Good morning! A very happy Friday to you. I hope that you had a great week, were you lucky enough to have a 4 day work week? I did take a half a day off on Monday and it was a great way to ease into a new week after a long holiday weekend. I don’t know about you but I always feel as if I need a “vacation” from my vacation.
I hope you enjoy my finds for this week.
Interesting Food
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| Image Once Upon a Chef |
Doesn’t this Chicken Piccata from Once Upon a Chef look delicious? I have this on the menu this weekend.
Easy Peanut Noodles from Yes to Yolks.
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| Preppy Kitchen |
I have yet to perfect the perfect pie crust so I think I might have to try to do it while enjoying the Banana Cream Pie from The Preppy Kitchen.
If you prefer a chocolate treat this week check out my 5 Chocolate Friday Favorites on Once Upon a Chocolate Life.
Interesting Articles
What 9 Female Executives Hope to Teach Their Daughters
Be Mindful of the Meaning of Mindfulness
The Mistake Smart People Make: Being in Motion vs. Taking Action
Sexual Assault Awareness Month: How Can We Support Survivors
Anthony Baratta Is Living Like It’s 1750 in Colonial Williamsburg: Colonial Williamsburg Designer in Residence
Interesting Books
I read these books this week and think you might like them too.
Early one September not long ago, a woman with a secret traveled to New York City in pursuit of a dream, to buy the most beautiful and correct dress she’d ever seen. But sometimes a dress isn’t just a dress…
Emilia Brown has spent a frugal, useful, and wholly restrained life in Ashville, Rhode Island. She is a genteel woman who has known her share of personal sorrows and quietly carried on, who makes a modest living cleaning and running errands, who delights in evening chats with her much younger neighbor, and who counts her blessings on a daily basis.
While helping to inventory the estate of the late grand dame of Ashville and her lifelong source of inspiration, Mrs. Brown comes upon a dress that changes everything. It’s a simple yet exquisitely tailored Oscar de la Renta sheath and jacket—a suit that Mrs. Brown realizes, with startling clarity, will say everything she has ever wished to convey about herself. As a means to an end as much as a thing of beauty, she must have it. And so, like the heroine in one of her favorite books Paul Gallico’s 1958 classic Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris, her odyssey to purchase the dress in New York City begins. For not only is owning the Oscar de la Renta a must, the intimidating trip to purchase it on Madison Avenue is essential as well. If the dress is to give Mrs. Brown a voice, then she must prepare by making the daunting journey—both to the emerald city and within herself.
In 1937, young Lisette Roux and her husband, André, move from Paris to a village in Provence to care for André’s grandfather Pascal. Lisette regrets having to give up her dream of becoming a gallery apprentice and longs for the comforts and sophistication of Paris. But as she soon discovers, the hilltop town is rich with unexpected pleasures.
Pascal once worked in the nearby ochre mines and later became a pigment salesman and frame maker; while selling his pigments in Paris, he befriended Pissarro and Cézanne, some of whose paintings he received in trade for his frames. Pascal begins to tutor Lisette in both art and life, allowing her to see his small collection of paintings and the Provençal landscape itself in a new light. Inspired by Pascal’s advice to “Do the important things first,” Lisette begins a list of vows to herself (#4. Learn what makes a painting great). When war breaks out, André goes off to the front, but not before hiding Pascal’s paintings to keep them from the Nazis’ reach.
With German forces spreading across Europe, the sudden fall of Paris, and the rise of Vichy France, Lisette sets out to locate the paintings (#11. Find the paintings in my lifetime). Her search takes her through the stunning French countryside, where she befriends Marc and Bella Chagall, who are in hiding before their flight to America, and acquaints her with the land, her neighbors, and even herself in ways she never dreamed possible. Through joy and tragedy, occupation and liberation, small acts of kindness and great acts of courage, Lisette learns to forgive the past, to live robustly, and to love again.
The opulent age of empires is ending, but the great queens of the sea— the magnificent ocean liners—continue to reign supreme. Despite the tragedy of the Titanic, the race to build ever larger and more luxurious floating palaces continues, and passengers still flock to make the Atlantic crossing in style.
In 1921,the SS Paris leaves Le Havre on her maiden voyage. Aboard, passengers dine in glittering grandeur on French cuisine, served by hundreds of unnoticed servants and chefs. Below the waterline, the modern oil-fired engines throb day and night. And for three women, this voyage will profoundly change their lives.
Traveling first class, elderly Vera Sinclair is reluctantly moving back to Manhattan after thirty wonderful years abroad. In cozy second class, reveling in her brief freedom from family life, Constance Stone is returning after a failed mission to bring her errant sister home from France. And in the stifling servants’ quarters, young Le Havre native Julie Vernet is testing her wings in her first job as she sets out to forge her own future. For all three, in different ways, this transatlantic voyage will be a life-changing journey of the heart.
Interesting Finds
Seville dip bowls from William Sonoma great for summer entertaining.
This is a great dress for summer.
As is this Otomi Shirtdress from Boden it is on sale for 25% off with the code F1N8
Ric Rack Espadrilles, cute and comfy. 25% off!
I hope that you share your find from this week, the books you read, movies you watched, podcasts that you listened too and recipes that you made.
Have a wonderful weekend!
NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.
Friday Favorites No. 519 from The Defined Dish, Damn Delicious, Inspired by Charm and More
Friday Favorites No. 514 from Delish, Modern Honey, Creme de la Crumb and More.
Friday Favorites No. 513 from The Roasted Root, Valentina’s Corner, Freutcake and More
How Do You Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle in the Summer?
It is very dangerous to come here on an empty stomach. I want some of everything.
Those espadrilles are adorable.
I've never eaten chicken piccata. Looks delicious! I also love the summer dresses, though I never wear dresses anymore.
Brenda
As always Elizabeth, these Friday posts are just the best!
I enjoyed your Friday favorites. There are lots of great links to check out – thank you!
The pie looks good!