Three weeks ago, I’m hosting my mother-in-law’s birthday dinner, and everything is going smoothly until I realize I completely forgot about dessert. Not just forgot to prep it – forgot it exists as a concept entirely. Meanwhile, this woman has spent thirty years making elaborate homemade desserts for every family gathering, and I’m about to … Read more
Two weeks ago, I’m hosting my book club and panicking because I completely forgot about appetizers until three hours before everyone arrives. These women show up with gorgeous homemade cheese boards and artisanal everything, while I’m standing in my kitchen having a full breakdown about how I’m going to pull together something that doesn’t scream … Read more
Memorial Day weekend three years ago, I eagerly dragged our patio furniture out of winter storage, ready to finally enjoy some outdoor living after months of being cooped up inside. I pulled the covers off our cushions and nearly cried. What had been beautiful, expensive outdoor cushions last fall were now disgusting specimens of what … Read more
Walking past the coffee shop last Tuesday, I caught myself staring longingly at the people sitting inside with their fancy drinks and books, looking like they had permission to spend money on themselves without guilt, while I calculated whether buying a $4 latte would somehow bankrupt our family or make me a selfish person who … Read more
If you’re living in a house where grocery shopping has become this epic three-hour ordeal that involves dragging unwilling children through fluorescent-lit hell while they beg for everything in the cereal aisle, and you somehow manage to spend $200 on groceries that don’t actually make complete meals because you were too frazzled by the cart-wrestling … Read more
If you’re holding onto stuff you never use because getting rid of things feels like a whole complicated project involving research and guilt trips and deciding whether something is “good enough” to donate, this is for you. You know that moment when you’re trying to declutter and you find something that’s perfectly fine but you … Read more
If you’re standing in front of a closet stuffed with clothes you never wear, feeling like you have nothing to wear despite owning enough fabric to clothe a small village, this is for you. You know that moment when you’re trying to get dressed and you can’t find anything that fits right, looks current, or … Read more
If you’re spending $8+ on dryer sheets every month only to run out at the worst possible moment, while breathing mystery chemicals and wondering why laundry products cost more than actual food, this is for you. You know that moment when you open your dryer to static-filled clothes that stick to everything and smell like … Read more
If you’re watching your grocery budget disappear into expensive meat purchases while trying to feed a family that expects protein at every meal, this is for you. You know that moment when you’re standing at the meat counter calculating whether you can afford the chicken that’s somehow $12 per package, while mentally tallying how much … Read more
If you’re swiping cards at grocery stores without thinking, watching your bank account drain mysteriously throughout the month, and wondering where all your money went when bills are due, this is for you. You know that moment when you check your bank balance and realize you’ve somehow spent $400 more than planned this month, but … Read more