Friday Favorites from Preppy Kitchen, Cooking Classy, Coley Cooks and More

Are you looking for a book to read this weekend, how about a new recipe to try? I’ve got you covered, I am sharing recipes, books, finds and more this week in my Friday Favorites post.

Good Friday morning friends, are you ready for the weekend? It is going to be beautiful and sunny most of the weekend so we will be outside doing the last of the clean-up from the storm. My niece is coming for dinner tonight are we are making homemade pizza in our Ooni pizza oven and then we are having a “dance and kareoke party.” I am the worst dancer but it is one of her favorite things to do so I am up for the challenge. It is a fun way to end the weekend because “if you cannot laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at.”( Tiger Woods)

I have so many good things to share this week so let’s get too it.

Food

Friday night at my house is either pizza or Mexican. Tonight it’s pizza with my niece and we are going to make this Chicken Alfredo Pizza from Cooking Classy.

Rigatoni with Italian Sausage, Mascarpone  and Walnuts from Coley Cooks is perfect for your Sunday supper.

I have this Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup on my list to make next week.

Do you follow What’s Gabby Cooking? Did you know she has a cooking club? If not head over and check out this months recipe, it’s chili verde. Not only is this a great weeknight meal but perfect for your Super Bowl gathering too.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and a sweet treat is always appreciated, at least by everyone that I know. I shared a picture of this cake yesterday and several people asked for the recipe, it is Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake and buttercream frosting, decorate your cake with sprinkles or use a cookie cutter for a stencil and voila, a cute Valentine’s Day cake.

Or skip the baking and make this no bake chocolate cheesecake topped with truffles.

I can’t wait to make this  French Martini for “happy hour,” you can find this recipe and many others on Preppy Kitchen.

 

House & Home

147 bedroom ideas from the world’s best interior designers

Pinterest Launched Augmented Reality Feature for Home Decor

How to Decorate as a New Couple

Going, going, gone! Christie’s to auction art collection of Hubert de Givenchy this June

Wanderlust

8 Off-the-Grid Escapes in the U.S.

Limousines and Fine Porcelain Interesting Facts about Limoges

Interesting Reads

Women Having A Terrible Time At Parties In Western Art History(so funny)

How to (Ethically) Get Rid of Your Unwanted Stuff

Would You Take Free Land in Rural America?

What You Can Learn from History’s Greatest Jocks

Why We Should Give Compliments Every Day.

When a Major Life Change Upends Your Sense of Self

How I Found Joy in Life During Difficult Times

They Already Helped Free Britany, Now They Want Justice

How to Define and Discuss Your Relationship Deal Breakers

Despite Decades of Hacking Attacks, Companies Leave Vast Amounts of Sensitive Data Unprotected

No, you’re not imagining things. Here are three reasons why the pandemic has been bad for your memory.

According to Indie Wire these are the 16 Films you are going to want to watch from Sundance 2022.

The Radical Woman Behind “Goodnight Moon”(a great article about a very interesting woman who lived life on her own terms).

Books

The books I read this week and have plans to read this weekend.

In the Great Green Room: The Brilliant and Bold Life of Margaret Wise Brown

The extraordinary life of the woman behind the beloved children’s classics Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny comes alive in this fascinating biography of Margaret Wise Brown. Margaret’s books have sold millions of copies all over the world, but few people know that she was at the center of a children’s book publishing revolution. Her whimsy and imagination fueled a steady stream of stories, book ideas, songs, and poems and she was renowned for her prolific writing and business savvy, as well as her stunning beauty and endless thirst for adventure.

Clever, quirky, and incredibly talented, Margaret embraced life with passion, lived extravagantly off of her royalties, went on rabbit hunts, and carried on long and troubled love affairs with both men and women. Among them were two great loves in Margaret’s life. One was a gender-bending poet and the ex-wife of John Barrymore. She went by the stage name of Michael Strange and she and Margaret had a tempestuous yet secret relationship, at one point living next door to each other so that they could be together. After the dissolution of their relationship and Michael’s death, Margaret became engaged to a younger man, who also happened to be the son of a Rockefeller and a Carnegie. But before they could marry Margaret died unexpectedly at the age of forty-two, leaving behind a cache of unpublished work and a timeless collection of books that would go on become classics in children’s literature.

The Second Life of Mirielle West

This book is amazing and heartbreaking, I had no idea about this part of American history.

Based on the true story of America’s only leper colony, The Second Life of Mirielle West brings vividly to life the Louisiana institution known as Carville, where thousands of people were stripped of their civil rights, branded as lepers, and forcibly quarantined throughout the entire 20th century.
 
For Mirielle West, a 1920’s socialite married to a silent film star, the isolation and powerlessness of the Louisiana Leper Home is an unimaginable fall from her intoxicatingly chic life of bootlegged champagne and the star-studded parties of Hollywood’s Golden Age. When a doctor notices a pale patch of skin on her hand, she’s immediately branded a leper and carted hundreds of miles from home to Carville, taking a new name to spare her family and famous husband the shame that accompanies the disease.
 
At first she hopes her exile will be brief, but those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients and their disease has no cure. Instead she must find community and purpose within its walls, struggling to redefine her self-worth while fighting an unchosen fate.
 
As a registered nurse, Amanda Skenandore’s medical background adds layers of detail and authenticity to the experiences of patients and medical professionals at Carville – the isolation, stigma, experimental treatments, and disparate community. A tale of repulsion, resilience, and the Roaring ‘20s, The Second Life of Mirielle West is also the story of a health crisis in America’s past, made all the more poignant by the author’s experiences during another, all-too-recent crisis. 
 

The Lost Garden

The half-sisters are practically strangers, and their life in Hampshire is stilted and strange. At Rebecca’s pleading they move to the picturesque village of Goswell on the Cumbrian coast, settling into the charming Bower House on the edge of church property. When a door to a walled garden captures Rebecca’s interest, Marin becomes determined to open it and discover what is hidden beneath the brambles. She enlists the help of local gardener Joss Fowler, and together they begin to uncover the garden’s surprising secrets.

In 1919, nineteen-year-old Eleanor Sanderson, daughter of Goswell’s vicar, is grieving the loss of her beloved brother Walter, killed just days before the Armistice was signed. As winter passes into spring, her mood remains bleak despite her attempts to alleviate the emptiness she feels. When her father decides to hire someone to help Eleanor restore the once beloved, but now neglected, vicarage gardens, she is enchanted by the possibility of a new garden-and the gardener her father hires, Yorkshireman Jack Taylor. Jack understands the nature of Eleanor’s grief more than anyone else seems to, and as they spend time together, a surprising-and unsuitable-friendship unfolds…

For More Book Recommendations

You can find all of the books I share on my Friday Favorites post in “My Book Shop” on Pinterest, just in case you missed a few or are new to the blog.

Finds

I am trying to be more intentional this year with my purchases, a). because I already have a lot of “stuff” and b). we are doing some major renovations and I do not want to waste money on things I will not wear or use.

That said, I do like to look and share things I find that I like. I will let you know it I purchased the items I share and give an honest review.

I love this sweatshirt. There are several beautiful patterns that would make a statement in your wardrobe.

These Linen Blend Wide Leg Culotte are classic! Perfect for spring and summer.

Isn’t this blue sweater beautiful? Boden just releases its Spring collection just in case you wanted to add a piece to your wardrobe or purchase somethings for an upcoming trip!

I hope that you found something to read, to make and to enjoy. Please share any recipes, book recommendations or whatever else you found this week that you think we all would enjoy!

Have a great weekend my friends. Thank you for stopping by and spending part of your day with me.

Don’t forget you can also find Pinecones and Acorns on most social media sites,  Facebook Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Or you can subscribe to the blog and get the posts in your mailbox.

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

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