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IN THIS ISSUE:

Book Recommendations | Podcast Recommendations
Blog Recommendations | Instagram Recommendations
App Recommendations | Random Recommendations


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The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

"I read this book nearly ever year, it's packed to the brim with insights and beautiful stories about humanity. It never fails to make me laugh and cry and grow a bit each time." - Lily Carville

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When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
Love Does by Bob Goff

"When Breath Becomes Air is a beautifully written memoir about the meaning of life, written by a neurosurgeon with terminal cancer. It's one of those books that jolts you out of a humdrum existence and puts you face to face with your own mortality. Because it's a bit melancholy, I also recommend Love Does, which is delightfully lighthearted but still encourages you to go out and live life to the fullest." - Rachel Marinko

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A Praying Life by Paul Miller
Make It Happen by Lara Casey
Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist

"I really enjoy books that are story based and have short chapters. These are all books you can pick up when you find a spare moment and easily read a chapter. That being said, they still have good substance. Each chapter will inspire you, make you ponder, or bring to light some new perspective. " - Ashlyn Neveau

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A Love Letter Life by Jeremy and Audrey Roloff
Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett
Option B by Sheryl Sandberg
The Shack by WM. Paul Young
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
and anything by Emily Giffin or Mitch Albom

 "A lot of these books make you stop and think about the truly important things in life, and a few are also just wonderful stories to transport into for a few hours." - Lindsay Peirce

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None Like Him by Jen Wilkin 
Circe by Madeline Miller
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Anything by D.E. Stevenson

"D.E Stevenson's books are light and lovely (great for breaks; also, a bunch of them are on Kindle Unlimited if you have that), Circe is excellent if you really want to jump into a different world, A Gentleman in Moscow is a book I'm still thinking about more than a year after I read it, and None Like Him brought some great clarity to the implications of ten of God's attributes." - Jenny Pridgeon

 
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Happier with Gretchen Rubin - An uplifting podcast with tips on making your life a bit happier.
The Next Right Thing - A great reminder when you feel stuck or at a crossroads. This philosophy and podcast has brought me a lot of peace.
Beyond the Bubble - A little Career Services promo :) But what better than learning from women (and men) who have been through hillsdale before and are now out in the "real world". - Becky Galvan

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The Next Right Thing with Emily Freeman
Eine Stunde History with Deutschlandfunk Nova

"Spoiler, I actually found out about The Next Right Thing from a previous Curate recommendation, so it's a little bit of a cheat. But I thought it worth mentioning because it's been so helpful for me, a terrible decision maker. Eine Stunde History is a fun German podcast for those history junkies out there that want to brush up on their German. I was a German/History major, sorry." - Rachel Marinko

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Unlocking Us with Brene Brown
Sheologians
A Longer Table
 with Manda Carpenter
Bridgetown Audio Podcast
- Lindsay Peirce

"I don't really listen to podcasts, but I would recommend Biola University's Advent Project. It is delivered via email each day from the end of November through Epiphany. I really like that the advent project includes art and music in addition to Scripture readings and a written devotional. If you don't have a plan to mark advent this year, I recommend this." - Jenny Pridgeon

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Katie Gerber - Katie is a nutritionist and avid backpacker. Her blog is full of helpful tips for living a healthy life in general, but I love it because she writes specifically about nutrition for backpackers. I also love that her approach to nutrition is about feeling your best mentally and physically, not about diets or appearance. She's realistic, approachable, and responsive to her readers! - Rachel Marinko

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Half Baked Harvest - Half Baked Harvest is a food blogger who creates an excellent variety of recipes, but also shares interesting and engaging content on social media. She actual lays out a recipe per day and cooks through it on her Instagram story so you can follow along. I've been cooking my way through her cook book this semester, and can honestly say there hasn't been a recipe I haven't enjoyed. - Ashlyn Neveau

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Sayable.net is the only blog I'm reading these days. I think Lore does a lovely and gracious job walking in a nuanced place. We are all walking in a nuanced place, but she acknowledges it and describes it more clearly than most. I find it really encouraging and thought provoking. - Jenny Pridgeon

Alexandra Whitford - Because Alex is awesome and inspiring! - Becky Galvan

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@brushandbarley - Brush and Barley is a Christian Enneagram page of an artist... so basically it is ideal. - Lily Carville
@calliethorpe - Callie is a blogger who lives in London and usually she talks about body confidence, positivity, and travel, but with COVID she has been branching out into recipes and mental health. She is adorable and her accent is even cuter! She always brightens my day. - Lily Carville

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@jamiebeck.co - Jamie Beck is an artistic photographer who lives in France, and her instagram is whimsical and beautiful. She also posts a lot about her artistic process on her stories, which I find fascinating. - Rachel Marinko

@jacquelinewhitney_
@nakedwriting
@christinecaine
- Lindsay Peirce

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Tezza - Tezza is ideal for presets, the could not make editing your photos more easy and it is infinitely more user friendly than Lightroom. Peyton Bowen turned me onto it and I will never go back! - Lily Carville

Dark Sky - Dark Sky is a weather app and it costs $3, but it is so thorough I genuinely cannot even look at other weather apps anymore. It accurately (as any weather app ever could be) predicts temperature, precipitation, and even UV index. It hasn't led me astray yet! - Lily Carville

MY3 - MY3 is not really for everyone, but it's good to be aware of. It's an app for suicidal people to build a support system that they can quickly access when they're spiraling. I hope none of you ever have to use it, but I think it's good to have things like that in your back pocket to recommend to friends who are struggling. - Rachel Marinko

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Todoist - This is my go-to to-do list for my phone. I am definitely a handwritten list kinda girl, but this app has been a life saver for moments when I'm on the go and something pops into my head I don't want to forget. It's a lot easier to pull up the app than pull out my planner. - Ashlyn Neveau

Flo - I am remiss I never had an app to track my cycle until I sat in on the Feminine Health and Wellness session led by Dr. Ellis at the Curate Summit last year. She recommended everyone have some way to track your cycle, and that doing so can help show you patterns or irregularities in your body month to month or over time. I will say it's been so helpful in understanding and knowing my body better. - Ashlyn Neveau

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Favorite Shop: There is a super cute stationary store in the Ann Arbor area called Rock, Paper, Scissors and they have great Michigan gifts and cards and pens galore! It is definitely worth popping in if you are ever nearby. - Lily Carville

Favorite Shop: My favorite bookstore in Ann Arbor is called Literati. They have their employees read and review almost every book in the store, so as you are taking in information from book jackets you can read the thoughts of someone who has actually read the book and hear what they have to say. There is also a coffee shop upstairs so it's a win win in my book! - Lily Carville

Product that I love: Recently I experiences a one-step blow dryer and I will never go back. It does the job of a blow dryer, round brush, and straightener all in one. Revlon did it first, but I think that Hot Tools does it best. They are both ~$50-70 unless one is on sale, but truly worth every penny. I save so much time doing my hair now a days! This is the one that I have. - Lily Carville

Favorite Snack Recipe (discovered in quarantine) - 1 cup oats, 1/2 cup coconut, 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup flax seed - Chocolate Chips/Dried fruit optional - Roll into 1" balls and refrigerate - Becky Galvan

If you're a fan of outdoor sports, the Treeline Review website is a fantastic gear review site that will help you choose just the right gear for your next outdoor adventure. The people who run it are professional outdoorsmen and women who really know their stuff. - Rachel Marinko

Yoga With Adrienne - My favorite free Youtube yoga videos! She has a great variety of different time lengths, difficulties, and poses. She often does 30 day challenges which are great when you need a change of pace in your workout routine. - Ashlyn Neveau

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PowerSheets - I tried the PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planner for the first time last year and was blown away by the results. This workbook helps you to think through where you want to be when you're 80 and how you need to start living today to get there. It's so much more than a typical goal setting system. - Ashlyn Neveau

YouNeedABudget - This budget software connects to your bank account and tracks your expenses. It helps you to envision your short and long term goals and how you should assign your money to reach those goals. The thing that sets this software apart from other budgeting apps is that it's pretty - it uses many colors and is well-organized. I know it's silly, but it's truly the reason I've been able to stick to my budget. - Ashlyn Neveau