Jennifer Balink is a creative strategist and relationship coach who writes about motherhood, cooking, creativity, life-work balance, and navigating the human experience.

LATEST POSTS

• 
  What the hell did I do before I had kids?
  What did I cook? What time did I go to bed? Did I always brush my teeth? But, most of all, why do I now think these are important questions?
• 
  The art of practice.
  I’ve been thinking about how practice sometimes leads to growth that is different from the initial goal. How the mere practice of practicing something, anything, is beneficial. Practicing builds mental and emotional muscle, especially when the end result is kind of fuzzy.
• 
  A few things: August, September, October 2022
  A one-post whirlwind through two and a half months, including what it’s been like as an “empty nester” (oof, I hate that term…), a peek at the ongoing Larksome Goods project, how Peloton saved my life and changed our work at Kindred Place, and a few other things, including reading and recipe (ish) links.
• 
  Home is a kitchen.
  Is it the physical bricks and mortar in which you live, or is it a feeling? Is it the people you see each day who contribute to the feeling of belonging that comes with “home”? Can you feel at home anywhere? Jimmy Carter, “A Letter from Home.” The Bitter Southerner; March 2022. An overly brief … Continue reading Home is a kitchen. →
• 
  Homebuilding.
  This post is part of a series that explores that simple, complicated idea of “home” as I try to reconcile my now-empty nest and conflicting feelings about my hometown. In the 23 years since I came “home” to Memphis (not intending to stay more than six months), I’ve thought a great deal about the psychological … Continue reading Homebuilding. →
• 
  Re: Home.
  The complicated idea of “home” is something I think about quite often, and sometimes, increasingly often, with a tiny hint of clarity. But that clarity is fleeting and hard to hold onto in the bumper-car surprises of modern reality, especially here in Memphis.

• What the hell did I do before I had kids?
• The art of practice.
• A few things: August, September, October 2022
• Home is a kitchen.
• Homebuilding.