Welcome to Friday Favorites, a weekly series where I share interesting articles, books, fashion finds, recipes and more.
Good Friday Favorites morning friends, how was your week? It was another busy one here, there were a few hiccups but that is par for the course while doing a renovation. The floor looks beautiful(in my opinion) and is almost finished. Next up is the sealer and then grout, so maybe by next week we will be walking on it.
A few of the appliances are being delivered, most importantly the double ovens and the washer/dryer, the cooktop and the dishwasher will not arrive until August(another delay). If you want to see more check out my Instagram stories because that is where I post the updates.
Today on Friday Favorites I have a few recipes for you to try, a scrumptious salad, better than take-out cashew chicken, dessert and of course a Friday cocktail. Grab a coffee and settle in to read the interesting articles, book recommendations and beautiful finds from around the web this week.
Friday Favorites No. 490
Food
Image and Recipe Gimme Some Oven
Cashew Chicken and Broccoli, better than take out!
Chicken Cobb Salad, easy and refreshing.
Chicken Tacos, a favorite weeknight dinner.
Image and Recipe Cake & Knife
You know that I cannot pass up a good pizza, grilled Burrata Pizza is a new one for me.
It is going to be another hot one this weekend, why not make some Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats?
Image Simply Recipes
The French 75, serve as an aperitif, or at your next brunch!
Interesting Articles
7 Hacks I Learned From ‘Atomic Habits’ That Changed My Life—and Will Change Yours Too
The Non-gardeners Guide to Happy House Plants
How the Amusement Park Conqured America
All History is Revisionist History
What’s So Funny? The Science of Why We Laugh
Found: a controversial painting hidden inside a painting by Vermeer
The Only Real Way to Detox Your Body
These Photos Will Make You Want to Book a Trip to the San Juans Immediately(one of my favorite vacations)
Books
The Paris Bookseller
When bookish young American Sylvia Beach opens Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris in 1919, she has no idea that she and her new bookstore will change the course of literature itself.
Shakespeare and Company is more than a bookstore and lending library: Many of the prominent writers of the Lost Generation, like Ernest Hemingway, consider it a second home. It’s where some of the most important literary friendships of the twentieth century are forged—none more so than the one between Irish writer James Joyce and Sylvia herself. When Joyce’s controversial novel Ulysses is banned, Beach takes a massive risk and publishes it under the auspices of Shakespeare and Company.
But the success and notoriety of publishing the most infamous and influential book of the century comes with steep costs. The future of her beloved store itself is threatened when Ulysses‘ success brings other publishers to woo Joyce away. Her most cherished relationships are put to the test as Paris is plunged deeper into the Depression and many expatriate friends return to America. As she faces painful personal and financial crises, Sylvia—a woman who has made it her mission to honor the life-changing impact of books—must decide what Shakespeare and Company truly means to her.
A bookish young American Sylvia Beach opens Shakespeare and Company on a quiet street in Paris in 1919, she has no idea that she and her new bookstore will change the course of literature itself.
Shakespeare and Company is more than a bookstore and lending library: Many of the prominent writers of the Lost Generation, like Ernest Hemingway, consider it a second home. It’s where some of the most important literary friendships of the twentieth century are forged—none more so than the one between Irish writer James Joyce and Sylvia herself. When Joyce’s controversial novel Ulysses is banned, Beach takes a massive risk and publishes it under the auspices of Shakespeare and Company.
But the success and notoriety of publishing the most infamous and influential book of the century comes with steep costs. The future of her beloved store itself is threatened when Ulysses‘ success brings other publishers to woo Joyce away. Her most cherished relationships are put to the test as Paris is plunged deeper into the Depression and many expatriate friends return to America. As she faces painful personal and financial crises, Sylvia—a woman who has made it her mission to honor the life-changing impact of books—must decide what Shakespeare and Company truly means to her.
The Confidant
Paris, 1975. Camille sifts through letters of condolence after her mother’s death when a strange, handwritten missive stops her short. At first she believes she received it by mistake. But then, a new letter arrives each week from a mysterious stranger, Louis, who seems intent on recounting the story of his first love, Annie. They were separated in the years before World War II when Annie befriended a wealthy, barren couple and fell victim to a merciless plot just as German troops arrive in Paris. But also awaiting Camille’s discovery is the other side of the story, which will call into question Annie’s innocence and reveal the devastating consequences of jealousy and revenge. As Camille reads on, she begins to realize that her own life may be the next chapter in this tragic story.
Life From Scratch
Witty, warm, and poignant, food blogger Sasha Martin’s memoir about cooking her way to happiness and self-acceptance is a culinary journey like no other.
Over the course of 195 weeks, food writer and blogger Sasha Martin set out to cook—and eat—a meal from every country in the world. As cooking unlocked the memories of her rough-and-tumble childhood and the loss and heartbreak that came with it, Martin became more determined than ever to find peace and elevate her life through the prism of food and world cultures. From the tiny, makeshift kitchen of her eccentric, creative mother, to a string of foster homes, to the house from which she launched her own cooking adventure, Martin’s heartfelt, brutally honest memoir reveals the power of cooking to bond, to empower, and to heal—and celebrates the simple truth that happiness is created from within.
Life Lessons From A Sourdough Starter
Heal the senses and start stress baking with the only bread recipe you need to help you live a happier, carefree life!
Who doesn’t love sourdough bread? And bread making is more than just a hobby. Baking sourdough can change your worldview and fine-tune your values, making you patient, caring, and reliable. It will ground the flighty and soothe the restless. There is no simpler recipe to achieving happiness.
Now you can enjoy the benefits of sourdough baking right in the comfort of your own home while learning life lessons you can carry with you out of the kitchen. Life Lessons from a Homemade Sourdough Starter not only teaches you how to make delicious bread, but also helps your heart to grow like a happy sourdough starter!
Fabric
A magnificent work of original research that unravels history through textiles and cloth—how we make it, use it, and what it means to us.
How is a handmade fabric helping save an ancient forest?
Why is a famous fabric pattern from India best known by the name of a Scottish town?
How is a Chinese dragon robe a diagram of the whole universe?
What is the difference between how the Greek Fates and the Viking Norns used threads to tell our destiny?
In Fabric, bestselling author Victoria Finlay spins us round the globe, weaving stories of our relationship with cloth and asking how and why people through the ages have made it, worn it, invented it, and made symbols out of it. And sometimes why they have fought for it.
She beats the inner bark of trees into cloth in Papua New Guinea, fails to handspin cotton in Guatemala, visits tweed weavers at their homes in Harris, and has lessons in patchwork-making in Gee’s Bend, Alabama – where in the 1930s, deprived of almost everything they owned, a community of women turned quilting into an art form.
She began her research just after the deaths of both her parents —and entwined in the threads she found her personal story too. Fabric is not just a material history of our world, but Finlay’s own journey through grief and recovery.
Finds
Here are a few things this week.
Love the colors of this dress.
Blue and white is perfect for every season.
Pink Gingham Tote perfect for the beach or to use everyday as a purse.
In case you missed it, I shared 10 beautiful, timeless and classic summer dresses to add to your wardrobe.
Until Tomorrow
Have a wonderful day friends, stay cool in the heat and be sure to drink lots of water and keep your pets inside and never ever leave them in the car, not even for a few minutes.
Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for “weekend meanderings” with Kim and Juliet! We will have lots to share from coast to coast.
This post contains affiliate links.
Athena Calderone, Jules Buono, Lessons in Chemistry and more on Weekend Meanderings. 
Friday Favorites No. 550 from Half Baked Harvest, Nutmeg Nanny, Honestly Yum and More
Friday Favorites No. 549 from Kale Junkie, Running to the Kitchen, Julia’s Album and More
Monday Musings No. 66
I’ve just learned about Atomic Habits, it’s so inspiring! Thanks for sharing and reminding me about it.
Now that sounds like an interesting book on FABRIC!
I thought so too. Hope you are having a great day.