On my way to Austin, I became entranced by the prose of An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler. I knew I would. A few months ago I read an excerpt of her passion statement about food’s place and preparation in our lives and instantly I knew I’d devour it like a well-made meal.
As I prepare myself for this next chapter of my career – one of great risk, great faith, and God and Universe willing, great meaning, I have seriously begun to examine my finances and the necessary changes needed to make the leap. To be fair, I do not live a lavish lifestyle. My clothes are simple and always bought on sale. My home is small and simple. I cook much more often than I eat out. The New York Public Library furnishes most of the books I read. I do my own nails, hair, etc.
These last couple of months my credit card bills have been outsized with the long-overdue furnishing of my apartment, 2 upcoming trips to Florida, my vacation of a lifetime to India, and the next phase of my advanced yoga teacher training. This pile up of expenses got a bit scary, though they were planned, and my fine-tuned sense of frugality demanded an immediate halt and investigation.
Enter Tamar Adler and her celebration of eating well on a miniscule budget. Her experience and aptitude for stretching a small grocery budget actually made me excited to get started today rather than wait until I inevitably make the leap into the next phase of my career. Her book has left me feeling more resourceful than fearful, more capable than novice.
I may well be just this side of crazy to exit stage left from a stable job and salary in favor of carving out a new kind of living that unifies my earnings and values. Life is too short to imagine going forward any other way.
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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2 thoughts on “Leap: Inspired by Tamar Adler and Frugality”
One of the amazing things I learned from taking my leap is that when I let go of my fear of not having enough and began to shift my relationship with money (as you are doing before you leap which is soooo very wise), we always had enough. And then we began to find creative ways to save money. We did away with our land line and cable and only have basic TV. We ask – is that something we really need? I wrote a blog post about the Universe providing and sending signs that you will enjoy: http://newworldgreetings.blogspot.com/2012/01/pennies-from-heaven.html How amazing you are going to India. I’m so glad you are this side of crazy. It’s so exciting to share in your journey.
Thanks so much, Mary. What a gorgeous post about the Universe sending signs. It seems I’m getting inundated w/ them, or maybe I always have been and am now just doing a better job of noticing them. I’m glad I’m this side of crazy too – life’s more fun that way 🙂
Christa Avampato 
One of the amazing things I learned from taking my leap is that when I let go of my fear of not having enough and began to shift my relationship with money (as you are doing before you leap which is soooo very wise), we always had enough. And then we began to find creative ways to save money. We did away with our land line and cable and only have basic TV. We ask – is that something we really need? I wrote a blog post about the Universe providing and sending signs that you will enjoy: http://newworldgreetings.blogspot.com/2012/01/pennies-from-heaven.html How amazing you are going to India. I’m so glad you are this side of crazy. It’s so exciting to share in your journey.
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Thanks so much, Mary. What a gorgeous post about the Universe sending signs. It seems I’m getting inundated w/ them, or maybe I always have been and am now just doing a better job of noticing them. I’m glad I’m this side of crazy too – life’s more fun that way 🙂
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