Hello, hi! Today on the podcast I’m joined by my reader friends Ali Oppenlaender (from Episode 14) and Jillian O’Keefe to talk about Cozy Christmas reading and our recommendations for your best choices for reading by the Christmas tree with your favourite seasonal drinks.

We hope you feel supported and inspired to plan out your holiday reading, embracing seasonal reading and the general vibe of reading during a winter holiday. Plus we’ll talk about the best ways of getting book recommendations, why we use Goodreads (or not!) to track our reading, and our favourite time of day for reading (spoiler: all times of day).

Ali on Instagram - @alioppenlaender 

Jillian on Instagram - @jillianfindinghappy (DM her for the Goodreads friend request!)

As always please connect with me over on Instagram, @medium.lady and let me know what's on your holiday reading pile. 

Books recommended, in alphabetical order: 

A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss

The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory

Still Life by Louise Penny

And my number one recommendation any time of year will always be Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Music is Climb by the Ghost in the Piano and used with my gratitude and creative commons license

Hello, hi! As today's episode ends in a "5", I'll be sharing five things for you to try right now, and for this season of life. I love these episodes because I often pull from  my own ideas and archives from writing on Instagram, but I also curate a few of my favourite things, or the items really making me happy lately.

1. Advent of kindness: especially kindness to strangers! More on my writing about that here. I really find now is the opportunity for us to look for new ways to find connection in our communities, especially when current rhetoric would have us believe we're divided and against one another.

You can always help out the podcast by providing a rating or review, and sharing it with another Medium Lady in your life! And with the bi-weekly episode release schedule make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss when the new episodes drop. I love to connect with listeners, you can swing by to say hi on Instagram, @medium.lady.

Music is Climb by The Ghost in Your Piano. I'm grateful for its use via creative commons license.

What does it take to be a friend in your late 30s? Is scheduling the answer to everything? Is technology a good thing or a bad thing for your friendship?

What does it take to be a friend as the pandemic comes to a close - do you have enough personal grace to navigate your way back to your relationships after the end of lockdowns or the transition of your friendships from online to real-line?

Can you record an entertaining podcast in a mid-range sedan, from the parking lot of a BBQ joint?

The answer to most of these questions is YES!

I hope you enjoy this chat with two of my oldest friends as we describe the seasons that we’ve experienced throughout our friendship of almost 30 years. We get into our (very) specific friendship as well as the new friends we’ve made as adults and how hard/easy that has been for us. Spoiler alert: some of us made mistakes along the way.

Also mentioned

The Lobster by the Gloaming “possibly the most spectacular instrumental piece of music that has ever existed”- Emily

Taylor Leonhardt “another Taylor” specifically Happy or Whatever, Keep me Around

Change your Life Chicken from the Lazy Genius “I have to hold off and only make this once a week.” - Sarah

Fear the Walking Dead “there’s so many seasons, how much more could you have?” -Erin

Never Have I Ever “partway through I realized I might be attracted to Paxton Hall-Yoshida” -Erin (ps it's ok he's a grownup)

Ted Lasso “This new kind of character on television that’s emerging.” - Sarah

Hello, hi! Today's episode is with my friend Stephanie Cunningham @steffski on Instagram. Steph's internet handle is “Wellness+Realness” and what I love about following her is that’s exactly what you get. She's often posting inspiring and aspirational content, followed by her openness about raising small kids, finding balance, and showing up in the challenge to make the next best decision.

Steph and I also talk about an IGTV live that we did a year ago to talk about goal setting, prioritization and putting things in motion for three months. Spoiler alert - we barely did the things we chose to do! But instead we talk about what we might have done if we could go back in time!

Also mentioned in this episode:

THIS C.S. Lewis quote

My Monthly Experiments - the most recent of which can always be found in my IG highlights @medium.lady

Pamela Pumpkin - Stephanie's now annual reel tradition

You can always help out the podcast by providing a rating or review, and sharing it with another Medium Lady in your life! And with the bi-weekly episode release schedule make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss when the new episodes drop. I love to connect with listeners, you can swing by to say hi on Instagram, @medium.lady

Music is Climb by The Ghost in Your Piano. I'm grateful for its use via creative commons license.

Hello, hi! Today's episode is an exciting one, it's my first interview with an author! I'm interviewing Jayne Allen author of the recently released, must-read novel "Black Girls Must Die Exhausted". 

Jayne and I have a wonderful heart to heart unpacking the themes in her book. We talk about the choices she made with her title, the intentionality behind her cast of characters, as well as the approach she takes to boundary setting and creating art. I know you will love this conversation as much as I did.

You can find Jayne on Instagram @jayneallenwrites or join her email list at www.jayneallen.com.

You can always help out the podcast by providing a rating or review, and sharing it with another Medium Lady in your life! And with the bi-weekly episode release schedule make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss when the new episodes drop. I love to connect with listeners, you can swing by to say hi on Instagram, @medium.lady.

Music is Climb by The Ghost in Your Piano. I'm grateful for its use via creative commons license.

Hello, hi! Today's episode is extra special for two reasons - it is my TWENTIETH episode and it is with my partner and husband Nick (who I also affectionately dub "handsome face").

Nick and I chat (well Nick chats, and I giggle) over 4 randomly selected questions, we offer ourselves a bit of advice and we mostly just enjoy each others company. The microphone was just along for the ride.

If you enjoyed this episode please come and hang out with me over on Instagram, @medium.lady. And if you loved this episode don't forget to give it a rating and review. If you know a Medium Lady or Handsome Face in your life who would enjoy this episode go ahead and share it with them! 

Other things in this episode:

~ This question about managing marital bliss on Quora

~ Was friends filmed in front of a live studio audience?

~ Corporate speak gets pretty bad...amirite?

Music is Climb by The Ghost in the Piano and I'm grateful for its use via creative commons license.

Hello, hi! Today's episode is all about the books I read this summer, and I'll give you advice to Read IT or... Don't! And of course my favourite "Know Yourself" category in the middle. 

Knowing yourself, when it comes to building a robust reading habit, is really key. When you know what you like, and what you don't, you can reach for more books that align with what you like. And when you know what to reach for, you just keep reading!

Books mentioned today, in no particular order:

1. Mindset by Carol Dweck

Also mentioned in this episode,

• Episode 12 all about Growth Mindset

Music is Climb by Ghost in the Piano and I'm grateful for its use by creative commons license.

Hello, hi! Today's podcast is all about the Skin Care Olympics awarded by me and my dear friend Sarah Rich from @getnormal on Instagram. Sarah and I are very old and dear friends who love nerding out on all things beauty together, and we figured the recent Tokyo Olympics provided us with a great theme to chat about some of our most (and least) loved products.

Before the conversation with Sarah, I also experiment with some less refined, more spontaneous chat about my thoughts regarding the conversation, my friendship with Sarah and the idea of not taking yourself too seriously. I hope you love this episode as much as I do! If you'd prefer the video version, it can be found on my Instagram IGTV page @medium.lady.

PRODUCTS THAT STUCK THE LANDING

Sarah: Isle of Paradise Self Tanning Drops

Erin: E.L.F Holy Hydration Face Cream

REPEAT MEDALIST 

Sarah: Lush Eau Roma Water Toner

Erin: Cerave PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion

BEST ALL AROUND ATHLETE

Sarah: Weleda Skin Food Light Nourishing Cream

Erin: Pixi Glow Tonic

DID NOT FINISH

Sarah: Cerave Skin Renewing Cream Serum

Erin: the general category of Face Masks

OBSCURE SPORT

Sarah: Paula’s Choice Tranexamic Acid 

Erin: Dieux Forever Eye Masks, Silver Medal to the general category of Oil Cleansers

PERSONAL BEST

Sarah: Northlore Rosehip Seed Facial Serum

Erin: Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser with 2% Salicylic Acid

LAST PLACE

Sarah: The Ordinary 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil

Erin: any Chemical Sunscreen 

ALSO MENTIONED:

~Charlotte Palermino @charlotteparler on Instagram - skin care influencer

~Dermatologist Dr. Dray on YouTube - real talk about ingredients from a doctor

~Clara Hughes is a multi medalist from Canada who I incorrectly name as a skier - she is infact a Speed Skater and hellur badass. 

~Paula Begoun the “Cosmetics Cop” and beauty mogul behind Paula’s Choice skin care and unfortunate moniker

~Sarah and I continue to experiment with sunscreen - Physical sunscreens including Coppertone Pure and Simple Mineral Sunscreen Lotion SPF 50 and Sun Bum Clear Zinc Oxide Face Cream 50 SPF

~Gwenyth Paltrow’s shenanigans with sunscreen - come on Gwennie tell us you're kidding...

Music is Climb by Ghost in the Piano, as always I'm extremely grateful for it's free use under creative commons licensing.

Hello, hi!  This week's podcast episode is all about an experiment I've been doing with a Monthly Wishlist. This has given me lots of thoughts about Medium Effort, Mindful Fun, and shopping! 

WHY YOUR WISHLIST IS MEDIUM EFFORT: A wishlist does require a bit of planning and a bit of a break from the "want it/need it/got it" reaction. I'll talk a bit about why the discomfort of the pandemic resulted in me leaning into online shopping as a way to disconnect from discomfort, and the effort of a wish list helped me understand that better.

WHAT GOES ON THE WISH LIST: You get to decide what goes on your own wish list. For me, it's all the items that make me feel like I could change myself, my appearance or my life just a little bit, if only I could buy the "perfect item". But you get to decide what goes on the wish list. 

WHEN TO USE THE WISH LIST: For me, I love a monthly cycle, and the fresh start that turning the calendar pages provides. At the beginning of the month I check in with the wish list and make some mindful purchases. And then I go back to putting things on the wish list. Sometimes I forget what's on the wish list, and sometimes, I'm really excited to finally make a purchase and bring it into my life.

What do you think of this idea of a wish list? Would you give it a try? Let's me know your thoughts on Instagram @medium.lady!

Music is Climb by The Ghost in the Piano, and I'm grateful for its use through creative commons license.