Emma 
In terms of eating, I am a champion. I am so, so good at it. I’ve never competitively eaten, but I feel pretty good about my chances. Not necessarily at eating fast, but I excel at eating well and lovingly. I’m born and raised in the Midwest, and we know here that sharing a plate … Read more
Taking a friend from out of town on a Coffee Crawl has become my favorite go-to hostess activity. And, oh, boy, is it. This is particularly lovely in winter, when one of the very few things that feel worth dealing with the harsh snowy roads is a warm mug of coffee, but to burst into … Read more
Say what you will, but I die on the hill that giving your friends a little package with a ribbon is the best feeling in the whole world. I love gift giving. Maybe it stems from crawling my way through grad school on minimum wage and years worth of gifts just being my sparkling presence, … Read more
Friends and enemies, I must admit something to you — I am a book buying fiend. My favorite activity is browsing the shelves of a previously undiscovered bookstore, seconded closely by returning to that bookstore for the second time, now beloved and familiar. As a writer, you can imagine that I am an avid reader. … Read more
You might not know it looking at me, but I adore a romantic dinner. Sure, I do walk around with perpetual heart eyes and write a minimum of one romance novella a month for an indie publisher. I have a list of ten romantic movies I re-watch every January to kick-off the new year. And … Read more
In a lot of ways, having a large, warm bowl of ramen is the most comforting dining experience possible. The versatility, the depth, the warmth — the ability to make a ramen with whatever ingredients you have in your fridge to fill you on a cold night is not something I will ever turn my … Read more
Once, while killing time before our flights from Austin, Texas, my friends and I went to a bowling alley. Filled with a hangover from a wedding, more soda than is legally allowed outside of the continental US because there were free refills, and a confidence borne from nothing but a selective memory, I had picked … Read more
I am not a particularly braggy person, but neither am I unnecessarily humble. There are a great many things I am bad at. However, there is one thing that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I excel at — eating bagels. A bagel, to me, is a gift from the gods. Much … Read more
There’s something so inherently romantic about going to a cocktail bar. It might be that I wear glitter on nights out or that I’m from a town so small, the idea of a cocktail bar felt fancy and impossible for most of my developmental years. It might also be that I just really enjoy gin. … Read more
At the beginning of my college career, I worked at a Dunkin Donuts near the Mag Mile in Chicago. This job was great in the way that I got offered it as soon as I interviewed, my manager and coworkers were kind to me, and we were allowed all the free coffee we wanted. (It … Read more