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Welcome to Friday Favorites, a weekly series where I share interesting articles, books, fashion finds, recipes and more.
Good Friday Favorites morning friends. After a hot, humid night of incessant rain this morning it is moody and gray.
Tonight we are having a dinner party so that should make a gloomy day bright. Then Saturday we are headed out for an adventure.
In case you missed it, I’ve “opened” a Holiday Shop on the blog. You can find all of the Home Decor, including trees, wreaths, pillows and more, I have been sharing over the last week or two all in one place.
Get yourself a cup of tea and sit a spell. I have lots to share this week, a few chick-lit Christmas books, some comfort food and lots of interesting links!
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO.506
Food
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Sauce, an easy and delicious dinner.
Add these Cheesy scalloped potatoes to your Thanksgiving dinner! They are sure to steal the show.
Pumpkin Pecan Pie Cheesecake! I wish I had a piece right now!
Spiced Rum Cake is perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Did you see this easy no-bake candy and cookie board! Everybody at you holiday gatherings will love this!
Interesting Articles and Links
How People Voted in Ancient Elections
Love this house designed by McGrath II
The Pasta Sauce Hailed as the World’s Best Is Surprisingly Easy to Make at Home
Did you by anything at the Joan Didion auction?
What can we learn from wipes, oils, and fats when they overwhelm the arteries of the modern world?
Life Would Better if We Added this Line to Every Email
This is Why We Love Apple Cider Donuts
The New Generation of Southern Doughnut Shops
Books
Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.
Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic…and then her bus drives away.
Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.
What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.
One Dress. Two Women. The Magic of the Holiday Season.
When hopeful fashionista Meg Julliard must return to her hometown of Chicago to manage her late father’s apartment building, she thinks her dreams of making it in the fashion business are over. Add in her father’s eclectic roster of tenants who all need Meg’s attention (ASAP!), a host of building related disasters, and a handsome handyman she keeps embarrassing herself in front of, and this has all the makings for the worst Christmas she’s ever had.
Ellie Wade, one of the building’s longtime residents, is also not feeling the Christmas Joy this year. She is preparing to move into a nursing home (reluctantly), and is in the process of sorting through her belongings to downsize. Every corner of her apartment holds memories, some good, some bad. But there’s one dress she hesitates to pack up as it represents both the best and worst night of her life.
Ellie and Meg strike up an unlikely friendship and the story of Ellie’s dress comes out. Ellie gifts the gorgeous dress to Meg, hoping that it will bring her more luck, on the condition that she wear it to the building’s Christmas party.
The dress magically fits, and while it eventually leads to the best night of Meg’s life, it also acts as inspiration for Meg to follow a life-long dream of her own, a dream that will help save the crumbling Parkview West, and restore it to its former glory, and keep it as a safe home for all of the current tenants.
The dress and the magic of the holiday season helps both Meg and Ellie find their own happy endings.
Sometimes the best gifts in life are the ones you don’t expect.
Cassie and Tom lost their parents at a young age and relied on each other—as well as a community of friends—to cope. They were especially close with Tom’s best friend, Sam, who always made sure that Tom and Cassie were surrounded with love. But, twenty years later, Cassie has lost Tom as well. And in a way, she’s also lost Sam; over the years they’d drifted apart, and now the man she always had a crush on is someone she doesn’t even recognize anymore.
She’s never felt more alone.
Then Cassie finds an envelope with her name on it, written in Tom’s terrible handwriting, and she knows immediately what it is. It’s the first clue in the Christmas scavenger hunt that Tom made for her every year; he’d promised her for months that this year’s would be the grandest one yet. At first, she’s too scared to open the envelope—what if she can’t figure out the clues without his help? Or what if she does figure them all out and her last connection to Tom is gone?
Tom’s present sets Cassie on a heart-wrenching and beautiful journey that will change her life—if she lets it. And as she travels from London to the Welsh mountains to the French countryside, she reconnects with old friends, rekindles a lost love, and, most important, rediscovers herself. But once she’s solved the final clue, will she be brave enough to accept the gift her brother has given her—and the love it’s led her to?
Books for Holiday Gifts
You can no pre-oder Kristy Woodson Harveys’ latest book! Kristy is an amazing writer and her books are the perfect gift!
Order the Summer of Songbirds for family and friends and then read Christmas In Peachtree Bluff on your kindle for FREE!
Nearly thirty years ago, in the wake of a personal tragedy, June Moore bought Camp Holly Springs and turned it into a thriving summer haven for girls. But now, June is in danger of losing the place she has sacrificed everything for—and begins to realize how much she has used the camp to avoid facing difficulties in her life.
June’s niece, Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier Bradley and Mary Stuart Harris, during a fateful summer at camp, and the three are inseparable even in their thirties. But when attorney Daphne discovers that Lanier’s fiancé—who just so happens to be her client—has done something highly illegal, she must choose between her job and her friendship.
Meanwhile, Lanier is hiding secrets both new and old that might make Daphne see the situation in an entirely different light. When one of those secrets unexpectedly rises to the surface, it threatens to change the very fabric of their friendship.
But when the women learn that their childhood oasis is in danger of closing, they put aside their own problems and band together with June to save it, sending them on a journey that promises to open the next chapters in their lives.
Christmas Books for Kids
Twas the Night Before Christmas
A perennial bestseller and timeless gift in the holiday season, multiple adaptations exist of this classic holiday tale, almost exclusively illustrated in bold classic colors. Mr. Boddington’s Studio provides a fresh take by using the same poem and updating the style with a sophisticated and modern color palette. Children and parents alike will delight in revisiting this classic holiday tale with the iconic and fresh Mr. Boddington’s style.
This week I shared 25 Christmas books for kids, oi you missed the post check it out! There is sure to be one or two books to add to your children or grand- children’s library.
Finds
Plaid tidings friends! If you like this dress from Tuckernuck but don’t want to spend the money check out this dress. They are similar style, but not the same fabric or plaid. I ordered it, the fabric is lightweight so keep that in mind, but it is a great option for holiday parties and even better, it’s on sale for $27.00. I would style it with black tights.
Are you looking for holiday party outfits? I ran into TJMaxx yesterday and they had some beautiful skirts! I purchased one in black tulle and another in Burgundy silk, sadly I cannot find either one on the website. Bother were about $25.00. The look is similar to this skirt($19.00).
I shared this scarf last Saturday, it arrived yesterday, it is so soft and beautiful! The blue is not as bright as shown in the photo. This scarf is big, like a shawl or a blanket scarf, it would make a wonderful gift and is perfect for traveling to keep you warm on the plane.
H&M is donating 10% of the sale of these items to Save the Children. Isn’t the hot dog cute? And the ice cream cone too?
Speaking of H&M, they have lots of new arrivals, this sweater, this gorgeous coat is sure to make a statement, love this casual quilted jacket and this fair isle sweater.
Love these brocade booties! I think they would look great for a holiday party! I actually have these boots in leopard.
Hearth & Hand has so many great Christmas pieces, including this pillow and this pillow. and this garland.
Pin Me for Later
UNTIL TOMORROW
Have a great day friends, thank you for spending part of your day with me, I really appreciate it. I hope to see you back here tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim and Juliet!
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I loved One Day in December.
Me too!
That scarf is fabulous Eliz! You find the best stuff!
Cindy, it is $26.00, and it is so beautiful!
More incredible recipes. The Rum Spice Cake has my mouth watering this morning while sipping on my coffee.
Thank you Tammy! Have a wonderful weekend.
So happy I found your blog! I’m really enjoying it! Great fashion ideas and yummy recipes.
Thank you Anita! Welcome!
I do love scalloped potatoes! It’s a real comfort food. I’ve never cared for cheesecake, but I could go for a slice of that spiced rum cake.
Brenda
Scalloped potatoes are my favorite too! I could eat that entire pan.
Here we are having a night full of rain.
It has been so rainy and humid here.