Friday Favorites from The Suburban Soapbox, Inside the Rustic Kitchen, Lemon Sugar and More

Are you looking for some comforting recipes to make this week? Or a 30 minute meal for next weeks dinner? How about a book to read by the fire? I’ve got you covered, I am sharing recipes, books, finds and more this week in my Friday Favorites post.

Good Friday morning friends!  Did you have a nice week? Are you ready for the weekend? I sure am. It has been a busy week, the landscapers have been here every day and it has been pretty exciting but not without some hiccups , as is to be expected with any project. So far they cut the cable line, the invisible fence and the main line for the irrigation, all because they were mis-marked, the good news is that they are all fixed, except the internet and the cable. I am waiting  for the the technician and working from my hot spot. Hopefully everything will be back to normal this afternoon.

I have lots to share with you today, as always, so lets’ get to it shall we? Grab your coffee or cocoa and settle in for a nice long read.

Friday Favorites

Food

The big game is over and there isn’t a holiday to celebrate but that doesn’t mean I didn’t find some scrumptious food for us to make.

Friday night at my house is pizza night, I wish it could be every night but that would not be good for my waistline. Quattro Formaggi Pizza, yes please. You can find this recipe and more authentic Italian recipes at Inside the Rustic Kitchen.

Pasta Putanessca is an easy and delicious recipe to make during the week or for Sunday dinner.

You can have Spicy Peanut Noodles with Chili Garlic Oil on the dinner table in 30 minutes.

Do you like cheese? Then you are going to be head over heals for Provoleta. When my step-son and family lived in Argentina and we went for our annual visit there are three things every day I ate every day, provoleta, empanadas and  alfajaros.

Just in case you missed it I share an easy and delicious recipe for Nigella Lawson’s Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake.

Mardi Gras starts in a few weeks and that mean King Cakes are popping up all over. You can order on online or simply make your own. Lemon Sugar has two versions for you to try.

House, Home & Gardens

Step Inside The Breathtaking Homes Of A Countess In Paris

Rethinking the Uncool Daffodil

Colourful kitchens: Why even a dash of a bold, vibrant hue goes a long way in a kitchen

Read This Post Before You Buy Another Throw Pillow!

 

Interesting Articles

What does Your Front Door Color Say About Your Personality?

What Is the Future of Organic?

Jams and Jelly fans, Discover French Jam Brands Other Than Bonne Maman

Have you tried the TIKTOK breakfast craze for custard toast? I have not but Food52 states Custard Toast Is an Actually Delicious TikTok Trend

The Secrets Behind The Perfect Curling Stone

50 Gigs That Changed Music

How to Live With Regrets

The Race to Free Washington’s Last Orca in Captivity

Why Trucking Can’t Deliver the Goods

Man Ray Work Could Become Most Expensive Photograph Ever Sold at Auction in ‘Unprecedented’ Sale

Love this post by Nena’s Notes and the dressmakers to Jackie Kennedy and Mary Todd Lincoln.

Amateur sleuths help solve 160-year mystery by decoding Charles Dickens letter

Beatrix Potter Fans who happen to be in London  Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature Exhibition, V&A Museum

Do you like botanical illustrations?J0in artist and designer Silvia Ospina to create artwork inspired by nature, combining traditional hand-painted techniques with digital tools on-line at the V&A Museum.

Gilded Age fans, will enjoy What Went Into Building The Gilded Age’s 19th-Century New York

Podcast

The Trojan Horse Affair:An unlikely duo chases down the origins of a mysterious letter that caused a national scandal.

Let’s Turn Up the Volume on the Food Podcast

Speaking of podcasts, my friend Ahnas’ podcast Imperfectly Empowered  is one that you will want to add to your list.

If you like Jane Austen tune into Audiofile Audiobook Break where this month they are reading Pride and Prejudice.

Books

Here are a couple of the books that I read this week and one that I will be reading this weekend.

The Wish List

I read the Wish List in one sitting and loved it!

Maria Birch is seventy years old and, for her, every week is the same.
On Monday, she does her weekly shop. On Tuesday, she goes for a blow-dry. On Wednesday, she visits the laundrette. But Thursday is her favourite day of all – everything hurts less on a Thursday.
Every Thursday Maria walks to her local café. Waiting for her at one of the red gingham-topped tables is Albie Young, a charming man with a twinkle in his eye and an impressive collection of tweed flat caps. Every week, the pair share a slice of marble cake and a pot of tea.
Except, one week, Albie doesn’t turn up.
When Maria finds out what has happened, her perfectly ordered life is ripped apart at the seams. Suddenly, she is very lonely. Without her Thursday friend – her only friend – she no longer has the energy to circle the weekly TV listings, she has no reason to leave her apartment, no reason to laugh.
Then she discovers that Albie isn’t who she thought he was, and she’s left wondering if she knew her friend at all. But Albie has left behind a legacy – a handwritten list of wishes he never got the chance to complete.

Maria is resigned to facing the rest of her days heartbroken and alone. But fulfilling Albie’s wishes could hold the key to her happiness – if only she’s able to look past his secret…

Other Women

Just finished this last night.

Three women. Three secrets. Three tangled lives…

Sid wears her independence like armour. So when she strikes up a rare connection with unlucky-in-love Finn, they are both determined to prove that men and women can just be friends. Can’t they?

Marin has the perfect home, attentive husband, two beloved children – and a secret addiction to designer clothes. She knows she has it all, so why can’t she stop comparing herself to other women?

Bea believes that we all have one love story – and she’s had hers. Now her life centres around her son, Luke, and her support group of fierce single women. But there’s something that she can’t tell anyone…

Painting the Light

Martha’s Vineyard, 1898. In her first life, Ida Russell had been a painter. Five years ago, she had confidently walked the halls of Boston’s renowned Museum School, enrolling in art courses that were once deemed “unthinkable” for women to take, and showing a budding talent for watercolors.

But no more. Ida Russell is now Ida Pease, resident of a seaside farm on Vineyard Haven, and wife to Ezra, a once-charming man who has become an inattentive and altogether unreliable husband. Ezra runs a salvage company in town with his business partner, Mose Barstow, but he much prefers their nightly card games at the local pub to his work in their Boston office, not to mention filling haystacks and tending sheep on the farm at home—duties that have fallen to Ida and their part-time farmhand, Lem. Ida, meanwhile, has left her love for painting behind.

It comes as no surprise to Ida when Ezra is hours late for a Thanksgiving dinner, only to leave abruptly for another supposedly urgent business trip to Boston. But then something unthinkable happens: a storm strikes and the ship carrying Ezra and Mose sinks.

In the wake of this shocking tragedy, Ida must settle the affairs of Ezra’s estate, a task that brings her to a familiar face from her past—Henry Barstow, Mose’s brother and executor. As she joins Henry in sifting through the remnants of her husband’s life and work, Ida must learn to separate truth from lies and what matters from what doesn’t.

You can find all of the books I share on the blog in “My Book Shop”, simply click the icon on the sidebar or visit “My Book Shop” Pinterest Board.

 

Finds

I ordered this doormat for Spring to match the color of the flowers in my new landscaping. I like this one too.

Boden is one of my favorite places to shop, they just released their Spring collection and I think this dress is the epitome of a spring garden.

I have this sweater  in my cart. If you are a fan of Boden hop over there are so many great pieces for Spring.

I hope that you found something to read, make and enjoy here this week. Thank you for sharing part of your day with me, I appreciate every comment and email. Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm and safe in the storm.

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This post contains affiliate links, I am an Amazon affiliate and will earn a small commission if you purchase something from a link on this blog.

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