FROM: STELLA

TO: LAURA

1. I’m wrapping up a huge year of travel with one more state added to my list of 12 this year and pairing that with 6 countries! A few of my favorites have been Utah, Oregon, Arizona, Louisiana in the United States and South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada for the countries. 2018 has been filled with lots of planes and airports and I’m already looking forward to continuing the tradition next year with a few trips planned in the first couple of months of 2019.

   

2. I’ve recently become very obsessed with Nordstrom Rack, they have such a great selection of deals and steals. Everything I’ve ordered – these slippers for my mom, this sweater for me and this hoodie for my husband – have been big wins.
3. My favorite podcast of the year has been Believed from NPR. It’s the story of Larry Nassar (Olympic gymnastics doctor who abused 100s of girls for decades). I am very sad the season has come to an end but have decided to follow it up with a book that I just can’t seem to put down, Life Is Short, Don’t Wait to Dance by UCLA’s incredible gymnastics coach Valorie Kondos Field.
4. While I was home for the holidays, we cut, roasted, pureed a huge 30-pound pumpkin that my mom grew this year. It took us a few hours and though we froze and gave away most of the jars, we had a fun pumpkin filled week of recipes including pumpkin soup, pumpkin caramels, pumpkin pasta, and pumpkin cookies. Most of these recipes we created ourselves for but a lot of our inspiration came from this great article.

FROM: LAURA

TO: STELLA

1. We’ve started to receive a few things off of our baby registry, and also got our Welcome Box from Amazon. I was anticipating a box filled with coupons I would never use and literature I would never read… but I was very pleasantly surprised with its contents! Review forthcoming.
2. Chelsea posted this link to slow cooker recipes under 300 calories last week and I’m obsessed. I’ve recently gotten really into our crock-pot and am on the lookout for delicious but still nutritious meals to make in it!
3. Always appreciate some tips on ways to reduce the amount you pay in taxes. Millennial Money Man coming in hot🔥 with eight tips for the end of the year!
4. Really appreciated Chief Mom Officer’s blog post on what life was actually like for them in the great recession. I was in my first year of college in 2008, so things like the DOW plunging, seemingly endless layoffs, and numerous corporations closing weren’t really on my radar. With so many recent dips in the market and a recession predicted, it’s nice to read someone’s story looking back at a similar time and know we’ll all come out the other side.
5. Drooling over this customizable curry from I’d Rather Be Meryl! I’ve never made a curry with fish in it, and now it’s all I can think about eating!