Hello! Ginger Horton here. You might know me as the Community Manager for the Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club, or maybe as someone who really really loves lightbulbs, or who needs to be reminded not to save the good stuff. No chance of that this week! I’m sharing some of the good stuff with you—recipes I’ve bookmarked this week, tabs I’ve had open, products I’ve texted my friends (help! which bookshelf??!).
I just got back this week from a too-quick trip to Memphis, Tennessee to visit in-laws and dear friends (and celebrate the arrival of a new tiny friend!), so this weekend, I’m sorry to say… it’s time to pay the piper, or at least my taxes. That’s right. I’ll be sitting down with my husband and a file folder of receipts to gather what we need to get a long-looming chore done. It’s not exciting, but it’s true. We hope to meet up with friends beforehand for donuts, and I especially hope to cheer the Kentucky Wildcats on to victory against rivals the Tennessee Vols.
I hope you have something to look forward to this weekend, and that this collection of interesting reads and favorite things helps ease you into that weekend frame of mind.
My favorite finds from around the web:
Iris Apfel, A Full Life in Full Looks. (New York Times gift link) I read every word of Iris Apfel’s gorgeous coffee-table book, Accidental Icon, back in 2020 and have been obsessively watching her career ever since. I was sad to read of her passing, the loss of a true icon.
Bookshelf Wealth Is the Ultimate Design Trend for Readers. (Martha Stewart) Martha chimes in on the “bookshelf wealth” trend, and tells us exactly how to pull it off.
We’ll be having these French Bread Pizzas (Serious Eats) for dinner tonight. I love when a recipe breaks down exactly what to do (like layering the cheese and compressing the bread). Plus my secret for lazy tomato sauce on any pizza is straight tomato paste—it’s thick and you can use as much or as little as you like.
Refreshing My Home for “Almost Spring”. (The Inspired Room) I feel that term “almost spring” so close.
I promise this is not an ad for a podcast, but I really am obsessed with my American Giant linen pants. I’ve worn one black pair so often over the past year, and they still look fantastic after so many washes. I’m almost ashamed to tell you how many colors I ordered for this spring.
Amor Towles announced his stops for his upcoming Table for Two tour. (Amor Towles), and I’m a little salty my city isn’t on it. But maybe he’s coming near you?
I loved Sara’s ode to Everything But the Bagel seasoning this week on the blog. I’m similarly addicted to the stuff, and while TJs is my favorite, I’m equally devoted to Morton & Bassett spices. If you’re looking for a no-sodium option, the Everything Sprinkle contains zero salt.
Kubota garden lessons in form and shape. (Harmony in the Garden) I’m determined to have a garden this year with help from Kitchen Garden Revival and the Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook, but this gave me lots to think about as I plan. I love learning the formulas, and how there’s always more to any art than I know.
Help me decide? I’m eyeing this CB2 bookshelf for my library, but I’ve never had open shelving before. Will I regret it? Do I need more bookends? Tell me all the things.
I braced myself when I read the title of this podcast, How My Anxiety Has Changed in my 40s (10 Things to Tell You), and almost didn’t want to listen. But this was so helpful and reassuring. (Psst… MMD Book Club members, check out our event with podcast host Laura Tremaine from last February.)
I saw my friend Rachael this weekend and she reminded me she makes these adorable Gilmore girls inspired keychains (Etsy). I agonized between whether I liked the Luke’s diner mug or Copper Boom best.
I’m a big fan of Jenn Eats Good on Instagram, so I couldn’t click on her Crispy Chickpea & Lemony Tahini Kale salad fast enough since it reminds me of a salad I’ve never stopped thinking about at a little bistro in Richmond, Virginia.
How to Style Your Coffee Table. (All Sorts Of) Can you tell I really like formulas?
As a pale gal, I’ve been using these Isle of Paradise drops for years. When I saw my oldest friends last weekend after a long winter, they gave me just a little color for a sunny glow. Now that it’s March, I’m determined to get more actual Vitamin D from the star we call the sun. With SPF of course!
Don’t miss these posts:
My favorite subgenre: emotionally resonant fiction. Realistic stories that hold moments of piercing insight into what it means to be human.
20 board games to beat the rainy day blues. When we tire of doing jigsaw puzzles, it’s time to pull out the board games.
15 immersive historical fiction books about overlooked events. You probably didn’t learn about these events in history class!
Have a good weekend!
About the author
Ginger Horton is our Book Club Community Manager here at MMD. Her go-to genres are literary fiction and classics. You can find Ginger on Instagram posting as herself @gthorton or in the MMD Book Club account @MMDBookClub
27 comments
Those “Team Jess” keychains!!!
I love how your donut place is named “Just Fine” and Jenn Eats Good’s recipes as well!
Good stuff, Ginger. Thank you!
Does What Should I Read Next have a discount code for American Giant? I know they’ve been a sponsor, and those pants look good. 🙂
Yes, it appears that DARCY still works for 20% off!
At first glance I thought this was going to be an entire Links I Love based on the hair color. Then I remembered Ginger is also a *person*. 😀
Hehe. I wish I was truly a redhead, Jill.
I mean, you COULD be! (Says the bottle ginger known for her curly red hair)
Such a great post Ginger! My husband loves the Week by Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook. Good luck with your garden!
I’m so glad for an endorsement about the handbook from real gardeners, Laurie!
That’s a gorgeous bookshelf! You may want bookends, but a flat stack of books also makes a good bookend, in my experience. Then you fit more books!
Oooh, that’s a great tip and I hadn’t thought of that. I always love how books look some on their sides, some up and down as well!
Great stuff, Ginger! I have a strange-shaped glass coffee table that I’ve struggled to “style.” This article gave me some great ideas. We’ve also been looking for a new tea kettle and I think that Laura Ashley kettle might be the one! And one last thing: If you can believe it, I’ve never seen Gilmore Girls. Since everyone here at MMD raves about that series, I’m going to check it out this weekend. My husband will just have to groan all he likes. Lol. Thanks for all the great ideas!!
Oooh, Colleen… you are in for such a treat with Gilmore girls. Pretty please report back how you like it. I cannot wait to hear.
I’ve never seen GG either, so I may have to join you in watching it for the first time! 🙂
*sigh* Colleen I am jealous of you getting to experience GG for the first time! It is one of my all-time favorite shows.
Go CATS!!!! The Nashville date for A.Towles is sadly sold out, I would have loved to attend it especially since Ann Patchett is the interviewer. Oh well, I will comfort myself with French Bread Pizza!
That would have been a dream, Heather! And yes… go CATS! 🙂
I love your tomato paste hack! I hate it when the sauce gets watery on my pizza! 🙂
Kelli, you just made my week knowing I could give any cooking help to the true cooking pro!
The French bread pizza looks delicious! Enjoy!
Ginger – so much good stuff here, thank you! I’m going to try the French bread pizza tips this weekend. And I’m a fan of copper boom, it’s a popular phrase at our house. I saw that Amor Towles Table for Two has a stop in Louisville – wondering if Ann will be involved in that in any way?
No, I live nowhere near where Amor is coming, either! So sad!
And I also want to get some Everything But the Bagel seasoning, but it will have to wait until this summer when i can go near a TJ’s.
Thanks for the tip about Everything Sprinkle! The Harmony in the Garden post about Kubota garden was great. I feel very fortunate to live less than a mile from this amazing garden (which is in Seattle proper, not a suburb 🙂) and visit it in every season at any whim. The Kubota family created something amazing with their own hands in the 1920s-30s. Despite being interned during WWII and the treatment of Japanese Americans during the war, they returned, rebuilt the garden and ensured its preservation and eventual sale to the city. https://www.historylink.org/File/3077
Thanks so much for sharing more about this history, Ruth!
Thanks for the tip about Everything Sprinkle. Hope they have some other no salt blends as well! And I second the comment regarding bookends. There are six full size bookshelves in my house, and not a bookend in sight. Either books stacked on their sides, or a few lovely rectangular baskets that are depth of the shelf and hold office supplies or extra candles and wax melts–things I like to have at hand in the room they are in, but not necessarily in plain sight. And lastly, I have just added a stop to get french bread to the errands I am about to do, because that recipe sounds fabulous! Thanks for all the great stuff, and can anybody in St. Louis tell me how your library consistently gets so many great author book tour stops?
So much good stuff in this Links! ❤️
We did a similar look to the CB2 shelves for a fraction of the cost (and we aren’t DIY people). Black rubber made tracking and brackets. Had Home Depot cut wood shelves the right length and we stained and sealed them. We’ve ordered a zillion bookends, but we have six 6 foot shelves. It’s crammed with books but also fun things we’ve collected over the years. About to do it in our bedroom because we have run out of room on these. 😉
Thanks for the tip about the AZZURRA
BOOKSHELF, I have been looking for an open shelf but they were either too thin or bulky – this one fits perfectly in my small home office and I’m having fun styling it.