Four recipes for the long weekend, three books, and everything else I found this week
It is Memorial Day weekend. How did that happen. One minute it was New Year’s Eve and now here we are at the unofficial start of summer, trying to remember where we put the citronella candles.
The weather is not looking promising at the moment, which is typical for North Carolina in May. We are keeping our fingers crossed. The grill will be lit regardless. What are your plans for the long weekend? Travel? A party? Or just enjoying a little time at home?
I have lots to share so let’s get to the good stuff.
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Friday Food
Need a recipe or two for your first bbq of the season? I am sharing some of my favorite holiday weekend recipes.
Classic Cheeseburger from Modern Honey. No cookout is complete without one. In my humble opinion.
Loaded Baked Potato Salad from Homemade Home. Everything good about a loaded baked potato, in a bowl. Crispy bacon, ranch dressing, cheese. This is the potato salad that makes people ask for the recipe.
And Grilled Summer Cobb Salad from What’s Gaby Cooking, for something a little lighter alongside everything else on the table. Hearty enough to stand on its own, if you feel like a light meal.
Something Sweet
My Red, White and Blue No-Bake Cheesecake was in the top five on the blog last year and for good reason. It is easy, it is beautiful, and it requires no oven. On a warm weekend, that last part is its own kind of gift.
Read, Watch, Listen
Ten things from the internet this week worth your time.
The “Unbelievable” Character Who Just Upended the Wildest Trial in Years
I Asked a Food Safety Expert if It’s Better to Use Plastic Wrap or Aluminum Foil
Meet the Coffee Shop That’s Quietly Taking Over American Cities
Four nominations in one year – the actress who could make Oscars history
This chick hatched from an artificial egg
What People Are Getting Wrong This Week: What Are ‘Grabavoi Numbers’?
Tick bites surge, sending many to ER. Maps show where.
Heading to Paris or Provence anytime soon? Cindy shared what she packed and wore for two weeks.
Books On the Nightstand & the List
Three very different books this week, which is exactly how I like it.
The Unknowns: The Untold Story of America’s Unknown Soldier and WWI’s Most Decorated Heroes Who Brought Him Home by Patrick K. O’Donnell. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery is sacred ground. When the first Unknown Soldier was laid to rest, General Pershing selected eight of America’s most decorated veterans to serve as Body Bearers. A cowboy, an American Indian soldier, a New Englander who dueled a U-boat for hours, a gunner who, though blinded by gas, overcame five machine-gun nests. Their stories are extraordinary, and O’Donnell tells them with, as the Wall Street Journal put it, exhaustive research and fluid prose. This is exactly the right book for this weekend.
The Homemade God by Rachel Joyce. Four siblings gather at their family’s lake house during a European heatwave, trying to piece together what happened to their father, a famous artist who has died in Italy leaving no trace of his final painting. Joyce wrote The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. If you loved that one, this is already on your list. People calls it a gorgeous page-turner. I believe them.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors. Three estranged sisters return to New York after the death of a fourth, forced to reckon with the apartment they grew up in and everything they left unresolved. A recovering addict turned lawyer in London. A former boxer in Los Angeles. A model in Paris running from herself. Mellors writes with humor and heart.
Looking for more books? Everything I have recommended can be found on My Bookshop. Most are also available from Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and on Libby from your local library.
Outfit of the Week
It’s the unofficial start to summer and there are sales galore. Almost everything in today’s outfit is on sale, including the shorts, shirt, and the sandals. The bag is TJmaxx where everything is always on sale.
Click the Images Below for Outfit Details
Whatever this weekend holds for you, I hope there is something good on the grill, something cold in a glass, and at least one afternoon where no one needs anything from you. That last part may be wishful thinking. Aim for it anyway.
Are you doing anything to mark the holiday? A cookout, a road trip, a long weekend at home with a stack of books? Tell me in the comments.
I hope you enjoyed this week’s Friday Favorites.
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim and Juliet!
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Thank you for all of the links to interesting and informative articles. I never fail to learn something from one or more of them!