#Old Town Scottsdale

[nail-it-in]

Great Room - Kitchen

An illustration of a mid-sized urban open concept l-shaped kitchen with stainless steel appliances, an island, flat-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, quartzite countertops, red and brick backsplashes, and a concrete floor and gray floor.

[heartfeltsylvia]

Industrial Home Office - Freestanding Ideas for a remodel of a home office with a gray floor and a mid-sized industrial freestanding desk

[warnerfrancesca]

Industrial Entry in Phoenix Entryway - mid-sized industrial concrete floor and gray floor entryway idea with white walls and a metal front door

[hoaxsuicide]

Open Phoenix Mid-sized urban open concept concrete floor and gray floor family room photo with white walls

[weneedtogirlthehellup]

Master - Industrial Bedroom Inspiration for a mid-sized industrial master bedroom remodel with white walls and a gray floor.

[benevitaimperfectum]

[salgiudici]

Why Professional Headshots Matter?

[desertdac]

3/17/2024 - Interesting wall perforations, a background to a modest but effective condo entryway landscape

[hotelbooking]

Hilton Garden Inn Scottsdale Old Town Every effort is made to make guests feel comfortable by providing the best in services and amenities. Keep up with all your communications easily with the hotel's free Wi-Fi. Getting from and back to the airport can be easily arranged with the hotel's airport transfer services. Taxi and car hire services provided by the hotel make exploring Phoenix (AZ) even more convenient. Guests can enjoy convenient available parking right at the hotel. Front desk services including express check-in or check-out, luggage storage and safety deposit boxes can assist with your needs. Get cozy and warm in the lobby with the hotel's charming on-site fireplace. Packing light is possible at Feeling lazy? In-room conveniences like daily housekeeping let you get the most out of your room time. Forgot to pack something? All your last-minute needs can be fulfilled by the convenience stores, saving you time and hassle. For the comfort and health of all guests, smoking...

[infamousphaze]

[journeyneverends]

August 17, 2024 Scottsdale AZ Dear little Mosey: ( Little Mo ) Although you are only 9 months old I thought I would write to let you know what I’m up to. I figured I’d do this because I may be too old to remember exactly why I did this or even what I did. I have found it’s helpful and more accurate if I write things down as I go. It may be interesting to know a little bit about what people were like in other parts of the world and what the world looks like from a bicycle.

I am 66 years old now and here is what I look like. As I get older I find that I become less willing to go on an adventure. This trip will hopefully keep me mentally and physically flexible. I have no solid plan

You are about 9 months old now and this is what you look like. It was you first Kayak trip. I have been traveling up to see you at your house in Rigby Idaho. One of the projects that your mom and dad and I are working on is restoring an 1870’s Stone Granary. Eventually we will restore the log cabin for the same thing. Both are near the 1928 farm house you grew up in. You are surrounded by wheat fields and the trumpeter swans spend their winters there.

This will provide a nice place for interesting people to stay. You will get to know people from all over the world who will stop by to have dinner and visit. Here is one of your first rides when you were about six months old. Your dad made you a rain poncho out of a grocery bag. I thought it was cool.

I am getting ready to go on a bike trip that retraces the route of Lt. Colonel Daryle Stuckey. He was my father in law and the father of Erika, your moms stepmother. That would make him your great step grandfather. He was a young man living on a farm near the the very small town of Upper Sandusky Ohio when WWII began. Wars are complicated and I’m not sure I understand them but he like many young men were called to fight for their country. He became a B-17 bomber pilot in WWII and was 2nd Lieutenant. He was about 21 years old and was the pilot of a crew of nine other men. His job was to fly missions to bomb a country we were at war with. Each journey to the other country was called a mission. They were very dangerous so they made a rule that if you made it to 25 you could go home. As the war went on they ran low on experienced pilots. So they changed the rule to 30 missions. He went down on his 28th mission and was captured by the Germans. Our enemies at the time. He became a prisoner of war POW.

I am going to retrace his last mission on my bike. The bikes name is Curiouser. I thought it was a good name. I’ll try to explain where it came from later.

This is what his aircraft looked like.

Becoming an airman and pilot in WWII required that you pass many test. To be captain was even harder. I am going to end this letter for now but I will write again soon Love Morris ( Big Mo )

PS

I apologize for errors in punctuation and grammar. I don’t consider myself a great writer. I thought it was best to get this down now rather than wait until I become a great writer and trying to send it then. It may be a very long time or never. Hopefully I won’t get in trouble for being a bad example.

[colesabi]

46, 61 and 67 for the 30s ask meme!

46. What kind of stuff do you keep on the door of your refrigerator?

I’m kind of a minimalist (except when it comes to hyperfixation merch) so it’s actually kind of spare atm but I do have a couple magnets from my/our travels and there is a small note on the side with the part # for the air filters for the A/C whenever I have to order those to replace. lol.

Do you have a favorite brunch spot?

I have a couple lol. I typically do brunch about once a month with my friends and we usually change it up and go to new places each time but my favs so far are Postino’s, Snooze and a couple places in Old Town Scottsdale: The Herb Box and Farm and Craft.

67. Do you keep any stuffed animals on your bed?

Do Leon plushies count? If so, yes. 😂

thanks. Cerul!

[brookston]

Holidays 4.3

Holidays

Althoea Asteroid Day

American Circus Day

American Creed Day

Armenian Appreciation Day

Beech Tree Day (French Republic)

Corrupt Society Day

Day of the Bride (Argentina)

Don't Go To Work Unless It's Fun Day

A Drop of Water is a Grain of Gold [also 1st Sunday]

Fan Dance Day

Find A Rainbow Day

Ghost Machine Day

Good Deeds Day

Independent Artist Day

International Day Against Victim Blaming

Jane Goodall Day (Los Angeles)

Kanamara Matsuri (Festival of the Steel Phallus; Japan)

Love A Muslim Day (UK)

National Chalk Day

National Film Score Day

National Grey Day

National Inspiring Joy Day

National Pac-Man Day

National Shoot Your Shot Day

Overcome a Handicap Day

Peace Day (Angola)

Pony Express Day

Second Republic Day (Guinea)

TV Guide Day

Tweed Day

Weed Out Hate: Sow the Seeds of Greatness Day

World Aquatic Animal Day

World Cloud Security Day

World Party Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day

Fish Fingers and Custard Day

National Chocolate Mousse Day

1st Wednesday in April

Donate Life Living Donor Day [1st Wednesday]

Global Day of the Engineer [1st Wednesday]

National Day of Hope [1st Wednesday]

National Walking Day [1st Wednesday]

Paraprofessional Appreciation Day [1st Wednesday]

Safe Place Selfie Day [1st Wednesday]

Whole Grain Sampling Day [1st Wednesday]

Independence & Related Days

Albay Province Day (Philippines)

Declaration of the Second Republic (Guinea)

Malinovia (Declared 2018) [unrecognized]

Festivals Beginning April 3, 2024

Arizona Bike Week (Scottsdale, Arizona) [thru 4.7]

Bacchanal Jamaica (Kingston, Jamaica) [thru 4.9]

Taste of Vail (Vail, Colorado) [thru 4.6]

Feast Days

Agape, Chionia, and Irene (Christian; Martyrs & Virgins)

Aristæus (Positivist; Saint)

Bud Fisher (Artology

Burgundofara (Christian; Saint & Virgin)

Captain Cabbage (Muppetism)

Create a Mandala Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Cutios (Time of the Winds; Celtic Book of Days)

Day of Sheela-Na-Gig (Pagan)

Doris Day (Pastafarian)

Feast of Pak Tai (Macau) [3rd Day of 3rd Lunar Month]

Fred Kida (Artology)

Goof Friday (Church of the SubGenius)

Henry Dinnerstein (Artology)

Luigi Scrosoppi (Christian; Saint)

Nicetias (Christian; Saint)

Pancras of Taormina (Christian; Martyr)

Persephone’s Return from the Underworld (Ancient Rome)

Plato (Christian; Saint)

Proserpina’s Rise from the Underworld Day (Ancient Greece)

Richard of Chichester (Christian; Saint)

Sandra Boynton (Artooogy)

Seize a Sausage Day (Pastafarian)

The Shower Dance (Shamanism)

Ulpin of Tyre (Christian; Saint)

Washington Irving (Writerism)

Xystus (Christian; Martyr)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sizdar-Bedah (Unlucky to stay indoors; Iran)

Tomobiki (友引 Japan) [Good luck all day, except at noon.]

Unlucky Monday (when God condemned the towns of Beram, Lipandas, Madama, Sodom and Gomorrah; Philippines) [1st Monday] (2 of 4)

Premieres

Adventureland (Film; 2009)

Are You Lonesome Tonight, recorded by Elvis Presley (Song; 1960)

Beethoven (Film; 1992)

Bull-ero (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1932)

Clerow Wilson’s Great Escape (DePatie-Freleng Animated TV Special; 1974)

Dead Babies, by Martin Amis (Novel; 1975)

The Doddlebops (Children’s TV Series; 2004)

The Druid of Shannara, by Terry Brooks (Novel; 1991)

Fast & Furious (Film; 2009) [F&F #4]

Flip’s Lunch Room (MGM Cartoon; 1933)

Fuels Rush In or The Star-Spangled Boner (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S1, Ep. 37; 1960)

Furious 7 (Film; 2015) [F&F #7]

I-Ski Love-Ski You-Ski (Fleischer Popeye Cartoon; 1936)

It Happened at the World’s Fair (Film; 1963)

It’s Now or Never, recorded by Elvis Presley (Song; 1960)

Kiss of the Spider Woman, by Manuel Puig (Novel; 1976)

The Long, Hot Summer (Film; 1958)

Louisiana Hayride (Radio Music Series; 1948)

Mercury Rising (Film; 1998)

My Hero Academia (Anime TV Series; 2016)

Oh, Gentle Spring (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1942)

Old Mother Hubbard (Ub Iwerks ComicColor Cartoon; 1935)

The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregor (Novel; 2008)

Piano Concerto in A Minor, by Edvard Grieg (Concerto; 1869)

Planet of the Apes (Film; 1968)

Planning for Good Eating (Disney Cartoon; 1946)

Porky’s Romance (WB LT Cartoon; 1937)

The Pottsylvania Permanent or I’ve Grown Accustomed to the Place (Rocky & Bullwinkle Cartoon, S1, Ep. 38; 1960)

Rock-A-Doodle (Animated Film; 1992)

Rumple of the Bailey (UK TV Series; 1978)

The Sea-Wolf (Novel; 1904)

Son of Hashimoto (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1961)

The Swimming Hour, by Andrew Bird with Bowl of Fire (Album; 2001)

TV Guide (Weekly Magazine; 1953)

2001: A Space Odyssey (Film; 1968)

The Western Trail, featuring Farmer Al Falfa (Terrytoons Cartoon; 1936)

Yogi the Easter Bear (Hanna-Barbera Animated TV Special; 1994)

Today’s Name Days

Richard, Sixtus (Austria)

Radojko, Ratko, Rikard, Siksto (Croatia)

Richard (Czech Republic)

Nicæas (Denmark)

Uko, Uku (Estonia)

Sampo, Veeti (Finland)

Richard (France)

Irene, Lisa, Richard (Germany)

Illyria’s (Greece)

Buda, Richárd (Hungary)

Riccardo, Sisto (Italy)

Daira, Dairis, Ferdinands (Latvia)

Kristijonas, Ričardas, Rimtautė, Vytenis (Lithuania)

Gunnvald, Gunvor (Norway)

Antoni, Cieszygor, Jakub, Pankracy, Ryszard (Poland)

Nichita (Romania)

Richard (Slovakia)

Ricardo (Spain)

Ferdinand, Nanna (Sweden)

Dick, Dickson, Dix, Dixie, Dixon, Doris, Ricarda, Ricardo, Rich, Richard, Richelle, Richman, Rick, Rickey, Ricky, Rosamond, Rosamund, Ryan (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 94 of 2024; 272 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 3 of week 14 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Fearn (Alder) [Day 18 of 28]

Chinese: Month 2 (Ding-Mao), Day 25 (Ding-You)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025)

Hebrew: 24 Adair II 5784

Islamic: 24 Ramadan 1445

J Cal: 4 Cyan; Foursday [4 of 30]

Julian: 21 March 2024

Moon: 34%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 10 Archimedes (4th Month) [Theodisius of Bithynia]

Runic Half Month: Ehwaz (Horse) [Day 9 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 16 of 92)

Week: 1st Week of April

Zodiac: Aries (Day 14 of 31)

[bradley-banner]

welcome to aurora bay, [BRADLEY BANNER]! i couldn’t help but notice you look an awful lot like [MEGAN FOX]. you must be the [THIRTY FOUR] year old [A-LISTER / OWNER OF SEASCAPE HOTEL + FIRE & ICE STEAKHOUSE & COCKTAIL BAR]. word is you’re [INDEPENDENT] but can also be a bit [STOIC] and your favorite song is [HOTTER THAN HELL BY DUA LIPA]. i also heard you’ll be staying in [AURORA BAY DRIVE]. i’m sure you’ll love it! 

BASICS.

NAME: bradley billie banner.

BIRTHDAY: january 7th, 1989.

GENDER + PRONOUNS: cis-female, she/her.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual.

TIME LIVED IN TOWN: on and off since twenty-five, permanently for the past 18 months (as of 17th sept 2023).

OCCUPATION: owner of seascape hotel & fire and ice steakhouse and cocktail bar that’s situated within the hotel — the hotel is part of a large chain of hotels owned by her family. bradley is the COO to the banner group, her father is CEO. bradley has gained global a-lister acclaim through business & has various separate business deals going on that put her at the forefront of magazines / billboards / etc (think, socialite / hilton family vibes).

FAMILY: elijah banner (father), isla banner (mother), beau banner (twin brother, deceased), blue ramsey (half-brother, family secret).

TATTOOS: 'SDL' in tiny caps on her hip (her ex-husbands favourite spot to rest his hand big up scottsdale airport, arizona), three dots on her inner elbow (received from whang-od), a small bird outline on her shoulder (for beau), & a very faint outline of writing on her ribs that she had removed (was prev. a line from her wedding vows in spanish).

PIERCINGS: ears and right nipple.

POSITIVE TRAITS: independent, adventurous, perceptive.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: stoic, extravagant, suspicious.

NEIGHBOURHOOD: aurora bay drive (but also constantly has a room checked out at the hotel).

FC: megan fox.

PART OF: @aurorabayaesthetic.

BABY BIO.

tw. mention of drug use / car crash + sibling death / infidelity + divorce / miscarriage / brief stalking mention.  

born in calabasas, los angeles.

1 of 2, born with a diamond spoon firmly in her mouth to parents who belonged to a vast hotelier dynasty, bradley and her older (by three minutes) twin brother beau never had to want for anything.

grew up in the spotlight (elijah banner was naturally known from being one of fortune 500s business owners) being juggled between boardrooms and nannies until she was old enough to be shipped off to the best boarding school the US had to offer.

unlike her twin, bradley managed to stay on the straight and narrow, working hard, making friends (natural born leader), and not letting the name that followed her weigh her down with expectations.

beau however, struggling between who were real friends and who wanted something took to a lifestyle of partying, sneaking out of school, getting high, getting into fights, and stealing their fathers stupidly fast cars.

it was after the latest fight about college applications and one of those stupidly fast cars that had the family called to the ER one night, breaking news reporting that beau banner had died after crashing through a bridge at 143 mph.

the banners set up a charity in the name of their son, making beau the poster child and bradley the presenter. she spent the next seven months counting down the days until she went to college so she could escape the circus.

attended yale (like the generations of banners before her), studying economics and political science.

got her MBA from harvard.

after graduation she had zero choice in the fact she'd take a seat at the banner table, joining the family business and making her mark on the hotelier world as a member of the board.

at the age of twenty five, and on the anniversary of beaus death (14th march), bradley entered her parents house and (unbeknown to them) overheard a drunken argument about how her father still had a son and couldn't comprehend the loss her mother felt. even though listening in on her parents was not something she made habit of, she proceeded to listen in on how "thats not my son, not really" transcended into a twenty seven year old half-sibling that bradley previously had no knowledge of.

elijah banner had managed to knock up the receptionist at one of the hotels whilst on a golf trip in aurora bay and then skipped out on that responsibility before baby trapping his wife with twins before she found out.

bradley took that as an opportunity to visit aurora bay. seeking the sibling that could perhaps heal just a tiny bit of pain she still constantly felt about beau.

whilst in aurora bay, she met santiago de leon, marrying him somewhat swiftly (news that indeed, shocked anyone that kept up with her). some even calling it a late stage rebellion. in reality, she just needed someone in her corner without banner drama and an excuse other than blue to stay.

spent the next four years of her marriage private jetting between boardrooms in LA and her home in aurora bay, juggling a husband and a career, whilst getting to know her new sibling.

the marriage ended when she found out santiago was cheating on her. divorce papers were served before he'd even been given the opportunity to explain himself.

it was six weeks into the divorce that bradley realised she had skipped her period twice, and honestly, she'd claim still couldn't tell you if the father was her ex-husband or the hockey player she crawled under to get over him (even if those dates don't add up). either way, she quickly decided that maybe this was the one good thing to come out of her marriage until it wasn't — a routine scan showed no sign of a fetal heartbeat and she found she'd lost the child that had quickly become her reason to get up in the morning.

spent the next twelve months being photographed at various locations around the globe on a constant cycle of vacationing, working, dating anyone whose anyone and playing the life of a socialite.

finally returned to aurora bay 18 months ago, she still spends a large amount of time on flights and sitting in boardrooms, but home is her mansion in aurora bay drive, and she always finds herself back there, blue feels more like family than any of the banners do but there’s still a missing spot from where her extended de leons family used to sit.

FACTS.

is a household name in the same way kim kardashian is. your grandma has probably heard of her (even if she couldn’t pick her out of a lineup).

elijah banner (bradleys father) is the CEO of the banner group, bradley is the COO.

the banners own 450+ hotels across six continents (think the hiltons!) and don't generally have day-to-day dealings with any of them, but bradley likes to show her face at seascape to review renovations on the 7th floor seeing as she's so close by.

was once on the cover of playboy.

lives alone (minus ellis shipley and lennon clarke, her butler and her chef) but has a whole other host of staff in and out throughout the day. truly doesn't need to lift a finger in the sense of running her home.

has several other properties dotted around due to her travel needs.

has a private jet & has been subject to one of those twitter accounts following its every move. refuses to comment on her travel arrangements but feels guilt about her global footprint & tries to offset this feeling by donating (very generously) to sustainability & reforestation projects.

was on forbes 30 under 30.

is on forbes billionaire rich list (her first entry was in 2022) with an estimated net worth of 1.3 billion usd. this is a mix of her banner worth & her personal business deals (brand deals / buying into businesses as a partner / modelling for fashion houses, etc) outside of the banner dynasty.

has an AMEX centurion card (american express black card).

can play the piano.

spends every vacation visiting a new country.

can speak several languages fluently.

has been on the cover of vogue seven times, three for amercan vogue, four international.

has been on various other magazine covers and has a whole wall of them framed in her home office (all except her people magazine wedding day cover, which is buried deep in storage somewhere.)

theres a 98% chance that she can get you tickets to anything, but the reality that she actually will is much lower.

aside from hotels, her family owns shares in an indy 500 team and is currently looking into buying into formula 2, the banners sponsor the mercedes f1 team and have for the past ten years. as well as various other business ventures.

has a custom made monopoly board that is banner inspired, but is absolutely terrible at monopoly. the dice never seem to roll in her favour.

has 327.4 million followers on instagram (@bradleybanner).

has a finster for her actual friends (@bannersryan).

has been known to use the name ryan when she doesn't want to be recognised (how well that works out depends on how well the person she's using it on knows what she looks like).

rumour is she's writing a book about her life.

had a legit stalker in 2022 and has only just relaxed her security.

has been to the MET gala six times, 2024 will be her seventh.

was in a submergence (xaviers band) music video.

hates hates hates (!!) spiders.

is a democrat (and has donated a lot of money to presidential campaigns).

regularly donates blood (and documents it on social media in hopes of influencing others to do the same).

was announced as brand ambassador for balmain 2024.

CONNECTIONS.

ex-wife of @santiagodeleons.

old-friend of @aeris-flores.

bestie & frequent deuxmoi blind-item feature with @xaviermattthews.

employer of @maverick-liu (he's her personal assistant).

dated @pxtrickbalfe after her marriage ended.

friends with @vanessagable, @cavenshh, @delilahcarreno, @auggievillanueva, @firefighterrojas, @thelizaxlevin, @dancingdanvers, @connievanderbilt.

fired (or at least shipley fired) @cricketcampbell for accidentally posting her address in a tiktok video.

was-aunt (via her marriage to santiago) to @maura-cortes.

its sort-of-awkward on friend(ly) terms with @benj-hyun (her ex-husbands best friend).

@mackmontgomery, the 'soulmate' super fan — she doesn't know he exists.

SPECIFIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

anyone within her staff circle, bradley has a ton of staff bound by NDAs: hair-stylist, make-up artist, wardrobe stylist, personal assistant, security, maid, chef, social media manager (basically anyone who could work for her) — bradley treats her staff with respect / treats them like extended family but would be quick to dismiss anyone who puts her reputation / privacy at risk.

best friend, someone who just gets her / no judgement, easy vibes.

anyone in her inner circle: aka people who grew up under similar circumstances (rich / famous / affluent families — all of the above).

someone she attempted to date since her ex-husband, lasted a couple of months before fizzing out for whatever reason tbd. (after her divorce she's sworn off dating a normie — would need to be rich, with good social standing / reputation / likes the finer things in life / understands her world.)

people she dated before her ex-husband that didnt work out for whatever reason (she’s from calabasas LA, so would require some timeline matching) teens through to young adult.

anyone who works at seascape. (bradley doesnt involve herself in day-to-day running of the hotel, but she is present at the hotel sometimes — has a room constantly booked out).

that one wild fan that seems to be everywhere and is very sweet — doesn't quite overstep the boundary, but teeters close.

the hater! honestly, she hasn't done anything but they just don't like her because "why is she famous".

GENERAL WANTED CONNECTIONS.

(brief because they’re just suggestions & i’m certainly open to anything not here!!)

PLATONIC / FRIENDLY.

squad (pls give her a wolf pack!) / ride or die / best friends / sibling like friends / unlikely friends / new friends / friends from LA.  

ROMANTIC.

raya matches (she's not on tinder) / blind date / one night stand(s) / flirtationship / we dated but it didn't quite work out.

NEGATIVE.

former friends / frenemies / enemies / fake friends / stans.

[rockislandadultreads]

Read-Alikes: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple

Bernadette Fox has vanished.

When her daughter Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, Bernadette, a fiercely intelligent shut-in, throws herself into preparations for the trip. But worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Ms. Fox is on the brink of a meltdown. And after a school fundraiser goes disastrously awry at her hands, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces - which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together an elaborate web of emails, invoices, and school memos that reveals a secret past Bernadette has been hiding for decades. 

Where'd You Go Bernadette is an ingenious and unabashedly entertaining novel about a family coming to terms with who they are and the power of a daughter's love for her mother.

Beauchamp Hall by Danielle Steel

Winona Farmington once dreamed of graduating from college, moving to New York City, and pursuing a career in publishing. Then real life got in the way when she left college and returned to her small Michigan hometown to care for her sick mother.

Years later, stuck in a dead-end job and an unsatisfying relationship, Winnie has concluded that dreams were meant for others. She consoles herself with binge-watching the British television series that she loves, Beauchamp Hall, enthralled by the sumptuous period drama set on a great Norfolk estate in the 1920s. The rich upstairs-downstairs world brilliantly brought to life by superb actors is the ultimate in escapism.

On the day Winnie is passed over for a long-overdue promotion, she is also betrayed by her boyfriend and her best friend. Heartbroken, she makes the first impulsive decision of her conventional life - which changes everything. She packs her bags and flies to England to see the town where Beauchamp Hall is filmed. The quaint B & B where she stays feels like home. The brother and sister who live in the castle where the show is filmed, rich in titles but poor in cash, are more like long-lost friends than British nobility. And the show itself, with its colorful company and behind-the-scenes affairs, is a drama all its own. 

Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict

Rosalind Franklin has always been an outsider - brilliant, but different. Whether working at the laboratory she adored in Paris or toiling at a university in London, she feels closest to the science, those unchanging laws of physics and chemistry that guide her experiments. When she is assigned to work on DNA, she believes she can unearth its secrets.

Rosalind knows if she just takes one more X-ray picture - one more after thousands - she can unlock the building blocks of life. Never again will she have to listen to her colleagues complain about her, especially Maurice Wilkins who'd rather conspire about genetics with James Watson and Francis Crick than work alongside her.

Then it finally happens - the double helix structure of DNA reveals itself to her with perfect clarity. But what unfolds next, Rosalind could have never predicted.

Mr. and Mrs. American Pie by Juliet McDaniel 

The year is 1969. Dick Nixon was just sworn in as the thirty-seventh President of the United States. Neil Armstrong just took one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. And notable Palm Springs socialite Maxine Simmons just found out that her husband is leaving her for his twenty-two-year-old secretary.

After a public meltdown at Thanksgiving, Maxine finds herself not only divorced, but exiled to Scottsdale, Arizona. However, these desert boondocks will not be her end - only her Elba. The former beauty queen sets her eyes on a new crown: that of the Mrs. American Pie pageant, awarded to the nation’s best wife and mother.

Maxine only has one problem: to win the crown she’ll need to find - or build - a family of her own.