#5SmartReads - June 7, 2023

Genevieve “Jenny” Dreizen is the co-founder and COO of Fresh Starts Registry, the first and only platform for everything you need to begin again, including divorce or breakup, moving, career changes, stepping into your truth, or starting again after grief.

Jenny is passionate about creating usable, efficient, and beautiful systems to run Fresh Starts to maintain their Experts, Support Specialists, and Freshies. When not planted in front of her multi-screen setup, Jenny might be found baking brownies, working on a poem or essay, or doing her favorite thing - going for a walk and buying herself a little treat.

The Amazing Story Of How Philly Cheesesteaks Became Huge In Lahore, Pakistan (Philly Mag)

Not only did I love this piece about the popularity of Philly Cheesesteaks in Lahore, Pakistan. The piece by Kunwar Khuldune Shahid explores the blending of two distant towns by quite literally the blending of spices.

One of the reasons, it's theorized, that the delicious combination of soft bread, tender meat and hot cheese has really taken off in Lahore is that the sandwich was contextualized for the population, pieces of familiarity mixed in when introducing this new offering.

We live in an ever increasingly globalizing world, sometimes it feels like everywhere has the same things - clothes, menu, music - what a lovely story to hear about a connection made between 2 localities, a thread tying them together. Now excuse me while I quickly drive to Philly.

I’m A Financial Planning Expert: Here Are 7 Investments You Should Make To Secure Generational Wealth (Go Banking Rates)

I'd say one of my biggest complaints about...well the whole world is that I find terms very vague.We toss around terms like "retirement fund" or "rainy day savings" and I get very lost - what exactly ARE those and once I understand what are the practical steps I can take to set them up?

This piece addresses the opaque term of "Generational Wealth," which as Jen Reid, Founder of Base Financial Planning, explains does not mean you have to be Logan Roy rich, but only means you make the financial situation of the next generation a little easier, a little lighter.

Then, THEN, you know I love this part- there are SEVEN practical steps of how to start building generational wealth. I love a plan.

How ‘Clustercore’ Can Help You Reap The Benefits Of An Organized Home Without Decluttering (Well + Good)

Home curation is something I hold dear, after I left my fiance and moved into my own space I wanted everything to have particular meaning, be intentional - so I just was right on board with this piece from Wendy Gould.

Clustercore, she explains is the intersection of intentionality, design and display. Use and vignette items that are meaningful to you to create a space that brings joy. Who knew I was clustercore this whole time? Clustercore is lived in, but not overwhelming. Tidy but not minimalist.

As licensed therapist Bonnie Scott explains, her clustercore spaces spark conversation, memories and the synapses which can be good for office spaces and homes alike. 

What Really Happens When You Don’t Switch Your Phone To ‘Airplane Mode’ In-Flight (Afar)

We've all wondered - is my cell phone not being in airplane mode REALLY going to make the plane crash? This article explains: probably not, but also you could get in big trouble and there is no service that high in the sky anyway!

I know this from personal anecdote as once i fell asleep while the plane was still on the runway and woke up hours later realizing my phone was not on airplane mode! I had no service and I made it to my destination safely.

I guess the argument is: for no service when cruising above 10K feet and the whole place having their cellular on, that COULD really mess with the navigation tools of the plane - doesn't seem worth it to me. 

How A Cleaning App Tricked Me Into Taking Care Of Myself (The Verge)

I just loved this piece from Victoria Song about the way we lift ourselves from grief. After her mom's passing Victoria needed a way to connect with taking care of her space and found it through the $6.99 To Do List App Today.

She input her tasks, their necessary frequency and let the app tell her what needed to be done. The task of taking care of her space, one small piece at a time, not in the big overwhelming "clean all the things" way, but in the "now it's time to wipe down the counters" way allowed Victoria to transform her space from tornado (self proclaimed, I have no judgement!) to liveable, cozy and emotionally safe.

The cleaning tasks were a release from her moments of grief, allowing her to get lost in the task of taking care of her space and in essence herself