Friday Favorites~a weekly series where I share interesting articles, books, fashion finds, recipes and more.
Good morning friends, how was your week? It was a busy one here.
We have several house projects going on at once, including flooring, a powder bath, and work outside. Needless to say the house is a mess. I cannot wait to get it put back together, furniture, art, wood and tools are everywhere.
I don’t know if the endless hot weather has people wishing for Fall but my Pinterest feed and email are filled with Fall fashion, foods, and decor. Christmas is even making an appearance. Not to mention that Krispy Kreme is already selling pumpkin spice donuts!
Is it too early? I am still enjoying lazy days by the pool, beach reads and burgers on the grill but I am definitely looking forward to cozy season.
Ok, enough talk about Fall, I have lots to share today on Friday Favorites so let’s get to it!
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO. 545
RECIPES- TO TRY
Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps are a quick, easy, and delicious dinner.
Cheesy Bacon Ranch Pasta, chicken, bacon and cheesy pasta. I cannot wait to make this comfy and comforting meal.
Summer Corn Chowder made with fresh sweet summer corn, red potatoes, and poblano pepper. Make this and serve with a salad for lunch or dinner.
Blueberry peach crisp, the easiest summer dessert.
Pineapple Ranch Water is a is a refreshing take on an easy cocktail to make this weekend.
Links
These 6 Barbie Facts Might Surprise You
‘Barbie’ Was Surprisingly Deep: 6 Lessons We’ll Remember for Life
The IRS Is Going Paperless and Embracing Smart Phones
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is a reminder that social media is not real life
Drinking water before bed might help you sleep better, age better and boost your energy levels
Americas Bee Problem is an Us Problem
POV: It’s time we dress for success again. Here’s how
These are the 5 most common negative thoughts holding you back
Books
One of the books I read this week, the book I am currently reading and the ones I have on my stack to read this weekend.
Nestled in the bucolic town of Green Valley in upstate New York, the Pennywort farm appears ordinary, yet at its center lies something remarkable: a wild maze of colorful gardens that reaches beyond the imagination. Local legend says that a visitor can gain answers to life’s most difficult problems simply by walking through its lush corridors.
Yet the labyrinth has never helped Olivia Pennywort, the garden’s beautiful and enigmatic caretaker. She has spent her entire life on her family’s land, harboring a secret that forces her to keep everyone at arm’s length. But when her childhood best friend, Sam Van Winkle, returns to the valley, Olivia begins to question her safe, isolated world and wonders if she at last has the courage to let someone in. As she and Sam reconnect, Olivia faces a difficult question: Is the garden maze that she has nurtured all of her life a safe haven or a prison?
The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered, and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada was destined for fame long before her birth. But her mathematician mother, estranged from Ada’s infamous and destructively passionate father, is determined to save her only child from her perilous Byron heritage. Banishing fairy tales and make-believe from the nursery, Ada’s mother provides her daughter with a rigorous education grounded in mathematics and science. Any troubling spark of imagination—or worse yet, passion or poetry—is promptly extinguished. Or so her mother believes.
When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Little does she realize how her exciting new friendship with Charles Babbage—the brilliant, charming, and occasionally curmudgeonly inventor of an extraordinary machine, the Difference Engine—will define her destiny.
The present: Emilie de la Martiniéres has always fought against her aristocratic background, but after the death of her glamorous, distant mother, she finds herself alone in the world and sole inheritor of her grand childhood home in the south of France. An old notebook of poems leads her in search of the mysterious and beautiful Sophia, whose tragic love affair changed the course of her family history. As Emilie unravels the story, she too embarks on her own journey of discovery, realising that the château may provide clues to her own difficult past and finally unlock the future.
The past: London 1943. A young office clerk, Constance Carruthers, is drafted into the SOE, arriving in occupied Paris during the climax of the conflict. Separated from her contact in her very first hours in France, she stumbles into the heart of a wealthy family who are caught up in a deadly game of secrets and lies. Forced to surrender her identity and all ties to her homeland and her beloved husband, Constance finds herself drawn into a complex web of deception, the repercussions of which will affect generations to come.
Mark Pupo got into the habit of preparing big breakfasts every Sunday with his neurodivergent kindergartener, Sam. Everything else in life was tough and complicated, but making breakfast together was weirdly easy. (It turned out Sam loved to crack eggs, and he was really good at it.) In the kitchen, the pressure was off and they had all the time in the world to goof around. This book is a record of that first year of a father and son cooking together—of what became their weekend ritual.
Filled with playful illustrations and 52 recipes for a full year of weekend breakfasts, Sundays is a journey through Mark and Sam’s morning adventures. Starting with simpler challenges, like Toast Soldiers and Almond Butter Overnight Oats, it builds to Mark’s favourite inspired dishes, including Eggnog French Toast Bake, Pumpkin Spice Pancakes, Cheddar Polenta Cakes, and Saucy Poached Eggs with Feta. Mark also revisits his own childhood breakfast obsessions (Pop-Tarts, egg sandwiches, and the elusive perfect bagel, to name a few), and along the way explores the surprising origins of breakfast staples.
NEED 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.
FINDS & SALES
Outfit of the Day
sweater//purse//shoes//pants//perfume//bracelet
JCrew is having a 30% off it’s Almost Fall Sale!
Fall Finds From H&M
UNTIL TOMORROW
I hope you enjoyed the recipes, links and books I discovered this week on Friday Favorites No. 545. If you have missed a Friday Favorites post you can find them all here.
I’ll see you tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim and Juliet.
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Elizabeth, you have so many great recipes listed. I want to try a few of them. Great clothes picks also, my friend!
Good morning Tammy! I hope that you are feeling great and are up at at it after your surgery. Thank you. I think the recipes are all easy to make and delicious! Have a wonderful weekend.
The chicken bacon pasta would suit me well.
Me too! I hope that you have an amazing week William!