Dear Bree. Advice from you to me.

Hi. So, some of you may have met me via We Hope You Like This Song , the memoir I published in 1942 . (Okay, not that long ago, but feels pretty close.) If you read it, or even just skimmed , you're aware friendship is kinda my bread & butter . Scratch that. It's my vodka & soda .  While I may’ve been screwed by the friendship gods when my childhood bestie  died at the age of 25, I won the friendship jackpot in Chicago when I met a flock of ladies that became my everything. And now I’ve abandoned them all by moving to Iowa. Don’t get me wrong, I have friends in Iowa. Three of them , in fact. (Plus my kickass sister.) And they are the bees knees, shins, and mandibular . But there’s a different kind of friendship I’m craving. And it comes in the form of (gulp) neighbors .   Friendships based on convenience have never really been my thing. (Well, except for my entire childhood when I'd literally be friends with anyone who lived in walkin...

Hi , I'm Bree .  A little over a year ago , my husband and I packed up our awesome Chicago life , left our awesome Chicago  jobs , and migrated to the awesomely under-appreciated city of Des Moines, Iowa . (We're actually just outside of it. Meh, details.) Our decision was met with enthusiastic, whiskey-fueled support. Sure, our friends were bummed to see us go, but they understood our reasons . (Biggest reason = Warner Lucille. She's our first child. And she cray.) However, there was ONE co-worker , (who will remain nameless because I don’t want to give him credit for inspiring this blog), that said the following words: "What the f*ck is she doing?"  Not TO me, of course. That would be far too respectful . But it got me thinking, perhaps this judgmental sage knew something I didn't. Where did such a strong reaction come from? He didn’t know all the factors behind my "insane" decision. And I didn’t know what kind of experi...