- Spring has sprung! For the upcoming holiday weekend, some favorite kitchen and tabletop finds! Marcia wants something for her front door, and found this simple greenery bunny. I want the Floral Meadow dinnerware from Williams-Sonoma, the salad plates could be mixed with white dinner plates and also used for dessert. – Melissa
- Does anyone else stalk Trader Joe’s for the famous O & H Danish Kringles? Available seasonally, the spring flavor is raspberry. Warm one up for Easter morning with scrambled eggs and coffee. If you’re spending a weekend at a friend’s beach house or ranch, they also make a wonderful hostess gift! I stash several in my freezer for any occasion. Next up, pumpkin caramel in the fall. Stay tuned for our full Trader Joe’s roundup next Friday! – Melissa
- To round out the rest of your holiday table, you can check out our Easter menu. And while I love a spicy-sweet glazed ham, my all-time favorite Easter dish is slow-roasted lamb shoulder with rosemary and garlic. —Marcia
- For my family, nothing is better than an Easter afternoon picnic complete with fried chicken, coleslaw and of course, deviled eggs. I’ve mastered the perfect recipe and have several egg platters to serve these delectable treats. I can’t make enough; they are truly gone in minutes. To get the perfect peel, first purchase your eggs early. As in tomorrow! You do not want fresh eggs, they’re harder to peel when hard boiled. Look for large, not jumbo. Then trust me and get the Negg Boiled Egg Peeler. Lastly, instead of mayo or mustard, use Durkee Famous Sauce. It’s available at most major grocery stores and has the perfect tang for your egg filling. —Melissa
- I’m heading to Midland next week to speak to the Midland Country Club Women’s Association, and I plan to take this book for my Southwest flight. Several of you raved about it when I was reading The Rent Collector (which is also a fabulous read)! — Marcia
Marcia, everyone seems to love Where the Crawdads Sing but I found it very frustrating and unrealistic. I couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy it, the characters are inconsistent, and the pacing is very strange. Will be curious to know what you think of it. Are you on Goodreads?
Can’t wait to try that sandwich spread in deviled eggs next week!
This makes me very nervous! I am not very good at suspending belief. Have you read The Rent Collector? And what’s your two cents? Just curious… I am on Goodreads, but I haven’t updated it for years. Sadly, it’s one more piece of technology that I can’t keep up with.
I did read Rent Collector and thought it had a lot of potential, but was poorly written, so it was a thumbs down for me. And I’m definitely in the minority on Crawdads so definitely read it and then let me know what you think. If you liked Rent Collector, try a Fine Balance also. Amazing story and beautiful writing!
Two that I have loved recently are Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance (so unusual and interesting and completely out of the usual genres I prefer) and My Name is Venus Black (my teen daughter read Venus Black too and also loved it). Oh and Bad Blood – assumed you’ve read that one? Movie(s) coming soon!
Bad Blood is actually TOP of my list — May need to read it before Crawdads! Putting your other two on my list, your feedback reminds me of my college roommate!!
I read Where the Crawdads Sing and loved it. I just finished The Rent Collector and found it to be a wonderful read. It was eye-opening to learn about how the Cambodian dump dwellers eked out a living. The actual Rent Collector turns out to be an amazing character and is developed with some interesting twists and turns. I remembered the Khmer Rouge and their ruthless slaughter of the Cambodian people. It’s a great read!
I read Where the Crawdads Sing and loved it. I just finished The Rent Collector and found it to be a wonderful read. It was eye-opening to learn about how the Cambodian dump dwellers eked out a living. The actual Rent Collector turns out to be an amazing character and is developed with some interesting twists and turns. I remembered the Khmer Rouge and their ruthless slaughter of the Cambodian people. It’s a great read!