Coffee With Kate #7
A monthly round-up of my favorite links and random thoughts
At the end of January, I shared a monthly review and that included what I read, watched, ate, and more and I loved that format. I called it The Monthly Debrief and it felt like a nice way to reflect on the month and tie everything up with a little bow. I unintentionally changed what I share in this specific series. Oops.
When I wake up in the morning and have my coffee, I enjoy reading through different articles I’ve saved to read when I have time and scrolling through my subscriptions on Substack. So that is primarily what this newsletter is - a roundup of what I read or listened to this month that I thought was interesting, helpful, or made me think differently.
On Substack
I loved this post about how to recover from shitty days by
! Sometimes it’s nice to just have a list of things to do when you are just having one of those weirdly bad days (not a depressive day). For me, I love going for a long walk or making sure I connect in some way with my husband before heading to bed early, but I also love the idea of scheduling something to look forward to.No one is paying attention to what you do and sometimes that’s just the reminder that we all need for all areas of life. Thank you
! This essay talks about how we’re living our lives on social media with so much fear. There is a lot of self-imposed fear of “what will people think if I post this or don’t post that?” and to that I offer: no one cares. Not everything has to be about content or capturing the moment for social media.- is the founding editor of Money Diaries on Refinery29 and has brought a new version of the series to Substack with ! Not only is she sharing how people spend their money but she’s also doing a series on how parents divide the responsibilities of their households. It’s a genius idea and so interesting to see how people make it work!
I already shared this post on my social channels, but it’s just such a good read and if you missed it before, here it is! Caroline Chambers Makes $15k+ Per Recipe and you need to read this entire interview
did with . Caroline breaks down how she has grown her business, how much she makes, and what she’s learned along the way. It’s a must-read!
Elsewhere on the Internet
Do Yourself a Favor and Go Find a ‘Third Place’ | I was recently introduced to the concept of “third places”. If the term is new to you as well, a third place is “a physical location other than work or home where there’s little to no financial barrier to entry and where conversation is the primary activity.” As a suburbanite, I agree with the article that we don’t really have options for a third place. And maybe even worse, as someone who works from home, I don’t even have a second place. Further, third places in the US have largely been replaced by spaces focused on productivity instead of socializing. It’s just all so lonely.
In my “The US Hates Millennial Parents” era
Did anyone else see the Dave Ramsey videos going around where he learns that daycare costs $20k/year and recommends parents find free alternatives so they can save a little money? The conversation about the cost of childcare, parental support, and parental leave in the US has been my Roman Empire for the past month. I enjoyed this video about how the education system was not built with full-time working parents in mind, and then I proceeded to read the comments with the fires of 1000 suns burning in my chest. Between this *gestures wildly* conversation and the one about how millennials killed guest rooms, I’m feeling very done with our system and the older generations who continue to blame millennials for its crumbling.
WHY PARENTS STRUGGLE SO MUCH IN THE WORLD’S RICHEST COUNTRY | On that topic, here’s this article about how the US sucks at supporting parents compared to our peer countries. The conversation starts with ex-pats living in Europe and struggling with the idea of moving back to the States after having children because they know their support systems would crumble. The article doesn’t go into detail, but that these ex-pats potentially have family in the US but are choosing to stay abroad because the support is actually better is blowing my mind. Not in a judgemental “why would they do that” way but a “wow, I’m jealous” way. In the US, parents are judged for actually relying on their village which may include hired help, family, and friends because as a commenter in the video above said:
Why have kids and then give them to strangers to raise?
I also listened to Episode 20 of the Mighty As A Mother podcast titled “Is America Failing Mothers? An Honest Conversation with Jess Grose. Jess is an opinion writer at The New York Times who often writes about women, parenting, and culture. Jess talks about why the US has the mentality we do on parenting and how it ties to our history.
The best part about this is that I did not intentionally seek out information on this topic. These were all just random finds that I read or listened to at different times and am now piecing together that I consumed them all within about 3 weeks of each other. Thankfully, the conversation is happening because we need to discuss it all. But damn… how internalized these feelings must be for so many of us.
Super Bowl Food Ideas
- has done a whole week of Taylor Swift-inspired Super Bowl foods on her Instagram!
Here are some excellent, healthier options from Alex at The Defined Dish. I’ve made her buffalo chicken egg rolls before and they are to die for!
If football food isn’t quite your thing, maybe these parmesan pretzel knots from What’s Gaby Cooking will be a good option.
She says it’s a Thanksgiving recipe, but a cheesy appetizer can be for any occasion if you just believe. I think I might end up making the Crispy Baked Boursin by Cheese Gal!
ICYMI
Monthly Debrief: January 2023 | Read more about what I read, watched, ate, and overall life updates from last month!
Feeding Yourself at Home Pt. 1 and Pt. 2A | My new series on how we prioritize eating at home and how we make it happen.
What I want to wear this spring | Some spring looks that have caught my eye and are plus-size friendly!
omg kate!!! thank you for the mention and for reading 😍😍
Fire of a thousand suns is right when it comes to how America treats its parents. What I hate the most about this whole system is how powerless it is. We’re so bogged down with the drudge of just keeping our heads above water we don’t even have the time or energy to demand better. I’ll be honest, my family is having serious conversations of seeking greener pastures. This is unsustainable and it’s so sad that the burden of the next generation of society is left on the shoulders or a few.