Five deer who come twice a day, summer heat I am officially not dwelling on, the Nordstrom sale, three recipes and three deer
I am in love. With my new family. A herd of five deer who have been coming to visit every morning and every evening at dusk for the past few weeks. A doe with twins and a doe with one baby. They munch on the azaleas, sample the fresh growth on the junipers, drink from the fountain and play in the yard. Then they move over to the neighbor’s bird feeder for a second course, and after that they head out to the golf course and put on a show. The twins run and play and the moms talk, which is exactly what moms do. It is like having my own deer park and I am here for every single visit.
In other news, it is hot. But I have decided not to dwell on it because the ber months are coming. September, October, November. Cashmere season. Barn coat season. Cozy things season. We can do this.
I have lots to share so let’s get to Friday Favorites.
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Food
Three recipes this week, all different, all going on the rotation immediately.
Cherry Tomato Bruschetta on Focaccia by Seasons and Supper. Lightly toasted focaccia spread with a creamy mascarpone, honey, garlic and chili flake mixture, then topped with balsamic-marinated cherry tomatoes. Ready in 25 minutes and it looks far more impressive than that suggests. I love that the focaccia base means you can actually pick it up and eat it without everything falling apart. Perfect for the farmers market tomatoes that are coming in right now and equally good as a light dinner or a summer appetizer for guests.
Vegan Buffalo Chicken Plates by This Savory Vegan. Crispy buffalo-seasoned vegan chicken over rice and black beans with a dairy-free cilantro slaw, pickled onions and avocado. Twenty minutes, one skillet, over 30 grams of protein per serving. I found this earlier in the week and it went straight to the top of the list. If you are trying to eat a little less meat without giving up any of the flavor, this one could be the answer.
Beef Sliders with Sun-Dried Tomato Mayo and Spicy Pickles by The Modern Proper. Juicy blue-cheese-stuffed beef patties on mini brioche buns with a bright, lemony sun-dried tomato mayo, spicy pickles and peppery arugula. The patties can be formed the night before and the mayo keeps in the fridge for two weeks, which makes this genuinely do-ahead party food. The kind of slider you make once and then forever consider a go-to for company.
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Links to Read, Watch and Listen
What to know about Taylor Farms, the produce giant tied to the cyclospora outbreak
Books
Three books this week that have absolutely nothing in common except that I want to read all of them and have added them to my stack.
Tangled Webs by Callie Coles. Sage Deverill has what looks, from the outside, like a perfect life. What it actually is, is a gilded cage. She flees her marriage at a crumbling Panamanian estate and takes her young son back to the one place that has always felt like home: her grandparents’ estate in Newmarket, the beating heart of British horse racing country. There she finds ivy-clad walls, the kindness of her family, the thunder of hooves on the heath, and a racehorse trainer named Rafe who was not part of any plan she had. A romance set in the English racing world, which is a world I find endlessly fascinating, and the first in a series. I am already planning for the second one.
Being Old and Learning to Love It by Prue Leith. Prue Leith, Bake Off presenter and one of my favorite people on television, has written a book about aging and it is exactly as honest and funny as you would expect from her. Widowhood, finding love again, downsizing, health, fashion, work, and a passionate belief in assisted dying, all told with the candor and good humor of a woman who has absolutely nothing left to prove. She says herself it is part memoir and part reflection on time running out, and on having fun and staying visible while it does.
The Way Home by Mark Boyle.At 11pm, Mark Boyle turned off his phone for what he hoped would be forever, and moved into a wooden cabin with no running water, no electricity, no internet, no car and no washing machine. What followed was a year of building fires, collecting water from a stream, foraging and fishing, governed entirely by the sun and the seasons. This is the modern-day Walden, and whether you think he is brave or mad or both, his account of what he found out there, about what it means to be human at a time when the lines between man and machine are blurring, is something I cannot stop thinking about.
Looking for more books? You can find everything I have recommended on My Bookshop.Many, if not all, of the books are also available from Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and on Libby from your local library.
Outfit of the Day
Recently glimpses of Fall colors are popping up in my in box. Including this leather bag which I love! It arrived a few days ago and it is going to be the perfect casual bag for Fall. I paired it with this transitional summer outfit of blue pants, a classic white shirt, sandals and a spritz of magnolia perfume.
Outfit Details Below
One more thing before you go. The plaid coats and jackets I shared last week from Nordstrom were the most purchased item I featured this month, and a few of them are already flying off the shelves. If you missed them, they are still on sale and you can find them below.
What is on your weekend calendar? And has anyone else developed a fondness for a deer family or other creatures that visit their garden? Tell me in the comments.
I hope that you enjoyed Friday Favorites. Don’t forget to join me tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim.
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