Friday Favorites~a weekly series where we share our favorite books, decor, fashion finds, recipes, podcasts, articles and more.
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO. 594
Good morning friends! How was your week? It was a hot sunny, humid weekend here. It is not even August and it feels like the dog days of summer.
We have a busy weekend ahead, it’s my sister’s birthday and my nieces 18th birthday, two days of celebrations ahead. Plus, lots of family time at the pool and the beach club.
What are your weekend plans?
As always, I have lots to share so let’s get to all of our Friday Favorites! If you have missed a Friday Favorites post you can find them all here.
FOOD
Quinoa Fried Rice! An easy, healthy and delicious take on your favorite take-out.
Chorizo bolognese with buffalo mozzarella, a new twist on your favorite pasta.
Looking for a sweet breakfast treat? Try this cherry almond coffee cake.
Friday is cocktail time.Why not try Frose?
LINKS TO READ+WATCH+LISTEN
The Grief of Relationship Breakdowns & Breakups.
Energy drinks are everywhere. How dangerous are they?
This Up-and-Coming Wine Region Is “What Napa Used to Be Like 30 Years Ago”
Decluttering Your Home? Here are 3 Helpful Questions to Ask in Each Room
This 1920s beachfront property is bursting with personality.
Can converting offices to housing save downtowns?
The Complicated Legacy of Nutrition Facts Labels
How to Handle the Dreaded Political Shop Talk at Work
The Tale of the Vanishing Summer Camp Ghost Story
BOOKS
A few books to add to your stack, enjoy now or pre-order.
Stories for Summer
Join a host of female writers in celebrating the sunshine months of the year. As a sister volume to Stories for Winter, this collection of 15 short stories takes its inspiration from the holiday season. Grab a copy as you head off to the beach or to lie by the pool and spend time with female protagonists as they navigate life during the hot summer days and long balmy evenings. In keeping with the spirit of the Women Writers series, the stories are penned by authors whose writing originally appeared in books and magazines in the twentieth century. Launched in 2020, the British Library Women Writers series is a curated collection of novels and anthologies by female authors who enjoyed broad, popular appeal in their day. In a century during which the role of women in society changed radically, their fictional heroines highlight women’s experience of life inside and outside the home through the decades in these rich, insightful and evocative stories.
The Moonlight Market
Deep in the heart of London, a young photographer named Tom Argent walks the streets and captures whatever catches his eye: an old man drinking coffee; a striking woman sipping champagne in St. Pancras station; a cloud of moths taking flight across the sky. He’s orphaned, lonely, and lost in his work. He certainly has no intention of falling in love.
And yet, love finds him in the shape of beautiful Vanessa, who lives a dangerous double life in the heart of the city. Tom’s pursuit of Vanessa leads him to discover an alternate world, hiding in plain sight among the streets and rooftops of London. A world unseen by common folk and inhabited by strange and colorful beings, in which two warring factions—one nocturnal, one in the light—wage war for the sake of a long-lost love, which can only end with one side’s total annihilation.
The Bookstore Wedding
Isabel, the long-lost Gibson sister, is finally back home on Brinkley’s Island, Maine. With Sophie and Violet, her sister and her niece, she’s got the family bookstore—and with Johnny Lenox, she’s got something even more special.
But even as life settles, not everything is falling into place. Isabel and Johnny have set the date three times, baked three wedding cakes, invited the whole island to three parties, only to have each attempt at matrimony fall apart at the last minute. Disasters seem to be conspiring against their happy ending, and Isabel is starting to wonder if their love is meant to be.
When family history comes back to haunt the Gibson sisters, Isabel knows that if she wants to make it down the aisle with Johnny, first she and Sophie will have to face the pain of their past and their present, and decide what it means for their future.
While the Paris culinary world is experiencing a fresh vibrancy, certain traditions remain intact yet may surprise in their modernity. For example, French cakes have less sugar. The pure taste of apples is not masked by cinnamon, and vanilla is never a given. A gateau may be lightly glazed, dusted with cocoa or confectioners’ sugar, drizzled with rose water, but rarely heavily iced. A splash of brandy, a squeeze of lemon or a thin blanket of ganache elevates even the easiest of cakes in mere minutes. And then there are savory cakes made with cheese, herbs, ham, baked into a delicious loaf. These cakes salés are ideal for picnic lunches, accompanied by a salad and a glass of Sancerre. Gâteau includes cakes for birthdays, summer feasts and winter holidays, last-minute dinner parties and school lunches, as well as beloved regional recipes and guest contributions from superstar Parisian bakers.
Practical, simple, and filled with over 100 rigorously tested recipes and charming illustrations, Gâteau celebrates every day and sometimes fanciful French cakes in all their glory.
MORE BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
If you have already read these books or missed something I have featured before on the blog check out My Bookshop on Amazon.
SHOPPING
Did you shop the Amazon sale? What did you buy? I bought Crest White Strips and some books.
I found a few things I liked at Nordstroms but they were sold out by the time I could order. There are sales everywhere, it may be a good time to start shopping for the holidays.
OUTFIT OF THE DAY
Do you like the color red? Me too! When I saw these red loafers I thought they would be the start of my outfit. Although the weather is hot and steamy the winds of change are coming and soon we will be pulling out our blazers and jeans. This outfit is made with classics, a blazer which can be worn with jeans, slacks, shorts, skirts and dresses too. A stripe shirt never goes out of style and nor do loafers a crossbody bag or a gold bracelet.
UNTIL TOMORROW
What are your weekend plans?
Tell me something that made you smile this week!
I hope you enjoyed the recipes, links and books I discovered this week on Friday Favorites. Thank you for spending part of your day with me, your time is valuable and I am grateful that you spend a little of each day with me. Have a wonderful weekend.
Follow along with us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, and Pinterest.
Don’t forget that Kim, Juliet and I will be back tomorrow on Weekend Meanderings!
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On My Radar
I bought the AirPod pros. They’re so good at noise cancellation that I didn’t know my husband was in the room talking to me. Sound is fabulous. I’m getting ready to read Shark Heart for my bookclub pick.
What made me smile is all the sweet things my husband does for me as I convalesce from my fracture. Have a great weekend.
It has been very hot here in the Mitten, too! Sounds like you have a fun and refreshing weekend planned. You always share so many awesome links. Love those little red flates and that cherry almond coffee cake. A must try! Happy weekend, friend!
Kim, I hope that you are staying cool. Enjoy your beautiful weather, winter comes early in the mitten. I am a voracious reader and find so many interesting links that I think you all would love.
I love these red flats, if only I could justify adding another pair of shoes to my already groaning closet.