Friday Favorites~a weekly series where we share our favorite books, decor, fashion finds, recipes, podcasts, articles and more.
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO. 604
Good morning friends! How was your week?
I have been down for the count, and in bed all week. My throat and ears have been the worst, along with exhaustion. This morning I am starting to feel a little better, still tired but I think I can at least get out of bed for the day.
It’s raining here with gusts of wind, hopefully it will not get any worse. To those in the path of Helene the Hurricane, how are you? My Floridian friends, how are you this morning? Please stay safe.
As always, I have lots to share so let’s get to all of our Friday Favorites!
FOOD
After eating bland and simple food while under the weather this week I am ready for some interesting Fall food.
Doesn’t this Pumpkin Cream Sauce Fettuccine look delicious?
And this chicken with pumpkin dumplings! The ultimate in comfort food.
You are going to want to bookmark or pin this recipe for Turkey Pot Pies with Bacon, Caramelized Onions, and Butternut Squash.
This is the easiest and prettiest salad, pear salad with walnut vinaigrette.
LINKS TO READ+WATCH+LISTEN
30 Grounding Techniques to Quiet Distressing Thoughts
How to Store Mushrooms and Keep Them Fresh
The Race to Make Your Coffee Do More and More
13 of the Best Self-Help Books for Anyone Looking for a Little Inspiration
The Most Controversial Olympics Moment Came Down to Four Seconds
10 Hard Things that Are Always Worth Doing for Yourself Before it’s Too Late
Norway’s simple answer to greener, cleaner living
Where to find the real Middle Earth.
BOOKS
Sally Rooney Intermezzo.
Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.
Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties―successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women―his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.
Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.
For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude―a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.
Happy People Read & Drink Coffee
Diane seems to have the perfect life. She is a wife, a mother, and the owner of Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, a cozy literary cafe in Paris. But when she suddenly loses her husband and daughter in a car accident, her life is overturned and the world as she knows it instantly disappears. Trapped and haunted by her memories, Diane closes her shop and retreats from her friends and family, unable and unwilling to move forward.
But one year later, Diane shocks her loved ones and makes the surprising decision to move to a small town on the Irish coast, finally determined to heal by rebuilding her life alone-until she meets Edward, a handsome and moody Irish photographer who lives next door. At first abrasive and unwelcoming, Edward initially resents Diane’s intrusion into his life of solitude . . . until he can no longer keep her at arm’s length. Along windy shores and cobbled streets, Diane falls into a surprising and tumultuous romance. As she works to overcome her painful memories and truly heal, Diane and Edward’s once-in-a-lifetime connection inspires her to love herself and the world around her with newfound inner strength and happiness. But will it last when Diane leaves Ireland, and Edward, for good?
Murder at the Paris Fashion House
Paris 1925: When news reporter Abigail Dixon trades the Chicago newsroom for the Paris fashion scene, she finds herself dazzled by the latest looks from Coco Chanel, sipping champagne at the Ritz, and interviewing a famous designer. Stepping into his luxurious atelier on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Abigail is ready to swoon over the exquisite gowns. The last thing she expects to find is her estranged stepmother lying dead on the fitting room floor – and Abigail framed as the prime suspect.
With only her high school French to defend herself to the debonair Inspector Henri Deschamps, Abigail must use her investigative skills to unravel a tangled web of family secrets and find the real murderer if she is to clear her name.
But over coffee and croissants one morning she reads a letter warning her that she is in grave danger and must leave Paris immediately. As Abigail swaps her très dowdy two-piece for a très chic silk chemise and a sharp bob to match, can she keep her wits about her, find the cunning couture killer, and prove her innocence so she can stay in the city that’s captured her heart?
Telling the Seasons takes us on a journey through the twelve months of the year with stories, customs and celebrations. Drawing on the changing patterns of nature and the rich tapestry of folklore from the British Isles, it is a colorful guide into how and why we continue to celebrate the seasons.
Here are magical myths of the sun and moon, earthy tales of walking stones and talking trees and lively legends of the spirits of each season. Original drawings, sayings, songs, recipes and rhymes, combine into a ‘spell-book’ of the seasons. Martin Maudsley tells tales around the year to children and adults, specializing in stories of the natural world and local landscapes. He can be found leading seasonal celebrations from firelit winter wassails to bright May Day mornings in rural Dorset where he lives.
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
OUTFIT OF THE DAY
Do you like gray? If you like dark colors but just don’t feel like wearing black then gray is a great option. This cozy outfit with gray corduroy pants, a cashmere sweater and a scarf is comfy enough to wear at home and will keep you warm when you are out. You could also layer a white t-shirt or blouse underneath.
I paired this is with ballet flats which are everywhere this season and are classic and comfortable for walking. The tote will hold everything you need, a wallet, laptop and even some of your purchases if you are out shopping.
Burgundy flats, bag and coat or switch the gray sweater for burgundy are also options if you want a little color.
The outfit details are below, but you can also find them and more on LTK.
UNTIL TOMORROW
What are your weekend plans?
Tell me something that you made 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!
If you have missed a Friday Favorites post you can find them all here.
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On My Radar
Dear Elizabeth,
I’m so very sorry you have felt so sick. You must have picked up a bad bug. It’s such a downer when your life gets put on hold. To feel weak can be depressing. Hopefully you have been able to sleep.
Doctor’s Orders, feel better soon. I would send you a card but I don’t have your address.
I’m a card person, and getting mail makes me happy, I call them, “presents.” The best kind.
Katherine, you hit the nail on the head. I rarely get sick but when I do it is like this, I am bed bound for a week. Perhaps it is someone telling me I need a rest.
I love snail mail and send cards and letters all of the time! It is definitely a treat to get a card in the mail in this day and age.
Thank you for your always kind words.
Have a lovely weekend.