So many books to share as with the start of September, the releases are aplenty. Along with the books, a film that won a grand prize at the most recent Sundance Film festival, set in London with a fun, yet feel-good plot created by a debut director and screenwriter, it looks to be a great watch. As well, cookbooks to tickle your tastebuds, a new book for lovers of the cottage garden approach, a woven basket I was tickled to find and share as I use my similar one all summer long, and still there is MUCH more. Enjoy!

Books

—The Clementine Complex: A Novel by Bob Mortimer

The first of MANY books being released this coming Tuesday, September 5th is one from British comedian and already a bestselling author in this ‘quirky mystery’ titled The Clementine Complex. “Unremarkable legal assistant Gary Thorn goes for a pint with his coworker Brendan, unaware his life is about to change. There, Gary meets a beautiful woman, but she leaves before he catches her name. All he has to remember her by is the title of the book she was reading: The Clementine Complex. And when Brendan goes missing, too, Gary needs to track down the girl he now calls Clementine to get some answers.”

—Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others by Amy Thielen

If you too enjoy throwing a dinner party, but the thought of all the work and planning and well, anything you don’t enjoy prevents you from going forth and inviting your friends, this book is for you. Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others was released just this past week sharing new ideas to help you rethink the way you entertain so that you can and will want to throw dinner parties. Thielen includes “leniency, not-guilty pleasures, and the art of making it in advance, [thereby] soothing the most common party anxieties one by one. Her reflections on writing menus, produce shopping, and how to time a meal are novel but timeless. Not afraid of meat (but obsessed with vegetables), these 125 loyal recipes are arranged in menu form―from intimate dinner parties to larger holiday feasts to parties that serve up to twenty.”

—The Fraud: A Novel by Zadie Smith

Set during Victorian England, Zadie Smith’s new historical fiction novel tells three stories based on true stories about Britain and Jamaica, and critics are praising it already prior to its September 5th release. One of the stories?

“It is 1873. Mrs. Eliza Touchet is the Scottish housekeeper—and cousin by marriage—of a once-famous novelist, now in decline, William Ainsworth, with whom she has lived for thirty years. Mrs. Touchet is a woman of many interests: literature, justice, abolitionism, class, her cousin, his wives, this life and the next. But she is also sceptical. She suspects her cousin of having no talent; his successful friend, Mr. Charles Dickens, of being a bully and a moralist; and England of being a land of facades, in which nothing is quite what it seems.”

An Amazon Editor’s Pick, released this coming Tuesday September 5th.

—Memories of Home: Interiors by Heidi Caillier

I have been a fan of PNW interior designer Heidi Caillier’s for quite a few years, and now with her first book, I cannot wait to read through it when it arrives on September 5th. Be sure, look for a detailed profile post of what inspiration caught my eyes later this fall. A recent article in the NYTimes shares an excerpt of one of the many homes Heidi has decorated and renovated. And below are a few peeks at interiors created by Heidi.

—Once Upon A Time World: The Dark and Sparkling Story of the French Riviera by Jonathan Miles

Being released this coming Tuesday, Jonathan Miles’ new book Once Upon a Time World “chronicles two-hundred years of glamour, intrigue, and hedonism, this rich and vivid history of the French Riviera features a vast cast of characters, from Pablo Picasso and Coco Chanel to Andre Matisse and James Baldwin”.

—What You Are Looking For is in This Library: A Novel by Michiko Aoyama

Being released on . . . you guessed it!, September 5th is an internationally bestselling Japanese novel about how the perfect book recommendation can change a readers’ life. The question the librarian asks each patron as they walk through the doors is What are you looking for? “For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it.”

British Find

—Scrapper

Released last week to the broader public, Scrapper won the International Global Jury prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and after listening to NPR’s review of the film, I wanted to share with you as I think it may be an unexpectedly wonderful and uplifting film to watch. Have a look at the trailer of this film set in London. Listen to Scott Simon’s interview with the writer and director in her debut film here.

Cookbooks

—Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes that Will Change the Way You Cook by Kristen Miglore

While released back in 2015, I thought this well-received cookbook would be a wonderful one to add to your kitchen library as you prepare for fall and zhush up your cooking repertoire.

“Passed down from the cookbook authors, chefs, and bloggers who made them legendary, these foolproof recipes rethink cooking tropes, solve problems, get us talking, and make cooking more fun. Every week, Kristen features one such recipe and explains just what’s so brilliant about it in the James Beard Award-nominated Genius Recipes column on Food52. Here, in this book, she compiles 100 of the most essential ones—nearly half of which have never been featured in the column—with tips, riffs, mini-recipes, and stunning photographs from James Ransom, to create a cooking canon that will stand the test of time.”

—Simply Tomato: 100 Recipes for Enjoying Your Favorite Ingredient All Year Long by Martha Holmberg

Isn’t it the way, you discover a book that you had never heard of, and upon overhearing someone talk about it, you immediately make a mental note. Such the was the case when I visited my local bookshop this past weekend, and a woman inquired about Simply Tomato. Going even further to say, ‘the author is a friend of mine and I was looking for her cookbook’, I became immediately curious as to who this woman was. Well, it turns out, she is Martha Holmberg who was the editor-in-chief of Fine Cooking magazine for a decade, the food editor of The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon, and the founder of MIX magazine.

This cookbook looks delicious, and knowing Holmberg is behind it gives me all the more confidence that it indeed will be.

Francophile Finds

—Rabbit Hill Lifestyle Online Pop-Up Shop, Saturday September 2nd!

France, copper, brocante finds. When we cannot be in France, Cat’s Rabbit hill Kitchen pop-up online shops are where to shop for quality, hand-selected items found in France. This Saturday (9am Pacific) she is having her monthly online occasion and if it is anything like last month’s it will be full of copper. ☺️

Garden

—A Cottage Garden by Claus Dalby

I cannot wait for my copy of Danish gardener Claus Dalby’s new book A Cottage Garden to arrive in my mailbox. Full of more than 700 pages and more than 300 pages, both the history of English cottage gardens is explored, as well as the beauty, organization and plants to include.

Shopping

—SkinStore, 25% off site-wide, Labor Day Sale

A big thank you to TSLL reader Nikki for bringing this sale to my attention. Included in the sale are Joanna Vargas masks, a brand and product I have used and love. My go-to is the Forever Glow Anti-Aging mask. and my go-to facial sunscreen, über light-weight and highly protective, EltaMD. Also Avène’s thermal spring water is something I spritz on my face each night after my skincare routine and this bottle will last a loooong time.

Use promo code LABOR to save. I will also be including many more sales taking place this weekend in TSLL’s Fall Shopping Guide being released here on the blog later today.

—Small woven storage basket, Lusophile

Quite a few years ago Sharon Santoni included a similar small straw basket in her My French Country Home Box, and what a treat it was to receive it. I use mine every summer to collect berries for tarts or to bring in ripened berries to nibble on for a snack. But this size of a basket is difficult to find, which is why when I stumbled upon this one from Portugal, I wanted to share. For $12 and shipping worldwide, be sure to scoop up a couple.

—TSLL’s Annual Fall Shopping Guide

Shop more than 80 hand-picked finds of clothing and accessories inspired by the trends of the season worth investing in. The post will go live on the blog today at 9am (Pacific) (Friday September 1st).

Included in the post will be a list of Labor Day Sales not to miss.

Television

—U.S. Open, Tennis

When Labor Day arrives in the states, that means the final grand slam tennis tournament is also in full swing, and that means when I find myself relaxing at home in the evenings, now through next Sunday, I will be watching a match or two. ☺️

The dahlias are in full bloom at Le Papillon, but this beautiful dahlia was captured during my visit to Swan Island Dahlias this past August, and when you tune in to September’s A Cuppa Moments (available today on the blog! Always the first day of the month!), I will be including a full video tour that will both bring you calm and awe as in nearly every video clip a different varietal is shared, complete with the name just in case you want to add a new dahlia to your garden next year. Learn more about becoming a TOP Tier Member so you can enjoy watching this video as well as the monthly video chat with TSLL’s international community. 

Already September is here and with rain in the forecast for today and cooler nights that kicked off earlier this week, there is definitely a hint of fall in the air. Cue the smiles. ☺️

If you will be savoring the long weekend out and about, squeezing in one more dance with summer, I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and if you are like me and will be enjoying time at home, may it bring you rejuvenation and a deeply savored respite before the shift into unofficial fall begins next Tuesday. Rest assured, TSLL will not be taking Monday off, so look for a new Motivational post to kick off the first full week of September, and over this weekend, look for the trailer of TSLL’s cooking show to be shared as season 6 kicks off on Saturday September 9^th.

What is available this weekend is TSLL’s Annual Fall Shopping Guide and it will be available here shortly on the blog – 9am Pacific to be precise, so be sure to stop back by TSLL to explore and shop the trends of the season worth investing in. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, and thank you for stopping by today. Until later today, bonne journée!

~Decor inspiration as we look ahead to the next season with rooms offering warm, autumnal colors [House & Garden UK]

~And as we settle into our homes a bit more, Interior Designers share the comfort rules. [House & Garden UK]

~10 Gardening mistakes to avoid [Gardeners’ World]

~An inspiring article, she moved from NYC to Paris at Age 79 to turn her fantasy into a reality [Business Insider]

~UK Gardener Frances Tophill gives a great interview about her new garden and approach to gardening overall. [GW podcast]

~Forget Summer. This Is Travel’s New “It” Season. I completely understand why this is becoming a great time of year to travel. Count me likely part of the passengers making the most of this time of the year to explore abroad. [Afar]

~You may remember that my guest for episode #346, interior designer living in Paris David Jimenez lives on the Ile de Saint-Louis, and just recently Oliver Gee of The Earful Tower took a walk through the neighborhood of this small island that sits at the heart of Paris which inspired him to conclude that the Ile provides The Prettiest Walk in Paris. Have a look.

~Can there be too many cafés in Paris? [NYtimes]

~A fun interview with memoirist of this new book who takes listeners to the MET in NYC and shares some intriguing facts about the museum you may not know. Listen here. [FT Weekend]

~Word is the next season of the GBBO will be available in the UK on Channel 4 on Tuesday September 12th and then in the states on the following Friday (so September 15th). I will confirm in the coming weeks and be sure to include in the preceding This & That, but until then, check out the fun new trailer the show just released.

~Explore last week’s This & That: August 25, 2023

The return of a popular new British caper series, two new movies starring Helen Mirren, a new book that reads like an intriguing piece of fiction, but is actually a true story, a couple of newly released novels both set in England, a book about olive oil and everything you have ever wanted to know about EVOO, as well as a new documentary series to inspire you to live a long and healthy life, clothing finds to prep us for the fall season and TSLL’s Annual Fall Shopping Guide, a canvas tote company I found and readers have asked about, plus much more!

~Please note: TSLL is supported by you, readers who take the time to stop by (merci!), peruse and sometimes welcome into your life mentioned and recommended finds. Affiliate links are present in today’s post and may earn commissions for TSLL when you purchase. View TSLL’s full Privacy Policy here.