Listen, Learn, Read, Eat - Edition 4

If you ask me the question “what have you been up to lately, Katie?” I don’t think I would be able to tell you. Seriously, like when Emily asked me what I did last weekend I couldn’t even remember because it already seems so long ago. Here I’ll be sharing a few things that have been helping me relax and take a deep breath amidst the craziness of everyday life. 

Listen: How I Built This with Guy Raz

After editing photos or studying for hours, I just need to get up, get some fresh air and think about something else. I always listen to the “How I Built This” podcast when I’m out on a walk after hours of screen time. I listened to one episode in particular lately that I found really fascinating. It featured Christina Tosi of Milk Bar, which I learned is a dessert shop with locations in several cities. Her journey to starting her own dessert shop is an interesting one, and her creations sound amazing. Bonus: if you check out their website you can see their recipes, which look super difficult to make. Definitely give this podcast a listen if you’re interested in entrepreneurship, or would just like to hear a good story!

Learn: New Recipes 

I don’t know if there’s real data on this, but I believe that taking a little bit of time to cook or bake something can instantly boost your mood and make you feel less stressed. It seems odd, I know, but my friends can probably tell when I’m the most stressed because I show up at their door with a baked good or a new dish to try about every four days. Some of my favorites lately have been a lemon meringue pie and instant pot pork carnitas. So if you’re feeling stressed, jump onto pinterest and see what new recipe you can whip up - you’ll feel much better, I promise. 

Read: To Hell with the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke

I haven’t been doing much reading lately, but this book is #1 on my Christmas break book list (yeah, I get so excited about all the stuff I’ll have time to do on break that I start making a list in September). I’ve listened to parts of the book on Jeff’s podcast, and it sounds like a great read! Bonus: it was just released this week so check it out and let me know if it should stay at the top of my list! 

Eat: Breakfast sandwiches 

I’m a bad breakfast eater. First of all, I never allow myself enough time to eat anything in the morning. Second, I crave everything sweet and sugary in the morning. It probably doesn’t help that my mom always says that if something has fruit or peanut butter in it, consider it a breakfast food. Thanks for that, mom, but it has really gotten me stuck in some bad habits. Soooo anyway, I’m sick of being hungry by 9 am, so I’m committing myself to making a REAL breakfast at least three times per week. This week I have been enjoying breakfast sandwiches consisting of random things in my fridge. Today it was an english muffin with egg, spinach and avocado. Back in my freshman year of college I bought a nifty little breakfast sandwich maker because I thought it would be a nice appliance to have with all those 8am classes. I never let it preheat adequately, so every morning the egg would go everywhere instead of cooking like it was supposed to. It was such a mess, so I stuck the appliance away because I didn’t want to deal with it and its problems. Long story short, I found it recently and it has been saving my life! 

Thanks for tuning into this edition of Listen, Learn, Read, Eat! Let us know in the comments what you have been enjoying lately, we would love some fresh ideas!