Welcome to Friday Favorites, a weekly series where I share interesting articles, books, fashion finds, recipes and more.
Good morning friends, happy Friday Favorites! I woke to the sun streaming in the open window and a bird chirping on the sill. It’s a great day for many reasons but first and foremost it is my husbands last day of work, he is retiring. He is so excited for new adventures and so am I.
In the meantime we have a busy and fun weekend ahead. Tonight we have friends in town and they are coming for diner. Then tomorrow we are going to another friends for a party and Sunday we are headed to Spring races at the harness track.
I’ve got lots to share today so let’s get to it!
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO. 526
Food
Pappardelle with Arugula Walnut Pesto is a taste of spring in a bowl!
Chile Verde Enchiladas are one of my favorite restaurant meals to make at home.
This spring asparagus caprese salad is perfect for Easter!
Speaking of Easter, what do you have on the dessert menu?
I will be making a cream cheese coffeecake for breakfast.
And this scrumptious cheesecake for dessert.
Links
Ed Sheeran Confesses: Tears, Trauma, and Those Bad Habits
6 Ways to Make Your House Feel Like You
MIT Researchers Twisted Apart Hundreds of Oreos to Find the Perfect Method
How to Thrive When Everything Feels Terrible
A Teenage Experience Cherished for Generations Is Disappearing. What Are We Really Losing?
How Cigna Saves Millions by Having Its Doctors Reject Claims Without Reading Them
How to Create Your Optimal Bedtime Routine
Explore Photos of Mount Rushmore Before & During Construction
Breathtaking details from famous gardens and how to copy them in your own
Books
The Windsor Knot
It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted by the shocking and untimely death of a guest in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene leads some to think the young Russian pianist strangled himself, yet a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play. When they begin to question the Household’s most loyal servants, Her Majesty knows they’re looking in the wrong place.
For the Queen has been living an extraordinary double life ever since her teenage years as “Lilibet.” Away from the public eye and unbeknownst to her closest friends and advisers, she has the most brilliant skill for solving crimes. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian officer recently appointed to the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen discreetly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth won’t hesitate to use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.
SJ Bennett captures Queen Elizabeth’s voice with skill, nuance, wit, and genuine charm in this imaginative and engaging mystery that portrays Her Majesty as she’s rarely seen: kind yet worldly, decisive, shrewd, and, most important, a superb judge of character.
Daughter of Paris
The story of Marie Duplessis, the courtesan who consumed Parisian high society in the 19th Century, and the inspiration behind masterpieces such as Alexandre Dumas Fils’ The Lady with the Camellias and Verdi’s La Traviata, is one that overwhelms with its soul-searing tragedy.
This peasant girl, who endured cruelty, abandonment, and the torment of a woman’s lot in her time, clawed her way through the class and cultural strata of Paris from one rich man to another, with her sensational beauty lighting the way.
Yet her beauty wasn’t the only thing capturing hearts, but also her indefatigable spirit, unflappable honesty, and raw commitment to finding love, no matter the cost—an ideal that always seemed to elude her.
Marie Duplessis was the courtesan who conquered her world as no other woman has, past or present. This is the story of a peasant girl who surpassed all suppressions her era imposed on its women, to become one of the most famous individuals 19th century Europe had ever known.
The Cottage Garden
In the pages of The Cottage Garden, you’ll first draw inspiration from the stories and landscapes of generations of famous cottage gardeners, including Gertrude Jekyll, Vita Sackville-West, William Robinson, Margery Fish, and Tasha Tudor. Then, meet modern cottage gardeners from around the globe who combine billowing masses of flowers such as poppies, delphinium, lupines, foxgloves, peonies, roses, lilies, and many more to create dreamy landscapes infused with the romance and wildness of cottage-style gardening.
You’ll find no formal lines, rigid rules, or perfect spacing in the cottage garden. Instead, the form is organic and purposefully unstructured. Plants self-sow here and there, bulbs pop up and spread unrestricted, and everything appears casual; though as you’ll come to learn through Dalby’s words, it is all done with great intent.
Overflowing with textures and colors, the cottage gardens featured throughout this book in hundreds of full-color photographs are found in places as diverse as Germany, Sweden, Denmark, England, and the United States. The accompanying text is derived from Dalby’s personal visits to these gardens, along with his intimate interviews with the resident gardeners.
NEED MORE BOOK RECOMENDATIONS?
If you have already read these books or missed something I have featured before on the blog check out My Bookshop on Amazon.
Finds
Outfit of the Day
dress//bag//earrings//nail polish//perfume//sandals
I love the colors of spring and cannot resist a dress. This dress from Farm Rio caught my eye and I decided to add pops of orange to make it even more spring like. If that isn’t your style you could always add neutral sandals and accessories, like these sandals//sandals//sandals and a straw bag or basket.
Spring Finds
Boden
Anthropologie
UNTIL TOMORROW
I hope you enjoyed Friday Favorites and found something to make or read. Have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you for spending part of your day with me, I always appreciate it. If you have missed a Friday Favorites post you can find them all here.
I hope to see you back here tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim and Juliet.
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Last Minute Easter Gifts, Tablescape Ideas and Basket Fillers
Congratulations to your husband for his retirement. You must be excited too.
You sound like you have a great weekend ahead!
Yes, congratulations! I’m sure now you’ll be freed up to travel and explore. I enjoyed the articles. You always find good ones. The enchiladas look delicious!
Brenda
Happy Retirement wishes for the two of you! I am reading The Windsor Knot at the moment and it’s delightful. I have the second book on its way to me.
The coffee cake sounds good.
The Windsor Knot sounds fabulous, will check that out.