Homemade Dairy Free Hot Butter Beer

Posted on by aurorameyer
Image shows a mug of dairy free Butter Beer with the title Homemade Hot Butter Beer with the words Dairy Free and Easy Recipe in round circles

This is so much easier than I expected! We’ve been reading our way through the Harry Potter series and on a recent cold day decided to try a recipe for Dairy-Free Butter Beer. After searching for a recipe and not finding one, I combined a few different recipes to create this one.

Three mugs of Hot Homemade Dairy Free Butter Beer on a counter

Homemade Dairy Free Hot Butter Beer

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Course Drinks
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 3 tablespoons butterscotch jello pudding mix
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 cans cream soda warmed
  • dash salt

Instructions
 

  • heat the vanilla almond milk over medium low heat, add pudding mix and other ingredients leaving out the cream soda. Stir with a whisk until well blended and heated through. Remove from heat.
  • Warm the cream soda. We did this by warming it in a separete pot on low heat. Pour the warmed soda into a mug. Add the heated butterscotch mixture and mix with a fork slowly (it will foam!).
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

No Spend Month Updates

Posted on by aurorameyer
Small glass jar with a cork lid and pennies inside with a label and the word budget affixed in the middle

I knew the lessons of this year’s No Spend February lessons were sinking in when I finally figured out what to add to a perpetually empty and dusty but very usable shelf and more importantly when our family conversations about want and need changed to what we are individually and together saving to buy later.

Only adding one item to the wish list was another indication we were starting to change our focus and reevaluate instant gratification.

Though we mostly avoided adding extra things to the grocery cart and maintained a decreased grocery budget for the last 20 days, we weren’t perfect.

I had a work trip and used a birthday gift certificate to a day spa while I was there but forgot to pack a bathing suit and had to purchase one from Target for $38. Though I could have not purchased the bathing suit, I would not have been able to enjoy all the wonderful amenities that went along with my gift.

While I was out of town, my family went out for an unplanned dinner and after a particularly hard day, we went out to dinner, but the total of both meals was less than another birthday gift, so this came out nearly even.

We needed to replace one of our humidifiers, which absolutely fell under the need category, but we also didn’t price compare and just picked one we knew would be in stock. We probably spent a bit more than we otherwise would have.

There were a few other unplanned purchases in the last 20 days:

  • Trail Race fee $35 (I’d forgotten to register in January as initially planned.)
  • Visit to a local indoor pool $10
  • A coffee meeting $8

    Added up our unplanned expenses came out to about $212, which is less than we would have typically spent at this point in the month.

How to Do a No Spend Month

Posted on by aurorameyer
Image showing a white piggy bank and a woman in a yellow shirt adding a coin to the piggy bank.

It’s No Spend February! Traditionally once a year our family takes a month to evaluate our spending patterns and consumer behaviors. Sometimes this takes place in January, other times in February.

We specifically choose the winter months because we are already spending more time at home. Taking a month’s break to purposely evaluate what we want, what we need and what we can wait to purchase gives us space to make use of what we have and save money for the things we want.

Over the years, we’ve learned as a family and as individuals that sometimes we think we really want or need something in the moment only to realize: we don’t really need it, we have something at home that can be repurposed to achieve the same result or help us decide what we really need, we can wait and we can and should price compare.

The following are the “rules” we used to give us structure for the month.

We can spend money on necessities, such as:

  • gasoline
  • groceries
  • rent or mortgage
  • utilities
  • insurance (car, home, etc.)
  • childcare
  • other fixed expenses (for us this is Netflix, Roku and iTunes)
  • presents for those outside of our family

We avoid spending money on:

  • dining out (lunches or dinner)
  • clothes shopping
  • trips to the movie theater, amusement park, museums, etc.
  • coffee shops (see dining out)
  • Amazon purchases (we do make heavy use of the save for later feature)

The rules have also evolved over the years to become dependent on the month and allow for oddities such as an unexpected car repair or celebration. As three important events occur for our family in February, we plan ahead or use gift certificates if the No Spend month will be in February.

For us, a no spend month boils down to: is this a want or a need.

If it is a need, then that’s the end of it. If it is a want, then we wait and if it is something we can live without for the month, we reevaluate if it is something that can wait longer.

One of the best things that happens this month is we get to really evaluate how we use our resources in both time and finances. We have conversations about our home and what our next big and small projects should be.

We also use the time to declutter and go through what we already have. We donate items, sell items and  enjoy the less cluttered space.

If you’ve never taken a break from spending and focused on what you spend, where and why, you should consider taking a break if not for a whole month for a few days or weeks.

I expect if you do, you will be as surprised as I always am at how much money you save and the clarity of what are wants and needs for us.

Emphasize Your Why in Cover Letters + template

Posted on by aurorameyer
Cover Letter Advice by Aurora Meyer on Dispatches from the Castle

There are more than 6,560,000,000 search results for “cover letter template.” Nearly all of the results recommend starting with the standard, “I am [adjective] excited to submit my application for [job title] at [company].”

Starting a cover letter this way practically ensures the recipient will skim the opening and the rest of your letter.

In the positions I’ve hired for, I prefer to read cover letters that start with why. Why this position? Why this company?

Specifically, tell me a story and prove you’re a writer.  For example:

I would like to express my interest in the [position title] position at [company]. My interest in [field] has taken me from [experience] to [experience]. I believe that my passion for [aspect of your field or background], a strong commitment to [aspect of your field or background], and interest in [aspect of your field or background] make me an ideal candidate to join the [department] staff at [company]. I’m specifically interested in [company] because [related to the company mission statement, reputation, a specific project, is in one of your areas of interest, etc.].

This tells me you are not only looking for the position title but at my organization, which makes me inclined to look closer at what you would bring to the role. Which is exactly what you should spell out next.

As a candidate, here’s what I could immediately bring to the table:

  • An [adjective] [descriptor that reflects transferable skill outline in the job description]: In my role at [current or previous job], I [action or accomplishment with outcome emphasized]. I was also able to [verb] my [skill desired in job description] abilities as a [role or responsibilities outlined in job description] in [project name] by [what you did].
  • A [adjective] [descriptor that reflects another transferable skill outline in the job description]: I have always displayed my [soft skill outlined in job description] to [job responsibility outlined in job description] by [action]. At [current or previous company], I [time such as always or frequently] [action]. In addition, I had the opportunity to [action or accomplishment], which further shows my [noun such as commitment or dedication] to [aspect of your field noted in the job description].
  • A [adjective] [descriptor that reflects another transferable skill outline in the job description]: Every step in my career is driven by my [noun such as interest, appreciation, recognition] in [aspect of your career field noted in the job description]. [explain how you keep up with industry trends and tie this sentence back to the specific company, for example, While actively managing more than 10 social channels, building and supporting the online community, I still regularly dedicated part of my week to stay current on marketing and social data trends. Given [company’s] [recent award or recognition] I strongly believe this established routine would make me a valuable part of the team.]  

Looking for even more hints? Find your current job description or rewrite your current job description and compare it against the job description you are writing the cover letter for.

As a hiring manager, if your cover letter makes it past the algorithm, I want to see you can write, learn more about why you think the company is where you want to work and if your skills are a good fit beyond what your resume tells me. 

How to Politely Decline a Second Interview or Withdraw Your Application (with samples)

Posted on by aurorameyer
image of two women seated in an implied interview situation to depict How to Politely Decline a Second Interview or Withdraw Your Application (with samples) by Aurora Meyer on Dispatches from the Castle

We’ve previously talked about always taking the call and accepting an interview when the opportunity comes up.  What do you do if after the interview you’ve decided this job isn’t the one for you? As nerve-racking as it may be in the moment, it will always be worth it to trust your gut feelings now than to regret it later.

The most important thing is to remember you as the interviewee hold half the power. If something feels off about the job or the management or it just isn’t a good fit (and you either currently have a position or have another interview lined up) you can do one of two things:

  1.  wait for the interviewer or recruiter to reach back out to you (typically this is for a second interview) OR
  2.  send the interviewer a note thanking them for the opportunity and asking to withdraw your application.

Here’s what I have used in the past:

Thank you very much for considering me for the position of [position] with the [Organization]. After careful consideration of the responsibilities and time requirements [or other two elements that may not make this a good fit] as indicated in the interview, I would like to withdraw my application for the job. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to interview me and to share details about the position and the mission and goals for the [Organization]. I wish you luck in finding the right person for the position.

The recruiter or interviewer may react one of three ways:
  1. Be appreciative of you not wasting their time and may even (politely) inquire further
  2. Not respond at all
  3.  Tell you not to apply with the company ever again.

How you respond to the interviewer or recruiter asking for more information is completely up to you. I’ve provided additional detail in some instances and not in others. How you respond depends on what the interviewer or recruiter is asking and if ensuring the relationship needs to be positive (because for example, the community is small and you might run into them regularly, the person is very well known in the field or you might be interested in another position with the company in the future).

If you get a burned bridge response and you don’t need to keep the relationship positive, count your lucky stars you did not continue in the process as the company has revealed quite a bit about how they work with employees.