My friend Abigail is going to be disappointed, because this was her suggestion…only she suggested a more recent variation, and I like to start at the beginning. She told me she had a vague memory of a steamed pudding that has a whole lemon in it, so when you cut into it, there’s a falling apart almost marmalade inside. “It’s like…Frog Pond pudding? That’s not right.” (We live in Boston. The Frog Pond is our … Continue reading RedHeadedGirl’s Historical Kitchen: Sussex Pond Pudding (Original Flavor) →
This is an introductory novella to a series about women who all attended the MacLaine Performing Arts Academy in Washington D.C., and I’ll admit, I would have bought the novella on the strength of the cover alone. Isn’t it gorgeous? Bina MacLaine is the daughter of the founder of the Academy, and now that she’s an adult, she teaches dance there and manages a lot of the operations. She’s a year off a traumatically broken … Continue reading On Pointe by Shelly Ellis →
It’s no secret that I love Guillermo del Toro and his really fascinating way of making precisely the movie in his head (and it’s never the same movie twice). This particular movie has been described as “the R-rated version of Lilo and Stitch” and… that’s not wrong. Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) is a woman who cannot talk, and who works nights as a cleaner in a research center in Baltimore in the 1960s. She has … Continue reading Movie Review: The Shape of Water →
If you’re looking for some light history, and something to read with your wine while consoling yourself that your most recent breakup wasn’t that bad, this is your book. From Nero and Poppaea (…there is too much, I cannot sum up, but he killed a whole bunch of people in the aftermath), Lucrezia Borgia and Giovanni Sforza (in order to prevent an annulment, he needed to prove that his dick worked publicly. He declined), to … Continue reading It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History by Jennifer Wright →
Previously: a whole bunch of stuff. But Jamie got arrested. Again. AGAIN AGAIN. The title card is floating white fabric underwater, with the “Faith” theme playing over it. Claire voice overs that she was dead, and we see her, floating under the water: “I Felt peaceful, bodiless, free of terror, and free of rage.” Cut to Claire, in her suit (she changed out of her fancy clothes) in a carriage. They stop, and there’s a … Continue reading Outlander 3.13 Eye of the Storm →
Previously: Team Salt Frog got hitched. They made it to Jamaica. Claire talked to a coconut. Pre-credits, we see Ian’s kidnapping from his point of view. The pirates were there for the box of jewels (“Is this what The Bakra seeks?”) and intended to kill Ian, but after he bites one of the pirates, they’re like, well then, The Bakra likes young boys, so let’s keep him. In Kingston, Ian is tossed into a cell … Continue reading Outlander 3.12 The Bakra →
Lady Bird is the coming of age story of Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, a high school student in Sacramento, living through her senior year of 2002-2003. It stars Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Tracy Letts, is directed by Greta Gerwig and is hands down one of the best movies of the year. Lady Bird (in one of those fits of teenagers trying on new identities, she has given this name to herself) is a senior … Continue reading Movie Review: Lady Bird →
Previously: Claire jumps off the Porpoise to somehow find Jamie and warn him about maybe getting hanged (again). The title card is a sea turtle, swimming happily in the water. Like sea turtles do. Claire is unconscious and draped over her floating barrel, drifting towards shore. The swell of a waves knocks her off the barrel, and she wakes up and starts swimming to the beach, where luckily, the bundle of the rest of her … Continue reading Outlander 3.11 Uncharted →
In light of the happy news this week of one Meghan Markle and one Prince Henry of Wales announcing their engagement (I’m so happy for those two!) we thought we’d bring you one or two thoughts on the Netflix original movie, A Christmas Prince. After all, tis the season and also the royal engagement makes this so very timely. And we’re not the only ones who have noted the arrival of this direct-to-Netflix original. Bea … Continue reading Movie Review: A Christmas Prince →
YOU GUYYYYYYYYS. Okay, so you know how sometimes the second book in series, especially when the first book was like AMAZEBALLS, can be a disappointment? THIS ISN’T ONE OF THOSE. This is one of those times where the second book is better than the first one. Our heroine is Marlie, a biracial woman with a complex background. Marlie’s mother is the local root woman, and Marlie has been learning at her knee. As explained by … Continue reading A Hope Divided by Alyssa Cole →
Previously: George got himself a seat in Parliament, which Ross could have prevented. But didn’t. Whitworth started banging Morwenna’s sister. D has a plot with an annoying puppy. (It’s not Garrick. Garrick is an angel, how dare you.) Prudie and Tholly sit on the cliffs over the sea, passing a flask back and forth and singing. Prudie notices three ships coming in, and Tholly look at them through his spyglass. They’re French. Prudie runs to … Continue reading Poldark 3.08 →
