I love my friends.

1. ‘Made in the USA’ by Billie Letts
2. ‘Anthropology of an American Girl’ by Hilary Thayer Hamann
3. ‘Parisians’ by Graham Robb
4. ‘Roses’ by Leila Meacham
5. ‘Uncharted Territory’ by Tori Spelling
6. ‘Lunch in Paris’ by Elizabeth Bard
7. ‘Classy’ by Derek Blasberg
8. ‘What I Did for Love’ by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Over lunch several weeks ago, my girlfriend KG exclaimed ‘Guess who I am going to meet tonight?’

To which I replied, ‘Who?’ {…inner monologue screaming Madonna, Britney, Leonard Nimoy}

‘Sloane Crosley,’ KG replied excitedly.

‘Ohhhh,’ I answered vacantly. {No idea, folks. No idea.} But turns out this lovely had written a few books — one about cake and one with a bear on the cover. As KG expressed her love for Sloane’s wit and honesty, I realized here was an author that should make her way to my list. Lo and behold, a few days later I had both books from KG … ‘signed, sealed, delivered … I’m yours!’

I decided to read her second novel first because, truth be told, I normally like to read things backwards, i.e. magazines, contracts, etc. I do not know why and it is not very beneficial, but alas, I do it. Well, dear friends, I was hooked from the dedication page alone:

‘To my parents. For Everything.*

*Everything except the two week period in 1995 directly following the time you went to Ohio for a wedding and I threw a party in the house, which is the most normal thing a teenage American can do, aside from lie about it, which I also did, and Mom eyed me suspiciously for days, morphing into a one-woman Scotland Yard, marching into my bedroom with a fistful of lint from the dryer to demonstrate that I had mysteriously washed all the towels, and then she waited until we were in a nice restaurant to scream, “Someone vomited on my couch, I know it!” and Dad took away my automotive privileges straight through college so that I spent the subsequent four years likening you both to Stasi foot soldiers, confined as I was to a campus-on-the-hill when I could have been learning to play poker at the casinos down the road and making bad decisions at townie bars. I think we can all agree you overreacted. For everything except that, I am profoundly grateful. I have only the greatest affection for you now. Also: I vomited on the couch.’ {HDYGTN}

Nevermind the fact that her initial sentence is 157 words long — that in and of itself is something I was truly impressed with — but she also talks like I think. Some of her stories are better than others, but overall the stories are quick, friendly reads and she has a couple of killer one-liners:

‘Uniqueness is wasted on youth. Like a fine wine or a solid flossing habit, you’ll be grateful for it when you are older.’ {IWTTBC}

‘The lies we construct to defend ourselves from humiliation are the strongest, resfusing to be torn down.’ {HDYGTN}

I was taken in by her honesty, conversational writing style, and to tell the truth — her learning disability because I have never heard of it before. I loved her stories about her childhood pets, her roommate stories, and the feelings she had before giving notice for leaving her first job. I do not want to go too in depth and ruin the read, {I know some of you are going to rush out to buy/read after my glowing recommendation} but if you did/do happen to read this I would love to discuss! What do you think of Sloane’s recollections?

One picture is more beautiful than the next …

{Via: Simply Luxurious & Beauty is Diverse}

STEP 1: Tell husband you feel sick. Ask for soup. Expect canned chicken noodle … gasp in shock and love as he makes preparations for homemade French Onion Soup.

STEP 2: Collect all your recipe item needs, the most important being your husband {since he does most/all of the actual cooking}. Put on your flirty apron because if you can’t be helpful in the kitchen, you can at least look cute for your handsome, chef-of-a-husband.

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup olive oil
6–7 large onions
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
Sea salt
Black pepper
Crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons flour
8 cups low sodium beef broth
1/3 cup rose wine
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
French loaf
Gruyere
Smoked Mozzarella

STEP 3: Normally, when it comes to Frank, I believe sharing is caring … HOWEVER, do not share onions with your puggy precious {or any doggie pal for that matter}! Onions are bad. BAD. Deadly. BAD. No onions for Frankers. So instead, let’s include Frank in other ways, i.e. dressing him up in our adorable little apron. Then share a safe treat like carrots.

STEP 4: Assist husband in everything. Smile. Take deep breaths and inhale the yummy cooking goodness.

STEP 5: Eat, savor, sip … feel better. Feel the yummy soup make your throat feel better. Curl up on the couch with M, Frank, NCIS and the soup. Oh, yumm-o.

{Apron gift of Flirty Apron/OpenSky}