Friday Favorites~a weekly series where we share our favorite books, decor, fashion finds, recipes, podcasts, articles and more.
Friday Favorites No. 671
Good morning friends, how was your week? Have you dug out from the storm this past week? I cannot believe how much snow there was. Here it’s been cold, in the teens overnight which is pretty rare here. We do get cold temps in the winter but not for weeks as a time.
This weekend there is another storm on the way. Yesterday the shops were crazy and the shelfs were empty. Let’s just hope that we will not need provisions for a week and that we see lots of snow and not ice.
We have no plans for the weekend, Bill is still sick and everything her is canceled because of the snow. What about you? Do you have any plans for the weekend?
Don’t forget Kim, Juliet and I will be here tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings sharing lots of fun things. Ok, let’s get to the good stuff.
Food
Thin and crispy cracker crust St.Louis pizza is perfect for Friday night or game night.
Spicy Gochujang Noodles are ready in 20 minutes and are made in one pot!
Chicken bacon ranch bowls, part salad, part rice bowl topped with seasoned chicken, avocado and ranch dressing.
Valentine’s Day is just a few weeks away, if you are looking for a sweet treat to make for your family and friends these cupcakes are so easy and delicious!
LINKS TO READ+WATCH+LISTEN
How To Optimize Your Post-Meal Walk So It Helps Regulate Blood Sugar
Why a High-Fiber Diet Might Have More Benefits Than a High-Protein Diet
The World’s Best Travel Photos
I Tried King Arthur’s 2026 ‘Recipe of the Year’—and It’s Worth the Hype
12 Things 90 Years of Wisdom Taught Me About Life
Archaeologists Found a Legendary Set of Golden Armor Many Thought Didn’t Exist
Blasting heat at home and still freezing? There are easy fixes to save money and stay warm
BOOKS
A selection of books to add to your stack or to put on hold at your library.
Canticle
Aleys is sixteen years old and unusual: stubborn, bright, and prone to religious visions. She and her only friend, Finn, a young scholar, have been learning Latin together in secret—but just as she thinks their connection might become something more, everything unravels. When her father promises her in marriage to a merchant she doesn’t love, she runs away from home, finding shelter among the beguines, a fiercely independent community of religious women who refuse to answer to the Church.
Among these hardworking and strong-willed women, Aleys glimpses for the first time the joys of belonging: a life of song, meaning, and friendship in the markets and along the canals of Bruges. But forces both mystical and political are at work. Illegal translations of scripture, the women’s independence, and a sudden rash of miracles all draw the attention of an ambitious bishop—and bring Aleys and those around her into ever-increasing danger, a danger that will push Aleys to a new understanding of love and sacrifice.
Grounded in the little-told stories of medieval women—mystics, saints, anchoresses, and beguines—and introducing a major new talent, Canticle is a luminous work of historical fiction, vividly evoking a world on the verge of transformation.
A breathtakingly radiant story of an unlikely childhood friendship that survives the test of time.
Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem only a distant echo. An only child, he lives alone with Emilie, the mother he adores but who treats him with bitter severity. He begins an intense friendship with a Jewish boy his age, talented and mercurial Anton Zweibel, a budding concert pianist. The novel follows Gustav’s family, tracing the roots of his mother’s anti-Semitism and its impact on her son and his beloved friend. Moving backward to the war years and the painful repercussions of an act of conscience, and forward through the lives and careers of the two men, one who becomes a hotel owner, the other a concert pianist, The Gustav Sonata explores the passionate love of childhood friendship as it is lost, transformed, and regained over a lifetime. It is a powerful and deeply moving addition to the beloved oeuvre of one of our greatest contemporary novelists.
Pastoral Song
As a boy, James Rebanks’s grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in England’s Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognizable. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song.
Hailed as “a brilliant, beautiful book” by the Sunday Times (London), Pastoral Song (published in the United Kingdom under the title English Pastoral) is the story of an inheritance: one that affects us all. It tells of how rural landscapes around the world were brought close to collapse, and the age-old rhythms of work, weather, community and wild things were lost. And yet this elegy from the northern fells is also a song of hope: of how, guided by the past, one farmer began to salvage a tiny corner of England that was now his, doing his best to restore the life that had vanished and to leave a legacy for the future.
This is a book about what it means to have love and pride in a place, and how, against all the odds, it may still be possible to build a new pastoral: not a utopia, but somewhere decent for us all.
Looking for more books?
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
This sweater popped up in my email this week so I made it into an outfit. The sweater is light cashmere with colorful cherries, a great piece to wear now and in the spring. I paired it with a t-shirt and white jeans. The jeans and the t-shirt are classic closet staples that you can wear again and again. Add a spritz of your favorite perfume, a pair of shoes, I like these and these, then grab your tote and jacket and you are ready for the day.
See more of my outfits, separates and home decor on ShopMy and below.
UNTIL TOMORROW
I hope you enjoyed the recipes, links and books I discovered this week on Friday Favorites. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim and Juliet!
I hope that you have a wonderful day, thank you for spending part of it with me.
Before you go, tell me what is the best book that you have read so far this weekend?
Don’t forget to follow us on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. And last but not least, if you like Pinecones & Acorns share it with a friend!
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On My Radar~Spring
The three books you have recommended are all calling to me, I want to read them all! Thank you for the recommendation.
You had a video of the Frick Museum Collection a month or two ago. Is there anyway I can get the name and information about the video It was an Asian woman who showed several paintings/sculptures in the collection.
Hello Kathy,
I believe this is the post. https://pineconesandacorns.com/2026/01/jean-stoffer-rebecca-yeomans-hopewood-baskets-aimee-ng-and-more-on-weekend-meanderings/