Friday Favorites from Fox Valley Foodie, Cafe De Lites, An Italian in My Kitchen and More

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Good morning! It’s Friday, it’s the weekend and it’s almost Fall(Monday 23rd). The weather is going to be beautiful this weekend and we are going on a road trip with my mother-in-law, hopefully we will see a little Fall color. If not I am sure that the trip will be beautiful and I know there will be a lot of great fall food and treats. 

I hope you enjoy my favorites this week. 

Food

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It’s soup season and what could be better than a steaming bowl of Steak Chili from Fox Valley Foodie. 

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crispy parmesan baked chicken milanese & veggies from Cafe De Lites. 

Authentic Bolognese from An Italian in My Kitchen.

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I love ranch dip, I like it on french friend, onion rings, burgers, vegetables, and even pizza. This week Sugar, Salt Magic has a recipe for Homemade Ranch. I cannot wait to make some.

Pumpkin Streusel Cake from Love Bakes Good Cakes

Interesting Articles

Visit Downton Abby’s Most Beautiful Filming Locations. By the way Downton Abbey is in theaters today!

I love this story, go Tennessee Vols.

3 Ideas, 2 Quotes, 1 Question from James Clear

Everything My Husband Wasn’t There For. I raised my daughters alone after their father was killed on 9/11.

How Bon Appétit’s Claire Saffitz Gets It Done.

If you like podcasts you might enjoy some of these.

61 Inner Peace Quotes To Find Your Calm Center.

Books

Everything You Are.(free with Amazon Prime First Reads).

One tragic twist of fate destroyed Braden Healey’s hands, his musical career, and his family. Now, unable to play, adrift in an alcoholic daze, and with only fragmented memories of his past, Braden wants desperately to escape the darkness of the last eleven years.

When his ex-wife and son are killed in a car accident, Braden returns home, hoping to forge a relationship with his troubled seventeen-year-old daughter, Allie. But how can he hope to rescue her from the curse that seems to shadow his family?

Ophelia “Phee” MacPhee, granddaughter of the eccentric old man who sold Braden his cello, believes the curse is real. She swore an oath to her dying grandfather that she would ensure Braden plays the cello as long as he lives. But he can’t play, and as the shadows deepen and Phee finds herself falling for Braden, she’ll do anything to save him. It will take a miracle of forgiveness and love to bring all three of them back to the healing power of music.

The Dressmaker’s Gift (free with Amazon Prime First Reads)

Paris, 1940. With the city occupied by the Nazis, three young seamstresses go about their normal lives as best they can. But all three are hiding secrets. War-scarred Mireille is fighting with the Resistance; Claire has been seduced by a German officer; and Vivienne’s involvement is something she can’t reveal to either of them.

Two generations later, Claire’s English granddaughter Harriet arrives in Paris, rootless and adrift, desperate to find a connection with her past. Living and working in the same building on the Rue Cardinale, she learns the truth about her grandmother – and herself – and unravels a family history that is darker and more painful than she ever imagined.

In wartime, the three seamstresses face impossible choices when their secret activities put them in grave danger. Brought together by loyalty, threatened by betrayal, can they survive history’s darkest era without being torn apart?

A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of a Misspent Life by Mary Randolph Carter

I love the title and the book!

For all those who choose to live “imperfectly” with the messy things they love, this book shows how to do so creatively, happily, and with considerable style ideas from leading designers. A beautiful and inspiring volume, A Perfectly Kept House is the Sign of A Misspent Life focuses on living well with everything that makes a house a home. If you have been influenced by the picturesquely cluttered studios of Pablo Picasso or Alexander Calder, or by the art- and book-filled house of Vanessa Bell, this unique style book will stimulate you with its creative ideas.This volume explores how real-life tastemakers (photographers, textile designers, fashion designers, writers, artists) integrate their life and interiors to live well with their passions, histories, conveniences, and inconveniences. In inspiring essays, Mary Randolph Carter muses on such key housekeeping concerns as clutter versus mess; open windows; and unmade beds. Combining practical tips with liberating philosophy—”Don’t scrub the soul out of your home”; “Make room for what you love”—this volume celebrates living beautifully and happily, not messily. Lavishly illustrated with intimate photographs of different living spaces, Carter exalts in the beauty of imperfection and in living perfectly in our “imperfect” homes. Life isn’t perfect—why should your house be?

Finds

Faux tortoise shell earrings. 20% Off at Anthro Day. 

dress

Black and white dress Anthropologie 20% off.

Green sling backs. 20% off. 

Snakeskin print Kimono 20% off. 

Don’t forget Saturday is World Gratitude Day. Have a great weekend, and as always please share your favorite recipes, movies, podcasts, books and more.