Monthly Musings: May 2019

Welcome to May, friends!

Boyfriend & I are still wading through the deep layer of chocolate we accumulated over the Easter holidays. We have chocolate bunnies coming out of our ears, chocolate eggs all over the house, bars & anything small-ish set up in front of the TV for some movie snacking. All of this is to say… will you come over to eat chocolate with us? We’re going to a wedding in less than two weeks and would be extremely grateful. We’ll even give you some to bring home. You will? K, thanks.

No, seriously though, can we talk weddings for a second? How the heck do you figure out what to wear? Do you go floor length or knee length or even that small bit higher? Then there’s the whole shoe situation. How do you find heels that are a) perfectly cute b) match your dress c) not too high and d) comfortable enough to wear for the entire day. Please, send help.

The offering for the month of May is below. I hope you find something to take away with you, be it a new recipe or an itch to get travelling or both. I’ll be over here fretting about dressing for a wedding. Enjoy!

monthly musings: may 2019

This little space that I occupy on the internet turned 7 years old at the end of April. Seven whole years of rambling online about things I’ve baked & places I’ve been. Honestly, I use this space as a kind of therapy session, & I love every second of over-sharing. Thank you for being here! Last year I made this triple chocolate birthday cake to celebrate, but this year Boyfriend & I celebrated in a more casual way with some delicious jam doughnuts. Here’s to another wonderful year!

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It’s official: we’ve finally locked in our holiday plans after the great failure that was Montreal. We love Italy, & really, can you ever get bored of it? This time round we’ll be hitting up Tuscany, focusing on some smaller villages I’ve never ventured out to before. The plan is Pisa – Florence – San Gimignano – Siena – Castellina in Chianti – Bologna. The stuff of dreams!

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Related: Part II of our Italian Adventures hit the blog last week & it is all about the beautiful city of Bologna! If you’re wondering how we can keep going back to the same spot & falling ever more in love with it, you’ve obviously never visited. Bologna is everything we love about a city: quaint, romantic, quiet, relatively untouched by tourism, and filled with amazing restaurants, markets, & bars.

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A new month means a new Food in Jars Mastery Challenge! May is all about berries & I’m excited to see what news skills I learn this month round. Boyfriend is a berry addict, so I’m sure he’ll be thrilled with whatever I whip up.

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Keeping in line with our recent efforts to produce less waste, we’ve switched to bamboo toothbrushes. These are the exact ones we have & they are totally adorable. When finished, you just remove the bristles & pop the stick into the compost bin. It feels good!

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How on earth am I so late to the Chef’s Table table (terrible pun intended)!? Why did I wait so long? We are loving every single episode and slowly but surely inching our way along to ‘Volume 4 – Pastry’ and I am living for it.

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I’ve been compiling a master list of recipes for using up any sourdough discard you may have lying around. As in, the only list you will ever need to turn to. Am I the only one intrigued by such a collection? I’ve been testing a whole bunch of recipes from around the web & tweaking until they are juuuust perfect for our tastes. Yes, you can definitely expect a variation of Izy Hossack’s Sourdough Brownies to be in there. I can’t wait to share!

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Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying to spend less time on my phone. I hated the way my thumb automatically opened Instagram whenever I picked up my mobile, because really – does Instagram make anyone feel good about themselves, ever? I’ve taken to hauling around a book with me at all times recently, & I feel a million times better. It’s good to step back every once in a while to gain some perspective – does it really matter to me what so-and-so had for breakfast on the other side of the world? No and nope. Related reading: The Instagram Aesthetic is Over.

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Friends, I just recently saw Cruel Intentions for the first ever time. Where have I been living all this time – under a bloody rock? It’s so fantastically ‘90s and I truly hope Boyfriend gets it for my birthday so I can add it to my collection of cheesy movies – my favourite of which will always be Notting Hill. No need to be jealous, you can come around to watch them whenever you want.

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Our long read of the month: The Haunting of 657 Boulevard. Boyfriend linked me to this and I honestly couldn’t stop reading it. The thing that freaks me out about it is that it could literally happen to anyone, anywhere, and there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of help/support from locals or the police.

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We had our vegan friends over for dinner last month. We made roast veggie tacos with all the vegan trimmings – salsa, guac etc – but I just couldn’t find it inside myself to make a vegan dessert. Barring that one time years ago when I made vegan banana bread, I’ve never baked a vegan dessert. Vegan butter, egg substitutes etc just aren’t up my alley. Do you know any good vegan desserts? I’d love to pull out all the stops & surprise them the next time they come over.

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Boyfriend & I had our first ever proper Easter dinner together this year. We breakfasted with family (hi Mom!), lounged around all day, and then pulled out all the stops for a romantic Easter dinner for two. Slow cooked pork shoulder, cheesy mashed potatoes, a side of roasted veg, and a Lindt bunny for dessert. Honestly, it was amazing.

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An oldie but a goodie: Ham & Gruyere Breakfast Rolls. Think pillow-y soft dough, filled with an extra gooey helping of bechamel sauce, grueyere cheese, and smoked ham. The breakfast of champions.

I think that’s all for today, thanks for stopping by!

Until next month, friends.

Vicki xo

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