New & Notable Mentions 12/24/22
This week on New & Notable Mentions…
Links to Christmas decor, DIYs, recipes, and good books to read.
Best SAD Lamps to give your mental health a much-needed boost in 2023.
This decorated for Christmas living space is elegant yet simple. It is serene.
A recipe for snowball cookies.
A green and white French-inspired Christmas living room.
Cup Of Jo’s favorite TV shows, podcasts, and books of 2022.
This impressive gathering of Santas are ready for Christmas.
The 32 best New Year’s cocktail recipes to ring in 2023 in style.
How to make DIY hanging holiday lanterns.
21 family-friendly games to play during the holidays.
How to make farmhouse-style hanging stars.
The 23 most anticipated books of 2023.
Sheet Pan Meatballs with Tomato Salad and Green Sauce
What to do with all those holiday photos.
Christmas Pomegranate Punch & Mocktail
More free at-home COVID-19 tests available by mail.
How to care for yourself when you’re a care giver.
The Lies That Bind
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In this irresistible novel, “The Lies That Bind,” from the author of All We Ever Wanted and Something Borrowed, a young woman falls hard for an impossibly perfect man before he disappears without a trace. . . .
It’s 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York’s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she’ll ever make it as a reporter in the big city—and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew.
As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the bar stool next to her say, “Don’t do it—you’ll regret it.”
Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours—and shots of tequila—the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn’t be worse—Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas.
Yet despite all their obstacles, they can’t seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head.
Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth.
But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn’t who he seemed to be?
Book Lovers
One summer. Two rivals. A plot twist they didn’t see coming…
In “Book Lovers,” Nora Stephens’ life is books—she’s read them all—and she is not that type of heroine. Not the plucky one, not the laid-back dream girl, and especially not the sweetheart.
In fact, the only people Nora is a heroine for are her clients, for whom she lands enormous deals as a cutthroat literary agent, and her beloved little sister Libby.
Which is why she agrees to go to Sunshine Falls, North Carolina for the month of August when Libby begs her for a sisters’ trip away—with visions of a small town transformation for Nora, who she’s convinced needs to become the heroine in her own story.
But instead of picnics in meadows, or run-ins with a handsome country doctor or bulging-forearmed bartender, Nora keeps bumping into Charlie Lastra, a bookish brooding editor from back in the city. It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they’ve met many times and it’s never been cute.
If Nora knows she’s not an ideal heroine, Charlie knows he’s nobody’s hero, but as they are thrown together again and again—in a series of coincidences no editor worth their salt would allow—what they discover might just unravel the carefully crafted stories they’ve written about themselves.
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That tree is so lovely & the book reviews intriguing. I want that cake!
Merry Christmas from Texas!
Kate
I’m going to check out that list of most anticipated books in ’23. The wreath cake is gorgeous!
Merry Christmas Brenda and to everyone else! I hope everyone has a great day!
Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year to all!
What a great collection of sites to visit for our Christmas present. We’re having a heat wave here, it’s 9 degrees F, woo woo! The wind is still extreme in the aftermath of the storm that visited here two days ago, strong gusts of wind are still with us, but we had a day of sunshine which made for a positive difference, and the temperature was only about 4 below zero F when I got up this morning, way better than yesterday!
It will be dark in another hour, I will change into my snuggly fleece Christmas PJs and robe, get a (gel fuel) fire going, light up all the candles in the house and the Christmas tree and settle in for a round of my favorite Christmas movies. Happy holidays to Brenda and to all, may we all be safe and sound and have a wonderful Christmas.
Merry Christmas!!!! Thanks for taking the time to share and post each day.
Hugs, Janie
Merry Christmas Brenda and everyone else☃️🎅❤🎄❄That basket of Santa’s is so beautiful. Will go back and look at everything else. Enjoy you everyday💕
Merry Christmas my far away friend! I am looking forward to “seeing” you in the New Year. Your daily posts brighten my day.
Wishing all a very Merry Christmas and a healthy, prosperous, joy-filled 2023!
Stay safe, warm & well.
Just a reader from Arlington MA (6 miles outside of Boston) writing to say Merry Christmas! Not sure how I found your blog, but have been reading for a couple of years now. Always look forward to your posts. I hope you have a copy holiday!
A lovely collection. The basket of Santas is so charming. I put the meatball recipe in my Favorites to try.
Merry Christmas, Brenda! I hope you enjoy your day.
Merry Christmas to my dear friend from afar! I’m going to make those stars. They are just too cute. There is a beach community not far from me that the homes place lit stars on their homes at Christmas. It’s so festive.
Merry Christmas to you and Ivy, Brenda! Enjoy your cozy home and all your blessings!
I’ve missed you the past couple of days – no internet! Ugh.
Merry Christmas Brenda!
Merry Christmas Brenda.
Merry Christmas, Brenda. Your blog is one of my first stops each morning.
Have a Merry Christmas Brenda.
You have such a great eye, Brenda. I love your picks each week. I think you would be a fantastic magazine editor…which you essentially are, here on my favorite daily read!