I recently listened to a Coffee & Crumbs episode all about media, and between that and our lively discussion about Where the Crawdads Sing and Educated on my last post (and the planning underway for my book swap!!), I thought it might be fun to keep rolling on the reading train. So today, all about my life as a reader… and I want to hear about yours!

What do I read?

Right now I’m averaging about 20-40 books in a year, or 2-3 per month. About half are non-fiction, and half are novels. I love…

…(good) parenting books
…pop psychology and behavioral economics books
…personal finance books
…books that give me practical ways to live out my faith
…books that deal with the intersection of technology and family
…novels with exquisite writing.

And of course I read the Bible! Usually this version.

How do I read?

I exclusively read physical books, for a few reasons.

I prefer the experience of real books – seeing the typography on the page, feeling the heft of the book shift from right to left as I page my way through.

I am a visual learner, so I tend to retain more from a paper page – even if I haven’t marked it, I can often recall where a certain quote I paused over was (top left corner, bottom right) many days later.

I want to live in a home with books because I think they’re beautiful and because I want where I live to be filled with things I treasure. Environment is a strong way of imparting our values to our kiddos, and there is almost nothing I more want to give them than a love of reading.

On that note, I read physical books because I want my kids to see my reading. I want that to be one of the most common sights of their childhood, me curled up with a book, to learn from my example that reading is a delicious past-time, one of the most delightful and worthy ways to spend an hour. I could be doing anything with my phone in my hand, but when I’m holding a book, my priority is clear.

When do I read?

At this stage in my life, most of my reading is done right before bed. This is both good and bad. If I’m reading a book that’s sucked me in, I’ll eagerly head to bed early to squeeze in a few more chapters. However, if I’m reading a book that’s sucked me in, I’ll often stay up too late to squeeze in a few more chapters :) Some nights I read for 15 minutes, some for an hour.

I’m also diligent about leaving a book in my car or packing one in my bag if I’m heading to an appointment so I can read on the go instead of scrolling on my phone. I imagine this will become even more helpful when our kiddos are in activities that require my chauffeur services!

Where do I find books to read?

Fiction I almost exclusively borrow from the library – I tend to only read it once, so to me it doesn’t make quite as much sense to buy! Nonfiction I prefer to buy (on Amazon or Thrift Books), because I’ll often read favorites multiple times. I also like to underline quotes or ideas that hooked me (often for use in EFM posts later!) and am an eager lender of my favorites to friends and family members. (Stephanie has my copy of The Coddling of the American Mind right now and when I get it back I’m sending it to Kim!)

It also helps that one of my benefits at work is a book library, which is $15 a month to spend on the “personal growth” book of my choice! As an Enneagram 5, lifelong learner, and avid reader, this is heaven :)

I keep an iPhone note on my phone for “Books to Be Read” as well as a list of the books I read each year (they are some of my most-referred to notes!). I add great suggestions to it from my Articles Club ladies, from my siblings, friends-in-real-life and on Instagram, from EFM readers in the comments, and from a few favorite blogs (Cup of Jo and Everyday Reading especially!).

More posts about reading:
My thoughts on reading in 2014 (a few things have changed!)
25 favorite picture books
25 favorite chapter books
My favorite parenting books

I think my next reading post will be about the books I recommend most often – though of course, if you’re an avid reader of this blog, I’ve probably already recommended them to you :)

In the meantime, I’d love to hear: what are your favorite types of books to read? And when do you read?

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Hello, friends! I hope you had a thoughtful Holy Week and very joyful Easter. We worshipped at our church’s 9:45 service, skipped over to the WRAL azalea gardens to enjoy the blooms, then came home for lunch and an egg hunt in our backyard.

Shep was very into the family selfie :)

June has been practicing collecting things in her basket for months, so I knew we couldn’t let the holiday pass without some sort of search. Since we missed our neighborhood’s hunt this year, we decided to stage our own! I filled the eggs with little stickers and bunny grahams, and both prizes were a hit. For dinner, we had ham, twice-baked potatoes, asparagus, sparkling cider, and a deep dish chocolate chip cookie – YUM!

More about our Easter baskets

Speaking of yummy meals, I’ve been wanting to report back on the neighborhood meal swap I mentioned awhile back. Inspired by Victoria, a dear friend and I decided to switch off making meals for both of our families every Tuesday. We kicked things off in the first week of the year, and it was an immediate success on both ends. We made and delivered a Greek feast (grilled chicken kebabs, cucumber feta salad, hummus, pita, grilled peppers); homemade spaghetti and meatballs; beef stew and cheddar biscuits; meatloaf, roasted potatoes, and broccoli; Italian orzo; and more.

Don’t mind me, just going to keep rolling with the Easter photos while I have you :)

What a treat to have a hot meal delivered by a friendly face right at dinner time with no work on our part every other week! On meal delivery day, there was no racing around trying to get dinner on the table, just an extra hour to play with my babies or take a walk as a family. And on the weeks we were cooking, it was really no more difficult than the usual task of making dinner for our fam – we just cooked twice as much, and then zipped half two minutes around the corner!

We were going strong for about ten weeks, and would have kept going for many more… except that Katie and Co. bought a new house about fifteen minutes away. As happy as we are for them (so happy!), we were also a bit devastated. As y’all know, these introverts don’t make friends particularly easily, and when Katie inserted herself into my life via Instagram DM after spotting me pushing a stroller (true story), it felt like God had personally and graciously gifted me the neighborhood friend I’d prayed for. From our first walk, I just knew that we were kindred spirits.

That’s what we have been, and that’s what we’ll continue to be, but I can’t overstate the loveliness of having a close “friend family” a short walk away. Most of our friend families are scattered around the Triangle, many about a half hour away. We make the most of our time together, “binging” on each other’s company when we do get together, but if I had to choose, I’d take the dailiness of doing life together over an every-once-in-a-while spectacle every time.

My favorite part about our meal exchange was not, actually, the meals. It wasn’t even the time I got back with my family, or the opportunity to serve another family. I loved all those things, but what I loved most was the connection this experiment forced on me. As an Enneagram 5 married to a 5, it is easiest to rely on ourselves instead of stepping into the messiness of interdependency. Fives take care of ourselves, and generally think other people should, too. We can be awkward. We don’t like small talk.

But doing what’s easiest isn’t how you grow, and I don’t think the life I described above is the one I’m called to.

I’m called to a life where grace is needed, given, and received – even in the smallest things, like when I deliver dinner half an hour later than I said I would.

I’m called to a life where my imperfection is seen and accepted – like when I show up with noodles that are on the hard side of al dente.

I’m called to a life of vulnerability – what if they don’t like this dish? – and in pushing past that vulnerability instead of finding ways to avoid it.

And I’m called to a life where my days involve more than just my immediate family, where I’m regularly bumped up against other people asking how I’m doing… and really wanting to know the answer.

It is so very easy to be anonymous, to go it alone, to rely only on yourself, in the world we live in. Just pull into your garage, roll down that door, and go about your business. It’s safer and easier to call on Door Dash than another human being. But deep relationship is not only a reward in itself, it’s a requisite for growth. And growth is good and beautiful even as it’s hard.

Big lessons, big reminders, from something as small and simple as a meal swap. Do it for the delicious food, do it for the extra hours gained, do it for the growth – but just try it, friends! And then tell me how it goes :)

I’d love to hear: have you ever tried a meal swap, or would you want to? I’d imagine the biggest barrier for most people is finding a partner close by, since proximity is key to keeping it up long-term.

If you’ve spent any amount of time here, you know that I’m engaged in an epic quest to organize our personal photos (and have been for almost a year). Many of you have expressed curiosity at my methodology and the processes I’m putting in place, and I’m happy to oblige – once I have everything wrapped up with a bow!

In the meantime, though, I wanted to share one aspect we’ve got down pat, especially since I’m guessing it might be a pain point for some of you: Instagram photos! The photos I share on IG are some of my very favorites, so it makes sense that they’d be a priority to get off my phone and into our home.

Each January, I order 48 to 72 of our favorite Instagram photos from the past year in the 4-inch size via Social Print Studio. (You can purchase them in sets of 24 for $12). They’re printed on velvety-matte paper, and I’ve found the quality to be good. I especially appreciate that you can upload from multiple accounts in the same order as long as you have the passwords, which is great because I choose favorites from John’s account and both my personal and public accounts.

(If we need to round up to reach a number divisible by 12, I’ll add a few more copies of a print I know a family member or friend would love, then pop them in the mail once they arrive!)

From there, I choose our favorite 24 photos from the past year, with a prejudice toward landscape- and adventure-focused shots, and pin them to a bulletin board in our kitchen. I love being reminded of so many beloved places, faces, and memories on the daily, and guests love looking at them, too!

The ones from the previous year come down and, along with the remainder from the new set, go loose-leaf style into a box on our coffee table. (I add the year and any other pertinent info on the back.) The box isn’t organized in any way, which is good because the prints are literally taken out and rifled through every. single. day. June LOVES to discuss them, and they’re a great conversation starter with guests, too!

On this particular day, each stuffie was assigned a photo :)

One last thing I like about this system: it’s a natural way to make sure we’re refreshing at least some of our wall decor on at least an annual basis. It can feel like a monumental effort to get anything on our walls – the choosing! the hanging! – and once something is up, I’m inclined to just leave it. But it’s nice to spiff things up every once in a while, and this is an easy way to do it.

I’m curious: do you have a favorite way of printing your Instagram photos? I think it would be so fun to order one of SPS’s 365 calendars one day!

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How do you like to spend your evenings?

About 75% of the time on a night we’re at home, I’m on my laptop. This feels like a lame answer, but it is what it is – since I try to limit screens as much as possible when our kiddos are awake, the time after they go to bed is when I tackle both life necessities – answering emails, updating our budget, ordering more wipes, booking an appointment – and luxuriating in my favorite hobbies (reading blogs and writing my own posts, mostly! :)). I reserve the last half hour or hour once I’m in bed for reading.

John usually occupies himself by reading, watching a show, studying, and taking care of his own life necessities. Sometimes we’ll watch something together, or work on a project (travel planning, when we’re lucky!). But one of the best ways we’ve found to switch things up on a random weeknight is to play a game together.

I know so many of us are looking to break the habit of social media scrolling or mindless TV watching (or worse, both at once!) and connect more purposefully, so I thought I’d share a few of our favorites!

Our favorite two-person games:

Sagrada | Pictured above, this is a gorgeous game that can be played by up to 4 people but is the rare find that I think is actually better with 2!
Monopoly Deal | Forget all your dreadful memories of Monopoly – this card game is quick (15 minutes!) and addictive!
Seven Wonders Duel | Seven Wonders is one of our favorite games to play with a group, and this slim-downed version succeeds at bringing the fun to a party of two.
Eight-Minute Empire | I like that this board is petite, so it’s possible to play in our armchairs, on the little table between them, instead of at our kitchen table. Plus, for some reason I beat John about 75% of the time :)
Rock Me Archimedes | We actually don’t own this, but have given it to several family members and love playing it when we’re at one of those recipient’s houses!

Other great two-person games:

Boggle | You know I love me some Boggle, but rolling the dice is SUPER loud, so it’s not the best fit for this season of life where we’re often playing when kiddos are sleeping!
Farkle | I’ve only played this in a larger group, but apparently you can play it with two people, too. Bonus: you just need six dice to play this game!
Mancala | We don’t have our own board yet, but played this all the time growing up! I’m thinking June might be ready in a year or two.
Scattergories | We play this often with 3+, but I suppose you could play it with two people, too.
Set | This game is quick and keeps you on your toes – a different style of play than many of the others listed here.
Scrabble
Double Solitaire
Othello
Quiddler
Sequence
Yahtzee
Bananagrams

Two-person games suggested by readers!

Blockus
Linkee
El Dorado
Sushi Go!
Battle Sheep

I’d love to hear if you have any games to add to our list! And, how do you spend your evenings?

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