Links I love

This post is sponsored by PrepDish.

Happy Saturday, readers! We’re back from our travels and finally easing into our summer readers. I’m looking forward to a weekend of tidying, puttering, and reading. Also, it’s my anniversary this weekend.

My favorite finds from around the web

• A scientist’s advice for spotting poison ivy before it ruins your summer. I learned this lesson the hard way a few years ago. I’m sharing this today so (hopefully) you don’t have to!

• Library tourism. “Libraries are excellent spots for weary travelers: free, quiet, cool, full of locals, and staffed by people whose job is to help any visitors who walk in the door.”

• How the monstera leaf took over design. “The Monstera is everywhere you turn, and everyone wants one in their space.”

• How Lizzie Bennet got her books. In the early nineteenth century, “the average three-volume novel cost the equivalent of $100 at the time, which makes Darcy’s extensive library even sexier.” (via Melissa Joulwan, who sends all kinds of good reads my way)

Favorite instagram

A week ago (already?) I put on my literary matchmaker hat to match readers with the right books at The Bookshelf. Isn’t their Shelf Help booth the cutest? This photo is from my @whatshouldireadnext Instagram account; you can also follow me @annebogel.

While I was at the Bookshelf, I recorded a new podcast episode with Annie Jones. We recorded it live, and it was SO FUN. That episode of From the Front Porch is now available: listen to it wherever you get your podcasts.

Try this

Today I’m sharing an offer with a partner I love: For the entire month of June, Modern Mrs. Darcy readers can get two weeks of PrepDish for FREE to give it a try and see if it works for you!

Every month, Prep Dish founder Allison sends members weekly meal plans (your choice: gluten-free or paleo; we do paleo) with a shopping list (I love the way Allison lays out these lists) and directions for how to spend a few hours prepping the week’s meals. Then you roll into the week with a fridge full of easy-to-finish dinners you can have on the table in 30 minutes or less.

Summer is a great time to get started with PrepDish. The changing seasons push me off routine and leave me scrambling and frustrated when it’s time to start dinner. But Allison’s easy-to-follow plans for healthy, tasty meals bring your dinners the routine they need to get you through summer’s erratic schedule.

CLICK HERE TO START YOUR FREE TRIAL

On the blog

One year ago: 9 books to give your dad this Father’s Day. “Your dad probably has too many books already. But then again, you probably do, too—and isn’t it a wonderful problem to have?”

Two years ago: My summer uniform. “The day after school got out, I hopped on the internet and ordered the same shirt in five colors. My uniform game is ON.”

Three years ago: How are you doing TODAY? ““How are you today?” doesn’t invite so much reflection. That’s a good thing, in situations like this. Instead, it’s an invitation to talk about real life, as it stands. Sometimes I think the question should be “How are you right now?””

Four years ago: My adolescent marriage {on my anniversary}. “I’ve had more conversations than usual this spring—just coincidentally—with friends who’ve gotten divorced, or are in the middle of one. Those talks are sobering: I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what makes our marriage work, and what makes us go off the rails sometimes.”

Five years ago: Reading is better when it’s done wine tasting style. “There’s an advantage to purposeful groupings: a flight teaches me far more about a subject’s depth and breadth than my usual one-off method.”

Have a great weekend!