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Friday Favorites No. 540~a weekly series where I share interesting articles, books, fashion finds, recipes and more.
cup of tea with a piece of coffee cake and a pile of books.
Good morning friends, how was your week? I don’t know about you but I felt like I celebrated the 4th of July for 5 days. Between the barbecues, parade, fireworks(2 times) and all of the other fun I am worn out. This weekend I am going to catch up on things at home and relax.
What are your weekend plans? Whatever your plans don’t forget weekend meanderings tomorrow with Kim, Juliet and I.
As for today on Friday Favorites I have a scrumptious strawberry cake that you are going to want to make, a few finds, books and lots more so let’s get to it.
FRIDAY FAVORITES NO. 540
FOOD~RECIPES TO TRY
Need a side dish for your summer celebrations? Try thisberry pasta salad.
Have you ever made lemon rice?
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It’s almost the weekend! Add these scrumptious breakfast burritos to your menu.
Joy the Baker makes the best desserts, her brownies are just one of my favorites. For my next summer barbecue I am going to try this strawberry cake, the best part, it’s semi-homemade.
Links
The Titan Submersible Was “an Accident Waiting to Happen”
What is Behind Extreme Hoarding?
The Prettiest Little Parks in America
This Is What AI Thinks People From Each of the 50 U.S. States Look Like
I enjoyed this podcast,Preserving Family Recipes with a Food Blog
Experts say climate change likely to increase US malaria cases
Aristotle’s Rules for Living Well
Mary Ann Shared Skin Products for Women Over 50.Great recommendations from her dermatologist and in the comments as well.
Books
Here are a few of the books I have on my Kindle or in the queue to read.
Thunderclap
As a brilliant art critic and historian, Laura Cumming has explored the importance of art in life and can give us a perspective on the time and place in which the artist worked. Now, through the lens of one dramatic event in 17th century Holland, Cumming illuminates one of the most celebrated periods in art history.
In 1654, an enormous explosion at a gunpowder store devasted the city of Delft, killing hundreds of people and injuring thousands more. Among those killed was the extraordinary painter Carel Fabritius, renowned for his paintings The Goldfinch and his haunting masterpiece A View of Delft, which depicts the very streets through which the victims would be carried to their graves. Fabritius’s contemporary and rival Vermeer, painter of the iconic portrait Girl with a Pearl Earring, narrowly escaped death.
Framing the story around Fabritius’s life, Cumming deftly weaves a sequence of observations about paintings and how they relate to everyday life. Like Dutch art itself, the story gradually links country, city, town, street, house, interior—all the way to the bird on its perch, the blue and white tile, the smallest seed in a loaf of bread. The impact of a painting and how it can enter our thoughts, influence our views, and understanding of the world is the heart of this book and Cumming has brought her unique eye to her most compelling subject yet.
Featuring beautiful full-color images of Dutch paintings throughout, this is a stunningly rich book about one of the most vibrant periods in European art and life.
The Seeing Garden
It’s 1910, and Catherine Ogden is aching to live a creative and meaningful life. That’s not easy to do when her aunt and uncle—and all of New York society—consider a good marriage to be the pinnacle of feminine achievement. But when Catherine visits Oakview, the Northern California estate of handsome bachelor William Brandt, she thinks that it might be possible to satisfy her family’s hopes as well as her own. In that beautiful place, she finds the promise of a new start and the opportunity to use her artistic gifts in designing the garden. But as Catherine is drawn into William’s hidden life, as well as the secrets of his estate staff, she discovers that Oakview holds both more opportunity and more risk than she ever imagined. It will take all her courage—and the lessons of some shocking revelations from the past—to choose the path that leads to real freedom.
The Little Flower Shop
Since her divorce, Emily Lucretia—affectionately known as the flower lady to the people of Cemetery, Indiana—has been focused on her flower shop and taking care of her aging aunt and uncle. Her love life is hardly the centerpiece of her busy days.
Saul Culver, the town’s favorite bachelor and owner of the local barbecue joint, has been interested in Emily for a while. But as much as Emily knows about flowers, she can be a little oblivious to her own appeal. Saul is determined to show her just how special she is.
Saul isn’t the only one trying to get Emily out of her shell. Well-meaning locals have started tagging photos of Emily with #theflowerlady on social media—and now the entire town is involved in finding her Mr. Right. Saul won’t give up easily. He’sfinallycaught her attention, and he’s determined to convince Emily—and the town—that this is the real deal and not just some passing trend.
Found in a Bookshop
Loveday Cardew’s beloved Lost for Words bookshop, along with the rest of York, has fallen quiet. At the very time when people most need books to widen their horizons, or escape from their fears, or enhance their lives, the doors are closed. Then the first letter comes.
Rosemary and George have been married for fifty years. Now their time is running out. They have decided to set out on their last journey together, without ever leaving the bench at the bottom of their garden in Whitby. All they need is someone who shares their love of books.
Suddenly it’s clear to Loveday that she and her team can do something useful in a crisis. They can recommend books to help with the situations their customers find themselves in: fear, boredom, loneliness, the desire for laughter and escape.
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.
Finds
Outfit of the Day
dress//sandals//bag//hat//earrings//perfume
Do you use a meat masher for your ground beef? We recently bought one and use it often.
Pottery Barn has so many beautiful things on sale, including these scallop shell wicker serving baskets.this set of candle holdersand these botanical napkins!
Boden is having a sale and everything is 30% off. I like this sweaterand this trench.
UNTIL TOMORROW
I hope you enjoyed the recipes, links and books I discovered this week on Friday Favorites No. 540. If you have missed a Friday Favorites post you can find them all here.
I’ll see you tomorrow forWeekend Meanderings with Kim and Juliet.
This post contains affiliate links, if you make a purchase I will earn a small commission at no cost to you.
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