Lifestyle

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Leaving on a Jet plane

150 150 Kristin

Dear Frances, I’m on an airplane right now, in my preferred aisle seat (I’m somewhat claustrophobic), trying not to knock elbows with this young man seated next to me. I’ve got two trips planned for this month, one for work and one for fun. I’m halfway across the country, on my way to the work…

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Puppy Love

150 150 Frances

Dear Kristin, Wherever I am, my dog Travis is nearby. I’ve spent years telling him to stay put when I pop into the kitchen for a cup of tea or trot off to the mudroom to grab my scarf. He never stays put. As soon as he hears my tread on the floor, he wakes…

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5 Things We’re Loving Right Now

150 150 Kristin

Dear Frances, I thought it would be fun to share a few things that are delighting us right now. And if not actually delighting, then at least finding useful. I love getting a glimpse into other people’s lives. How they live, what they read, how they cook, what they enjoy, what do they do better…

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The Empty Nest Chronicles Podcast: Journaling

150 150 Frances

Hi, everyone! This week we’ve got a podcast episode for you, so sit back with a nice cup of tea (or insert your AirPods and do the dishes) while we discuss journaling. We cover why to keep a journal, what kind of journals we keep, and our plans for destroying our journals when the time…

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Letting Go in the New Year

150 150 Frances

Dear Kristin, Last week we talked about some things we’d like to accomplish in 2023 and how we’re going to accomplish them. This week I thought we could talk about the things we’re not going to accomplish. What are some dreams, obligations and weights we’re going to let go of this year? Here’s my list…

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Two Friends. Two Approaches to the New Year.

150 150 Kristin

Dear Frances, Happy New Year! It’s that time when everyone starts talking about all the changes that they are going to make in the new year. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to try to reinvent myself this year. I want to make some changes and get some things done, but I’ve…

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Pruning Season

150 150 Frances

Dear Kristin, For the avid reader, the internet provides an embarrassment of riches. It’s a universe of interesting articles and reviews, blog posts and opinion pieces, each one filled with its own galaxy of rabbit holes to go down. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone online to look up a fact and…

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The Skin We’re In

150 150 Kristin

Dear Frances I don’t think any conversation between two women of a certain age would be complete without discussing skin care. If social media is any indication, the generation or two of women after us got the message on this topic a lot younger than we did. And I suspect that their skin at age…

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October Thoughts

150 150 Kristin

Dear Frances, Holidays are a bit tricky now, aren’t they? The celebrations have always centered around activities with the kids, and I guess it’s time we change our expectations. I’ve definitely got some mixed feelings about Halloween. I am not really a Halloween person, but obviously the kids always loved it! There were many years…

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We Are Creatures of Routine

150 150 Kristin

Dear Frances, I think you and I both know that we are creatures of routine. I thrive in a space where I know what I’m going to do and when I’m going to do it. This sounds excessively boring, I know, but I like to think that having some structure in place gives you the…

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