emily Ley, Lara Casey, Nancy Ray, Something Pretty, Southern Weddings, and Victoria Strader. Also mentioned frequently: Mix and Match Mama, Love Taza, The Small Things, The College Prepster, Smidge of This, Sarah Tucker, Design Darling, Emily Henderson, and Sequins & Stripes.

And that’s a wrap! Thank you again for sharing your thoughts – it truly meant so much to me. I hope you found this interesting, and please always remember how glad I am you’re here!

So y’all have been very kind in my survey, saying all sorts of nice things. A few of you even mentioned that you like my style and are hoping for more fashion and beauty-related posts. Well, you may reconsider after I let you in on this very embarrassing fact about myself: sometimes, when I’m alone in the car, I wear my sunglasses OVER my regular glasses. (OMGDIDIJUSTADMITTHAT.)

It’s true. A few years ago, after some cornea scarring, my eye doctor switched me to daily contacts, and they are VERY expensive. I usually only wear them on the weekends or for big events, which is totally fine – I like my glasses! But, without prescription sunglasses, I’m left to my own devices while driving.

When I saw that Warby Parker accepts HSA money for prescription sunglasses (through their sponsorship of someone’s newsletter, of all things), and I jumped on that like a hot potato! CLEARLY they’re needed, if only to prevent John dying from embarrassment over his wife’s fashion faux pas. (I’ve got a few more years before June realizes what’s up.)

I ordered five pairs for my home try-on. After ruling one out, I asked for feedback on Instagram yesterday (if you’re reading this post in the morning, the stories should still be available!) The two frontrunners are neck-and-neck, and they happen to be the two I like best, too: no. 2, Laurel, and no. 4, Raglan. Looking at these photos again, I think I know which one will be my final pick.

Any final opinions? I’m going to pop the box back in the mail today and place my order over the weekend!

UPDATE: Thank you so much for voting! I ordered the Raglan (no. 4) and am thrilled to have upgraded my eyewear! :)

Hi, friends! Thank you SO much to everyone who has taken my 2017 survey! I have loved hearing from more than 140 of you so far. The polls are open until Friday (when I’ll draw the $50 gift card winner!), so go leave your feedback here if you haven’t already. Looking forward to sharing some of the results, too!

In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to share what we ate in January. It can be hard to get inspired to cook in the winter, when it’s cold and produce is a little lame, so I’m supplying you with 31 options :) A few notes:

— I’ve linked to recipes where I have them, which is most places – we are not the type of cooks who can just throw things together in the kitchen!!
— I’ve marked with an asterisk any recipe we were making for the first time.

Photo from Design Mom

Week 1:
Sunday, January 1: homemade ramen (John uses only the ramen noodles from the $.20 packets and adds frozen peas, soy sauce, an egg, cashews, etc.)
Monday, January 2: roasted butternut squash soup, salad, and baguette (Whole30 people, I’m pretty sure this is approved, and it is delicious and so easy!!)*
Tuesday, January 3: burrito bowls (we do quinoa rice, pinto and black beans, sauteed green bell peppers and onions, canned diced green chiles, salsa, and Greek yogurt)
Wednesday, January 4: kielbasa, crispy smashed potatoes with avocado aioli, and salad
Thursday, January 5: chana masala, rice, and naan
Friday, January 6: three pepper pizza and salad (we use Whole Foods dough (in the refrigerated/prepared foods section), jarred sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, and chopped up red bell pepper, poblano pepper, pepperoncinis, and red onion)
Saturday, January 7: lasagna, salad, and garlic bread (the absolute BEST lasagna, in my opinion!)

Week 2:
Sunday, January 8: easy chicken pot pie*
Monday, January 9: leftovers
Tuesday, January 10: leftovers
Wednesday, January 11: chili mac and cheese*
Thursday, January 12: BBQ takeout
Friday, January 13: three pepper pizza and salad
Saturday, January 14: kale sausage chick pea pasta (this is a recipe from our friends the Henrys that has become a staple in our house. I may share it in a separate post sometime because it is delicious!)

Week 3:
Sunday, January 15: sheet pan tenderloin and roasted veggies*
Monday, January 16: taco soup
Tuesday, January 17: Articles Club! Homemade ramen for John
Wednesday, January 18: leftovers
Thursday, January 19: butter chicken, rice, and naan
Friday, January 20: Chick-fil-a :)
Saturday, January 21: veggie burgers and frozen sweet potato fries

Week 4:
Sunday, January 22: zucchini meatballs, Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce, spaghetti, and salad
Monday, January 23: Chipotle (we had meetings at church)
Tuesday, January 24: quesadillas on the grill (we do pinto beans and sauteed peppers and onions)
Wednesday, January 25: pork lettuce wraps
Thursday, January 26: farfalle with pancetta and peas
Friday, January 27: buffalo chicken pizza (we do Whole Foods dough, frozen buffalo chicken, chopped red onion, shredded cheese, and Whole Foods 365 blue cheese sauce) and Asian charred broccoli
Saturday, January 28: Chinese takeout for Lunar New Year!

Week 5:
Sunday, January 29: chicken noodle soup
Monday, January 30: chickpea shawarma pitas
Tuesday, January 31: chicken and broccoli stir fry

If this was helpful, I’d love to do posts for other seasons, since our go-to meals change a lot with the weather! Let me know what you think, and I’d also love to hear if you have a favorite recipe for the winter!

P.S. I wrote a post a few years ago about how we meal plan – considering writing a follow-up since our process has changed a bit!

Howdy and happy Friday, friends! January was a really fun month for me on Em for Marvelous. We got to talk a lot about some of my favorite things, like goals, marriage, financial freedom, June, and our family’s adventures. Y’all seemed to enjoy these topics, too!

I truly believe that the guiding light for my posts should be what I find most marvelous, because if I’m not passionate about something, then why bother sharing it? That being said, I sincerely treasure every single person who stops by, reads, and joins the conversation, and I love checking in every so often to gather feedback. I have lots of posts planned for the year ahead, but I’d also love to know: What would you like to read about? What would you like to discuss?

If you have a moment, please consider taking the short survey below… I’m so curious, and would love to hear from you! Then, leave a comment below to be entered to win a $50 Airbnb gift card OR a $50 Amazon gift card – your choice. I’ll draw and email a winner next Friday, February 10!

Update! Taryn D. is our lovely winner and has been emailed! Thank you all SO much for sharing feedback with me!

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Thank you in advance, friends! xo