Monthly Musings: August 2022
My oh my, happy August, friends! How on earth is it time to share our Monthly Musings: August 2022 post already? I can’t believe how fast time is zooming by this year! It feels like it was May just yesterday – June and July literally flew past in a blur for me! How wild! It probably has something to do with the fact that we’ve had the busiest/best month ever – getting engaged really books up your social calendar! There have been seemingly endless gatherings with friends & family to celebrate the good news, and it has been so lovely and wonderful! The sheer volume of happiness and well-wishes has been almost overwhelming; it feels incredible knowing everyone is as happy about the engagement as we are!
Side note: we’ve already been engaged for over a month – how is that even possible?!
Our monthly musings for the weeks ahead are below, filled with the usual ramblings you’ve surely come to expect over the last few years. Some travel talk, baking chatter, movie + TV thoughts, and a few other frivolous bits. Enjoy!
monthly musings: august 2022
Covid-19 update: I finally got it. I mentioned in July’s MM post that Fiancé contracted it while we were in Tuscany, and, although it took ages to invade my immune system, it got to me in the end. Thankfully I was mostly fine – my biggest symptoms were a bad sore throat, a chesty cough, and a few extreme nosebleeds. And when I say extreme, I mean: 20-minutes long, steady stream, soaking through tissues to bloody hands, dripping on the floor and across walls, extreme. It was not a fun time.
*
We are less than two weeks away from visiting Canada! My first time ever to the land of maple syrup, and our fourth different country this year! I’ve been devouring all of the Canada content I can get my hands on, but if you have any recommendations for Halifax/Lunenburg/Summerside then please let me know in the comment box below. I can barely wait!!
*
In case you missed it, I started sharing travel guides from our recent trip to Italy/Germany! First, there was Our Engagement in Bologna – which, admittedly, is more romantic recap than actual travel guide, but still! I also shared Three Days in Florence, Italy, my third travel guide about the Tuscan capital. It’s basically a love letter to all of the stellar restaurants we had the pleasure of testing out; tough work, but someone has to do it! Next week, I have a San Donato in Poggio guide coming, followed by a new Bologna guide shortly afterwards, and then a quick Cologne post eventually sometime after that. Sharing travel content makes me so happy – I hope you love them!
*
Related: in my Florence guide, I mentioned a wonderful focaccia dish we enjoyed at 5 e Cinque. It was crispy, stuffed with cheese, and entirely unlike any regular understanding of the word focaccia. I tried to find information about it when we came home but I didn’t even know the exact name, so eventually I gave up. However! The other day I was reading an article about famous dishes in LA, and rather fortuitously, ‘Focaccia di Recco’ caught my eye. Aka, the dish we loved and devoured!! I mean, the recipe seems way too technical and intimidating to consider, but maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to try!
*
Fiancé & I celebrated our seven year anniversary together at the end of July! Seven whole years! We didn’t really do anything special – it fell on a Monday – but it was lovely nonetheless. Here’s to many, many more, Fiancé
*
It’s probably a little gauche to talk about engagement gifts, but gosh – who knew?! I had no idea engagement gifts were a thing at all, but who doesn’t love a present? Since announcing the happy news last month, we’ve been inundated with little congratulatory tokens from loved ones; it’s been such a nice treat! Feeling so lucky and loved 🙂
*
Baking wise, things have been pretty slow around here. I have a recipe coming in the near future for small batch lemon cupcakes, but, other than Nicola’s 3-day focaccia & the odd loaf of bread, I haven’t really ventured near the oven lately. HOWEVER! I did recently make Avoca’s Rice Krispie Bars as a no-bake dessert and omg they’re so good! Rice Krispies + Mars bar = p-e-r-f-e-c-t-i-o-n.
*
Okay, did you watch The Summer I Turned Pretty? I loved it! Yes it was totally cheesy, awkward, and at times badly acted, but it was such fun! We also are lightly dipping our toes into Ghost Whisperer, which I love, but Fiancé just tolerates for me. Our comedy show of choice lately has been Seinfeld, and it’s so! funny! I know it was before my time, but I’m amazed that I’ve never seen it before.
*
Movie-wise, I don’t feel like we’ve seen anything groundbreaking lately. We finally saw King Richard, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed a film about tennis! There were also a couple of enjoyable throwbacks in our month: Runaway Jury, High Crimes, and a re-watching of Identity. Documentary-wise, we devoured Roadrunner, A Film About Anthony Bourdain, and Girl in the Picture; both of which made me cry. Have you seen anything good lately?
*
I’m just going to leave this Castel in the Loire Valley AirBnb link here. Imagine, a whole chateaux, with a pool, to yourself and your friends/family. It seems surprisingly good value for what it is, too!
Okay friends, I think that’s all for this month! Thank you for stopping by and reading! Let’s catch up again next month, yeah? I imagine my next monthly musings post will be filled with 101 different reasons why I love Canada!
Talk then!
Hugs,
Vicki xo