Welcome to Friday Favorites, a weekly series where I share interesting articles, books, fashion finds, recipes and more!
Good morning friends, it is Friday and that means it is time for Friday Favorites! Are you ready for the weekend? It is going to be a busy one here with Derby parties, Mother’s Day brunch, and a dog show.
I have lots to share with you this week, including a few Filo dough recipes, Derby day drinks and eats, a few books and some tea finds. Get yourself a coffee, tea or chocolate and settle in for a nice long Friday favorites post.
Friday Favorites, Food, Finds, Books and More
Food
Creamy, cheesy, pasta? Yes please. Tortellini alla Panna takes just 15 minutes to make and is sure to become a family favorite.
Leek, Feta & Filo Roulade looks easy and delicious. This would be a great addition to your Mother’s Day table if you have family members that do not eat meat.
Puff pastry is so versatile, you can make sweet or savory recipes that are easy and delicious. Honey-Glazed Asparagus Prosciutto Puff Pastry Wraps from Cafe Sure Farine.
Homemade Cream Cheese and Fruit Danish made with store bought Filo dough. You can make these for breakfast tomorrow and skip your weekly trip to the bakery.
Don’t forget to make a batch of mint juleps for the Kentucky Derby Saturday afternoon. If you need a few more ideas here are My 10 Favorite Kentucky Derby Party Foods.
Interesting Reads
A stylish garden pavilion at the bottom of a magical London garden
How to Take Things Less Personally
The Four Enemies to a happy life and how to defeat them
You Don’t Have to Fold Your Laundry
How to Arrange Supermarket Flowers Like a Florist
The story behind Asian Pacific American Heritage, and why it’s celebrated in May
Spotlight Hotel: Planters Inn, I have not stayed in the hotel but I have eaten in their restaurant The Peninsula Grill.
What overturning Roe v. Wade could mean for the rest of the world
The Great Resignation is becoming a “great midlife crisis”
Why Do Pilots Sometimes Deliberately Delay Flights?
Cheap Meat or Luxury Rentals? Inside the Fight at Western Beef
Why We Forget: The Surprising Science Behind Memory Loss
The Untold Story of Hibiscus grandiflorus
If you are looking for a new TV show to watch, Slow Horses, a British espionage series based on Mick Herron’s novel of the same name. Starring Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas. and more.
Books
Bloomsbury Books is an old-fashioned new and rare book store that has persisted and resisted change for a hundred years, run by men and guided by the general manager’s unbreakable fifty-one rules. But in 1950, the world is changing, especially the world of books and publishing, and at Bloomsbury Books, the girls in the shop have plans:
Vivien Lowry: Single since her aristocratic fiance was killed in action during World War II, the brilliant and stylish Vivien has a long list of grievances–most of them well justified and the biggest of which is Alec McDonough, the Head of Fiction.
Grace Perkins: Married with two sons, she’s been working to support the family following her husband’s breakdown in the aftermath of the war. Torn between duty to her family and dreams of her own.
Evie Stone: In the first class of female students from Cambridge permitted to earn a degree, Evie was denied an academic position in favor of her less accomplished male rival. Now she’s working at Bloomsbury Books while she plans to remake her own future.
As they interact with various literary figures of the time–Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and others–these three women with their complex web of relationships, goals and dreams are all working to plot out a future that is richer and more rewarding than anything society will allow.
The Candid Life of Meena Dave(Free with First Reads Amazon Prime)
A woman embarks on an unexpected journey into her past in an engrossing novel about identity, family secrets, and rediscovering the need to belong.
Meena Dave is a photojournalist and a nomad. She has no family, no permanent address, and no long-term attachments, preferring to observe the world at a distance through the lens of her camera. But Meena’s solitary life is turned upside down when she unexpectedly inherits an apartment in a Victorian brownstone in historic Back Bay, Boston.
Though Meena’s impulse is to sell it and keep moving, she decides to use her journalistic instinct to follow the story that landed her in the home of a stranger. It’s a mystery that comes with a series of hidden clues, a trio of meddling Indian aunties, and a handsome next-door neighbor. For Meena it’s a chance for newfound friendships, community, and culture she never thought possible. And a window into her past she never expected.
Now as everything unknown to Meena comes into focus, she must reconcile who she wants to be with who she really is.
When your marriage falls apart, the last place you’d want your husband to move to is downstairs. Unfortunately for Sarah, up in the eaves at number 24, her ex-husband now lives one floor beneath her with his new wife. Their happiness floats up through the floorboards, taunting her.
A child psychologist, Sarah has picked up great sadness from the little girl, Una, who lives with her careworn mother three floors below, but is Sarah emotionally equipped to reach out?
The Spring brings a new couple to the house. Jane and Tom‘s zest for life revives the flagging spirits, and Sarah can’t deny the instant attraction to handsome Tom. Having seen at first hand what infidelity does to people, she’ll never act on it … but the air fizzes with potential.
The sunshine doesn’t reach every corner of number 24, however. Elderly Mavis, tucked away in the basement, has kept the world at bay for decades. She’s about to find out that she can’t hide forever.
A fun and simple approach to becoming a tea expert, from the founders of the international tea brand Palais des Thés.
No matter how much time you have―ten minutes or an hour―this book will always teach you something new and interesting about tea. Topics include the varieties of tea and where they are grown, how to select and prepare tea, how to taste and serve it, how to pair tea with food, and how to cook with tea. Stylish illustrations on every page add extra enjoyment to the process of becoming a true tea sommelier.
Just a reminder
You can find all of the books I have recommended on Friday Favorites, have read or have on my list to read on My Bookshop Pinterest Board
Friday Finds~ All Things Tea
A cuppa tea in the morning or in the afternoon is the perfect pick me up. Today I am sharing a section of tea themed “finds” that are great additions to your home or to give as a gift to the tea lover in your life.
I’ve had an electric kettle(this one) for about 15 years but I’ve been seeing this stylish model everywhere, they say it is perfect for a popover coffee or tea. I just think it looks stylish.
Hammam Loose Leaf Green Tea PALAIS DES THÉS sounds delicious.
Here are a few of my favorite teas:
Whittard of Chelsea Earl Gray,
Tj Maxx and Marshalls also have a lot of great tea brands, and accessories. You can even find the ones I mentioned above, especially around the holidays.
I love the look and the quote, “Find Peace Right Where You Are” on these Tea Towels. My friend Michelle of Hello Lovely uses that quote a lot and I was reminded of her when I saw these towels.
One of my favorite things when visiting Morocco was the copious amounts of mint tea that I consumed. Now I can recreate the scent of this special brew with this candle.
William Morris fans will love these Spode tea cups.
Blue and white Jonathan Adler cup and saucer.
If you like shopping at Target, and who doesn’t or if you spied a dress or two that you might want to buy in my post last week, all dresses are 30% off .
I hope you enjoyed my Friday Favorites and that you found something to make or to read. Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for “weekend meanderings” Kim and Juliet.
Have a wonderful weekend.
This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase from a link I will earn a small commission.
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So much great information in this post. The article about finding happiness was spot on.
PANNA is an ITALIAN item which we do not carry in THE STATES although my SISTER IN LAW said recently she found on AMAZON!It is not the same as the heavy whipping cream here but similar.PANNA IS VERY THICK.
BE VERY CAREFUL when you warm up which you would need to do with the whipping cream as its not as thick.
NEVER GARLIC in this sauce………EVER in ITALY.
It is more of a GREEK thing to put garlic in the sauces.
BUT OF COURSE YOU CAN DO AS YOU PLEASE and this might be your recipe?
Actually this isn’t my recipe, and the funny thing is that the people who wrote it lived in Italy for many years. I LOVE LOVE LOVE when you help me to learn something new. I am always very careful with heavy cream because it “breaks” or curdles very easily when hot.
Have a wonderful Weeknd Elizabeth
I too lived Italy for 3 years and asked my sister in law who is still there and 100% Italian before I wrote you to make sure as I have not made that in years.
just seemed off to me………..
Love all of the recipe links that you shared. Some lovely options for a brunch.
Thank you Tammy! Have a wonderful Mother’s Day!
I do like tortellini.
I do too!
As always great recipes and quotes
Thank you Cindy!