Meghan and Harry sitting in a tree, getting M A R R I E D!
Okay the rhyme doesn't work, but you guys, I'm so so excited for the wedding tomorrow!! I am going to set my alarm for 3 am now, so no one in my viewing party misses any of the arrivals to the church and any of the news about Meghan's dress and Doria's dress and the kids outfits and the jewelry and the new titles and oh I cannot wait. If you will be watching tomorrow early in the morning (maybe not as early for you, depending on your time zone) I'm certain I will be tweeting about it at @thebestjasmine, so if you want to know my many thoughts about every detail, they'll likely all be there. I'm very bummed that Prince Charles and not Meghan's mom will be walking her down the aisle, but I've decided that Meghan's mom doesn't want so much of the spotlight on herself, after how nasty and racist the British press have been to her.
Speaking of the wedding, I'm currently in Reno, at the RT Booklovers convention (a big event for writers and readers of romance), and later on today three of my friends will join me so we can watch the wedding tomorrow together. Before this trip, knowing I would have to pack for all sorts of things here, and for the East Coast swing I have coming up (details about lots of events on the East Coast in that link, if you missed it!), I ordered these packing cubes, because some of my frequent traveler friends swore by them. You guys, these things are AMAZING. Granted, they made me totally overpack for this weekend (but that's okay, it was good practice to know what I can eliminate for my next few trips). All five of these cubes fit snuggly in my small hard sided carry on: I got 7-8 dresses in each one, used the long thin one to pack all of my pajamas and loungewear, and the tiny ones for socks, underwear, scarves, jewelry, etc. They also helped a ton with organization (I very quickly realized that I'd overpacked, so I didn't even take one of the dress cubes out of my suitcase). I'm so glad I finally got them, and they're 20% off right now with the coupon.
If you're in the mood to read some fun books set in the U.K. here are two great recent ones: My Oxford Year, by Julia Whelan, and Royals, by Rachel Hawkins. They are both in the category of "normal American gets thrown into a totally different kind of life," which is a book category I adore (see e.g. The Royal We, The Princess Diaries), and both authors do a fantastic job making you feel like you're there and experiencing all of this new stuff yourself. Read them before the wedding or over the weekend!
ALSO, speaking of events! Bay Area people, I have an event next week at the San Francisco Main Library, so please come to see me and ask questions about books and writing and lipstick and the wedding and whatever else! It's at 6 pm, in the Latino/Hispanic room on the lower level of the Main Library at 100 Larkin Street. Hope to see you there!
Do you want to bake some scones this weekend? Here's a scone recipe I love but haven't made for years, I need to remedy that asap.
Meyer Lemon Scones
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (half a stick) of butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
4 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice*
1-2 teaspoon Meyer lemon zest*
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar until combined. Add the butter and mix in with your fingertips or a fork until the mixture is well combined and the clumps are around pea sized. Add the cream and stir well, then add the juice and zest slowly and stir until the mixture just comes together.
Divide the dough into two disks and flatten (you can wrap it well and refrigerate it at this point). When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and divide each disk into quarters. Place the scones on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, and bake for 20 or so minutes, or until golden.
Enjoy!
*You can make this with regular lemons too, just decrease the juice by a tablespoon or so, because Meyer lemon juice is more sweet than regular lemons.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Jasmine
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