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My Good List | 189 Apr 05, 2019

Show notes

This is a regular series here on the show — and in this one, Tsh talks to her good friend, Emily P Freeman. She's a fellow writer and podcaster, and she's got a new book of the same name (it might be Tsh's favorite of hers yet).

Emily's been on this show a few times; the last time was last summer after she & Tsh co-led Literary London and they debriefed about our experience. In this chat, Emily shares with us 4 things currently making everything a little bit better in her life.

In the episode's third segment, since it's the start of a new month, as always Tsh talks with Haley Stewart about what's in store for us in the liturgical calendar in April.

Links From This Episode:

Emily's latest book, The Next Right Thing
Emily on Instagram
Emily's website
The Next Right Thing Podcast
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
Ep. 141: Literary London
Gregory's Coffee
One Line a Day Journal
The Lazy Genius Podcast
Ep. 109: Let's Deep Dive
A Star is Born
The Next Right Thing, by Emily P. Freeman
Rich Villodas tweet
Choosing Rest, by Sally Breedlove
Haley's blog, Carrots for Michaelmas
Haley on Instagram and Twitter
Ep. 165: The Liturgical Calendar (2/3)
The Gospel of John
Saint George & the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges
Catherine of Siena, by Sigrid Unset
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Analog Living + Reading Classics | 188 Mar 29, 2019

Show notes

Christine is a farmer: in this chat, she gets into what she's learning about the value of slowing down, of learning to embrace our full plates (while eschewing "busyness"), and the beauty of "delightfully misplacing our phones." And because Tsh recently wrote about what books she read in March, she gets into the why, how, and what of reading more classics — it doesn't have to be pretentious or hard — it can actually be fun with the right mindset.

Links From This Episode:

Christine on Instagram
Christine's blog
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
Ep. 184: Busyness + Gurus
Ep. 180: Reading More + Mindfulness
Laura Vanderkam TED Talk
Joy Clarkson's tweet
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Night, by Elie Wiesel
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle
Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
Winnie-the-Pooh, by AA Milne
Pen & Paint
Pen & Paint on Etsy & Instagram
The Mindful Catholicby Dr. Gregory Bottaro
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Apartment + Fixer-Upper Life | 187 Mar 22, 2019

Show notes

There's this idea that home ownership is the destination that crowns you officially a grown-up. In this chat, Andrea and Tsh agree this simply isn't true. Andrea's in her mid-30s and has rented an apartment with her husband for the past six years — and loves it. Tsh and her husband are two years into renovating a 1935 cottage, and she's learned a lot, too.

In this chat, they talk about lessons learned from where they live: how to shake off a temporary mindset, how to make a less-than ideal house into a home, and practical tips for adding personality to wherever you live.

Life in the "During" Phase of a Fixer-Upper by Tsh
8 Ways to Make an Apartment Feel Like a Home, by Andrea

Links From This Episode:

Andrea on Instagram
Andrea's website
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
Rugs, USA
Everything you need to know about ZZ plants
Todoist App
Ep. 177: Seasons & Do-Able Goals
Stephanie on Instagram
Wonderling Family
Sign up for my Travels With Tsh Guides!
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For any links and codes from our lovely sponsors, head here
Download the transcript for this episode

Decluttering + Travel | 186 Mar 15, 2019

Show notes

Crystal's recently learned stuff about herself via something she's never done before as an adult: decluttering her own closet. She and Tsh talk about discovering personal realizations when you do something as surprisingly vulnerable as weeding out your wardrobe. And to pair Tsh's own recently published Travel Philosophy, she shares what she's learned about herself from the act of travel — things she never realized were true, and little ways she's surprised herself on the road — if you've ever traveled (even on small trips), you'll identify.

In the third segment, Tsh talks with listener Caroline Brookfield, a veterinarian: she shares what it's like when the majority of your patients are dogs and cats.

Tsh's Travel Philosophy
5 Things I Learned By Tidying Up, by Crystal

Links From This Episode:

Crystal on Instagram
Crystal's website
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
Ep. 181: Partial Solutions + Her Good List
Crystal's My Good List
Stasia's Style School
Ep. 74: "Capsule" wardrobes
Thoughts on Capsule Wardrobes
At Home in the World, by Tsh Oxenreider
Sign up for my Travels With Tsh Guides!
Caroline's website
The Comedy Bible by Judy Carter
Subterranean by James Rollins
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Placemaking | 185 Mar 08, 2019

Show notes

We've got another in our series called My Good List: a thing, a habit, a work of art, and a philosophy. (Don't worry, we're not nixing our new format! We're simply still doing MGLs every now and then...)

I'm talking to my friend Christie Purifoy, a former English professor turned writer and gardener. She's got a new book out called Placemaker, and it's all about what it means to actually lean in to your soul's desire for beauty and the need to create, instead of stuffing or ignoring it — and why the cultivation of good and beautiful places isn't a retreat from the "real world" - it's a response to it.

Then in the third segment, Stephanie Langford and I answer another one of your travel questions.

(p.s. - Yes, there's a faint clicking sound in the background... we're aware, and we apologize.)

Links From This Episode:

Christie's website
Christie on Instagram
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
Placemaker, by Christie Purifoy
Roots & Sky, by Christie Purifoy
Hario V60 Olive Wood Stand Set
The Inner Voice of Love, by Henri Nouwen
"The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver
Living Prayer, by Robert Benson
Stephanie on Instagram
Wonderling Family
Willing Workers On Organic Farms
Thrifty Nomads
Ep. 118, where Steph & Tsh talk about saving money to travel
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For any links and codes from our lovely sponsors, head here
Download this episode's transcript

Busyness + Gurus| 184 Mar 01, 2019

Show notes

What happens when you're hit with the truth that you're WAY busier than you thought you were? Katherine shares real-talk truth she gleaned after she wrote out a recent day-in-the-life recap — seeing her day broken down by the hour helped her realize a truth lots of us can relate to: she's busier than she wants to be.

Then Tsh shares what she's learned about why she's felt overwhelmed by reading more non-fiction recently: too many gurus. She shares four ways to keep these smart-but-distant people at arm's length.

Katherine's Day in the Life
The books Tsh read in February

Links From This Episode:

Katherine on Twitter
Katherine's website
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
Maker vs. Manager schedule
"How to Gain Control of Your Free Time", a TED Talk with Laura Vanderkam
"The Unbusy Pastor", by Eugene Peterson
On Reading Well, by Karen Swallow Prior
Atomic Habits, by James Clear
What I Read in January, by Tsh
Dunbar's number
Yes, Please, by Amy Poehler
Haley's blog, Carrots for Michaelmas
Haley on Instagram and Twitter
The Liturgical Calendar (2/3) - Episode 165
Radio transcripts of Oscar Romero: The Scandal of Redemption
Romero
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Writing + Silence | 183 Feb 22, 2019

Show notes

Even if you're not a writer — or even in a sort of work where you create — you'll find wisdom and inspiration in Andrea's life lessons she's learned from writing. And because I wrote about podcasts I'm currently into, in this chat I'm talking about the beauty and necessity of silence — why we all need it more than ever in our information-overloaded culture, and how the science backs me up on this.

Andrea's writing lessons
8 great podcasts by Tsh

Links From This Episode:

Andrea on Instagram
Andrea's website
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
Episode 142: A Magazine Editor
Under the Wide and Starry Sky, by Nancy Horan
Shawn Smucker
Ep. 177, where we mention Seinfeld's chain method
The Loft Literary Center, University of Minnesota
Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo
At Home in the World, by Tsh Oxenreider
Laity Lodge
Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey
Highly Sensitive Person quiz
The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams
The Power of Silence for Highly Sensitive People
How to Find Inspiration When You're Uninspired
Stephanie on Instagram
Wonderling Family
Antigua, Guatemala - Lake Atitlan
Costa Rica
Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico: Merida; Valladolid
San Miguel Allende
London; countryside UK
Iceland
Thailand
Cambodia (Siem Reap)
Japan
Munich/Bavaria
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For any links and codes from our lovely sponsors, head here
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Dating + Marriage (With Kids) | 182 Feb 15, 2019

Show notes

Cultivating a healthy marriage sometimes looks different when kids are at different ages. Christine and her husband have kids under 8, so she shares how they find ways to date in the nooks and crannies of their life. Tsh and her husband have kids 8 and up, so she shares how they model their marriage at home, right in front of their kids.

Tsh's letter to her (slightly younger) self
And the two shall become one, separately, by Christine

Links From This Episode:

Christine on Instagram
Christine's blog
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
Episode 140, Work: A Farmer
Episode 169: Christine's good list
Episode 93: Dating (in Marriage)
Episode 181: Partial Solutions + Her Good List
Date night & Tate nights
Thistle Farms
Becca Stevens
Becca Stevens on Twitter
Love Heals by Becca Stevens
Find Your Way Home by The Women of Magdalene and Becca Stevens
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Odyssey by Homer
Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
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For any links and codes from our lovely sponsors, head here
Download this episode's transcript

Partial Solutions + Her Good List | 181 Feb 08, 2019

Show notes

Crystal and Tsh get into Marie Kondo, a new book they're both excited to read, and something Crystal's been doing weekly with her husband (and then Kyle & Tsh started doing this right after this conversation). And then springboarding off her somewhat-vulnerable post she shared this week, Tsh talks about the beauty of good ol' partial solutions.

To round things out in the third segment, Stephanie and Tsh once more tackle another one of your travel questions.

Crystal's Good List
Tsh's things she's reading about, learning about, and writing about lately

Links From This Episode:

Crystal on Instagram
Crystal's website
Tsh on Twitter & Instagram
All of Me, by Chris Baron
Outer Order, Inner Calm, by Gretchen Rubin
Four Tendencies Quiz
Organized Simplicity, by Tsh Oxenreider
Tidying Up, Marie Kondo's show on Netflix
The Balanced Life
Stephanie on Instagram
Wonderling Family
Tuscany Writer's Retreat
Literary London
Kindly leave a review
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Sign up for 5 Quick Things, the weekly email
Like Your Life is open!
For any links and codes from our lovely sponsors, head here
Download this episode's transcript

Reading More + Mindfulness | 180 Feb 01, 2019

Show notes

Anxiety plagues a ton of people, and Andrea has been on quite a journey the past decade-plus learning how to live with it. In this episode, she shares a practice that helps her float through it (instead of fight or flight). Tsh talks about simple ways she incorporates more reading in her life, helping her inch through her TBR dust instead of watching it collect dust.

In the third segment (since it's the start of a new month), Tsh talks with Haley as she learn from her about what's on the liturgical calendar in February. Good stuff.