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Easy recipes to add to your meal plan, books recommendations, fashion finds and more this week on Friday Favorites.
Good Friday morning friends, how was your week? I am feeling much better after my social media break, sometimes you just need to step back and “just be.” There is so much going on in the world that weighs heavily on all of us and social media seems to exacerbate it. I highly recommend unplugging at least once a week. Take time to reconnect with the things you loved before you spent all of your free time on social media making reels, and Tiktok videos and just mindlessly scrolling.
I have lots to share this week, as always, so grab your cup of coffee, chocolate, tea or wine and settle in. I think that you are going to find something to enjoy.
Friday Favorites
Food
Have you ever made your own pasta? I haven’t but after reading this post for Homemade Tonnarelli Pasta.I definitely want to try it.
I love conchas if you do as well and want to make your own, Pattis’ recipe looks easy and deliciois!
Image How Sweet Eats
This Nicoise salad is a feast for the eyes and palate.
The weather is warming up and soon we will be hosting summer suppers, this Strawberry Mojito will definitely be on the cocktail list.
Strawberries and Cream Filled Butter Cake is a family favorite.
We are hosting a dinner party on Saturday and will be making Momofuku Bossam along with Oi Muchim(cucumber salad) steamed rice and sesame broccoli.
Wanderlust
10 Frank Lloyd Wright Houses You Can Visit Across the U.S.
Barack Obama’s New Netflix Show Highlights the World’s Best National Parks
Walks of a Lifetime: Six Epic Mountain Hikes Across Europe
The Best And Coolest Places to Stay in London
Benefits Of Traveling Alone: Solo Travel For Women In Midlife
Interesting Articles
The Best Cheeses For Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Why We Listen to Music With Lyrics We Don’t Understand
Ukraine’s Zoos: What Is Happening to All the Animals
Ukraine: Putin isn’t mad – he’s following a long-established great power playbook for conquest
What If Russia Makes a Deal? How to End a War That No One Is Likely to Win
20 Days in Mariupol: The Team That Documented City’s Agony
How the Pandemic Housing Market Spurred Buyer’s Remorse Across America
Add the Lenten fish fry to the list of supply chain casualties. Surging costs force some to cancel
How to bully-proof your kids for life
How to Talk With Kids About Scary News
Madeleine Albright kept up her trailblazing work long after being secretary of state
I cannot wait to see The Duke!
Books
The Little Balloonist
A soaring love story set in Napoleonic France This irresistible literary debut novel was inspired by the life of Sophie Blanchard, one of the first women to fly.
In Paris, a young widow inherits her late husband’s considerable debts, as well as his celebrated hydrogen balloon. Drawn by the allure of flight despite its dangers, Sophie takes to the skies with a boldness that wins her fame throughout the country. Along with her new celebrity, Sophie wins the love of two very different men: one, her faithful childhood friend Andre Giroux, and the other a brash young Napoleon Bonaparte, soon to be emperor of France.
Reluctantly Home
Pip Appleby seems to have it all, with her prestigious job as a human rights lawyer and her enviable London home. But then a tragic accident stops her life in its tracks, and in an instant everything changes. Retreating to her family’s rural farm and the humble origins she has been trying to hide, Pip is haunted by what she has done.
When she discovers the diary of actress Evelyn Mountcastle in a box of old books, Pip revels in the opportunity to lose herself in someone else’s life rather than focus on the disaster that is her own. But soon she sees parallels—Evelyn’s life was also beset by tragedy, and, like Pip, she returned to Southwold under a dark cloud.
When Pip and Evelyn’s paths cross in real life they slowly begin to reveal the hidden stories that are holding them back. Can they help each other forgive what happened in the past and, perhaps, find happiness in the future?
This is how it always is
Laurie Frankel’s This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. And it’s about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. And families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever.
Sanctuary: The True Story of an Irish Village, a Man Who Lost His Way, and the Rescue Donkeys That Led Him Home
Patrick Barrett grew up on the back of a donkey. In the small village of Liscarroll, the young boy helped his family run a sanctuary for abandoned and abused donkeys. Struggling in school, Patrick only felt truly accepted in the presence of these funny, fuzzy, touching animals. It was like magic, how he and the donkeys understood each other. He became a true “donkey whisperer”―reading their body language, communicating with them in ways they could understand, and teaching himself how to “speak” in their distinctive calls.
But when Patrick was of age, he shipped out with the Irish Army and encountered unimaginable wartime horrors in Lebanon and Kosovo. In the aftermath, he returned home a broken man, sinking into the depths of PTSD and addictions. He believed nothing could save him. But he hadn’t counted on the donkeys.
Sanctuary is the remarkable true story of how faith turned one lost man’s life around with the help of the rescue animals who loved him. It’s an antidote to despair and a call to hope, revealing the beauty and wonder of Ireland as you’ve never seen it before.
Finds
I shared the lily pad tea cup on my blog last week and many of you loved it and purchased it. When I opened my email today the teapot popped up and there is also a cake stand. platter and serving utensils.
Target has some great dresses for Spring, I like this dress and this one too!
These are my new rain boots. What can I say, I love dachshunds and these boots made me smile.
If you are looking for a spring and summer bag, this wicker bag is classic.
I hope that you found something to make, read and enjoy this week. Have a wonderful and safe weekend and don’t forget to stop by tomorrow when I will be joining my friends Juliet and Kim as we share our Saturday Meanderings.
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Welcome back! I’ve missed you! Always love your inspiration on Fridays. Have a great weekend!
Thank you Leslie. Have a wonderful weekend.
OMG! I love your tea pot and cake stand. Love this post.
Thank you! Have a great day!
REALLY cute bag, going to get it! Also the boots – I need a pair for the garden. I like the French stripe ones, too!
I’ve begun to rely on your book recommendations – I’ve been drawn more to gentle reads these days and yours always fit the bill. Thank you!
Amy, I think the bag is fabulous. As for the boots, you cannot go wring with Joules, they fit great and are made well. I love to read and my choice is most often something “feel good.” I hope that you enjoy the books. Have a wonderful weekend. Any snow in the forecast?
Under another winter weather advisory and another 3 inches coming today 🙂
Nevertheless, I rolled out my spring perfumes yesterday (Jessica McClintock and Creed Spring Flower) and placed a large order at Demeter for spring scents: fressia, apple blossom, hyacinth, and lilac. At last I can smell like spring!
Enjoy that beautiful southern weather – it’s the only place to be in the spring, IMO.
I’ll have to see that Obama series on the parks.
And, here we have another beautiful post from Elizabeth…The Duke looks great!!! Excited to see that one and oh the food….the books…those darling rain boots….thank you for bringing us such a delightful post!
My lilacs have so many buds on them. It’s exciting even though I know I have a long way to go.