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Good morning friends, happy Friday. It has been a long and busy week. Our pup Patches has been very sick and we ran back and forth every morning to the vet to drop her for the day to get fluids, antibiotics, tests and pain medication and then picked her up in the late afternoon so that she could rest comfortably(I use that term loosely) at home for the night.  Thankfully after a week she is finally feeling a little better, she has another 2 weeks of antibiotics, and other meds and has to wear a cone but hopefully she will be fine after that.

I have lots of books, food, finds and fun stuff to share with you this week so grab your cup of coffee and sit down and relax.

Friday Favorites

Food

Seafood lovers I think you are going to want to make this Seafood Bucatini with Lemon Garlic Butter.

Faster than you can order take-out to be delivered this Honey Butter Garlic Chicken can be on your table.

My favorite part of the holiday meals is the yeast rolls and these Pumpkin pull apart rolls with sage butter are going to be front and center on our Thanksgiving dinner table.

Book mark this recipe for Wild Rice Stuffed Squash, you can serve it on Thanksgiving as a side or as a meatless dinner during the week.

Ground pecans and roasted squash spike your grits with a taste of fall.

This Arroz con Leche Recipe (Mexican Rice Pudding) looks like a delicious dessert to add to your Fall and Winter comfort food list.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins with Streusel Topping are the perfect weekend treat.

In case you missed it this week, I shared Maple Spiced Acorn Cakelets, don’t worry of you don’t have the pan you can always make the recipe in a loaf pan like a pound cake or in mini-muffin tins.

Articles

Are you a fan of Emma Bridgewater? Me too! I love the “Black Toast” pattern, The Darling Academy shared a post on her day spent at the factory, cafe and outlet, just in case you want to add a visit to your next trip to the UK.

Factory farms of disease: how industrial chicken production is breeding the next pandemic.

Becoming a Morning Person Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

Why We’re Hungry for Something Other than Food

Logistical Questions I Have About Squid Game.

Inside ‘Wheel of Time,’ Amazon’s Huge Gamble on the Next ‘Game of Thrones’

The Century-Old Field Guide to Wonder and the Forgotten Woman Who Laid the Groundwork for the Youth Climate Action Movement..

172 Runners Started This Ultramarathon. 21 of Them Never Came Back.

Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show.

Why Mystery Fiction Is So Engaging

One Woman’s Six-Word Mantra That Has Helped to Calm Millions.

How Our Obsession With Celebrity Weight Loss Is Holding Us Back

Sitting too much drags down your mental health. Here’s how to get moving

This story is heartbreaking, The New Faces Of Pandemic Food Insecurity: Hungry, Worried … Yet Generous

Books

Here are the books I read this week.

The Spanish Daughter

Puri inherited two things from her father: a passion for chocolate, and a cacao plantation located in Ecuador. After learning the art of chocolate-making from her grandmother, Puri opened a chocolate shop in her native Spain. But the Great War that devastated Europe has also ruined her business. Eager to learn more about the source of her beloved chocolate, Puri sets out across the ocean with her husband, Cristóbal. But someone is angered by Puri’s claim to the plantation . . .

When a mercenary sent to murder her aboard the ship accidentally kills Cristóbal instead, Puri dons her husband’s clothes and assumes his identity, hoping to stay safe while she learns the truth. Though freed from the rules that women are expected to follow, Puri confronts other challenges at the plantation—newfound siblings, hidden affairs, and her father’s dark secrets. Then there are the dangers awakened by her attraction to an enigmatic man as she tries to learn the identity of an enemy who is still at large, threatening the future she is determined to claim . . .

 

The Lost Vintage

Sweetbitter meets The Nightingale in this page-turning novel about a woman who returns to her family’s ancestral vineyard in Burgundy and unexpectedly uncovers a lost diary, an unknown relative, and a secret her family has been keeping since World War II.

To become one of only a few hundred certified wine experts in the world, Kate must pass the notoriously difficult Master of Wine examination. She’s failed twice before; her third attempt will be her last chance. Suddenly finding herself without a job and with the test a few months away, she travels to Burgundy to spend the fall at the vineyard estate that has belonged to her family for generations. There she can bolster her shaky knowledge of Burgundian vintages and reconnect with her cousin Nico and his wife, Heather, who now oversee day-to-day management of the grapes. The one person Kate hopes to avoid is Jean-Luc, a talented young winemaker and her first love.

At the vineyard house, Kate is eager to help her cousin clean out the enormous basement that is filled with generations of discarded and forgotten belongings. Deep inside the cellar, behind a large armoire, she discovers a hidden room containing a cot, some Resistance pamphlets, and an enormous cache of valuable wine. Piqued by the secret space, Kate begins to dig into her family’s history—a search that takes her back to the dark days of World War II and introduces her to a relative she never knew existed, a great–half aunt who was a teenager during the Nazi occupation.

As she learns more about her family, the line between resistance and collaboration blurs, driving Kate to find the answers to two crucial questions: Who, exactly, did her family aid during the difficult years of the war? And what happened to six valuable bottles of wine that seem to be missing from the cellar’s collection?

You can find all of the books I share each week on My Books Shop Pinterest Board.

2 Christmas Books for Kids(part of my ongoing series for 25 Christmas Books)

The Polar Express

 

Dasher: How A Brave Little Doe Saved Christmas Forever

Finds

This Walton Quilted Corduroy Shirt Jacket is a beautiful color for Fall.

You can ver go wrong with a plaid puffer jacket; I like this one and this plaid puffer too.

Speaking of plaid, have you seen the new plaid Nap Dress from Hill House? Are you a fan of “nap dresses?”

Stock up now for the holidays, red and white hand towels for your kitchen.

I just added these mugs to my cart this week, I am trying to decide if I want to keep them for myself or give them as a gift with some of my favorite hot chocolate. You can order them from Liberty London(US) along with all of your favorite British foods and finds and you get free shipping on most orders and all Taxes and duties are paid as well.

Follow Up on “Finds” I Have Shared on Friday Favorites

I ordered this plaid bowl which I shared last week and it arrived a few days ago. It is a little smaller than I thought and that is my fault because I did not look at the size, I love the plaid and the bowl itself though.

I also ordered several sets of these trees and I love them. They are so cute and are a great price, they also have 3 sizes.

 

I shared these Melissa Frye Boots several times  and I wanted to let you know that I personally own these boots in black and I love them. They are very well made, and very comfortable. They are 1/2 price and you get free shipping if you order them from Nordstrom.

 

 

That is all for this week my friends. I hope that you found a recipe to try, perhaps a book to read and that you explored a few of the articles that I found interesting this week. Have a wonderful and safe weekend.

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