A perfect fall weekend, a novel that asks what if, and a conversation about starting over
Do you ever have one of those weekends that seems perfect? Is there such a thing? I do not know, but this weekend was relaxing, productive, lazy, busy, beautiful, fun and so much more. My tree arrived and threw a spanner into my work day last week, but I found time this weekend between putting the front beds to rest for the winter, weeding the circle, cutting the things that need to be cut, mulching, working, baking, going to a chili cookoff and taking a long walk in the most beautiful fall weather we have had all year. It was sunny, chilly, and called for a Barbour and a cashmere sweater. Somewhere in there I also finished my latest book.
Sunday night I went to bed with a sigh and a big smile. I have a busy week ahead. Tomorrow I am joining Cindy to share holiday style for your house and your wardrobe from TJ Maxx and Marshalls.. If you enjoyed our fall version, I think you will love this one. Then on Thursday the 12th I am joining four blogger friends to share our dishes for Thanksgiving. Friday Favorites and Weekend Meanderings will be up as well, of course.
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What I Read
John Boyne’s The Weight of Angels begins with a small, ugly moment in February 1895. An insulting note from the Marquess of Queensberry was waiting for Oscar Wilde at his club, and in real life Wilde answered it by suing for libel. That lawsuit led to his own arrest, a trial, prison, and a fall so fast that he was living in poverty in Paris and dead at forty-six. Boyne asks what would have happened if Wilde had simply ignored the note. In this version he does. Wilde goes on living into the twentieth century, is around for its great upheavals, and has a hand in a few of them, so his later years turn out to be every bit as eventful as his early ones.
It is a book about one decision and everything that hangs on it. If you have already read this book, you can find more of the books I share in My Book Shop.
What I Watched
I watched Ina Garten on The Mel Robbins Podcast and loved every moment of it. If you only know Ina as the Barefoot Contessa, the cookbooks and the television show, this is a different side of her. She did not start with a plan. She left a high-level government job to buy a small specialty food store with no experience at all, and she talks about jumping in the pond, which is her way of saying you act before you have all the answers and work it out as you go. They talk about trusting her own taste when nobody else agreed with it, walking away from what stopped working, and knowing when a chapter is over. Marriage, friendship, confidence, ambition and failure come up too. Ina is 78 and starting a new chapter right now, so this is not a conversation about the past.
Reading the novel and watching the interview in the same week turned out to be an accidental pairing. One asks what if a single decision had gone the other way. The other is about a woman who made decisions that made no sense to anyone but her and trusted them anyway. It is the same ground I covered when I wrote about learning to say no in midlife, and if you would like to spend more time in her kitchen, I have also written about her blueberry crumb cake, her old fashioned apple crisp, her butternut squash soup and several other recipes. As you can tell I am a big fan. .
Outfit of the Day
Cold days and busy weeks call for a cozy night at home, and any Stubenhocker will tell you the same. All you need is a comfy chair, a throw, and an outfit that asks nothing of you. A plush robe, seasonal pajamas, and slippers are the whole thing. Add a book and some hot chocolate in a cute cup, and you are set for an evening in.
Outfit Details
Until Next Week
If you missed Saturday, it was a good one for house tours and a few things worth watching, and the next Weekend Meanderings will be up this weekend. Find me on Facebook, Instagram or X or Pinterest. for more during the week.
I am curious about something. Is there a decision in your life that made no sense to anyone else and turned out to be exactly right?
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Ina Garten’s blueberry crumb cake
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