simplepretty

On Friday morning, I spent some time walking around downtown Lake Forest (one of my favorite places to wander, by the way). I picked up lots of berries at my favorite market, stopped at the florist for some flowers (pictured above – more ranunculus) and then wandered into the bookstore to see what was new.

One of the booksellers was ultra-helpful in trying to help me find the perfect summer read (and someday soon I will get around to reading an actual novel – I promise) but what I really love are coffee table books. Cookbooks full of full-color pictures, garden books, house books. Yeah, what I like in a book is a longer, hard-covered magazine.

Here’s two that I’m thinking about adding to my collection:

photo from amazon.com

Stylish Sheds, by Debra Prinzing. I saw this in the bookstore window, and let me tell you – it had me at cover photo. We can’t have yard structures where we live right now (the homeowner’s assocation says “no”, and it’s not like there’s any room for one anyway) but someday, I’d like a little shed tucked in the corner of my lot. Either an ultra-sophisticated potting shed, or an artist’s studio/office. This book is full of photos (by William Wright) that inspire me to do exactly that. Debra’s blog is fun to read, too.

photo from amazon.com

The Summertime Anytime Cookbook by Dana Slatkin. This book comes out today (anyone care to bet when I’ll be at Barnes&Noble to search for it?) I first learned of it in the May issue of C magazine. The photography looks absolutely gorgeous, and the recipes are from Shutters on the Beach, a luxe hotel in Santa Monica. I must confess: I am obsessed with the photos. There was one of infused water that had me thinking about the Paris Market in a very Proustian way. Simple food, and summer food in particular, always sounds good to me, including this recipe from the book for lemon ginger cookies. (I also love the idea of eating dinner at the beach. Not lunch, though: too much sun!) You can read a short interview with the author here: her “heavenly” meal of tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and s’mores sounds delicious …..

Enjoy!