Friday Favorites from Smitten Kitchen, Country Living, Foxes Love Lemons, and More

Get yourself a cup of coffee, chocolate or a glass of wine and let’s get to all of the delicious recipes, interesting articles and books and fun finds that I have for you this week in my Friday Favorites post. 

Good morning friends and a very happy day to you. It’s cold and fingers crossed, we are supposed to get snow today.  The amount varies but they are saying 3-5 inches. If so, I will be jumping for joy! It is funny to be writing about snow because yesterday we signed off on Phase 1 of our landscaping.  It doesn’t seem warm enough to be planting but we have been assured that this is the best time of the year because the plants have more time to root. I am not a landscaper or a gardener so I will leave it all up to the experts. If you are interested I can show you the plans and the plants?

Ok, on to the good stuff, grab your coffee or chocolate or even wine and let’s get to my “Friday Favorites.”

Food

Do you like lasagna? Me too. This recipe for sausage and cheese skillet lasagna showed up in my email this week and I am intrigued by it as I have never made a “deconstructed” lasagna. It looks easy and delicious.

In case you missed it I shared the easiest slow cooker ham and bean soup.

You can also find 38 Best Soups and Stew Recipes for Cold Winter Days to bookmark for the winter days still ahead.

Do you like charcuterie boards? Here are 36 Uique Boards You Might Want to Add to Your Repertoire.

If you prefer vegetables instead this Crudite Platter looks delicious too!

I love every recipe on Smitten Kitchen! Deb has a way of making every recipe seem easy and they are always delicious. This weekend I am making her recipe for Short Rib Onion Soup.

Homemade chili oil from The View from Great Island is a great condiment to have on hand and is also a great hostess gift.

What can I cook in a Dutch Oven? Everything.

Are you looking for somethings sweet to end the week with? Me too? I think I will be making a batch of my favorite cupcakes in the world, Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake with/smothered in Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Frosting.

House & Home

Staying Put for 60 Years Andrew Alpern bought his one-bedroom Chelsea apartment in 1962 with no intention to ever leave. And he hasn’t.

Joy Decorating Is the New Trend Taking the Design World By Storm

Take a tour of a Timless Tennessee Farmhouse

Are you a fan of the writer Jo Rogers? I am in love with her writing and her beautiful photographs that she posts on Instagram. This week Jo is moving from her country rental in Sussex back toe London, you can read all about her thoughts on living in the city or the country.

Interesting Articles

The question is, is the Reducetarian Trend for you?

The Serbian husband-and-wife duo JA Paunkovic render luxuriant scenes brimming with realistic plant life.

Strong Winds Sculpt Frozen Sand into Otherworldly Pillars on a Lake Michigan Beach.

How literature is helping people navigate mental health issues.

This is so interesting: “Everything Is Content”: Inside the Daily Grind of One of India’s Biggest Influencer Families

What’s the Buzz? Let’s Talk About Numbing Ingredients

Tchaikovsky’s Patroness Madame von Meck offered Tchaikovsky her generous patronage, but spoke to him only through letters.

Regret Can Be All-Consuming—a Scientist Explains How to Overcome It

Is Confidence a Cult? These Sociologists Think So.

The Age of The Birth Certificate

How a French Midwife Solved a Public Health Crisis Angélique Marguerite Le Boursier du Coudray revolutionized childbirth.

Wanderlust

The Most Ornate Buildings in the World

9 lessons I’ve learned from travelling to 100+ countries as a woman

Inspiration

from my friend Melba of Coocoon Raw

Books

50 More Extreme Brownies, I cannot wait to start baking from this book, stay tuned for more brownies. The stuffed caramel brownies I featured this week are from Connies’ first book, Extreme Brownies.

I am currently reading The Last Apothecary.

Hidden in the depths of eighteenth-century London, a secret apothecary shop caters to an unusual kind of clientele. Women across the city whisper of a mysterious figure named Nella who sells well-disguised poisons to use against the oppressive men in their lives. But the apothecary’s fate is jeopardized when her newest patron, a precocious twelve-year-old, makes a fatal mistake, sparking a string of consequences that echo through the centuries.

Meanwhile in present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, running from her own demons. When she stumbles upon a clue to the unsolved apothecary murders that haunted London two hundred years ago, her life collides with the apothecary’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

With crackling suspense, unforgettable characters and searing insight, The Lost Apothecary is a subversive and intoxicating debut novel of secrets, vengeance and the remarkable ways women can save each other despite the barrier of time.

The Maid is on my Kindle to read this weekend. Have you read it?

Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.

Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.

But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?

A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

If you are looking for something else to read or watch check out this post from my friend Katie of Preppy Empty Nester  is a prolific reader and she also loves to keep abreast of the latest and best movies and tv shows. This week she is sharing her latest watching and reading post!

Finds

I love this vibrant heart t-shirt.

If you like velvet pumpkins then you will love these handmade velvet hearts.

Have you seen checked out the  There are so many great pieces to add to your table, to give as gifts and to eat.

That is it for this week my friends, I hope that you found something to make or bake, something to read and if you have something to share please leave it in the comments.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you for stopping by and spending part of your day with me.

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