Prior to getting married, I received advice from close friends, family members, neighbors, acquaintances, and even some strangers on how to be successful in that major adventure of sharing my life with someone else.  One token of advice was to “Always say ‘yes’ to someone else cooking.” Though this advice was targeting eating food prepared by either a spouse, child, friend, or neighbor out of the goodness of their heart, it can be just as applicable to dining out at a restaurant where a backroom cook or chef is being paid to cook your meal. We all appreciate the respite…

My household has always operated under a budget. A very tight budget. Like many, my husband and I started our life together in undergrad, which put us under a lot of pressure to live … “lightly”. Our adventures following undergrad  also demanded light living as we started out working modest paying jobs, trying to save up money for my husband to attend law school. Our time in law school demanded was the lightest of all as we tried to limit our student loan debt as much as possible while at the same time welcoming a baby into our home.  Our…