A midlife woman trying new things, making memories, and refusing to be bored!
I’m Kari, known as Mimi to my grandkids. I’m in my early 50s, downsizing my life, preparing to move into a multigenerational family home, and filling this chapter with books, hobbies, pets, family, and new things to try.
Mimi Has a Life is where I’m writing it all down: what I’m reading, what I’m trying, what I’m learning, what I’m letting go of, and what I want to remember.
My Books & Audiobooks
I’ve been keeping a Notion list of the books I’ve read, listened to, want to read, and sometimes abandoned along the way. [see image below]
Most of my reading lately is through audiobooks, and I like keeping little notes about what stood out, what I liked, what annoyed me, and what I want to remember.
Just a quick warning: I added a “My Thoughts” column to the list, and some of those notes may include spoilers. If you like going into books completely blind, you may want to skip that column until after you’ve read the book.
Check out the Books & Audiobooks Page to see what I’m reading now and what’s on deck next!
My Hobbies After 50 to Find What I Love in Midlife
Other than work, I have a lot of time that is dedicated to myself. I work from home and I love keeping myself busy in the evenings before bed. My hobby page will introduce you to some hobbies I’m currently doing, what I’ve tried but didn’t stick with, and plans for the future.
I would love to be an inspiration for others to try new ways of relaxing in your self-care era. If you think I’m missing out on something, let me know what I should try!
Check out the Hobbies After 50 Page to see what I’m working on and have planned!
-
Starting My Extremely-Downsized Life Tomorrow
I’m a 51 year old woman living in a 1270 sq ft home with a full, unfinished basement. I moved here about 10 years ago and still had boxes in the garage I never opened, but never threw away; until this year! I’m not a hoarder, but I did have a lot of junk that…
-
-
My Random Book Picker Solved My 300+ Book TBR Problem
I love keeping track of books. I do not love trying to choose my next one. At this point, I have way too many books on my TBR. Currently, there are over 300 books I want to read and it grows more every week. That sounds exciting in theory, but in real life it often…
-
My End-of-Summer 2026 Reading Slump
It is mid-September and I feel like I am in such a reading slump. I listened to 30 books since August 1st and only 1 was a five-star read for me. Eight others I rated 4-stars, but everything else was just blah ~ 3-stars or below. That is over 285 hours of books and not…
-
I Read 16 Books in July 2026
It has been a busy July for sure! I read some wonderful books. By scanning my Notion digital library, it looks like I had only 2 Five-Star reads but 6 Four-Star books. A few One and Two-Star reads were thrown in there too. I really have a hard time rating books because I don’t want…
-
The Killer Isn’t Alice Clue Order: The Strategy That Worked for Me
NO SPOILERS! I will not tell you the killer’s name or page number. I’m so excited! Last night, I finally solved The Killer Isn’t Alice! [2026 Edition #002 version] I submitted my answer, waited for the email and found out I was correct. I have to admit, that felt pretty good after staring at thousands…