Reading Lately – Spring 2022

Book on floral fabric with pink rose - The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati

5 enchanting books perfect to enjoy this spring that will make you cry, laugh-out loud, and fall in love! If you are like me, you are always in search of the next good book! I’ve read some delightful ones here lately and thought I would share them with you lovely peonies just in case one…

Read More

On My Summer Reading List…

On My Summer Reading List...come enjoy a summer afternoon, a spot of shade, a glass of wine, and a good book with Henry and me!

10 books with adventure, romance, and history spilling out of their pages for absorbing summer reading! Pour some sweet cold wine, grab a quilt, and let’s head out for a shady tree to read away the afternoon! Take a little time for yourself this summer to kick back and get lost in these worlds…

Read More

8 Cozy Winter Reads

Katherine reading Anne of Green Gables Word Cloud Classics copy

Curl up with one of these cozy winter reads for some adventure, romance, and delight! Here are the 8 Books on my reading list – winter edition. Is there any better way to cozy up in these cold dreary winter months than with a good book and a spot of tea? Nope, didn’t think so!…

Read More

On My Reading List – Fall Edition

Sugar Queen book by Sarah Addison Allen on brass tray with dahlia floral arrangement and cookies

On my reading list – 12 Books to read or listen to this fall Friends, did you know I am an avid reader? In fact, probably my favorite leisure activity is reading. Give me a good book, a class of bourbon, the shade of a big tree, and call me happy! All the additional time…

Read More

10 Novels for the Rosy Romantic

10 novels for the rosy romantic - woman at cafe reading book with latte and peonies in pearls and tweed

Looking for timeless love stories where the heroines are intelligent, capable, and winsome and the heros are strong, irresistible, and kind…where despite trials and tribulations a happy ending is ensured? Well, then you need to check out these 10 novels for the rosy romantic! Love is in the air…with Valentine’s day right around the corner…

Read More

Currently Reading…My Southern Journey

Rick Bragg's book My Southern Journey will make you laugh out loud and cry until your eyes are bleary. Every Southerner should own this incredible work. I recommend reading this with a glass of bourbon on your favorite porch.

Let Rick Bragg take you home with My Southern Journey… This book takes me to places familiar: It takes me to lazy evenings rockin’ on my grandmother’s porch. It takes me on truck rides down back country roads on misty mornings. It takes me to oyster bars in Charleston and a barstool in my favorite…

Read More

The War in Syria

One of my personal resolutions this year is to appreciate everyday beauty, and for me that means noticing and being grateful for the little things in my life as well as the big things. With the recent coverage of the Syrian Refugee Crisis, I have been reminded just how lucky I am to have these…

Read More

A Healthy Eating Philosophy via Michael Pollan

Read Food Rules by Michael Pollan to help you develop a healthy eating philosophy. You will be inspired by his food rules to eat clean and develop healthy eating habits.

Don’t let dieting advice and convoluted nutritional science keep you from creating a simple, healthy eating philosophy. Healthy eating – it is an American obsession. We pursue complicated diets, telling us to eat this not that. We pour over food labels and nutrition guides. We rely on scientific experts to tell us what is healthy…

Read More

Summer Reading: The Girl from the Savoy

Summer Reading Review of The Girl from the Savoy on penderandpeony.com

This book had all of the right elements: Jazz Age London, the aftermath of World War I, romance, and an aspiring actress with a humble and sweet personality. It had the potential to hit every one of my buttons. But in the end, I am seriously ambivalent about it. I guess some books just make…

Read More

Summer Reading: The Museum of Extraordinary Things

Summer Reading: The Museum of Extraordinary Things. Read the review at penderandpeony.com

The Museum of Extraordinary Things is a slow burn. You know almost from the beginning that the two main characters, Coralie and Eddie, are going to meet and fall in love. Hoffman follows their life paths through flashbacks and diary like entries as these characters mature and slowly, ever so slowly, draw closer and closer…

Read More