Monthly Musings: August 2021
My, my – hello friends! How are you? Boyfriend & I escaped to Kerry for a while with his family these past few weeks and I loosened my grip on the blog. We napped every day, we walked on jellyfish littered beaches, and we soaked it up as much as possible. It was just what we needed and now we’re back, working our way towards Italy. The countdown is officially on – 22 days! – but we have some catching up to do first. Namely, our Monthly Musings: August 2021 post! You might be wondering why I’m bothering to share a monthly musings post this late into said month. These posts are some of my favourite to write and, even more so, to read back over. A diary of sorts – where I was, what I was doing – that allows me a glimpse back in time.
They’re self-indulgent, and that’s exactly why I wouldn’t dream of missing one. However! Because we’ll be catching up again in just two short weeks, I’ll keep it brief. Let’s get to it!
monthly musings: august 2021
Covid-19 update: the cases are pretty high. There have been over a thousand cases every single day for a while now, and our incidence rate is the highest it has been since January. As of July 19th international travel is back open, but some countries have mandatory quarantine etc. Shops/museums/outdoor dining is all still a-go, and they recently opened up indoor dining for fully vaccinated people. Those who have been fully vaccinated are sent out an EU Digital COVID Certificate, which basically acts as a passport in these wacky times. Uyy.
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I am officially fully vaccinated! I got my first shot of Pfizer on July 23rd, and my second shot exactly 21 days later on the 13th of this month! What a whirlwind! For so long it felt like I was never going to get vaccinated on time for our Italian trip, and then bam – it happened so quickly! The second shot knocked it out of me somewhat – bad headache, stiffness, tiredness, sleeplessness, and a bizarre swollen top lip – but I’d do it all over again in a second if I had to! Thankfully, my sister has been right on my vaccination heels, and she’s getting her second shot today. Yay!
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Rob, my darling Boyfriend, recently sold one of his scripts to an American producer – and they’ve already started the process of bringing it to life! As in: they start filming next month! The film is called The Accursed, and it’s a demonic horror story that I’m pretty certain will creep everyone out when they see it on the big screen. The cast is amazing – Sarah Grey! Mena Suvari!! Alexis Knapp! – and they’re filming at some super cool locations in Savannah, Georgia! Can you tell from my excessive amount of exclamation points how excited I am? Congratulations Boyfriend, I’m so HAPPY and SO PROUD of you! More info: the announcement on Variety / the IMDB page for the film, The Accursed’s Instagram / Rob’s Instagram.
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Our trip to the depths of Kerry was a much needed tonic for my soul. We visited all of our very favourite spots and spent an appropriate amount of time chilling out. If you’re interested, I created these two quick videos of our time there: one and two. It was such a perfect trip. For more information about visiting the Dingle Peninsula, check out my Dingle Staycation Guide.
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In case you missed it: our Cookbook Club August choice was announced a little while ago, Classic German Baking! It’s a wonderful book by Luisa Weiss about all things German/Austrian/Swiss. I’m only just starting to get back into the swing of things since our trip/my second shot, but I’m itching to dig in! I’m thinking LinzerTorte would be an excellent first bake – and I’m especially intrigued by the hard boiled eggs in the dough? Wild! This book had an especially great reception on Instagram, so if you’re baking along with us please remember to tag #pbcookbookclub to make sure we all see!
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Summer bucket list update: we’re very nearly done! I still have some Italy planning and picnic-ing with my gal pals to do, but other than that it’s going so well! Perhaps my favourite outcome from the whole bucket list has been my weekend movie project – I’m obsessed! I’ve only been doing it for a few weeks now, but have totally fallen head over heels for the process. If you’d like to see the ones I’ve made so far: 16-18 July, 23-25 July, 30 July-1 August. I love having these little videos of our weekends together!
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Have you been reading anything exciting lately? I’ve been very fortunate to get my hands on advanced reader copies of some great books recently. Two of my very favourites: The Man Who Died Twice, and Never Saw Me Coming. They were so good! I’m hoping to get my hands on the next Harry Bosch book soon also – keep your fingers crossed for me!
And there we have it, our Monthly Musings: August 2021 post. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I really hope you join me and the other cookbook-clubers on our journey this month!
My love to you,
Vicki xo