Happy Friday! Since you’re not at my house eating our traditional end-of-week chocolate chip scones, I figured a few recommendations from me would be the next best thing. Just so you know, I don’t get paid to promote anything; these are just five things I love that you might enjoy, too.
1) The Naked Bee Orange Blossom Honey Hand Sanitizer is effective, smells lovely, and doesn’t dry out my hands. I buy it at my fabulous local shop Leonora Moss, but you can also find it here.
2) Have you seen Queen of Katwe? A young girl from the poorest part of Kampala becomes a chess master. Based on a true story, it stars David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyongo’o, and your whole family will love it.
3) There’s no series I’ve enjoyed in recent years as much as the Flavia de Luce novels. Start with the hilarious and compelling The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, then treat yourself to the nine books that follow. My friend David and I spent weeks texting each other one-liners from the series. I’m dying for the BBC to give Flavia her own show.
Growing up in her family’s ramshackle mansion in post-WWII England, 11-year-old Flavia de Luce spends her days in her late uncle’s chemistry lab concocting poisons—until someone shows up dead in the cucumber patch. It sounds like an improbable premise for a mystery novel, but the gifted Alan Bradley makes it all work.
4) If you like Starburst or Hi-Chew, you’ve got to try PuChao candies. They’re from Japan, and they are yummy. They come in assorted fruit flavors, but we like the Cola/Ramune combo pack best. For two years running, they’ve been our family’s favorite advent calendar stuffer. We’re lucky enough to find them in nearly every store in California’s San Gabriel Valley, but you can also find them here.
5) If you have a tween in your life, you likely have heard of the K-pop boy-band phenomenon BTS. They’re adorable, and “Dynamite,” their latest single, is their catchiest hit yet. I’ve been humming it when exercising or doing housework. As my kids say, it’s a bop. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you Monday!
Where are my scones? I don't see them here...