April Mishmash
The month in which I decided I might be in love with Springtime?
Hello friends. I am very thankful for you all. I hope you are enjoying sunshine and flowers!! Let’s get right to it!
Food!
Firstly, I quit the bean club. I know, you’re shocked! I have such a stockpile of beans and just couldn’t justify hoarding more and more and more beans!! I am a little bit sad about it, but I can always sign up on the waitlist again in the future, and also I can order beans when/if I ever get through my backstock! The saddest part was getting kicked out of the Facebook group, because I also love hoarding recommended recipes from the bean club members!
Speaking of beans, I pulled out the cutest little chickpeas (ceci piccoli) from the pantry and cooked them up to make this Mediterranean Chopped Salad for lunches! Highly recommend this recipe! Some notes: I used bulgur instead of farro because that’s what I had on hand and it works great. My proportions were definitely different from the recipe, since I used a whole 1/2 lb of dry beans, which is more like 3 cans once cooked, and I used more bulgur too since I wanted to use up the amount I had. I also added some artichoke hearts! Since it was already pretty bulked up, we haven’t been adding greens/radicchio, but it’s a perfect make ahead lunch. If your proportions are all askew like mine, i recommend making more dressing to perk it up on day 3+! I also like to add the feta when eating (along with any crunchy greens) rather than mixing it into the big bowl so that it all stays as fresh as possible for as long as possible!
Books
You can shop all my recent reads here: https://bookshop.org/shop/michelleflook (Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.)
I have two non-fiction and five fiction books to talk about this month! Wow! All but one of these I consumed via audiobook.
Non-fiction:
Don’t Call Me Home by Alexandra Auder - Daughter of a Warhol superstar, sister of actress Gaby Hoffmann, this is a memoir about a complicated and unconventional mother-daughter relationship and unique childhood. The audiobook was very well read by the author, really bringing Viva (the mother) to life.
Through the Groves by Anne Hull - A memoir about growing up in Florida amongst orange groves. The writing style is very conversational and I liked it just fine.
Fiction:
Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - My fave of the bunch this month. An extremely upsetting, yet easy to imagine, Hunger Games-ish take on the US prison system. There are some main characters and storyline, but there are many viewpoints represented in this book and I absolutely could not put it down.
Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley - Beautifully written by a young poet, the audiobook is very well read. It’s not an easy story, but very well done.
Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter - a weird little book of interconnected stories with a thread of loss and grief and abandonment throughout. I really liked this book, and the aspects that were not realistic (magical realism?), but that may not work for some people.
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger - an adventure story in a bleak watery future with a hopeful tone even in the face of not pleasant situations/characters along the way. A great ending, I probably should have read this rather than listened.
Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan - Admittedly I did not pay much attention to this audiobook so I don’t have a strong opinion of it. this is a me thing, not a this book thing, so if you like complicated family stories that involve the death of a small child, you may enjoy this. Again probably should have read not listened.
TV/Movies
3 Body Problem on Netflix! I never read the book(s), but this is a sci-fi show that I feel does a great job of breaking down complex science theories and situations into a format that I, a non-sciencey person, can understand. I really enjoyed this show, but Matthew and I agreed that the ending was a little anti-climactic after a lot of build up. I am hoping it’s because the 2nd season is in the works!!
Baby Reindeer on Netflix is a crazy, truly unhinged, sad stalker story, based on a real life experience that was turned into a play, and now this show, and stars the writer as a “fictionalized” version of himself. Not sure I am recommending this unless you like your tv shows dark.
Fallout on Amazon Prime is a show that came from a video game franchise, we enjoyed it! Neither of us played the games, but the show is very well crafted, with a fully realized post-apocalyptic world, and great characters. I really liked Lucy and the Ghoul, particularly.
Projects!
Here is my April block for the Sweet Potato Quilts Block of the month club, and I think it’s my favorite so far.
I worked on this scrappy wonky stars project all through April and decided to call it done. The stars are really fun to make but just a little slow going for my tastes. The stars are so cute though! I’ll share another pic once it’s all quilted and bound.
I am working towards releasing my first quilt pattern!! So exciting!!! Here’s a little preview! If you’re interested in following along with my quilt pattern designer adventures, sign up for my newsletter here. I will still include my sewing projects here, so don’t feel like you have to sign up for both. If you sew, or want to sew, or just want more info about what I am sewing, the new newsletter is for you. 🤓 This pattern will be a free pattern, so if you have friends who might be interested, by all means share this link!
Miscellaneous!
As mentioned above, this Mishmash newsletter will continue as usual. I like making this little round up of randomness for y’all! But, I am having a lot of fun making content for instagram to try to “grow my brand,” and I hate that I just said all of that, but I am having fun with it. I am completely new to video editing, so learning as I go, and figuring out what works and doesn’t work—for me, not necessarily for the algorithm.
I almost forgot to mention TAYLOR SWIFT’s The Tortured Poets Department! Seems like it was a huge big thing this month. Also BEYONCE’s Cowboy Carter, which technically came out at the end of March but I did not include it last month! I enjoy both albums!
Speaking of music, highly recommend playing Music League! If you want to join my league send me a message and I’ll see what I can do! 😉
Remi!
It’s becoming a tradition! The annual springtime photo where Remi gives me side eye or completely looks away from me while sitting in some tulips when she’d rather be walking/sniffing! She’s a brat but I love her. This month marks 3 years since we adopted her! 💜
Goodbye, until next month!
xoM