Recipes for the table, three books worth clearing your schedule for, and a few things making this last stretch of summer better.
Summer is slowly winding down, although you would not know it from the weather. This week, sitting on the porch after my morning walk, I heard a school bus rumbling down the road in the early quiet. I could not see the faces inside, but I can imagine that in the middle of August there were some frowning ones pressed against those windows. My heart went out to them, a little. There is something about that yellow bus that takes you right back.
The shops are filling up, slowly, the way August always works. Fall decor and home goods are arriving, and sweaters have started creeping in at the edges. Online it is a different story altogether, some shops have gone full-force into fall and Halloween lines already. I am not a Halloween decorator. I do love the candy, and I absolutely love children in costumes. But my version of fall decor is what I bring home from my walks: pinecones, acorns, leaves, seed pods, whatever the path offers. It is free, it is beautiful, and it is exactly right.
In case you missed it and are still deep in summer fun, I joined five friends yesterday to share some wonderful outdoor meals, salads, soups, desserts, and more. It was a good week for the table.
Now, on to the favorites.
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Friday Food
Hash Brown Crust Quiche with Prosciutto from The Fresh Cooky. Made with eggs, Gruyere cheese, caramelized leeks, peppers, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and prosciutto all nestled in a crispy hashbrown crust. This is the kind of quiche that earns a permanent spot in your rotation.
Simple Lemon Arugula Couscous Feta Salad from Hungry Happens. A delicious and easy anytime salad that comes together at the last minute and somehow manages to impress every time.
Delicious Taco Bowls from All The Healthy Things. Lean ground beef, cilantro lime rice, and all the toppings you can fit in the bowl. It comes together quickly and is perfect for meal prep. We made this last night and loved it.
Something Sweet
Roasted Cherry Streusel Shortbread Bars, sweet, nutty, buttery bars topped with crunchy streusel. A sweet treat for snacks and dessert.
Read, Watch, Listen
An Open Letter to Everyone Who Lies to Impress People
The rent was already high. Then came the $200 work-from-home fee
Retracing the defiant walk that changed Britain
A bitter pill: are you wasting your money on supplements?
Organized Rebellion: How Nightlife Evolved Throughout the Ages
‘It ain’t the same’: inside the bitter battle to free Ben & Jerry’s
I Asked 6 Chefs What They Never Order at Restaurants—and Now I’ll Avoid These Dishes Forever
On the Library List
Three books this week on my library list. I think there is something for everyone.
The Housewives Underground: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the JFK Assassination Our Most Enduring Mystery by Kaitlyn Tiffany. In the winter of 1967, the official account of the Kennedy assassination was beginning to unravel. A scattered group of Americans had been pointing to serious problems with the Warren Commission report, and many of the most rigorous critics turned out to be women who, within the community, outnumbered the men two to one. Politicians and reporters dismissed them as scavengers and eccentrics. But this painstakingly researched book resurrects the story of Maggie Field, Shirley Martin, and Sylvia Meagher — women who reshaped both the investigation and our national memory. At the center is Meagher, a born-and-raised New Yorker devoted to the ballet and the Mets, who gave twenty-five years to her conviction that the whole truth had not been told. This is a book about what women can do when no one is watching.
London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets by Peter Ackroyd. Ackroyd tunnels through the geological layers of London, excavating the lore and mythology beneath the surface. A Bronze Age trackway under the Isle of Dogs, Anglo-Saxon graves under St. Paul’s, a door in the plinth of the statue of Boadicea that leads to a tunnel packed with cables. To go under London, he argues, is to penetrate history. Highly imaginative and completely entertaining — the kind of short book that opens a much larger world.
Scavenging Beauty by Angelica Glass. Glass spent decades as a social worker helping families through poverty, addiction, and neglect. To manage the weight of it, she started walking. What began as exercise became a years-long odyssey through every street in Santa Cruz County, California, and along the way she found something she had not expected: healing. Between moments of awe and a camera always in hand, she grappled with her own complicated past, the aging process, and grief. It is a beautiful, quiet memoir about what the natural world can do for us when we let it.
You can find all of my book recommendations at My Bookshop. Most are also available from Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org and on Libby through your local library.
Outfit of the Day
There is something about Alex Mill that gets it exactly right. The look is classic, casual, preppy and the new sweater collection may be my favorites yet. This week paired a rugby stripe sweater in blue, paired it with comfortable blue pants, and called it a day. Blue loafers, a blue suede bag, and a charm bracelet pull it all together.
Outift Seperates Click Below
I hope your weekend has at least one slow morning, something good to read, and a few more late summer adventures before the seasons turn. We are almost there.
I am curious: do you have a fall ritual you look forward to all year, something you wait for all summer long? A recipe you make the first cool weekend, a candle you pull out of the closet, a walk you save for October?
You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and X as well. Stop by tomorrow for Weekend Meandeirngs with Kim and Juliet!
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