April! The month of daffodils and misty rain and easter goodness. If you’re new here – at the start of each month, I choose four-ish things to do in different categories. Think of it like a bucket list for the month. Just a few things that I want to get around to doing without the month passing me by. I hate that feeling of “oh, we didn’t get to x, y or z”. This really helps me stay focused on the things that are important to me. Categories can be anything you choose, these are just my priorities! I hope you try it sometime!
I know that it’s still snowing where some of you are and I think that’s just the pits. But where we live in Florida, it has been all blue skies and lovely breezes and windows thrown open, and all I can romanticize about right now is a picnic in a big green field with butterflies flitting by, a husband by my side, cold grapes, a bottle of crisp white and fresh cheese on a cracker to go along. Play along with me as I daydream about a picnic date.
March was a good month for reading! I was knocked DOWN by a vicious bug (not Covid! We already had that in the fall 😅) that also brought down Charlie, but our recovery gave me a couple of days in bed for reading. Then, Charlie got sick again, which meant a couple more days home for reading. Spring Break gave me a week to fly through a couple more. Of course, I’m sort of always flying through books, aren’t I?
One True Loves, by Taylor Jenkins Reid – 4.5 stars – Loved it. I wept! The love story (stories!)! It was an impossible situation to reflect on and I felt like the ending fizzled out a little for me after the build up of the middle. It was a little anticlimactic after the passion, but Taylor Jenkins Reid is just such an amazing storyteller. Read it and weep. Literally.
Notes on your Sudden Disappearance, by Alison Espach – 4.5 stars – Tragic and funny much in the Sorrow and Bliss was (which I also recommend). So sad, so beautifully written. One of those books that will stay with me for years. The grief, the joy, the being in between and the being left behind to live through it all. I would skip if death of a (teenage) child or fatal car crashes are a trigger for you.
Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo – 4/5 stars – Really good. This is the sequel to Ninth House, and it didn’t disappoint. That one ended on SUCH a cliffhanger, I couldn’t wait to read this book. I’ll be honest and tell you that much of the detail of the first book had left me, so I did have to go back and read a few summaries to remind myself. If you like fantasy, you should pick it up. I wouldn’t say it was scary, but more suspenseful. There will absolutely be a third after this one. I just think that Alex is such a badass. Love that about female fantasy main characters. They always rule the world.
The Diamond Eye, Kate Quinn – 5/5 stars – Historical fiction has to be REALLY good to hold my attention and this one did it. It’s not short, but I flew through it, staying up late into the night to read more more more. I LOVEd Mila, her story and was fascinated by the setting in Russia in WWII. The American part of the story was a little hokey to me, but Quinn pulled it all together by the end in such a nice little package. It was the kind of interesting and complex storyline that you really want in a historical fiction – with wonderful, real characters to root for and other truly despicable ones to hate. You can tell the author really did her homework on this one. So much of the story was true – including Mila herself! Have heard great things about Quinn’s other books too. Adding them all to my list!
Stepsisters, Susan Mallery – 2/5 stars – Guys it was bad. Skip it. Upon reflection, I can’t believe I finished the whole thing. There were just some parts that were…icky to me.
Dinner in One, by Melissa Clark – It’s not a cookbook that I would plan to buy, but was glad to get it from the library. I bookmarked the meatballs, a couple of the chicken recipes and the a few of the skillet meals to try. I am always looking for one pot meals, and this had some good ones if you’re looking for that too!!
That’s it for March! Can’t wait to see what April brings my shelves!
When you hear the word Spring, what do you think of first? My answer: Lemon. Second answer: Daffodils. I’ll save the daffodils for another day, but the color, the smell, the feelings I get when I close my eyes and taste lemons – it just screams Spring. Don’t you think? I could admittedly go for lemon at any time of year. Lemon bars, lemon cake, lemon tart, lemon poppyseed bread, lemonade, yes, even lemon butter popcorn. Give them all to me. But especially around this time of year, I really crave everything lemon. I made this pasta on Sunday night, and I didn’t really know how much the lemon would come through, but it ended up being so very good. Different than Alfredo or Mac and Cheese, yummier than Pasta al Limone. The lemon makes it zippy and fresh. The perfect meal for a lovely evening in Spring. I highly recommend grilling chicken and trimmed asparagus (wrapped up into foil a foil packet, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper) and adding that to your bowl too as we did. And if you needed any more convincing – even my kids ate this one.
Creamy Lemon Garlic Pasta
1 pound angel hair pasta 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 cup dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoon flour 3/4 cup chicken stock 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for serving zest and juice of one lemon kosher salt and pepper, to taste chopped/torn parsley, to garnish
Fill a large pot of water and add a few pinches of salt. Bring to boil, add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until golden. Add wine and cook until the wine has reduced by half. Add butter, and whisk until melted. Sprinkle in flour and cook, whisking constantly until incorporated. Pour in chicken stock, heavy cream, parmesan, salt and pepper. Turn heat to high, bringing liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring often until it begins to thicken ~10 minutes or so.
Remove from heat, stir in lemon zest and juice. Add pasta, mixing into sauce with tongs until all strands are coated. Serve, topping with grilled chicken, fresh parmesan, and parsley.
A weekly post to remind myself to look for and appreciate the simple things that bring joy to my every day.
This hat – for being the solution in the matter of the pesky thermostat. Now you see it, now you don’t.
Weekend potatoes – for being a constant in the rhythm of our weekends. I’ll choose you every Saturday forevermore.
This basket of books – for being (almost) all good. And the joy of knowing that I’m headed back to the library with them tomorrow for a fresh stack.
This vintage croquet set given to us by sweet neighbors – because my parents have the same set at home and it makes me feel all melty thinking about my kids having the same memories about their childhood that I do about mine.
This sister cocktail scene – for filling up my literal and metaphorical cup every Friday. And because the Gimlets did not disappoint this week. Up next – Sazerac.
These warm sugar cookies – because I didn’t even barely have to lift a finger to make them. Forever thanking my past self when I pull frozen cookie dough balls out of the freezer to bake on a whim.
Goodnight, friends! I hope you remember to pause and appreciate the simple joys in your life this week.
The Metroka Family 