blog — When Home is Now Here

On Birthdays: Your Presence is The Present

Birthdays are weird. It’s your special day and everyone reaches out and celebrates you. Just you being you… existing….

reflectionsSarah HarperJanuary 26, 2022birthday, birthdays, reflections, thoughts, inspiration, motivation, motivational, birthday dayComment

22 for 2022 List

For the past few years now, I’ve made a list for the year, as inspired by my favorite podcast, Happier. o help shape the list and to stay focused, I pick a one-word theme every year…

UPDATE: 21 for 2021

If 2020 turned us all on our heads and forced the world to slow down, 2021 hit me like a hurricane. Here’s how I did on the 21 goals I set at the start of 2021…

Year in Review - 2021

Sometimes it feels like a few years pass in the span of a couple of months. I still can’t believe how crazy this past year was…

Embracing Culture Shock: The Joys & Challenges of Life in Germany

Living and traveling overseas may be one of the most life-enriching things that a person can do. This time I have an actual list of cultural adjustments we’ve undergone in our first few months of living in Germany.

reflectionsSarah HarperDecember 1, 2021german, germany, culture, cultural differences, EU, europer, european, living abroad, life overseas, groceries, u-bahn, gelber sackComment

Stepping into a Fairy Tale: A Weekend Getaway to Strasbourg & Colmar

This past weekend, we decided to cross borders and take our first trip to France. For our first trip, we opted for the border towns of Strasbourg and Colmar…

PCS Adventures: Dogs, Cars & Our First Week in Germany

After months and months of waiting, we‘re finally in Germany! Now, that we‘ve rounded out the first week, here are a few of the key things I‘ve noticed or learned…

reflectionsSarah HarperJuly 11, 2021germany, german, travel, heidelberg, stuttgart, home, house, travels, europe, european, castleComment

The Filler Episode City

You know how every single time we move I wax philosophically about how one of these times my heart will be ready to leave when the time comes? Well the gods that be looked down, said heard and understood, and made my odd wish come true…

reflectionsSarah HarperJune 16, 2021alabama, montgomery, national memorial for peace and justice, EJI, equal justice initiative, sunflowers, huntsville, birmingham, moveComment

What I read — March 2021

We’ve officially hit a whole year of exploring our at-home hobbies extensively, and for many, like myself, that means a LOT more reading to pass the time…

What I read — February 2021

Even though February is the shortest month, I still managed to tackle quite a few pages, which is great because I love having books on the ready for recommendations.

What I read — January 2021

Last year, I inadvertently completed the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge (thank you, endless quarantine). I’m challenging myself to do the same again this year, mainly because my shelves are out of control…

21 for 2021 List

I know I’m in the minority, but I absolutely love the start of a new year and making resolutions. It’s just this feeling of a fresh, clean slate that feels so freeing and open…

Update: 20 for 2020

Did I just see into the damn future? Just like years past, some of the 20 get a huge ole gold star and others get a demerit…

goalsSarah HarperJanuary 9, 2021alabama, goals, goal, happier, happier podcast, one second every day, 1 second everyday, cotton field, montgomery, gold star, demerit, knit, knitting, sweater, read, reading, book, books, dc, washington dc, mural, murals, jones point, jones point park, virginia, maryland, organization, work, portfolio, radio, aircheck, weight, weight training, weight lifting, plastic, environment, fall decor, yoga, do yoga with me, lipstick, hair, pinterest, medals, creative, creativityComment

Year in Review - 2020

Given the nature of this year, I debated whether or not to do my usual recap since it seems like we have spent the last nine months doing absolutely nothing…

What I read this fall

Since this year has felt never-ending, I decided to give my brain a break for most of fall. Here is everything I read in September, October and November…

booksSarah HarperDecember 5, 202020 for 2020, read, reading, reading list, reading challenge, goodreads, book club, book recommendations, book review, the night circus, erin morgenstern, january, february, quiet, introvert, susan cain, never split the difference, chris voss, nonfiction, science fiction, fantasy, self help, self-care, negotiation, magic, magician, the giver, lois lowry, dystopia, dystopian fiction, eleanor oliphant is completely fine, gail honeyman, fiction, YA fiction, circe, mythology, titan, madeline miller, the warehouse, rob hart, amazon, can't hurt me, david goggins, biography, autobiography, they both die at the end, adam silvera, ian mcewan, machines like me, gravity is the thing, jaclyn moriarty, dnf, libby, library, kindle, stuart turton, mystery, kristin hannah, historical fiction, the ten thousand doors of january, alix harrow, the martian, andy weir, little fires everywhere, celeste ng, hulu, normal people, sally rooney, margaret atwood, the testaments, the handmaid's tale, do nothing, celeste headlee, self helf, oprah book club, magic for liars, sarah gailey, educated, tara westover, memior, sometimes I lie, thriller, alice feeney, when all is said, anne griffin, an american marriage, tayari jones, the starless sea, essentialism, greg mckeown, spring, book, book list, reading review, born a crime, trevor noah, southern book club's guide to slaying vampires, grady hendrix, atomic habits, james clear, oona out of order, margarita montimore, the power of habit, charles duhigg, psychology, non-fiction, me and white supremacy, layla f. saad, a man called ove, fredrik backman, maybe you should talk to someone, lori gottlieb, station eleven, emily st. john mandel, samantha irby, we are never meeting in real life, beach read, emily henry, blake crouch, recursion, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, taylor jenkins reid, the dutch house, ann patchett, happier, happier podcast, horror, horror fiction, memoir, romance, race, racism, essays, september, autumn, fall, autumn reads, fall reads, invisible women, caroline criado perez, october, november, the silent patient, alex michaelides, ask again yes, mary beth keane, lucy foley, the guest list, the hazel wood, melissa albert, little free library, the life she was given, ellen marie, ellen marie wiseman, jenny lawson, furiously happy, city of girls, elizabeth gilbertComment

What I read this summer

You may scroll through this one and get the impression that I give stars like Oprah gives away cars. This is not the case at all. I just hit a summer of literary awesomeness…

booksSarah HarperSeptember 9, 202020 for 2020, read, reading, reading list, reading challenge, goodreads, book club, book recommendations, book review, the night circus, erin morgenstern, january, february, quiet, introvert, susan cain, never split the difference, chris voss, nonfiction, science fiction, fantasy, self help, self-care, negotiation, magic, magician, the giver, lois lowry, dystopia, dystopian fiction, eleanor oliphant is completely fine, gail honeyman, fiction, YA fiction, circe, mythology, titan, madeline miller, the warehouse, rob hart, amazon, can't hurt me, david goggins, biography, autobiography, they both die at the end, adam silvera, ian mcewan, machines like me, gravity is the thing, jaclyn moriarty, dnf, libby, library, kindle, stuart turton, mystery, kristin hannah, historical fiction, the ten thousand doors of january, alix harrow, the martian, andy weir, little fires everywhere, celeste ng, hulu, normal people, sally rooney, margaret atwood, the testaments, the handmaid's tale, do nothing, celeste headlee, self helf, oprah book club, magic for liars, sarah gailey, educated, tara westover, memior, sometimes I lie, thriller, alice feeney, when all is said, anne griffin, an american marriage, tayari jones, the starless sea, essentialism, greg mckeown, spring, book, book list, reading review, born a crime, trevor noah, southern book club's guide to slaying vampires, grady hendrix, atomic habits, james clear, oona out of order, margarita montimore, the power of habit, charles duhigg, psychology, non-fiction, me and white supremacy, layla f. saad, a man called ove, fredrik backman, maybe you should talk to someone, lori gottlieb, station eleven, emily st. john mandel, samantha irby, we are never meeting in real life, beach read, emily henry, blake crouch, recursion, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, taylor jenkins reid, the dutch house, ann patchett, happier, happier podcast, horror, horror fiction, memoir, romance, race, racism, essaysComment

The city where we ran out of time

I loved every minute of living in the DMV, which honestly is a first out of all of the places we’ve called home…

What I read this spring

Since I’m often asked for book recommendations, I thought I would put together more frequent posts about what I’ve recently read. Here is everything I read in March, April and May…

booksSarah HarperMay 26, 202020 for 2020, read, reading, reading list, reading challenge, goodreads, book club, book recommendations, book review, the night circus, erin morgenstern, january, february, quiet, introvert, susan cain, never split the difference, chris voss, nonfiction, science fiction, fantasy, self help, self-care, negotiation, magic, magician, the giver, lois lowry, dystopia, dystopian fiction, eleanor oliphant is completely fine, gail honeyman, fiction, YA fiction, circe, mythology, titan, zeus, helios, madeline miller, the warehouse, rob hart, amazon, can't hurt me, david goggins, biography, autobiography, they both die at the end, adam silvera, ian mcewan, machines like me, gravity is the thing, jaclyn moriarty, dnf, libby, library, kindle, stuart turton, mystery, kristin hannah, historical fiction, the ten thousand doors of january, alix harrow, the martian, andy weir, little fires everywhere, celeste ng, hulu, normal people, sally rooney, margaret atwood, the testaments, the handmaid's tale, do nothing, celeste headlee, self helf, oprah book club, magic for liars, sarah gailey, educated, tara westover, memior, sometimes I lie, thriller, alice feeney, when all is said, anne griffin, an american marriage, tayari jones, the starless sea, essentialism, greg mckeown, spring, book, book list, reading reviewComment

Limitations vs. Opportunities

Seemingly in the blink of an eye, our whole world changed. We’re facing a situation none of us have ever seen in our lifetime…

reflectionsSarah HarperMarch 19, 2020covid-19, corona, coronavirus, opportunity, motivation, inspiration, introvert, extrovert, facetime, virtual, family, friendsComment

What I read this winter

Since I’m often asked for book recommendations, I thought I would put together more frequent posts about what I’ve recently read. Here is everything I read in January and February…

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