Three savory recipes for the grill and garden, three books for the nightstand, and ten things from the internet worth your time.
It’s Friday and I could not be happier. I am exhausted. I love having guests, especially my mom, but truth be told, in my daily life I am not “running” from morning till night, nor am I talking to people all day. With my niece, her friend and baby, my nephew and other niece, mom and my siblings that live here, we were together almost every day. Either at the pool, the beach club, graduation, lunches, dinner, and everything in between. It was a lot of fun. I have the sunburn on my back and the tan on my arms to prove it, but I am still tired. After they left Tuesday I played catchup and had appointments two days. Anyway, I am tired. And did I mention that it has been hot? Not just hot but abnormally hot, in the high 90s. Summer is here and it is not even on the calendar.
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Friday Food
The Best Grilled Chicken | Once Upon a Chef
Jennifer Segal’s grilled chicken might be the most reliable summer recipe I have come across. You pound the chicken to an even thickness, marinate it in a simple combination of olive oil, lemon zest, garlic, and oregano for as little as thirty minutes, then grill it two to three minutes per side. That is it. The chicken comes out juicy every single time, and it pairs with practically anything you want to serve alongside it.
Peach Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette | A Couple Cooks
This peach salad is the reason I buy too many peaches every July. Ripe peaches, a sweet balsamic vinaigrette, crumbles of goat cheese, toasted almonds, and pops of sweet corn and red onion. It is summer in a bowl and pretty enough to serve to company. Make it when the peaches are at their peak and you will understand why I keep coming back to it.
Sautéed Corn and Tomatoes with Fresh Basil | A Simple Palate
This is one of those sides that takes ten minutes and makes everything on the plate better. Sliced garlic cooked in a little butter and olive oil, halved cherry tomatoes softened just enough, fresh corn straight from the cob, and a handful of chopped basil tossed in at the end. Five ingredients, barely any time, and it goes with anything off the grill.
Something Sweet
Something sweet is always appreciated at a summer fete, these Raspberry Swirl cheesecake bars will disappear in minutes. If you do not like raspberry try the strawberry cheesecake bars instead.
Read, Watch, Listen
Ten things from the internet this week worth your time.
National Park Deaths Dropped in 2025—but One Demographic Accounts for 84 Percent of Them
These Are the 10 Happiest States for Retirees in the U.S.
How to Keep Squirrels Out of Your Bird Feeder
Could Raccoons Become the New Dogs?
El Niño is here and rapidly strengthening. Here’s what it means for your weather
World Cup Facts and Figures to Get You Sounding Like an Expert
Gardeners often hear about supposed hacks and quick fixes. Here are some common ones debunked
Books
The Place of Tides: A Transformative Nature Memoir by James Rebanks
Years ago, James Rebanks met a woman living alone on a remote Norwegian island, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down in a centuries-old trade. He could not stop thinking about her. When her health began to fail, she invited him back, and this memoir is the story of that final season on the island. Rebanks follows her work from the rough isolation of bitter winter through the elation of endless summer light, when the birds leave behind their precious down like feathered gold. What began as a journey of escape becomes something far more unexpected, an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge and forgiveness. It is quiet and fierce and beautiful, and if you have ever felt drawn to a landscape that seemed to hold something you needed, this book will stay with you.
Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo by Stephanie Storey
From 1501 to 1505, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo both lived and worked in Florence. Leonardo was a charming fifty-year-old at the peak of his career. Michelangelo was a temperamental sculptor in his twenties, desperate to make a name for himself. In Storey’s debut novel, we watch Michelangelo win the commission to carve what will become David, living at the foot of his misshapen block of marble until the stone begins to speak. Meanwhile, Leonardo’s life is unraveling. He loses commissions, cannot finish projects, and is haunted by a woman he has seen in the market, a merchant’s wife named Lisa who becomes his muse. If you love art history and Florence and the particular alchemy of genius and ego, this novel brings all of it to vivid, breathing life.
Cece Downing’s Start Over Summer by Soon Wiley
Cece Downing has lost her job as an actuary, broken up with her fiancé, and is holed up for the summer in New London, Connecticut, without much of a plan. When mounting debts force her hand, she takes the first job available: deckhand on an oyster boat. She is entirely unsuited for it, and she loves it. The sea air, the physical work, the surprising satisfaction of learning something completely new. Then there is Morgan, a handsome shipyard worker next door, and there is her overbearing mother, who would very much like her to go back to her old life. Ann Napolitano called it a perfect beach read, and she is right. It is warm and funny and full of salt air.
Looking for more books? Everything I have recommended can be found on My Bookshop. Most are also available from Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and on Libby from your local library.
Outfit of the Week
I love a beautiful summer bag and this one is perfect for holding everything you need. I paired it with this blue and white dress I tried on at Chicos recently(it’s on sale) and a pair of blue wedge sandals, you could wear slide sandals as well, and a spritz of perfume. An easy and comfortable outfit that you can wear all day long.
Click the images below for outfit details
Have a wonderful weekend, friends.
What are you reading this weekend? Or cooking? Tell me in the comments, I love hearing what you are making and what is on your nightstand.
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Weekend Meanderings with Kim. Juliet is taking a little break for the summer.
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On My Radar
A Place of Tides is easily my favorite book of several years. His other two are also on my favs list. Just finished the newest (second) M. L. Stedman book, A Far-Flung Life. She wrote The Light between Oceans. The new one has one disturbing element that defines this multi-generational Australian family saga. Her use of language is stunning.