Gearing up for stepping back into the work and school schedule, books and articles to build more consciousness around creating an approach for a schedule to enjoy, a cookbook for vegetarians, a new award winning documentary for wine lovers, an acclaimed television series worth watching for lovers of food, struggle that leads to success along an unprescribed path, but summer isn’t over yet, and Labor Day Weekend is here, so I have a long list of sales not to miss including a first-time sale on all of TSLL’s notepads, along with a handful of shopping finds worth exploring. Plus, much more.

Books

—Happier Hours: How to Beat Distraction, Expand Your Time and Focus on What Matters Most by Cassie Holmes

Being released this coming Tuesday, the 6th, is a book from UCLA professor Cassie Holmes’ wildly popular class. “Demonstrating how to immediately improve our lives by changing how we perceive and invest our time, Happier Hour provides empirically based insights and easy-to-implement tools that will allow you to:

– Optimally spend your hours and feel confident in those choices
– Sidestep distractions
– Create and savor moments of joy
– Design your schedule with purpose
– Look back on your years without regrets 

Looks quite interesting and being released at the ideal time of year no doubt as we step back into a new work season.

—On the Rooftop: A novel by Margaret Wilkerson-Sexton

Also being released on Tuesday September 6th is the novel On the Rooftop, centered around “a mother whose dream of musical stardom for her three daughters collides with the daughters’ ambitions for their own lives—set against the backdrop of gentrifying 1950s San Francisco”.  New York Times Book Review has described Margaret Wilkerson-Sexton as “a writer of uncommon nerve and talent” and this book’s plot certainly has piqued my curiosity.

British Finds

—Inside the Ritz Hotel London, series

I happened upon this two-episode series this past weekend, and thoroughly enjoyed the first episode and will be watching the second later this weekend. If you have been curious about what it is like inside The Ritz in London, this is the series to watch. Have a look at the trailer below.

—The Kew Gardens Cookbook: A Celebrations of Plants in the Kitchen by Jenny Linford

If you have been looking for a collection of quality, dependable, and seasonal vegetarian recipes, this is a cookbook to check out. Being released on Monday the 5th, “The Kew Gardens Cookbook is an anthology of vegetarian recipes gathered from leading chefs and food writers—such as Yotam Ottolenghi, Fuchsia Dunlop, Olia Hercules, and Claudia Roden—savoring a huge array of plants and fungi that can both broaden our palates and prevent biodiversity loss. Organized in six sections—leaves; roots, squashes, and tubers; grains and pulses; fungi; herbs and spices; and fruits and nuts—this book features more than sixty delicious and unusual vegetarian recipes.”

Cookbooks

—Chez Panisse Café Cookbook by Alice Waters

The 51st anniversary of Chez Panisse occurred this past week on August 28th, so I thought it a pertinent time to include one of the best cookbooks Alice Waters has ever written, a cookbook that cookbook editors keep in their libraries even if they don’t cook because the recipes are just that good. While Chez Panisse opened in 1971, the Café above Chez Panisse opened in 1980, the latter an eating destination that is far easier to find a table as you have to plan a month ahead to hopefully reserve a table at Chez Panisse (which I HIGHLY recommend you do, as I had the good fortune to dine there in 2019 – watch my video of our visit and meal, and read the post here). But back to the must-have cookbook for home cooks . . .

Inside Chez Panisse Café Cookbook, which followed up Waters’ award-winning  Chez Panisse Vegetables, discover “more than 140 of the café’s best-recipes–some that have been on the menu since the day café opened and others freshly reinvented with the honesty and ingenuity that have made Chez Panisse so famous. In addition to irresistible recipes, the Chez Panisse Café Cookbook is filled with chapter-opening essays on the relationships Alice has cultivated with the farmers, foragers and purveyors–most of them within an hour’s drive of Berkeley–who make it possible for Chez Panisse to boast that nearly all food is locally grown, certifiably organic, and sustainably grown and harvested.”

Film

—Blind Ambition

Winner of the Audience Award at the Telluride Film Festival in 2021 is a film many are eager to be released and enjoyed, Blind Ambition. A documentary following the four men from Zimbabwe who formed their country’s first Wine Tasting Olympics team, have a look at the trailer below and look for it in a theater today.

Podcasts

—David Lebovitz

I have been exploring new podcasts to add to my list of shows to listen to as I work in my office or take long walks with Norman, and I have just begun to listen to Parisian food blogger David Lebovitz’s eponymously named show. About four years ago, David was a guest on The Simple Sophisticate (episode #182), and I appreciated him making the time to talk about his latest book release at the time. If you too enjoy learning about food and the cookbook writing culture as well as hearing from experts in their food field living in Paris, be sure to tune in.

—The Week in Art

Sponsored by Christies, if you are an aficionado of the art world or simply, like me, just enjoy learning about this fascinating world, this is the show for you. “From breaking news and insider insights to exhibitions and events around the world, the team at The Art Newspaper picks apart the art world’s big stories with the help of special guests. An award-winning podcast hosted by Ben Luke.”

—What Should I Read Next?

A podcast show that has been around for quite some time (posting more than 300 episodes) answers a question you might have on your mind after finishing your latest book – What Should I Read Next? “Each week, Anne Bogel, of the blog Modern Mrs Darcy, interviews a reader about the books they love, the books they hate, and the books they’re reading now. Then, she makes recommendations about what to read next. The real purpose of the show is to help YOU find your next read.

Shopping

—Breton Long Sleeve Tee, La Ligne (navy and cream stripes)

—Johanna Ortiz Ecru Coral Reef Earrings

—Margaux The Penny, suede loafers (more colors)

—TSLL SHOP Sale, 10% off all notepads

For the first time (because I am finally stocked with all of the notepads ;)), I am offering 10% off all TSLL Notepads through Sunday September 4th, midnight (Pacific time). From the most recent notepad – Croissants, to the first notepads I created more than seven years ago – To Do and To Market, To Market, and also including the Capsule Menu notepads, both in French and English, use the promo code LDWKNDTSLL10 and save 10% off your entire cart. Explore the shop here as you can purchase single notepads or bundle and save, and there all sorts of bundles based on what you want and need. 🙂

—Labor Day Sales

In Thursday’s posting of TSLL’s Fall Shopping Guide I shared a short list of sales and promo codes, and I wanted to add on this long list as well. Be sure to check back over on the Shopping Guide post if you don’t see the brand here.

• Anine Bing, sign up for their newsletter and receive 15% off your first purchase through 9/12
• ba&sh, 20% off, no promo code necessary
• Biossance, save 25% with promo code FRIENDS25
• Bobbi Brown cosmetics, 25% off everything, no promo code necessary
• Everlane, enjoy up to 60% off clothing and 30% off denim
• Jane, site-wide free shipping 9/3-9/4
• Jenni Kayne, 20% off site-wide with promo code LDW20
• Loft, 30% off full-price items, no promo code needed
• M. Gemi, up to 70% off all shoes (love their heels!), no promo code needed
• Madewell, save 40% (yes, 40%) with promo code PUMPKINSPICE through 9/6
• Neiman Marcus, save up to 75% off, no promo code necessary
• Rejuvenation Warehouse Sale (where many of my light fixtures were purchased), up to 75% off
• ShopBop, up to 70% off, no promo code necessary
• Talbots, 25% off full-price items, no promo code necessary
• Tory Burch, private sale, no promo necessary, just join their email list, ends 9/5
• Vince, enjoy an additional 30% off sale items and up to 70% off regular priced items, promo code SUMMER30
• The White Company, save 15% when you spend $100 and 20% when you spend $200 with promo code LABDAY22

Television

—The Bear, Hulu

Viewers and critics have been praising the new series, The Bear, on FX all summer since it debuted in June (viewable on Hulu) and I think I will definitely have to watch as well. The fictional series follows James Beard Award-winning chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto who returns home to Chicago to manage The Original Beef of Chicagoland (his family’s Italian beef sandwich shop) owned by his brother who has recently committed suicide. Determined to turn it around with the help of Culinary Institute of America-trained chef and Chicago native Sydney Adamu, who wants to help him fix the restaurant because it was her dad’s favorite, obstacles persist. Critics have raved about the accurate portrayal of life in the kitchen at a restaurant and credit the consultations provided by real chefs for bringing the reality to the screen. Have a look at the trailer below and watch all eight episodes now on Hulu.

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Ahhhh . . . the long weekend has arrived, and while this coming Monday I will be working preparing the first episode of Season 9 of The Simple Sophisticate podcast, just knowing that a very busy week on the blog is now wrapping up has me looking forward to savoring moments such as the one captured above, relaxing and reading favorite magazines about the two cultures I love.

I hope your week went well, and if you haven’t had time to explore the six new posts that were shared this past week on the blog, be sure to visit this page of the most recent posts on the blog to catch up. From Saturday’s Ponderings . . . to What Made Me Smile, along with the Annual Fall Shopping Guide and September’s A Cuppa Moments, oh! and Monday’s Motivational post, there is not a shortage of content for inspiration depending upon what you are looking for. (explore becoming a TOP Tier Member to gain access to all of the posts mentioned above)

This past week has found me relaxing in the evenings watching matches at the US Tennis Open, and it has been a treat. I will continue to do so this weekend along with time in the garden, time with Norman and stepping into my closet to edit, assess and prepare for the new season. Staying cool will be the name of the game these next couple of days, but then it looks like autumn will arrive quite swiftly, and both will be savored.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, whether regular in length or long, and thank you for choosing to stop by today. Until Monday when a new Monday Motivational post will be shared as it will every Monday moving forward, bonne journée.

~Favorite article I read this week: Maternal Instinct is a Myth That Men Created [The New York Times], before you jump to any conclusions, please read the article as it speaks to the necessity for being a critical thinker and knowing when we are thinking for ourselves versus when we are being conditioned to what we think is ‘natural’ aka ‘being led around by the nose’.

~Embracing the idea of ‘slow decorating’, tour this architect’s home in Winchester and see how the layers all come together beautifully. I am in admiration. [House & Garden UK]

~Exploring stereotypes about France and the French [France24]

~Slip away to the beach and watch this artist at work on his temporary pieces of art. [CBS Sunday Morning]

~Is your closet holding back your style? Read this post from The Cut – How to Clean Your Closet.

~Monty Don’s September newsletter

~Yes, it is true! The Great British Bake-off has announced the premiere date for this year’s new season! In the UK, Tuesday September 13th and here in the states, on Netflix, Friday September 16th! Meet the bakers below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Great British Bake Off (@britishbakeoff)

~Tips for cultivating a stress-free life [LifeHack]

~Julianne Moore goes sockless in her loafers, and the fashion world approves [Vogue]

~9 ways to take better breaks during the workday [Shondaland]

~Another post for fellow gardeners, what to do in your garden in September [House & Garden UK]

~Thank you Modern World blog for including The Simple Sophisticate in your list of Top 8 Lifestyle Podcasts to Listen to Now.

~On November 4th (I will be sure to include the film in an upcoming T & T when it releases on Netflix). Enola Holmes 2, the second film adapted from the novels is coming soon. Below is the trailer. Watch the first Enola Holmes film which was so much fun and quite enjoyable, here.

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~Explore last week’s This & That: August 26, 2022

~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.