Monthly Musings: March 2024
Hello friends! Happy weekend! Welcome to our Monthly Musings: March 2024 post! I hope it finds you happy, healthy, and highly caffeinated! How are you keeping? Did you get stuck in the bizarre snow of last week? I can’t believe how suddenly the whole thing came on! Husband walked me down to the DART station as usual, off I went into work, and then almost as soon as I got settled in my window seat: bam! Snow! Who would’a thunk it? Apparently not Met Éireann – the national meteorological service – who the Irish Times reported were “caught off guard” by the sudden snowfall. Only in Ireland, folks!
Anyways! Sorry for showing my true Irishness there by a) talking about the weather & b) complaining about Ireland, but sometimes needs must! Now, let’s get down to business, shall we? Our ramblings for the month of March are below, filled with all the usual suspects: recipes, travel, books, movies, life tidbits etc. Enjoy!
monthly musings: march 2024
Our wedding photos arrived! They appeared in my inbox late on Valentine’s night, and can you think of a more perfect day to get your wedding photos?! We immediately trawled through all six-hundred odd photos, and I’m pleased to report that we’re obsessed with them all! Every single photo is filled with so much JOY on the faces of everyone captured – I’m so glad to have these little frozen moments of time!
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Related: for our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple, we kept it really low-key. We were both working all day, but Husband whipped us up a very romantic Japanese inspired tonkatsu pork dinner with a side of sticky rice and veg. He surprised me with a lovely bouquet of red roses, and I gifted him a goodie bag of Asahi/Augustiner beers & Maltesers. The way to a man’s heart is through his tastebuds, right? I’m so glad I have my forever Valentine ❤️
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In case you missed it, two new travel guides hit the blog last month: Three Days in Bologna and Two Days in Ravenna! Both of which are from my mini-moon in Italy series, and both of which are absolutely jam-packed with heaps of recommendations, foodie or otherwise! There’s one final guide in the series still to come – hello, Modena! – and I intend to have it hit the blog next week. Once that’s posted and the mini-moon series is over, buckle up babes, because you know what’s coming next: Japan content!! Heck. Yeah.
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Husband and I are just back from one day and one night in Westport. We arrived early Saturday morning at Knockranny House Hotel, where we promptly proceeded to check-in, dump our bags, and head into town for the day. It hurts us to say it – but Westport maybe isn’t as great as it used to be? You can no longer sit in at Marlene’s, the Pantry & Corkscrew was shuttered up, and the town just felt… tired? Obviously there’s still some greats: McGing’s is our forever fave, Matt Molloy’s was in full swing, Krēm gelateria was fab as ever, and it looks like An Port Mor is still kicking (thank god!). All of this is to say, I think we’re closing the Westport chapter of our lives for now.
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Related: it’s time for me to update all of my travel guides. You know, go through them with fresh eyes, make sure everywhere recommended is still open etc. The importance of keeping the guides up to date and fresh absolutely hit home with me after visiting Westport recently, so I’m going to make this a priority right now. Naturally, my Westport guides – one here, the other here – were the first to get the checking over, and now they’re up-to-date once more. If you’re ever wondering when one of my guides was last updated, look for the “POST UPDATED ___ ___” line at the very top of each post.
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FRIENDS! We’ve booked our next trip!!! It’s a new-to-us country and, if all goes to plan, it will be the 30th one I’ve visited!! I CANNOT WAIT!! I hope my excessive use of exclamation points and capital letters is conveying even a tiny bit of the excitement I feel inside because IT’S A LOT!! Eeeep!! The trip is planned for mid-May and it’s gonna be so! good! I’ll keep the destination under wraps for now, but ready for some clues? One: the colours on the flag are red, blue and white. Two: it was the birthplace of the iconic ’80s song ‘Take On Me‘. Any guesses? Also, sorry/notsorry in advance for getting that song stuck in your head!
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What’ve you been watching lately? Things have been a bit slow around here movie-wise of late. We finally watched Society of the Snow, which was as bleak as expected, but generally fantastic. I thought the oldie but newie-to-us, Frances Ha, was really great but Husband thought just good. The Greatest Night in Pop, a docu about the recording of the We Are the World single, was truly fascinating from beginning to end. Rewatches worth mentioning include Juno, Brothers, and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood; all of which are still wonderful. TV-wise, we’re slowly working our way through the new season of Somebody Feed Phil. We’ve only seen two episodes so far, but it’s wonderful! So wonderful, in fact, that I cried actual tears while enjoying the Kyoto episode.
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Things have also been rather slow around here book-wise of late. I finished Memoirs of a Geisha – which I loved even moreso after visiting Kyoto – and also Fahrenheit 451, another reread. Honestly, I’m kind of floundering around in search of a great new book. Where should I turn to? Do you have any recommendations? Help me!
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The recipes on my to-make list from around the web this last month have one thing in common: ease. This One Pot Buffalo Chicken ‘Helper’ sounds so cozy and comforting, I absolutely will be making it. Crockpot Chipotle Queso Chicken Chili sounds like a lot, but I love that it all comes together in the slow cooker. Finally, this Crispy Tortellini with Prosciutto caught my eye because it sounds rather gyoza-adjacent and I am gyoza obsessed after Japan. Any of the above calling out to you?
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An oldie but a goodie: Violet’s Cinnamon Buns. Crunchy, ooey gooey, buttery and FAST, these cinnamon rolls tick all the boxes. Don’t tell Husband, but I’ve been feeling a hankering to whip up a big batch of these lately. Mmm, cinnamon — *drools*. Side note: should we get the Cookbook Club up and running again? I’m thinking yes, but maybe in a slightly more streamlined fashion. Watch this space!
Okay, friends, I think that’s all for today! Did you enjoy our Monthly Musings: March 2024 post? I hope you found something to take away with you – a recipe, a movie, or a travel guide. Chat again next month!
Hugs,
Vicki xo
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