By JT Ellison

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

Amy here, pleasantly surprised that I’m not drowning in Tennessee humidity this July weekend. I actually want to go outside instead of huddle under the A/C and pray for winter (I run a little hot—I really should live in Alaska).

American friends, I hope you have a lovely time celebrating the 4th tomorrow!

hardly anything rattles toby, but he’s not a big fan of loud noises that disturb his slumber

Mother of Greyhounds PSA: If you’ve got pets who are going to be frightened of fireworks, don’t forget to make the holiday a little easier for them, make sure they’re secure, and give them a little extra love.

Here’s what happened on the Internets this week:

Dick Van Dyke led a sing-along of “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” from Mary Poppins in front of Walt Disney’s childhood home (because why not?), and I got all the feels. LOOK AT HIM. He is 90. I daresay he looks (and moves) 30 years younger than that. I’ll have what he’s having.

This is why our Nashville indie Parnassus Books is my favorite: a shop-dog scavenger hunt and Harry Potter celebrations. I mean, come on.

Have you heard about people making fancy new cast-iron pans? I was this close from contributing to a Kickstarter for a company trying to make lighter pans…but why would I do that, when my $16 Lodge skillet does just fine and will last me forever? I could put that money toward adding new spices to my collection. (Confession: I have a Penzey’s Spices addiction. And I don’t care.)

Speaking of food, I can’t stop eating this chicken. I’m really glad my boyfriend will eat whatever I put in front of him, because I’ve made this no less than four times in the past ten days. I omit the pita, because I’m lazy and always have rice in my pantry to pair it with instead. Seriously. You have to make this chicken.

As of July 1, we Tennesseans can finally buy wine in grocery stores, and everybody lost their minds. See the actual headline in The Tennessean as proof. No longer will broke college students commission their out-of-state friends to bring them cases of Two-Buck Chuck.

And closer to home:

Guys. If you’ve finished FIELD OF GRAVES, now’s the time to move on to the next book (chronologically) in the series: ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS. You J.T. Ellison vets will no doubt remember this is her first book. But! It’s being put back in print with a pretty new cover. Hooray! You can check out the details here.

J.T.’s July Newsletter went out this week! Did you get yours? Have you tried that pickle recipe yet!? (you should!) Not on the list yet? You can sign up here. Spoiler alert: there’s a great contest coming to newsletter subscribers in the next couple of weeks, so now’s the time to join!

My love for Riesling is not a secret. I love that varietal because it has such range, and you never know what you’re going to get. I tried a new bottle this week, and was blown away by it. If you’ve got spicy food or Asian dishes on your menu soon, this is the perfect one to pair it with!

That’s it from me, you guys! Have a lovely week, be safe tomorrow, and I’ll talk to you later!

–Assistant Amy

Via: JT Ellison