Monthly Musings: July 2024
our monthly dose of ramblings
Hi friends! Happy July! How are you keeping? I hope this Monthly Musings: July 2024 post finds you well. Husband and I have just spent the last week house-sitting for his parents, and, although it’s a hard to fully unwind in someone else’s space, the change of scenery granted us an almost staycation-like mindset. Their house is pleasingly close to where I work, so Husband lovingly strolled me down there each morning, and even met me for a picnic lunch at the seafront one afternoon! It may have rained on us ever-so-slightly, but that didn’t take away from the sweetness even one little bit; in fact, it brightened up my regular workday tenfold! I hope that your summer has been similarly picnic-filled and sun-kissed/rain-speckled thus far. Shall we muse on?
Our links and thoughts for the month ahead are below. It might seem a little less meaty than usual, but I’m toying with the idea of making a summer bucket list, so you’ll have that to look forward to shortly. All the regular rambling subjects below – travel, recipes, movies & books – as well as a fun tidbit or two thrown in for good measure. Enjoy!
monthly musings: july 2024
Earlier this week, Tuesday July 2nd, marked two whole years since Husband and I got engaged. That means that two years ago, we were in our favourite country, and Husband, then ‘Boyfriend’, led us towards the road we’re following now, living our best lives. It boggles my mind that that was only two years ago – so much has happened since then! Thank you, Rob, for making my Italian fairytale dreams come true. If you’re interested in reading my posts from that summer: Our Engagement in Bologna // Three Days in Florence // A Week in San Donato in Poggio // 72 Hours in Bologna // A Stopover in Cologne. What a marvelous summer!
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Husband and I only have 65 days left until our next big adventure abroad! So far, we just have our flights to/from the country, hotels booked for the very beginning and very end of our trip, and then the middle of our itinerary is wide open! We kind of have a rough idea of where we’d like to explore this time, but we really need to sit down asap and hash it out for real. Until we have it all worked out, I’m going to continue to keep the destination under wraps, but here are a few clues: 1. we have to apply for a visa to travel there, 2. the flag is red and yellow, and 3. it is, apparently, very budget friendly. Any thoughts?
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Also, I’m jetting off to Scotland for the weekend next month! One of my best friends and I are going over to celebrate 20-years of best friendship! The last time we went away on a friendiversary was in 2016 when we went to Copenhagen, and this time round we’re hitting Glasgow! I’ve never been to Glasgow before, but am looking forward to some light exploring and some not-so-light eating and drinking. We’re literally flying in on the first flight Saturday morning and out on one of the last flights Sunday night – a true whistle-stop trip! – but I’m really looking forward to it! If you’d like to read about our last friendiversary trip: Exploring Copenhagen, Denmark.
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On Monday, I will have been working at my job for exactly one year. It look me a little while to find my groove in the place, but mostly, so far so good! I work just-under-full-time hours in a four-day week, and, while I sometimes miss the joyous days of self-unemployment, I feel like I have enough time off that I largely enjoy going in. You feel me? The four-day work week is genius! Bizarrely, the most stressful part of my job is trying to think of what to bring in for lunch. Remember last year when I was contemplating starting a lunchbox series with heaps of ideas? LOL. Truly, lol. Send help in the form of packed lunches xo.
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Can you believe that I only have one more Japanese travel guide to share? It’s a food guide to Osaka, and, even though I had intended to share it last month, I just didn’t get around to finishing it in time. In truth, I’m finding myself procrastinating every time I sit down to put the final touches on it. Is it because I don’t want to stop reminiscing about how wonderful Japan is? Is it because I’m sad to not have a valid reason to talk about our honeymoon every other day? Very probably likely. Sigh. I’ll try not to drag my heels too much longer, pinky promise. In the meantime, you can knock yourself out by reading all of my existing Japanese content, here.
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Please allow me a moment to share some recipes from around the web that I believe will make all of our summers better. I believe I linked to Alison Roman’s Brown Butter Potato Salad before, but I’m actually serious about making it this time! Husband loves a potato salad, and this one sounds perfect for summer nights. Deb’s Blondie Ice Cream Sandwiches have made their way onto my absolute must-make list because a. my life-life commitment to eating as much ice-cream as possible and b. Deb never leads you astray. Finally, this Old-Fashioned Strawberry Cake is speaking to my soul, and also to the gorgeous strawberries I have squirrelled away in my freezer.
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In terms of movie & TV-show watching, June was a bit hit and miss for us. TV-wise, we devoured Under The Bridge, which we thought was good but also heartbreaking. We’re also treating our inner teenagers by watching Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, which is as delightfully cheese-tastic as we hoped. Movie-wise, the best new-to-me movie we saw last month was The Wrestler, which, surprisingly, I thought was fantastic! Did you see anything great? To follow along with our movie watching in real time, here’s our Letterboxd account.
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Well, I finally finished the last book on my TJR hit list – After I Do – and it was easily my least favourite. After careful consideration, I can safely say that my favourite three are Malibu Rising, Carrie Soto is Back, and One True Loves. The first two are so good that I’d recommend them to anyone, but the latter is more for the cheesy/romantic binge-reader. Currently, I’ve just started Jodi Picoult’s The Book of Two Ways, and so far I’m really enjoying it! It’s about an Egyptologist and oof, the archaeologist in me is rejoicing at this happy coincidence – I didn’t know a thing about the book before randomly plucking it off the library shelf! If you’re looking for a new book, Toby’s summer reading list has a few titles that’ve piqued my interest, and might be up your alley, too!
And there we have it, our Monthly Musings: July 2024 post. Let’s do it all again next month, yeah?
Hugs, Vicki xo
related posts
July 2023 // 2022 // 2021 // 2020 // 2019