Tag: survey

What do you crave in your creative life?

by Maria

Remember last year when we had so much fun with the annual survey?

Let’s do it again! … she says with an overly cheesy grin.

Last year we discovered:

  1. That you guys are the best ever. Your responses to the last survey cracked me up, and I don’t know how I ever got so lucky to be able to online-hang with all of you.
  2. We don’t have enough time to read. And we’re not going to be quiet about it. Riot for reading time!
  3. We read fiction, nonfiction, food labels, road signs, the fine print. We read it all, and we’d do it full-time if it were up to us. (Current reigning comment: “I wish someone would pay me to read.” I dare you to unseat that one.)

I know you guys are busy and juggling a million things—full-time jobs, kids, side hustles, cooking, writing, endless TBR lists, breathing when you get a spare minute i.e. never. So this year I want to hear all about what could make that better—what do you crave this year?

The survey is just 5 multiple choice questions that won’t take longer than 3 minutes.

And I Girl-Scout-swear to try to make this space a place that gives you more of what you crave. A space that’s going to help you get where you’re going and make us all a little less frenzied and anxious on our way there.  

So if you’ll take just 3 minutes to tell me what’s on your mind, I’ll love you forever. (You know I already do, but THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your time. I know it’s precious and in high-demand.)

 

Click here to take the survey!

 

5 quick reads for the week

  1. Austin Kleon on why jealousy needs to be your worst enemy.
  2. Try to put your anxiety to bed with the sun–easier said than done, sure, but can save you a lot of stress-ridden bedtimes.
  3. My author, Tiffany King, wrote this wonderful piece on the 13 ways libraries are holding us all together.
  4. Trying to sell your book to everyone is a big task; follow these tips to narrow your marketing strategies.
  5. An oldie but a goodie: 3 strategies to amp up your productivity.

What we’re eating this week

WE ARE IN OUR NEW HOME! …she shouted from the rooftops. Apparently I’ve taken to voice-over narrating my own life and maybe that’s because it just feels too good to be true that we’re in our new house. It is so peaceful here, and I can already sense all the possibilities and productive vibes wafting through the air. (Or maybe that’s new-paint smell? I should open a window.)

Speaking of new paint, we horribly and laughably messed up a mini bathroom makeover that ended with a broken mirror and torn drywall. Here’s the before-and-after, and I’ll spare you the in-between shots of me weeping and gnashing my teeth.

Of course, now that we’re settled, I’m cooking because—hallelujah chorus—I have a new kitchen! It even has a fridge, finally. Here’s what’s coming in and out of it:

Monday: The Bombay Frittata from Season, which I am very mad I didn’t make before this because it was very incredibly good. Like, weeping in joy kind of good. (You do have your copy of Season, right?) 

Tuesday: Balsamic pulled pork in the Instant Pot. Me and IP’s one-year anniversary is coming up, and the love is still strong and delicious.

Wednesday: Spaghetti Bolognese in the Instant Pot (because see above referenced LUV). I am nervous about this one, though, because I cannot abide overcooked spaghetti. Wish me al-dente-ness, please.

Thursday: Lentil soup in the Instant Pot. Why did we buy a stove for our house again?

Friday: The Sweet Potato Fries with Basil Yogurt Sauce from Season, because I haven’t been able to stop daydreaming about them since Nik roasted some up for us at the Bon Appetit test kitchen. I shall be weeping happy weeps and gnashing my teeth on some sweet potato fries until further notice.

Cheers!

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!

The results are in!

by Maria

I LOVED hearing from you last week through the reader survey. You all are so fascinating.

I was trying hard not to peek at the survey responses before they were all in, and then I finally sat down with them on Tuesday morning, riding the Amtrak train from DC to NYC. Which meant I was giggling and nodding like a lunatic on the train, and also having way more fun than is allowed on Amtrak.

what kind of reader are you survey

Your responses were witty and insightful and thoughtful. Thank you immensely for taking that time out of your day—I know how busy you are, and I don’t ever want to take your time lightly.

Speaking of which, Allison S. is the winner of the surprise $20 Amazon card that was tucked at the back of the survey! I didn’t want to bribe you all, but I did want to give you a thank you gift for giving me your time. So, Allison, I hope you buy yourself something perfect to read with the gift card! I’ll be contacting you via email to get it to you.

So, are you curious about who your fellow readers and writers are?

Here’s who you’ll find in our little cooks & books community:

Read More

What kind of reader are you? (survey!)

by Maria

I have something a little fun and different for us today!

Every night after we’ve cooked and cleaned up dinner, Jarrett and I turn to each other and say “Sooo…should we read tonight? Or watch TV?”

That’s how exciting we are.

But really: those are about the only two leisure activities we like after a long day of work, and each one has about a 50/50 shot of winning out, based on how brain-tired we feel from the workday. But it got me to thinking: people fit reading into their days in such different ways!

I know a lot of people who read for a few minutes on their morning commutes, or can only squeeze in 30 minutes during a lunch break, or who rely on audiobooks to keep them up with their to-be-read lists. But everyone I know wishes they could read more.

So I thought it would be fun to do a little survey called “What kind of reader are you?”

what kind of reader are you

Click here to take the survey!

You can tell me all about what books you’re reading, what challenges you’re facing in your reading life, what genres or categories you most love to read, and more! I’d love to hear all about you. The survey is 7 very brief, mostly multiple-choice questions, so it shouldn’t take longer than 3 minutes to complete.

At the end of the survey, you’ll also find a box for telling me anything else you’d like me to know about you–anything from what you’re working on, what your writing struggles are, or what you’d like me to write about next. I take personal requests very seriously, so if there’s something you want me to talk about specifically on the blog, now’s your chance to get all those questions answered!

And since there’s nothing more fun than talking about books, I’ll share the results next week, so you can see how you stack up against the other readers in our little community!

The survey will be open until this Monday, July 24th at 5 EST and will close after that.

I can’t wait to hear from you and share the insights with you all next week!

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!

 

What I’m Reading This Week:

Forget About Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead (James Clear): I recently discovered James Clear’s site and have been really enjoying his writing on habits and learning systems. James wrote the equivalent of two books in one year (!!), and he did it by setting up systems, inspired by this Wall Street Journal article he read by Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert. Success comes down to committing to the process, and if you need a little reminder of that, here’s a free printable art print I created to remind you that you can’t rush something you want to last forever.

you can't rush something you want to last forever quote printable

Best Books of 2017 (So Far) (Book Riot): Maybe you need something new to read right now? Here are the best books from the first half of this year–browse away!

Rebecca Solnit on a Childhood of Reading and Wandering (Literary Hub) “There are ecological reasons to question how books are made out of trees but metaphysical reasons to rejoice in the linkage between forests and libraries, here in this public library, in the town I grew up in, with the fiber from tens of thousands of trees rolled out into paper, printed and then bound into books, stacked up in rows on the shelves that fill this place and make narrow corridors for readers to travel through, a labyrinth of words that is also an invitation to wander inside the texts.”

3 Ways to an Acquisition Editor’s Heart (Chad R. Allen): These 3 things are also what I look for in potential authors. This is a great piece for any writer climbing up the mountain toward publication.

A Taste for Books (Monte Burke in Garden & Gun): Rick Ellis has a stunning collection of vintage cookbooks socked away in his gorgeous New York City loft, and this piece takes you through the highlights of his Southern cookbooks. I get a little giddy reading articles like these (cookbooks! everywhere!) and especially loved the shoutout to my old favorite, The Virginia Housewife.

What We’re Eating This Week:

It’s hot out; we’ve been gone every weekend (camping, beach, etc.); and the fanciness factor in our kitchen is at an all-time low. And yet, I just can’t stop scratching that itch to meal plan and cook something that sounds like something (i.e., not hot dogs) every night. What is wrong with me? Next week, I swear to eat hot dogs for dinner one night, and not even with any fancy toppings, either. It is the summer after all, and I need a break.

Monday: Jarrett picked the One-Pot Shells with Broccoli recipe from SkinnyTaste: Fast and Slow, and I added sautéed chicken to it because I like complicating things. (It was good!)

Tuesday: We could have chosen one vegetable curry recipe to make, but after a long day of stretching your brain and making decisions, isn’t it so much more fun to compile multiple recipes and ideas and substitutions until you have one FrankenCurry and no thoughts at all left in your brain? Tuesday, you won.

Wednesday: Out! Beautiful, beautiful restaurant food.

Thursday: Okay, so there’s this fast casual chain in the DC area called CAVA, and they serve breakfast at only one of their spots nationwide: the Reagan Airport location. I had the egg and lentil bowl there last summer on my way to LA for BlogHer, and inexplicably, I was attacked this week by the most horrendous craving for THAT EXACT BREAKFAST. All I can think about is soft scrambled eggs and black lentils. Which means I shall spend tonight maniacally trying to recreate all 87 of CAVA’s bowl components, using this recipe as a guideline. I either have too much time on my hands or a complete lack of good judgment. Maybe both! Woo.

Friday: Chicken Fil-A on our way to the beach. My good judgment is redeemed.

Cheers!