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Friday Favorites~a weekly series where we share our favorite books, decor, fashion finds, recipes, podcasts, articles and more.
Good morning friends!
How was your Thanksgiving? I am worn out from cooking, eating, laughing, talking and having fun.
Today we are off to do a little old fashioned Black Friday shopping in a few stores, not online, then to visit an art and Christmas fair, after that family game night.
What are your plans of the day?
I don’t have a lot to share today because I have been busy with my guests but I hope you enjoy the abbreviated Friday Favorites.
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO. 560
FOOD~RECIPES TO TRY
Use up your leftovers with this delicious turkey soup!
If you are tired of turkey try this wild rice soup.
Sausage meatballs, toasted walnuts, caramelized mushrooms, shaved parmesan and crispy sage pasta! I have bookmarked this recipe to make this week.
I am starting to bake this week for the packages I am going to be mailing, first on the list, snowball cookies.
LINKS TO READ+WATCH+LISTEN
The Mainstreaming of Historical Fiction
How Long is it safe to leave food out? The 2 hour rule explained.
What if Nostalgia Isn’t What It Used to Be?
10 Wake-Up Calls for Those Days When You Lose Your Motivation (and You’re Feeling Down)
How Close Is That Photo to the Truth? What to Know in the Age of AI
BOOKS
Here are a few of the books on my Kindle and next to my bed.
In small-town England, two booksellers facing tough times decide to spread some Christmas cheer through the magic of anonymous book deliveries in this uplifting holiday tale for book lovers everywhere.
Nora and her husband, Simon, have run the beautiful oak-beamed book shop in their small British village for thirty years. But times are tough and the shop is under threat of closure–this Christmas season will really decide their fate. When an elderly man visits the store and buys the one book they’ve never been able to sell, saying it’s the perfect gift for his sick grandson, it gives Nora an idea. She and Simon will send out books to those feeling down this Christmas. Maybe they can’t save their bookstore, but at least they’ll have one final chance to lift people’s spirits through the power of reading.
After gathering nominations online, Nora and Simon quietly deliver books to six residents of the village in need of some festive cheer, including a single dad of twins who is working hard to make ends meet, a teenage boy grieving for his big sister, a local Member of Parliament who is battling depression, and a teacher who’s newly retired and living on her own. As the town prepares for a white Christmas, the books begin to give the recipients hope, one by one. But with the future of the bookshop still up in the air, Nora and Simon will need a Christmas miracle–or perhaps a little help from the people whose lives they’ve touched–to find a happy ending of their own….
Winter Bloom
In the heart of bustling modern Dublin is a littered, overgrown garden of tangled weeds and a stagnant, hidden pond. Belonging to an iron-willed elderly lady named Mrs. Prendergast, who is rumored to have murdered and buried her husband there, the garden draws Eva Madigan, a young mother struggling to move on from the pain of her past. Eva is joined by Emily, a beautiful but withdrawn college dropout; Uri, an old-world immigrant; Seth, his all-too-handsome son; and occasionally even Mrs. Prendergast herself. But what drives Eva to transform the neglected urban wilderness? What makes the others want to help her? Even as Mrs. Prendergast puts the land up for sale, the thorny lives of all the gardeners are revealed and slowly start to untangle. Overgrown secrets are dug up and shared. Choices are made; a little pruning is in order. Now Eva is about to discover that every garden is a story of growth toward a final harvest. . . .
A Vintage Christmas includes stories from Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Ralph Henry Barbour, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain, L. M. Montgomery, and William Dean Howells, as well as poems from Eliza Cook, Christina Rossetti, William Makepeace Thackeray, Joyce Kilmer, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This collection is a timeless reminder that the heart of the holiday never changes.
Sunny, Arianna and Molly are having three very different but equally terrible Christmases. Sunny is a newlywed with two new stepkids who want nothing to do with her; Arianna is newly divorced and hates having to send her daughter off to spend the holiday with her dad; for Molly, nothing is new, but her job at the post office is getting very, very old.
The whole Christmas season has been a bust all around. But Sunny and Arianna have a wild idea: What if they had a Christmas do-over in January? February? On Saint Patrick’s Day?
Christmas all year long—what could that look like? As these three determined women chase the perfect holiday through twelve months of cooking disasters, over-the-top festivity, and lots of laughter and tears, they’ll discover perfection is way overrated.
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. Don’t forget to check out my Christmas books for kids, reading a book together is a great way to make memories this season with your grands and your children.
Finds~Black Friday Sales~ My Favorite Sales & Picks
My 6 Favorite Things on Sale
Kitchen Aid Artistsan 5 Quart Stand Mixer $349! Regular Price $449. If you want a bigger mixer try the KitchenAid® Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer, 7-Qt.
Bodum Bistro Electric Milk Frother $53.99. Regular Price $85. I use my frother every day when I make my hot chocolate!
GE Profile™ Opal™ Nugget Ice Maker . Like nugget ice? This ice maker is amazing(we have had one for 2 years). It is pricy but it is $150.00 off.
We have the Bissell Little Green Pet Deluxe Portable Carpet Cleaner and Car/Auto Detailer, 3353, Gray/Blue. $119.00. If you have pets this is great for cleaning muddy paw prints or other accidents.With 3 dogs we use this all the time. Don’t forget the soap!
There is also a smaller version BISSELL Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner, Car and Auto Detailer, with Exclusive Specialty Tools $89.00 Regular price
KitchenAid 7-Speed Hand Mixer. When you don’t want to pull out your kitchen aid this little hand mixer is perfect.
Kindle E-readers! Download all of your favorite books from the library and Amazon on a Kindle-reader. Priced from $79.00 and up.
A reasonable alternative to iPads , especially if you do not use all of the features.
Other Sales to Shop
Anthropologie
Boden
Brooks Brothers
J. Crew
Pottery Barn
Target has a ton of Black Friday deals (here) including up to 40% off furniture (online only) (here) and a lot of their Hearth & Hand decor(here). I love all of the Christmas Decor.
Walmart has lots of great home deals at up to 30% off (HERE)
J Crew Factory has 50-70% off storewide (here). If you love plaid, check out all of their cute plaid clothing and accessories (here)
UNTIL TOMORROW
I hope you enjoyed the recipes, links and books I discovered this week on Friday Favorites. If you did please share the post on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter!
If you have missed a Friday Favorites post you can find them all here.
Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim and Juliet. Have a wonderful weekend.
This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Target has the kitchen aid stand mixer for less than $300!! Hope you enjoy your Friday & weekend with guests.
Yes! And it is a nice one! I have had mine for 20 years and love it.
Have a wonderful weekend.