Monthly Musings: April 2023

Hi friends! Happy April! How are you this fine Friday? Can you believe it’s already the fourth month of the year? Time is flying right on by and gosh, there’s not a dang thing we can do about it. With that sentiment in mind, please excuse my tardiness in bringing you our Monthly Musings: April 2023 post two whole days late. The days just slipped away from me this week! Surely I’m not the only one? Personally, it feels like we’ve been non-stop go go go all week, and we still have a hectic weekend ahead of us! Dinner with my family tomorrow, dinner with Fiancé’s family the day after, and some exciting bridal try-ons with my besties on the bank holiday Monday. Where would we be without our loved ones?

Our musings for the month ahead are below. They’re filled with all the usual ramblings: travel, movies, baking, wedding talk, and a few extra titbits. You go ahead and browse on through – I’ll be over here, trying to find the will to paint our bathroom. It’s the tiniest little space and I know I’ll love the end result, but the thought of making this week even a little bit more hectic makes me tired before I’ve begun. Uyy.

monthly musings: april 2023

Covid-19 update: I think the time has come to stop including this paragraph in our MM. Not that the Covid-19 pandemic still isn’t out there – it definitely is, and it definitely is still a problem. But… there just isn’t that much to report nowadays. It’s out there, there’s no restrictions, no updates, and everyone acts like it’s gone.

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In sharp contrast to my last wedding updates, there’s not too much to report from this past month! Except for the very wonderful news that the bridesmaid dresses arrived yesterday!! Well, I mean technically we aren’t 100% sure we’re keeping them yet, but hopefully we are! One bridesmaid has already tried it on and loved it, so fingers crossed the second bridesmaid feels the same way! Gah, it’s so exciting!! Other than that: I somehow managed to use the Inkscape design software to digitize & colour the poster I told you about last month. Honestly, I have no idea how, but I’m so pleased with the end result!

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My mom got her new knee! It all happened so insanely fast! 3-weeks total, from that first enquiring phone call to the actual surgery – can you believe it? It must be one of the fastest surgery turnarounds in Irish history! It’s already been two weeks since the surgery, and she got the 30-staples holding her leg together out three days ago, so she’s over the worst of it! I’m so unbelievably proud of her – the bravery she’s shown throughout this whole thing has been totally awe-inspiring. Mom, you’re the bomb-diggity.

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In case you missed it, I shared two new travel guides last month! First there was A Quick Guide to Villefranche-sur-Mer, France, which was followed shortly by Five Days on the French Riviera: Nice. The two guides are jam-packed with everything you need to know about both spots – but I’m especially proud of the Nice post. Also, I just put the finishing touches on my Monaco guide! It’ll be hitting the blog bright and early next Wednesday morning, and I can’t wait for you to read it!

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I know we don’t usually talk about sport in this little corner of the internet, but can we make an exception today? For some reason, we got really into watching the Six Nations this year. It was the first time in my life that I’ve been even remotely interested in sports – but it was actually pretty cool! I mean, don’t get me wrong – I don’t understand half of what’s happening. But! None of that really matters, because watching loads of humongous men run at each other over and over again is both fun and stressful. Who knew!

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You may or may not remember, but back in January 2020 – over three years ago!! – I talked about making a family tree. I started a very basic one, but it ultimately amounted to nothing. Well, I finally started a proper one! Aided by the easy layout on Family Echo, I was able to get all the information out of my head and into a very organized format. With the help of some extended family members, the tree now reaches all the way back to my great-great-great-grandparents on one side. How cool is that?

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The Oscars finally happened! I’ll be honest with you: I love watching them live, but this year’s show was totally boring. Too safe, not that funny, and generally devoid of anything scandalous that could in any way rock the boat. In terms of winners: I know EEAAO was the favourite, but we were secretly hoping Maverick would nab best picture. I also would’ve preferred if Rihanna or Lady Gaga had won best song, but you can’t deny the catchy-ness of Naatu Naatu. What did you think?

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Did you watch anything good last month? We watched a whole load of movies – check out our Letterboxd here – but there were some definite highs & lows. In order of preference, highlights include: Empire of Light, To Leslie, Father Stu and Frida. The biggest lowlight was Marlowe, which was just so! boring!, followed closely by The Net. TV-wise: we fiiiiiinally finished Seinfeld! According to my records, we started watching it last June! Wild. I must admit, I’m glad it ended when it did. The last season was barely funny, and the last episode was the absolute pits it was so bad. We’re still enjoying Alaska Daily, and, naturally, we’re eagerly watching the final season of Riverdale!

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In baking news, we’re having my family over for dinner this coming weekend and I’m floundering about what to make. It’s sort of a celebration for both Easter & my dad’s birthday – which was yesterday – so I want to make something that’s a) delicious & b) capable of holding a candle. I’ll let you know what I settled on in next month’s post, but it’ll definitely be something from the Zoe Bakes Cakes cookbook! Other than that, I’ve been baking a couple loaves of the Miracle Overnight Bread the last few weeks. The ease of the baking process & the taste of the finished bake honestly still shocks me every single time. Have you made it yet?

Okay friends, there we have it! Our Monthly Musings: April 2023 post in all its glory. Stay well & happy and we’ll catch up again next month, yeah?

My love to you,

Vicki xo

PS: beautiful pink lilies were gifted to us by my amazing mother! Their house has basically turned into a florist since her knee op, and I was only too grateful to take any surplus off her hands 😉

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April 2022 // 2021 // 2020 // 2019