It’s been a loooong while since I shared my first Faves and Life Lately. It’s not that I haven’t had favorites or things that I want to share, it’s just that I’ve been so busy that I’ve only been focusing on the ‘need to get done right this very second’ stuff. I’m working on getting more of a rhythm down so that I’m not constantly feeling like I’m behind, and now that my cookbook manuscript and photos have all been turned in (you can read about my cookbook update here) I feel like I can breath and relax a little again.
- Would you believe me if I told you that while we were Paris (here, here and here) the only French macarons (I’m totally obsessed with them btw) we came across were from the super touristy Laduree in Paris? They were still good, but I just thought they would be everywhere and they were nowhere…maybe the French are “over” them?
- This cookbook (Eating in the Middle: A Mostly Wholesome Cookbook by Andie Mitchell) is just really amazing. I’ve been cooking from it and am really enjoying the recipes. I’m giving away a copy in this post. Last year when Andie’s memoir It Was Me All Along came out, I read it in a day, and after reading her cookbook I am going to do something I have never done – re-reading the book! I bought it in hardcover last year, and I just yesterday purchased/downloaded it and am going to listen to it on Audible. I’m prepared for lots of tears (again) because Andie’s writing style is so beautiful and really just gets me. I believe the Audible version is read by her, so it’s kinda like we’re hanging out…not creepy that I think that makes us bff status, right?
- Speaking of Audible…total life saver for me. I now listen to books on my way to/from work. They are doing tons of construction and so my drive now takes 45 min-1 hour each way, but time flies when you’re listening to a good story. Do you have any recommendations for me? I’m ALL EARS!
- I’ve listened to these books in the past few months: The Lake House – it was good, but it was 21+ hours long! Pretty Girls – gruesome, had to stop listening half way through because it was too much for me. Sing You Home – cute, but huge build up in the story and the ending was kind of blah. Who Do You Love – good, but I wish there would have been more to the end of the story, After You – A++ I still get goosebumps thinking about the beautiful story and as per usual with Jojo Moyes I cried many times during this book and I think they’re making it into a movie? Never Broken by singer Jewel – loved it, Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling – love her and her book was very fun, All the Light We Cannot See – horribly depressing and the ending was just bleak, Everything I Never Told You – ok, but not great and there were parts I really didn’t like, A Man Called Ove – A++ super good and a great story, One Step Too Far – very interesting and I bet you’ll say ‘didn’t see that coming’ when you find out the twist, What Alice Forgot – I liked it but did not loved it, The Hypnotist’s Love Story – super cute and I would give it an A++. These are just some of the books I’ve read/listened too since December, so as you can see I’m in desperate need of recommendations!
As I was walking my dog I came across one of the Little Free Library’s in my neighborhood and thought “yay – maybe I can find a book here” and opened it to find 12 bibles and 2 children’s books…womp womp. - My Le Creuset dutch oven. My husband gave this to me as a Christmas present a few years ago, and I have to tell you, it’s beyond useful and amazing. I leave it sitting on my stove even when it’s not in use. My husband came into the kitchen while I was making dinner the other night and said “out of all the gifts I’ve gotten you, that is the one you use most.” It’s true.
- April is going to be full of travel for me, it just kind of happened that way. I’m going to be visiting Minneapolis (I’d love to know any recommendations you have of what to see/do/etc.) and then the following weekend I’m visiting my bff Lynn for her 30th birthday in Charlotte -so excited to see her!
And then the following week I’m going to be in Grand Rapids Michigan and then Muskegon where I’m cohosting a retreat which will be a fun get together of different bloggers where we share/learn from each other/cook together/have a good time in a relaxed environment. I’ll be sharing on social media of course, so follow along and always let me know any recommendations you guys have! When my husband and I were in Europe (London and Paris specifically) I got some awesome recommendations and tried things that were suggested to me by you guys (someone told me about how in London they do a Sunday roast at restaurants where the restaurant changes their menu and serves roast, and we went and had such a good time!) - This is my favorite bag for traveling.
It is a Stella & Dot ‘Getaway’ bag that has a zipper which expands the bag. I have it in red, and when they came out with the one in black and white stripes (more ‘me’) I immediately bought one. 
P.S – remember when Starbucks had the S’mores Frappachinos? I loved those! Only problem with buying the bag is that I really don’t like dealing with Stella and Dot and their ‘stylists’, they never responded to me and I don’t want to go to a ‘party’ where they sell their stuff….so, I did a little searching and found that they have a bunch of bags in different patterns (and cheaper) on eBay, so I would totally suggest looking there for the bag and type in “Stella and Dot Getaway” and the bag shows up. I also like that the bag is not fabric so it can be wiped down if it gets something on it while traveling. - So you know I love Door to Door Organics – it’s how I do my grocery shopping (more on them and huge giveaway in this post) so in my last order I got some almond butter and bananas and a bunch of other stuff like sunflower seeds and honey…and then I remembered that Monique from Ambitious Kitchen had shared her grandmothers recipe for whole wheat sunflower honey oat bread and I decided to make it. Ummmm it was friggin’ amazing! I made it with half regular/half whole wheat flour and used coconut oil instead of butter because I didn’t have any in the house (love that she gave substitution recommendations in her recipe) and it turned out SO good. I had it with some nut butter and banana slices for breakfast. I’m usually the most impatient person EVER when it comes to bread baking, so I made this on a Monday night when I had a ton of other stuff to do so I could just let it rise as I did other stuff. You guys – this bread was SO good!
- I’m really loving Instagram and Snapchat lately. I’d love to be friends and interact on social media, so if you’re on Instagram I’d love a follow or like on a picture – I always comment back, and I’d love to snap with you (username: sweetphi) – if you follow me you’ll know that I had some awesome Qdoba for lunch (new fave is a taco salad in a hard shell bowl – so good, also doing a huge giveaway for Qdoba catering in this post.)
What are some of your faves? And how is your life lately going? Can’t wait to hear your book recommendations and how life is going for you!
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Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
I was so surprised that there were not macaroons everywhere in Paris too. I was looking forward to doing a macaroon tour, but no such luck!
Sweetphi says
OMG a macaron tour? That sounds heavenly lol – we need to invent that! And I’m glad it wasn’t just me that thought the lack of macarons was odd!
Sharon says
Goodmorning, Phi!
Gosh, I hated All the Light You Cannot See, too. I rarely give up on a book but I tossed that one soon after I started.
Let me recommend ‘The Girl on the Train’ to you. It’s a good one! I’m stuck on a Robert Crais reading jag lately, one right after the other, catching up on one of my old favorite authors. Mystery/detective centered, with a desperado-type main character named Joe Pike. Crais is a good writer.
Greg Iles is one of the two best writers I’ve ever read. His skill is only matched by James Lee Burke. Iles’ latest is The Bone Tree, the third book in an epic story told over three novels. Natchez Burning is one of the others (and I can’t remember the third of the trio). Also, The Light of the World by Burke is a really good read.
(I just can’t do audio books, I read on my kindle.)
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for all your recommendations!
Wasn’t All the Light You Cannot See horrible? It honestly kept getting worse and worse, and then ending was the worst icing on the cake ever…it just kind of fizzled out. I should have done what you did and tossed it lol.
The Girl on the Train was good – I loved it!
I’m going to have to check out Greg Ile, and The Light of the World!!
I have a kindle and love reading too – it’s just on my way to/from work that I need something besides the same songs on the radio, so I’ve started listening to audiobooks and really like them 🙂
shawnna griffin says
hey girl love the list! You are one busy Lady! I just love Beverly Lewis’ books so awesome! Most of her book are about the Amish and I love them! Have a great day!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the suggestion, I’m definitely going to check out Beverly Lewis!
Lynn @ Order in the Kitchen says
Well I already follow you on snapchat and instagram because you’re the best! Thank you for the book recommendations (I need them!) and listening to Andie tell her own story is just captivating and amazing (and I totally felt like we were bff when I was listening to it lol!) I’m listening to Yes Please by Amy Poehler and it’s hilarious…moving on to Mindy Kaling after that! I also noticed a shortage of macarons in Paris and the really touristy ones are never that good anyway. I’m SOSOSOSOSO glad you are coming to charlotte!! I cannot WAIT to see you and take this town by storm and then see you the following weekend! Best.Month.Ever. Love you bestieeeee!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the super sweet comment – totally makes my day seeing your lovely face – which I cannot wait to see IN PERSON next week! eeeeek, so exciting!
Andie’s books = all the tears every day, I’m so in love – hopefully she doesn’t mind us fangiring her, because I know I totes will.
I read Yes Please and loved it= and Mindy’s books were both super cute.
Isn’t it weird about the shortage of macarons? I still can’t get over that – Fail, Paris…big giant FAIL!
Lobe you cannot wait to see you, love you back bestieeeee 😉
Sarah says
I listen to TONS of audiobooks during my commute and I like a mix from Audible as well as what I can download from my local library. Another vote for Amy Poehler’s book and Tina Fey’s book if haven’t read it yet. I just started Brooklyn by Colm Tobin but love anything by Sarah Vowell (if you are a history geek like me,) Kitchens of the Great Midwest (!!!!) Delicious by Ruth Reichl but I could go on and on.
My neighborhood has several of those mini libraries but I have never seen anything interesting in them!
Sweetphi says
Aren’t audiobooks awesome? I love listening to stories!
I have read both Amy and tina’s books and loved them both! I have been eyeing up Brooklyn so I’m going to add that to my list and the other ones you mentioned – THANK YOU for the recommendations!
Aren’t the little libraries disappointing? I’m going to take my old books there and hopefully revitalize them lol!
cheri says
Hi Phi, I just received my copy of Cooking in the middle and I love it, so many great recipes. Ordered mine online. There is a little library in Oregon that has a great selection of books, it’s a leave one take one type of thing. Kind of like the honor system.
Will check out some of the books that you have recommended, great list.
Have a great week-end! Cheri
Sweetphi says
Isn’t the cookbook great? I’m totally loving cooking my way through it! That’s great that your little library has an actual selection – i would love that! I left a bunch of good books in it last week so I’m hoping if I go back that there will be better contents one day 🙂
Monique @ Ambitious Kitchen says
OMG. Everything looks amazing!! I need that bag — I’ve been looking for a good travel bag. Do you love it?! Also, thanks for making my Grandmother’s bread, she will be so thrilled when I tell her you loved it! xoxo! NEED TO SEE YOU SOON.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much girl!
1-That purse – totally in love with it and it is worth it. It’s got a cute print and fabric (it can be wiped down too without ruining it) and it expands, it’s my carryall and perfect size for a weekend trip. I used it this past weekend for a trip and will be using it again this coming weekend, absolutely love that bag for traveling!
2-Please do tell your grandmother how much I loved the bread, such a great recipe!
3-YES, NEED to get together soon!!!
Have an awesome week!
sarah says
Haha not going to lie- we also had to go to a tourist trap (Pierre Herme) when we were in Paris to locate the coveted macaron.
Sweetphi says
Isn’t that SO CRAZY that it was hard to find macarons in Paris? That totally surprised me, in a not-so-pleasant way – I wanted macarons! lol. Thank you for commenting!
Little Cooking Tips says
Very interesting reading Phi! Wow, your life has gotten SO BUSY, but at the same time, SO INTERESTING as well! We know you love to travel, so the trips won’t be a problem:)
It was rather strange that you didn’t find a lot of macarons, but perhaps pastry chefs are focusing on other more popular(?) items. The same goes here, you won’t find baklava and galaktoboureko everywhere (btw if you ever visit Greece you have to visit Konstantinidis, who makes amazing traditional Greek desserts!).
Our life is pretty busy as well, since we started looking out for a new place (again), like bears after the winter sleep:) But there are very few options, the disaster called Greek economy has resulted to very few places being available for rent (since tenants DON’T move anymore and have bargained lower rents with their homeowners) . But we remain optimistic! Easter is also coming at the end of the month, and we’re looking fwd to a huge feast with A LOT of lamb/goat (we prefer goat meat ourselves, it’s less fatty and more interesting).
As for the audio books, we wouldn’t be of much help to you!:) You see, we’re both crime/mystery/thriller fans (especially love the Scandinavian crime authors like Camilla Läckberg, Jo Nesbø), and read a lot of Dean Koontz, Stephen King and Karin Slaughter, (from American authors):)
We wish you the next months are as wonderful and interesting as the last ones!
Have a beautiful day ahead dear! Lots of hugs,
Panos and Mirella
xoxoxo
Sweetphi says
Isn’t it funny how dishes a country/city is known for a often hard to find in that country/city? Probably because we make our own interpretations of things, here in America, in every city I’ve been in i can tell you where to find awesome French macarons, and I’ve even made them myself a time or two (totally not worth all the trouble in my opinion) but yet while we were IN France they were few and far between.
I’d love to visit Greece someday – it’s definitely on the bucket list 😉
I’m sending positive thoughts your way – hopefully you can find a place you love soon!
Best,
xoxoxoxo
Phi
Jana says
My book club read The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman a couple of months ago and it was really good.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the recommendation, I’m totally marking that down on my wishlist to listen to next 🙂