Friday Favorites
An oldie-but-goodie Almond Bundt Cake recipe, a book that keep you up past your bedtime, and summer sandals.
Welcome to Friday Favorites! This quick glimpse of my week goes out to all subscribers (free and paid). I include a fan-favorite recipe, something I’m watching, reading, or listening to, a recent find, and a weekly win.
What I’m Cooking
I'm menu planning for both a lunch event at Kitchenette Farm next week and my 3-day retreat in April. I have thousands of recipes on my computer and in Google Docs, and sometimes, when I'm brainstorming about what to make, I look through several years’ worth of recipes and brainstorm. That's how I stumbled upon the Almond Bundt Cake I plan to make for a lunch event next week at Kitchenette Farm. It was one of the first few recipes on my blog, and I still make it often. Add this to your list if you're planning an Easter weekend menu. Or if you're heading out of town to a friend's beach or lake house, this would be a great thing to make and bring along. Everyone will be slicing off pieces all weekend long.
You can find all the SITK recipes I’ve shared on Substack in my Recipe Index.
What I Just Read!
Late late late on Monday night (or Tuesday morning), I finished Broken Country. The writing is beautiful, the characters vivid, and the English countryside setting is a peek into another life. I couldn't stop picturing it as a movie and casting who I wanted in the lead roles. Timothee Chalamet as Gabriel, anyone?
I also just finished listening to the last two chapters of Melanie Shankle’s Here Be Dragons that I wrote about in this Friday Favorites post. That post also has a great recipe for Skillet Chicken Parm with Gnocchi, so don’t sleep on the link. I highly recommend the Audible version of Here Be Dragons because Melanie reads it (we’re on a first-name basis now, at least in my head). I can hear her get slightly choked up in a couple of spots, and being an easy crier, I have cried along with her on my morning walks. I feel a little emotionally raw and cracked open after listening to it. I have kept a list of notes on my phone while listening to the book, including observations and memories, favorite Bible verses that she’s quoted and notes of general mama wisdom. I HIGHLY recommend it.
Last but not least, the book I recommended last week is a B.R.A.D, and I didn’t realize it initially. My face turned crimson when I got to the end of the book and realized I had recommended it to you all. Just be warned if you downloaded it because of my recommendation. If you don’t know what a B.R.A.D. is, follow the adorable and approachable Katie from Beach Reads and Bubbly and you’ll figure it out.
What I’m Coveting
Somehow, I ordered these sandals with a discount code from Staud and then sent them to my brother's house. LOL. I'm sure he wondered why I was forwarding my mail to him in Southern California (I live in Houston), or maybe not since he's in the depths of tax season and an accountant. When it’s tax season and you’re an accountant, you don’t think about anything but other people’s tax returns. Anyway! These are the sandals and I can't wait to check them out. I saw a similar option from Loeffler Randal after I got these, but my summer sandal reboot is now complete with the black leather flip-flops I wrote about last week and this brown pair, so I'm not allowed any more shoe shopping (for the moment)!
This Week’s Win
I listened to a podcast this week about the healing power of laughter. It releases oxytocin and feel-good hormones, lifts your mood and boosts your immune system. This might all sound obvious, but it made me think about how lucky I am to laugh with my family and so many friends. I have certain friends who make me laugh so hard my cheeks hurt. I hope you have that in your life and that this weekend is full of lots of laughter and joy.
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