Monthly Musings: March 2022
Friends, hello. I hope this Monthly Musings: March 2022 post finds you safe and healthy. Boyfriend & I have spent the last week semi-glued to the news watching the tragic events unfold in Ukraine. It has felt like a crazy nightmare – war in Europe? in 2022? – that’s hard to wake up from. It is so horrific, sad, and genuinely terrifying. I don’t know anyone in either Ukraine or Russia, but I feel absolutely heartbroken for all of the families involved. If you’re looking for ways to help, perhaps consider donating to the Irish Red Cross or a similar trusted charity. If you’re looking for ways to distract your brain, I’ve found that stress cleaning and eating your way through the freezer cookies are both excellent options.
Our monthly musings for March are below. I’m keeping it lighter than the above paragraph because we all need the distraction. Instead, you’ll find ramblings about travel, my love of blood oranges, fancy hotels, books + films, and a few recipes from around the web. Enjoy!
Monthly musings: March 2022
Covid-19 update: honestly, I don’t even know anymore. They’ve lifted every single restriction, even though, as far as I can tell, the cases are still quite high. Despite the requirement to wear a mask being waived, I’ll definitely be continuing to do so for the near future in shops/busy public spaces.
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Boyfriend & I went to Westport! It was totally lovely and soul-restoring for us to go back again. It just felt right, you know? We ate all the food, drank all the locally brewed Mescan, and visited as many new businesses as we could. I’m hoping to write up a quick blog post about some of the new places we loved, but until then: Winter Weekend in Westport.
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In other travel news: we booked flights to Canada! We’re heading over for a family wedding in August and I’m 100% using that as an excuse to visit a new-to-me land! Our plan thus far includes hitting up Halifax, Lunenburg, Prince Edward Island, and generally eating as much poutine & maple syrup as possible. I’m especially excited about seeing Lunenburg – it’s a UNESCO Heritage Site! – but every town & city I google is as wanderlust-inducing as the next! Only 169 days away!
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Okay, I’ll admit it: it’s been a hot second since I shared a new recipe. Fear not! I have a stellar recipe for Homemade Dunes Blanches coming in hot next week! If you’ve never had them before, you’re in for a treat! Tiny and absolutely addictive little choux buns filled with lighter than air whipped cream – they’re so so good. Make sure to check back! In the meantime —
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It’s blood orange season! I’ve already made a blood orange + almond cake, as well as a large vat of Blood Orange Marmalade to keep us going, and I’m hoping to bake something else soon. If you’re looking for some recipe ideas: Blood Orange Bundt Cake / Blood Orange Choux au Craquelin / Seasonal Old Fashioned with a Blood Orange Twist / Blood Orange Cream. Can you tell it’s my favourite fruit?
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In case you missed it: A Quick Guide to Saint-Émilion, France hit the blog a couple weeks ago! It’s packed full of food & drink recommendations, an apartment rec, and some other good-to-know things. I think you’re gonna love it! Next up: Luxembourg!
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Travel related: I think I’ll have to start a hotel bucket list of sorts. I recently followed a fellow instagrammer’s stories from a trip to Marrakesh and fell head-over-heels for the Royal Mansour Marrakesh. It’s a 5-star hotel, and it’s drop dead beautiful. I mean, I’ve never really been too intrigued to visit Marrakesh, and now I’m finding myself reading guides about it. Do you have any hotels you dream of visiting?
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It’s finally Oscar month! We’re lacking somewhat in our viewing of the main contenders, but I think we’ve seen all the ones available on streaming. We went to see Belfast, which I didn’t enjoy as much as apparently everyone else in the world did, and Licorice Pizza, which I rather enjoyed. I’m intrigued to see both CODA and Drive My Car, although I don’t know how or when we could, and I’m pretty sure we missed our chance to see King Richard. We have also seen Don’t Look Up – how that is nominated is beyond me – and House of Gucci, which was totally snubbed but, in my opinion, far better than DLU. What are your thoughts on the best picture nominees?
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TV wise, we’ve started watching Euphoria. At the risk of sounding like a prudish old lady, I’d like it a lot more if there weren’t so many weird sexual scenes and/or generally crass language. We’re also still enjoying Modern Family and Pretty Little Liars, both of which have been a very welcome break for our brains these past few evenings. Are you watching anything great?
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Have you read anything good lately? I recently devoured and loved both The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and American Dirt. I also was lucky enough to get my hands on an advanced reader copy of Kitty Tait’s book Breadsong. It’s coming out at the end of April and my gosh, what an incredible story! Definitely a book worth pre-ordering!
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Shall I share a few recipes that’ve caught my eye recently? If you insist đŸ˜‰ This Chicken & Sausage Cajun Jambalaya from Joy the Baker looks insane, just a big fat YES on so many levels. I’ve read whisperings online that this Tomato Sauce by Marcella Hazan is really very good when eaten instead as a soup! What could be more comforting than a nice bowl of soup this time of year? Perhaps with a French Onion Grilled Cheese for a souped up (pun intended) easy dinner? Heck. Yes.
And that concludes our Monthly Musings: March 2022 post! Well – that ended up being miles longer than I was expecting it to be! I hope you found something to take away with you friends. Let’s catch up again in April, yeah?
Hopefully the next time I write the world won’t feel so heavy.
Stay safe,
Vicki xo.
PS: family photo taken in town a few weeks ago after our dinner at Six by Nico. I never could resist a good reflective surface selfie!