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Archives for September 2019

Road Trip: What Worked

Written by Cassie · · This blog generates income via ads · This post may contain affiliate links

In the days leading up to the week-long road trip that Jesse and I embarked on earlier this month, I had I idea to chronicle every part of the journey to share on Instagram. Then to write a long ‘what we did post’ to give you all the inside scoop.

Then something funny happened. I put down my phone, grabbed Jesse’s hand and I decided to enjoy the trip. And it was wonderful.

Curious about what we did? From the significant to the shallow, here they are.

Road Trip: What Worked | cassierauk.com #roadtrip #roadtriptips

We gave ourselves plenty of downtime.

One of the first trips Jesse and I went on was to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We had lots of fun, but we were so desperate to see all the things that we made ourselves crazy.

Oops, we forgot to relax on our vacation.

We have been giving ourself more downtime, but this time around we hit our grove. We did all of the site-seeing we had planned to do, and we also had plenty of time to eat ice cream, and people watch. And also get beers and watch Veronica Mars at our Airbnb.

We brought a laundry bag along (and kept it in the back of the truck).

This one is so simple but ended up being a lifesaver. Our bag was packed stuff full. As the week went on, we threw all of the dirty things in a cloth laundry bag. It was all worthwhile when we got home, and all of our dirty clothes were in the same place. Bonus points – the bag is also washable.

My purse stayed home.

My sister showed up to one of our breakfast dates with one of those sling backpacks a few years ago, and I thought that would be great for travel. I found myself a second hand one a few months ago and took it along on our road trip instead of my purse.

I must say, I do love my bag, but the backpack worked so much better. It was hands-free, out of the way, and it stored everything I needed (and some stuff that I didn’t).

I got a love handle for my phone.

I have this paranoia about dropping my phone off a cliff or in Lake Michigan while taking a picture. But since I am a straight-up contrarian, so you will probably not find me with a pop socket.

Enter the love handle. It is a small piece of elastic you attach to the back of your phone case. It is just long enough to tuck your finger into while holding your phone and still slim enough to fit into your pocket as usual.

That’s it! One significant and three shallow things Jesse and I did to make your vacation full of relaxation and fun.

There is nothing worse than needing a vacation from your vacation, right? What do you do to make it more relaxing?

PS How to plan for a Road Trip and Road Food

Deliberate Unawareness for Self Care

Written by Cassie · · This blog generates income via ads · This post may contain affiliate links

Life is coming at us fast these days, and that leads to stress and anxiety. The solution? Deliberate Unawareness for Self Care.

Deliberate Unawareness for Self Care | cassierauk.com

I know this isn’t news to you, but the information is coming at us fast and furious these days. With that and the hyper-connected lifestyle that has become commonplace, we are more anxious than ever.

To keep from losing my GD mind, I have taken a step back. From the news, from the media, from my phone.

And let me tell you something – not knowing things have made me a much happier (and less anxious) person.

Here is how I did it, so you can too.

I keep my news intake to a minimum.

The news can be a garbage fire of everything terrible and horrifying. I like to be knowledgable citizen, but that also made a frantic, anxious mess. So I keep my news intake to a minimum.

I have been an NPR listener for years, but even the soothing voices of the hosts are not enough when talking about wars, death, and the like. That is why I have limited much of my news to NPR’s Up First and Marketplace podcasts.

I also spend far more time focusing on local politics than national news. The politics of my county and state affects me as much as whatever is happening in the White House. And I have more power to create real change locally than nationally. So I can put my time to good use.

I steer clear of most workplace/friend drama

Don’t get me wrong – I love my co-workers. Most of them, anyhow. But sometimes working in an enclosed space with the same people every day is like being in high school.  

I make an effort to stay away (and out of the drama). I do help my fellows with any work-related issues, or try to direct them to the correct person for help, but gossip dies with me.

I limit social media.

I have, over the years, unfollowed some of the more problematic family and unfriended some people that, for various reason, I didn’t want to be ‘friends’ anymore.  

A few months ago, I got a much more strategic and pretty much unfollowed everyone. Now when I log onto Facebook (on my desktop, because I deleted the app from my phone), I see only posts from a handful of close friends and family.

I have also been cleaning up my Instagram feed. I only follow feeds that make me feel good and unfollow or mute (the Insta form of unfollowing) the rest.

That’s how I did it, folks! Instead of trying to keep up with our fast-paced world, maybe a bit of deliberate unawareness is just what you need for self-care.

Now it’s your turn. What do you lean away from to save you sanity?

PS – Meditation is so worth it and four things I have done to simplify my life.

Photo by M.T ElGassier on Unsplash

How to Survive a Job that Isn’t Your Dream

Written by Cassie · · This blog generates income via ads · This post may contain affiliate links

A couple of years ago, I hit a wall with my job. And by a wall, I mean I was so burnt out that the thought of spending 8 hours a day at my desk exhausted me.

I didn’t hate my job, mind you, I just found it horribly unfulfilling. The spark was gone. And being in my mid-30s the thought of doing this kind of work until retirement left me throwing up in my mouth.

I spent a weekend doing a bit of navel-gazing self-reflection and was able to change my mindset about my job. And let’s be real for a minute: most people are not working their dream job and many jobs are not anyone’s dream.

It took me the better part of a year to work through all of this on my own. Here is how I did it, so you don’t have to spend that much time spinning your wheels.

How to Survive a Job that isn't Your Dream | cassierauk.com

Remember why you work there in the first place.

Unless you work in the seventh ring of hell (and you might), your job probably has a few redeeming qualities. Maybe it is the excellent benefits. Or it could be that it is within walking distance of your apartment. Perhaps your manager is delightful. Or the job is super flexible so you have more time with your kids or can take weeks off at a time.

Keep these things in mind as you go through your workday; it may help you realize that your job is not all bad.

Do some soul searching.

Set aside some quiet time with a beverage of your choice, some paper, and your favorite pen and think about what you love to do. Write down the hobbies that you lose yourself in, anything skills you would like to develop or have a knack for, and the parts of your job that you do love.

Take the parts of your job that you do enjoy and lean in.

Hopefully, you were able to find some parts of your job that you do enjoy. Spend some time focusing on these parts of your career and develop your skills in these areas.

Make the boring parts of your job more fun.

There are parts of my job that are mindless, repetitive work. That is when I pull out my headphones and turn on an audiobook or podcasts. Audiobooks might not be your jam, but there are ways to jazz things up a bit. Chat with coworkers while you do inventory or make a game out of stuffing envelopes.

Develop relationships with coworkers.

Like it or not, you will spend just as much (if not more) time with your coworkers than you will with your partner or family. Your work life will be much easier if you make a few work-friends. Work-friends give you a good escape when you need to get away from your desk, someone to vent to about the crabby customer you just talked to, and a buddy to take a quick lunchbreak walk you.

Make an exit strategy.

Some jobs are not particularly fulfilling. If that is a dealbreaker for you and you find yourself in one of those jobs, it is time to come up with an exit strategy.

Maybe you can transition to a different position within your company that is more within your skillset. Or you can start a side business and think of your day job as your first investor. The same goes for going back to school: take classes online and think of your work as a means to an end.

Working at an unfulfilling job is a pretty gross situation to be in, but with a few mindset shifts (and an exit plan) you can stop the drift and focus on something that you do love.

Do you have a lack-luster job? How are you dealing with it?

One more quick note: You might very well find out after doing all of the soul-searching that your current job, while not something that is going to light your fire, is still the right solution for you. That is great! And don’t let anyone tell you that you need to change.

PS You don’t have to be nice to everyone.

Photo by William Iven on Unsplash

Kitchen staples for quick meals

Written by Cassie · · This blog generates income via ads · This post may contain affiliate links

My hubby was scheduled off of work, so I told him I wanted a Ribeye for supper. And he quickly agreed.

Jesse has this habit of pickup up an extra load on his days off (he hauls milk) and this day was no exception. This short load ended up taking far longer than planned because of some problem at the creamery.

Jesse called me around 4 to let me know that he was not going to be home until after 10. The ribeyes that were thawed out in the fridge were not getting grilled.

Luckily I was able to reach into my pantry grab a jar of sauce and a box of pasta and whip up something to eat.

I keep the kitchen stocked with staples for quick, basic meals. These aren’t for gourmet meals, just something fast when plans change quickly, or I cannot be bothered to make anything better.

Pantry Staples for Quick Meals | cassierauk.com

Pasta/Pasta Sauce

My childhood was full of Ragu pasta sauce and Creamette pasta. It makes sense why. It is easy, it tastes good, and it was cheap. Pasta with meat sauce is the ultimate comfort food for me, so I keep a stash in my pantry. Just in case.

Frozen Pizza

I could eat pizza every night if I could. That is part of the reason why I keep a small stack of frozen pizza in my freezer. The other reason is that on those nights that I can’t deal, I can grab one of these, throw it in the oven and eat 20 minutes later.

Crackers and Cheese

If there is one thing I like more than pizza, it is cheese. My husband bought me cheese of the month club for my birthday this year. Being close to the Wisconsin border, we have access to some great cheese, so we keep a stash of cheese and crackers in the house. And yes, sometimes we eat crackers and cheese for dinner.

Bacon

Like any good farm kid, I keep the freezer stocked with bacon — the good, from the butcher, thick, meaty kind. I make this, along with a few pantry ingredients to make Grandma’s pancakes, or I will take that bacon, a few eggs, and some spaghetti and make carbonara. Bacon also has the beautiful gift of making any sandwich better.

Eggs

Eggs are perfect for . . . making eggs. The also the primary ingredient in spaghetti carbonara, pancakes and many other meals that come together quickly.

With just these few simple items on hand, I can whip up a quick meal (or eat a quick snack). They might not be fancy, but they work for us.

Now I want to hear from you? What staples do you keep in your kitchen for quick meals?

Photo by Ehud Neuhaus on Unsplash

Books for Fall

Written by Cassie · · This blog generates income via ads · This post may contain affiliate links

Fall is upon us, my friends!! Time for hoodies, hot toddies, and good books.

Are you a reader? I sure am.

I am fortunate to have a job where I can listen to audiobooks and podcasts pretty much the whole day. So I can churn through the books.

Here are ten books that I am the most excited about reading this fall.

Books for Fall | cassierauk.com

City of Girls

Like every other woman in the world, I read Eat Pray Love. Ever since then, I have found Elizabeth Gilbert fascinating. (Hello, Big Magic!) It was when I read The Signature of All Things a few years ago I became obsessed. I was excited to hear she had a new book coming out. That excitement grew when I found out that it was another sprawling epic story about a fascinating woman.

The Testaments

I am both excited and terrified of this book. Excited because I have been mulling over the events of The Handmaid’s Tale since a read it years ago. Terrified, because what if Offred’s story should have been left a mystery. Either way, I am going to check it out.

The Lager Queen of Minnesota

A book about Minnesota families and making beer. What is not to love?

Everything is Figureoutable

I love Marie Forleo. So, of course, I am going to read her book. I preordered it that day it was announced.

The Nickel Boys

After reading The Underground Railroad a few years back, I have been on a mission to read everything that Colson Whitehead has ever written. His newest book which is about a horrific Florida reform school during the 1960s is sure to be another compelling read.

Sissy

Sissy is a memoir written by Jacob Tobia, and I am so excited to read it. It has everything. Snark! Gender-fluidity! Glitter! Trans-inclusive Feminism! Old Lady Costume Jewelry! Dick Jokes!

The Wedding Party

I never thought of myself as a person that reads romance books. I was pretty stuck up about it, actually. It dawned on me (slowly) that I love a good RomCom, so what I needed was a RomCom novel. I found that last year with The Wedding Date and have been reading everything Jasmine has written ever since.

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark

This book has been on my list for years now. There has a been an influx of True Crime these days. We seem to have a fascination with the most depraved people that this world has to offer. I am not much different. I suppose, but Michelle’s utter determination to bring this man to justice is impressive.

White Fragility

This is another book that I have meant to read for a while. It “examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what we can do to engage more constructively.”

Save Me the Plums

I have been a fan of Ruth Reichl for years and was excited to learn that she was writing a memoir of her time at the helm of Gourmet magazine. And like every other book of Ruth’s, it is sure to be chock full of recipes.

Now I want to hear from you. What books are you excited to read this fall?

Natural Hair Care in Three Easy Steps

Written by Cassie · · This blog generates income via ads · This post may contain affiliate links

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. That means if you click through a link and buy something, I get a small commission and it doesn’t cost you any extra. Awesome, right?!

I was a child of the 80s and 90s, and that means my mom sat my sister and me down at the kitchen table and gave us home perms.

God, I hated perms so much.

To this day, if I am walking by a salon and I can smell the solution, I throw up in my mouth a little and shuffle briskly away.

Once I was old enough to protest the perms, I went through a phase (most of High School) where my hair was long and straight. I chopped it pretty short in college, and there was even a short time where my hair was blue.

As I have gotten older and more concerned with what I am putting on my skin (not to mention the environment at large), I have leaned toward the natural hair care. With just three simple changes, my hair is continuously shiny, soft, and thick.

And they are such simple things!

How I simplified my haircare in three easy steps | cassierauk.com

I use a natural shampoo.

A few years ago, I considered going no-poo, but the greasy transition was very, very oily, so I caved. Not long after, I was reading a blog (I wish I could remember the name of it) and she was talking about Apple Valley Natural Soap and their shampoo bars. I decided to give it a whirl and have been hooked ever since.

You can get anything from CDB Oil to body butter from Apple Valley Natural Soap. They are the best. Use my affiliate link and my coupon code (AVNSCASSIE10) to get 10% off your first order.

I don’t color my hair.

I want to be clear that I am 37 and have gray hair – a lot of it. Most of the gray is at my temples, and when I have my hair down, you can’t see it.

Some people think that I don’t color my hair because I am a hippie, that all that dye is bad for myself and for the environment (there is a reason they don’t want pregnant women to color their hair).

Others think it is because I am taking a feminist stance and am not going to let cultural norms and the patriarchy dictate how I should look and feel about myself.

Those are both great reasons, but I am going to set the record straight:

The reason I don’t color my hair now is out of sheer laziness. Good hair color is expensive, and I would much rather spend that money on, well, anything else.

I let my hair air-dry.

A few years ago a friend spent the night at my house. It was unplanned, a snowstorm rolled through, and the roads were terrible. The next morning, after showering, she asked me for a blow-drier. I handed her an ancient ConAir with a few scary spots where the plastic casing had melted that I dug out the utility room.

I shrugged, wished her luck and said the only time I used it was to shrink-wrap the plastic I put on the windows in the fall.

So, yeah. I don’t use a hair drier.

The dress code at my day job is relatively casual, so letting my hair dry naturally is not an issue. If you work at a fancier job to might not have that luxury, but if you use a microfiber towel to dry your hair, you will have to spend far less time under the drier.

I have this towel from Aquis, and it works great. I wrap my hair up in it after a shower and continue to get ready for the day. I unwrap my hair and brush it out a few minutes before leaving. My hair is usually dry by the time I get to the office.

Going natural in your beauty routines don’t have to be hard. Like most simplifying, it is more about what you don’t do than anything else.

What have you don’t to make your hair care more natural? Share it with me!

Road Food: How to Find it and What to Bring

Written by Cassie · · This blog generates income via ads · This post may contain affiliate links

It won’t be long before Jesse and I leave on a weeklong road trip. Preparations have been in the works for weeks. Packing lists are being created and re-written, and reservations are verified. And great road food has been planned for.

But I would be remiss if I didn’t stop for a minute and talk about food. Food is the real reason why we travel.

Since we will be spending a fair amount of time in the car this time around, I need to talk to road trip food. What to snack on in the car and how where to go stuff as you drive.

Jesse and I like to keep things simple (as you know). But here are a few tips to get great food on the road.

Road Food: How to Find it and What to Bring | cassierauk.com

Grab snacks from the grocery store (not the convenience store)

I have a few favorites snacks I grab for road trips: Sundrop, Combos, Pringles. My husband has a soft spot for Corn Nuts.

A few days of chips are not suitable for anyone, but when you are on the road and planning on munching in the car, your choices are limited.

So instead of hitting up the gas station or convenience store, head to the grocery store instead. I grab cut up veggies (I usually pay a bit more for the pre-cut stuff), cheese, beef sticks, apples, and oranges.

Bring Goodies from Home

One of the best thing about road trips is you can bring along pretty much anything you want. Or at least as much as your car will carry.

To be clear, I do not recommend this.

But road trips are a perfect time to save some money by bringing some food from home.

Plan out all your meals if that is your jam. Or bring along a few things to keep on hand for those days when all of the driving and site-seeing leave you exhausted.

I usually bring along a handful of things: enough eggs and sausage or bacon for a breakfast or two, cheese and summer sausage to snack on while driving, and some burger or brats and fixing for a quick grill out. If we have room in the cooler, I even throw in a frozen pizza, just in case.

Go Old-School

I don’t know about you, but I cannot go to a chain restaurant for a salad without feeling like crap afterward. Feeling good is pretty important when you have a day of activities planned or have a 10 + hour drive ahead of you.

When you are out on the road, look for a Mom-and-Pop diner, an old-school supper club, or any restaurant where it seems like has been around for 30 or 40 years.

There is a reason these places have stood the test of time.

The service is usually excellent, and the food is actual food, not questionable items that came frozen in bags or out of a can. Not to mention that you get a pile of food for cheap and leave feeling pleasantly stuffed, not like you ate a bad burger.

Road Food: How to Find it and What to Bring | cassierauk.com

That’s it, friends, with a little bit of planning (and a whole lot of self-control) you can get some great food while on the road.

Tell me, how do you find great food on the road?

August Coffee Talk

Written by Cassie · · This blog generates income via ads · This post may contain affiliate links

August Coffee Talk | cassierauk.com

I instead of the usual things that I learned I wanted to try something a little different this time around. I wanted to share personal-ish things that are going on in my life and maybe a bit of thing I am planning/dreaming of.

Imagine that we are sitting at our favorite little coffee shop, we just placed our order and are sipping chai as we catch up.

So what I am drinking on this coffee date? A black coffee (Kickapoo Radiowave) with a bit of raw sugar stirred in.

What are you going to have?

Weeds

When we first moved out to the farm, I had visions of making our yard a beautiful park-like grotto. Life caught up with me pretty fast, and the last few years, I have let everything go.

Now I have a gross pile of weeks, right where every visitor to our house can see it when they pull into the driveway.

Now I have a massive pile of weeds with a few perennials mixed in. It was my goal this summer to get the bed under the windmill cleaned up and mulched.

Instead of using bark mulch, which is usually standard, I am using gravel from a pile that is on the other side of the driveway from the windmill bed.

Why you ask? I didn’t want to have to spend the time and the money going back and forth to the store to buy the bark.

Shockingly enough, It is really starting to come together.

CSI

I have become horribly obsessed with this show. I watched it while it was on originally, through most of its 15-year run. But for the last few weeks, it has been playing in my house on evenings and weekend almost non-stop.

It didn’t choose it; it started playing when another show finished and I just kind of got sucked in.

My mom, even with all of her squeamishness, watched this show religiously. For her, it was like the James Patterson novels she loved so much: interesting, fast-paced, and easy to read/watch. I am finding some kind of weird comfort in that now while watching gruesome deaths play out on the screen.

Fall Cooking

The temperatures around here have moved towards fall-like (warm days, cool evenings), which has been a relief. Weeks on end of hiding in the air-conditioning is the worst.

When the temps cooled off I came out of hibernation and started on some yard work (see the weed section above) and dug out some recipes that require some serious oven time. I made a couple of beautiful batches of banana bread, and I spent most of a Sunday afternoon slow-roasting a chicken.

I hope September treats you well and thank you for joining me for this first edition of coffee talk. Until next month!