Welcome to our Monthly Digest where we recap a month’s worth of books, podcasts, recipes and more. One of our monthly staples is going to be our Dear Bestie/Besty column. We are answering your calls for advice as a mini podcast once a month. If you have a Dear Bestie/Besty question, you can share with us here. Excited to answer Bethany’s question this week in the audio above.
Reading
This month we are talking about books we are looking forward to or books that would be perfect for Spring Break.
BKS: Fall is often billed as the heavy hitter of the literary calendar but I think Spring and Summer are such good seasons for book releases and there are several coming down the pike that I am excited about. (We will definitely talk about Summer books later on!)
Kate and Frida by Kim Fay out 3/11: I LOVED Love and Saffron by Kim Fay and this is an adjacent sequel but the letters focus on books rather than food—I couldn’t possibly choose which subject I love more!
The Girl From Greenwich St. by Lauren Willeg out 3/4: Willeg is one of my favorite historical fiction writers and this Hamilton tie-in with a mystery to solve sounds right up my alley.
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez out 4/1: I know Abby is an auto buy author for so many and I find she does such a good job of balancing romance with depth.
Little Blue Truck and the Red Racer out 3/25: A quick plug for one of my favorite children’s book series. We will certainly be adding this to our collection.
Ordinary Time by Annie B. Jones out 4/22: Annie is a personal friend but also a bit of an internet celebrity as the owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, GA. Her collection of essays on staying is my most anticipated book of the Spring!
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry out 4/22: Obviously no Spring or Summer list is complete without the latest Emily Henry! There isn’t much to say except if you haven’t read her you should start immediately. The very best rom coms out there! I’m a completist, save for Beach Read, her first novel. Can you believe that?! That might be my Spring Break book just so I can round out my Emily Henry reading before this next title releases.
KNW: Our Spring Break falls at the end of March so I am in full planning mode and I’ve started to put a few books on Libby hold, into my Spotify list but let’s all be very clear that this is a category where Betsy really shines. I take my cues from her.
I’m catching up on Sarah Adams’s most recent series now that I’ve finished my February book club read. Starting with When in Rome. I have Practice Makes Perfect and Beg, Borrow & Steal on hold. I can make excuses and feel weird about my love of swooney rom-coms or I can own it. I’m leaning hard into the second option.
A college friend recommend First-Time Caller and I immediately put it on hold. I’ve read a few other of BK’s books and have heard this is the best one yet // it gives Sleepless in Seattle vibes per one reviewer. Don’t twist my arm.
Does anyone else pick books based solely on their covers? Is She Really Going Out With Him feels like it good potential simply because of the cover but I do think that Sophie Cousens writes a good rom-com and it is a former BOTM pick. I will report back.
Watching
BKS: I loved the show Homicide New York on Netflix and I recently started watching Homicide Los Angeles which is the same show, where homicide detectives recount their most famous cases. Luke and I, months behind everyone else, have started watching Nobody Wants This, which is as delightful as everyone says. Can you tell we paused our Netflix during football season because no one was watching it and now we are back?!
KNW: Did I start a list in my phone to keep track of things I had watched because I apparently have the memory of a goldfish? Yes, yes I did. Welcome to almost 42. Between one of my children having the flu and me being laid out with another bout of strep throat, I crossed off quite a few television shows over the last month.
Sweet Magnolias won’t be winning any major awards, but it holds a special place in my sappy, small-town rom-com loving heart. I do hold fault with the length of time between 10-episode seasons of such shows these days (not just a SM problem). It is a mountain-climbing expedition to remind myself what happened in the previous season.
As well documented, I’m patiently awaiting the season 1 finale of Paradise tonight. If you haven’t watched this Hulu suspense-thriller with ties to Washington DC, and you don’t mind your heart being in your throat with anticipation, I can’t recommend enough. It’s giving early 2000s television event series vibes.
Season 1 of Shrinking was a delight of witty comedy drama packed into tight 35 minute episodes. I’m not sure why but I find Jason Seagal so charming but I do. Season 2 has been out since the fall, but I am finally catching up. If you need a push to give the series a try, everyone’s favorite, Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) is a writer and producer. I think the show definitely has Ted Lasso energy.
The Pitt held up and I am quite pleased to have this cast of characters added to my TV friend list. Will be anxiously awaiting Season 2.
Listening
Executive decision to leave ‘audio’ books in the ‘reading’ section, we’re choosing to define listening as podcasts or other auditory content consumed in the brief 28 days of February.
BKS: The latest episode of The Lazy Genius podcast was so very good and made me feels so seen! If you are an Enneagram 2, a mother, or someone who is constantly doing for other people, it’s a MUST listen.
KNW: As a 1983 baby and firmly geriatric millennial, I’m outside of the traditional Call Her Daddy demographic but I applaud Alex for the empire she’s created and the conversational nature of her interviews. I caught two episodes of her podcast this last month and enjoyed both immensely. Someone needs to get Monica Lewinsky to spill her skincare secrets and can we all agree that Kylie Kelce is a national treasure?
Cooking
To honor our past month’s topic, here are 12 sure fire winners to take to friend whether they just had a baby, an illness or just because:
KNW:
This Kraft Crustless Quiche is our family go-to because you can just use it as a guide and throw whatever veggies or protein you wish (I prefer it with breakfast sausage and I always leave off the green onion). It reheats like a dream and most importantly a breakfast casserole was one of my favorite meals that someone brought right after the babies were born.
We make a ‘traditional Moravian chicken pie’ based loosely off this recipe. Skip the complicated parts and just get precooked shredded chicken, pie crust, flour and broth. It’s a home run to take to a friend with a side salad or green beans.
These Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas are easy to put together, use shredded cooked chicken (which can be done in advance to make the prep easier for you) and can be frozen if the friend you’re delivering a meal to is overwhelmed with food and needs to pop it into the freezer to save for a later date. I often bring them with a side of black beans, a bag of tortilla chips and some good salsa.
This Baked Spaghetti Recipe is straightforward and is giving nostalgic reminders of the K&W Cafeteria Baked Spaghetti of my youth (bonus points if you also got a side of jello). If I was taking this to a friend, I’d throw in a bag of Cesar salad and a loaf of garlic bread.
It feels like cheating to include this recipe but I told Betsy we aren’t out here recreating the wheel. We’re collecting and curating our favorites to help you decide less. Letting you grab a link and just cook. I’ve shared this recipe for Chicken Lemon Soup no less than 25 times and still, someone messages me once a week asking for the link. The soup is easy, can be made in the instant pot, crock pot or on the stove and everybody loves it. I prefer it with the mascarpone cheese and extra lemon juice + broth. Best served with crusty bread.
A friend brought this one-pot Italian orzo to us after the babies were born and I’ve made it multiple times since. Might not be for the little people in the house, but it is tasty and makes a great, easy dinner. Perfect to take to someone who just had their first baby or someone who needs a little love and perhaps lunch for the week.
BKS:
Change Your Life Chicken is maybe the easiest and greatest chicken recipe on the internet. It’s perfect for a weeknight, a crowd or to deliver to a friend.
Change Your Life Schwarma is also a Lazy Genius recipe that is a total crowd pleaser. I love to serve mine with rice, cucumbers, tzatziki, and naan or pita bread.
Pizza Soup from Bri McKoy is so close to a set it and forget it recipe. It comes together so quickly in the instant pot (although you can make it on the stove or in the crockpot) and freezes and shares beautifully.
What could be more comforting than a classic Mississippi Roast? So easy and delicious, this would be a TREAT to receive from a friend. (Bonus* I recently made a chicken version of this with chicken thighs and can highly recommend that rift as well)
Baked Potato Bar on the go. Here me out! Cook baked or baked sweet potatoes in foil, package up a protein like shredded chicken or good ground beef, add in a veggie like broccoli or roasted carrots and shredded cheese and you have a build your own stuffed potato bar! I can see this being incredibly easy to double so you have supper for you and a friend.
Similar to the potato bar, I love the idea of dropping off something unexpected, like a breakfast bar on the go. I’m thinking box made muffins, a package of breakfast sausage, greek yogurt, and some fruit. I think gifting someone a smooth start to the next day is sometimes even better than dinner!
Briarpatch State of the Union
We are gearing up for a little FTB SOTU in March. We made some quarterly goals when we started this whole endeavor and so it’s time for a Q1 check in. We’re excited to comb through the first 3 months of the year, review some stats and key takeaways. We’d love any feedback from all of you, who keep showing up in this space, which is honestly, such a gift. Leave us a comment on this post and tell us what you’re enjoying the most or a topic you wish we would cover. Or feel free to use the anonymous form if you’d rather keep your suggestion incognito. We’d be so grateful!
(are we asking them to do too many things? signed, an enneagram 2, lol) — KEPT THIS NOTE FROM BETSY IN BECAUSE IT MADE ME LOL WHEN EDITING - KNW.
Having two best friends who both bring big feelings energy to a project is a comedy. We CARE. We might care TOO MUCH? But man, we CARE and I love that for us and for y’all. So sound off in the comments or in the form because we do want to hear from you!
These monthly digest issues feel like a warm hug of content and connection. Speaking of connections, we are quite smitten with the chat feature in the Substack platform and plan to utilize the feature on the regular. It feels like a group text, without those pesky dings or notification bubbles.
We treasured our friendship chats last month and if you haven’t listened or want to upgrade your subscription to go back and hear those, we think it would be well worth your time!
Thanks for hanging out…
Love,
Kristin + Betsy
Share this post