Friday Favorites~a weekly series where we share our favorite books, decor, fashion finds, recipes, podcasts, articles and more.
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO. 623
Good morning friends. Happy Valentine’s Day to you! How did your week go?
It’s been cold and rainy the last two days, I had high hopes we would get some snow but no luck. Were you in the path of the storm? Did you get any snow? I think we still have a fair bit of winter weather ahead. For those counting the days Spring is March 20th, just 34 days away.
To while away some of the time why not start planning your garden? Our front beds have taken a beating since we had them installed 3 years ago, the boxwood are dying from whatever it is that is going around and all of our dwarf gardenia died. Next week the landscape designer is coming over to help with a new plan, fingers crossed the new plants will live longer.
Aside from that my plans for this year are another wildflower “field” in the circle in our driveway. I planted one 2 years ago and it was beautiful. Last year I tried something new and didn’t like it, so back to the wildflowers. Not only does it attract pollinators but most mornings I find a deer or two munching on the zinnias.
Ok, on to Friday Favorites!
Food
Love at First Bite Pasta, Penne alla Vodka is a classic Italian-American dish with a rich, creamy tomato sauce with a touch of vodka.
Rich, decadent and delicious Coq au Vin. A traditional French stew where chicken is slowly braised in red wine and garnished with mushrooms and pearl onions. This is an easy meal to make for Valentine’s Day!
A sparkling-Raspberry-Rose-Spritzer looks and sounds like a delicious Valentine’s Day drink.
I’ve shared these ganache mousse before but they are so easy to make and delicious! Dark chocolate, almond milk, honey and salt that’s it, you could whip some up this morning and eat them for dessert.
LINKS TO READ+WATCH+LISTEN
The Dubious Return of the Brutalists
Nine Bosses on What They Do on the Weekends to Unwind
My Quest to Find the Owner of a Mysterious WWII Japanese Sword
The Poetry Fan Who Taught an LLM to Read and Write DNA
Fidgeting at your desk? Your body may be trying to tell you something
UnitedHealth Is Sick of Everyone Complaining About Its Claim Denials
How the Big Mac Became the Most Iconic Fast Food Menu Item
How to Grow Eyebrows Back, According to the Pros
The Science Behind Why Some of Us Are Shy
10 Painfully Obvious Truths About Life Everyone Forgets Too Soon
The Cheapest Ways to Get Your Protein Right Now
Books
A sumptuous novel based on the fascinating true story of La Belle Époque icon Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, who shattered the boundaries of fashion with her magnificently sensual and enchantingly unique design from the USA Todaybestselling author of In Royal Service to the Queen.
Lucy Duff Gordon knows she is talented. She sees color, light, and texture in ways few people can begin to imagine. But is the male dominated world of haute couture, who would use her art for their own gain, ready for her?
When she is deserted by her wealthy husband, Lucy is left penniless with an aging mother and her five-year-old daughter to support. Desperate to survive, Lucy turns to her one true talent to make a living. As a little girl, the dresses she made for her dolls were the envy of her group of playmates. Now, she uses her creative designs and her remarkable eye for color to take her place in the fashion world—failure is not an option.
Then, on a frigid night in 1912, Lucy’s life changes once more, when she becomes one of 706 people to survive the sinking of the Titanic. She could never have imagined the effects the disaster would have on her fashion label Lucile, her marriage to her second husband, and her legacy. But no matter what life throws at her, Lucy will live on as a trailblazing and innovative fashion icon, never letting go of what she worked so hard to earn. This is her story.
Not Quiet By The Book
A bookstore owner discovers that life as a recluse isn’t for everyone in this sharp yet sweet novel about how sometimes you need to abandon the quest for love to find your true passion.
Emma Rini is in a rut so deep she could shelve books there. While her sister awaits her first baby, and her parents kick off retirement with vow renewals and travel, Emma stays put among the stacks of the family bookshop.
In fact, she can’t remember the last time she took a vacation. Or had a romance that hovered above disappointing. When her parents assume she’ll take over the shop for them without a break, she realizes she needs to get away—back to the nineteenth century. Channeling her favorite poet recluse, Emily Dickinson, Emma rents a crumbling manor house outside Amherst where she can learn how to be quietly, blissfully alone.
But becoming a world-weary spinster isn’t easy. She can’t start a fire or reason with the bunnies that are destroying the garden. She finds herself sparring constantly with the grumpy-hot architect who is renovating the manor. And then there’s the secret admirer who keeps sending her complicated floral messages…
No matter what she does, the outside world keeps knocking, and Emma starts to dream about the future. Will she forgo love for the family legacy? And will she shrink away or become the sort of bold person fortune favors?
The Cleaner of Chartres
There is something very special about Agnès Morel. A quiet presence in the small French town of Chartres, she can usually be found cleaning the famed medieval cathedral or doing odd jobs for the townspeople. No one knows where she came from or why. Not diffident Abbé Paul, nor lonely Professor Jones, nor even Alain Fleury, whose attention she catches with her tawny eyes. She has transformed all their lives in her own subtle way, yet no one suspects the dark secret Agnès is hiding.
Then an accidental encounter dredges up the specter of her past, and the nasty meddling of town gossips forces Agnès to confront her tragic history and the violent act that haunts it.
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.
Window Shopping
Outfit Details
Dresses are my favorite wardrobe essential, you can “dress” them up or down with a jacket, a cardigan or a blazer. This red dress will take you from day to night by changing your shoes and accessories. Not to mention that it is a classic silhouette that you can wear for years to come.
Click Images Below For Outfit
You can see more of my outfits on LTK follow so that you do not miss the ones I post there and not on the blog.
Until Next Time
What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?
I hope that you found something to read, make and to enjoy on Friday Favorites. Don’t forget WEEKEND MEANDERINGS tomorrow with Kim and Juliet!
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