Monthly Musings: August 2019

Hello friends!

I’m so happy you’re here for yet another monthly musings post. Wow, didn’t summer just fly right by? I feel like I just got the hang of this whole surviving-in-the-heat thing and now the days are starting to get just a touch cooler. Oh well.

How was July for you? We spent a lot of time with our families over the last month as, coincidentally, both mine & Boyfriend’s mothers underwent knee replacements. Watching my mother go through the recovery phase of the whole thing has me awe-struck at how strong she is. It also leaves me feeling pretty grateful for my functioning knees that carry me around without much protest.

We also spent a lot of time eating donuts this past month. Krispy Kreme is located conveniently close to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, and amen for that.

The offering for the month ahead is below, and generally it’s pretty easy going. I get so much out of writing these posts; something about being able to look back over the last month and planning a few things for the one to come calms me. These have fast become my favourite posts to share, and I hope you find some solace in them also.

Enjoy!

monthly musings: august 2019

I’m entirely fascinated by the whole knee replacement malarkey that my mom is going through – I can barely take my eyes off it. With the help of an epidural, she was awake for the 2-hour surgery, and she was out of the hospital within 4 days. As of today, she’s two weeks past the surgery & one day away from getting the 20 staples holding her knee closed taken out. She is 100% braver than me and I can only hope to be as strong as her when my already gammy knee gives out in the future. I found this guide very informative.

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As a surprise for our anniversary last month, I decided to push the boat out & book us a trip abroad. We haven’t been out of the country since last October and I felt like we deserved it.. so we’re heading to Berlin this coming Friday! We’ll be in the city for four days & I’m already salivating thinking about all the food we’re going to eat and all the beer we’re going to drink. I’ll be posting more on my Instagram stories if you’d like to follow along!

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Enrique, our eldest chili plant that we grew from seed, is truly flourishing in this hotter weather we’ve been having! I mean, he is a serrano chili plant that came to us by way of Mexico, so he obviously loves the heat. On my last count, there are 15 gorgeous little chilies waiting to ripen. It is just the most satisfying feeling!

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Related: remember when I mentioned last month that we have a newly discovered little patch of soil? I’ve 97% decided that I’m going to plant some rhubarb and I’m so excited about it. This website has so much helpful information about planting fruit and veg!

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I know I promised you a recipe for Sourdough Maple Blueberry Brown Butter Crumble Muffins last month. I’m also aware that said recipe hasn’t been posted yet. I have good news! The post is finished now and will be hitting the blog later this week – and thank heavens for that. Stay tuned!

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I found myself alone in the house for an evening recently, and I can’t tell you how much I truly enjoyed it! I danced wildly around the kitchen listening to 90s music (Fairground by Simply Red was especially wonderful to bop to), I treated myself to a couple glasses of white wine, & I re-watched some early Gilmore Girls episodes and found myself laughing out loud within minutes. Living my best life!

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Our trip to Kilkenny last month was bonkers awesome. The beautiful city just seems to get better & better each time we go. The food, the ambiance, the adorable little pubs, everything is so lovely there! I’m working on a blog post about our visit at the moment, so more on that soon, but… let’s not forget the real reason we went there: to see Bob Dylan and Neil Young! The concert was amazing. We sang our hearts out from beginning to end & loved every second. And obviously, Bob was the clear winner for us, duh.

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We had Boyfriend’s sister & brother-in-law over for a belated birthday dinner last week and we went all out by serving a mini dessert plate. I whipped up a batch of my Extra Fudgy Brownies – that are literally always a treat – and a small bowl of white chocolate mousse, all served with a dollop of lightly whipped cream and a drizzle of raspberry coulis, respectively. Pop a candle into the birthday girl’s brownie & you’re winning!

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The bad news: I finished reading all of the available books in the Harry Bosch series. The good news: the latest Harry Hole book came out exactly when I needed something to read! It. Is. Amazing. Perhaps my favourite of the whole series!

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This Dave Matthews Tiny Desk Concert has been playing in my mind lately. Two particular highlights for me are the inter-singing banter and the unintentionally hilarious faces he makes when he sings.

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I have my eye on a new pair of Birkenstocks. They’re the classic Arizona style and I’ve been having shoe envy at heaps of strangers walking past me for weeks. I’m heading into town this week to try them on, wish me luck!

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I haven’t been baking a whole lot recently, but I’m going to make a conscious effort to get back into the kitchen during the month to whip something up just for me, not the blog or Instagram. What should I make? I’m currently leaning towards Christina Tosi’s Crack Pie.

Have a great month, friends!

Let’s catch up all over again in September, okay?

Hugs,

Vicki xo

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