A spring re-set
(on the pleasure of staying home for spring break)
March 16th 2025
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I’m currently 1 week into my 2-week March Break and for the first time in 20 years (pandemic year not counted), I find myself in Toronto instead of travelling. Typically you’ll find me making a dash for the airport to fly to either France or Australia as soon as parent-teacher interviews at the end of the term are done but I’ve chosen to stay put this year and do a bit of a “re-set”.
As well as a list of things to do to spring clean the house over the two weeks (one-ish room a day is about all I can manage), I’ve made sure to include time to see friends, read, rest, exercise and cook/ bake. Do I have FOMO from not travelling as I see everyone else’s trip photos on social media? A bit. Will I be in a better place, mentally and physically to start Term 3? Definitely.
spring cleaning is a necessary evil (and I don’t do it enough)
As evidenced by the photo at the top, I’ve been DEEP in piles of paper, sorting things to be shredded and things to be recycled from the depths of my filing cabinets in my office/ our spare room. It’s been… a bit epic. I have papers from 25 years ago that I haven’t looked at in… 25 years and I decided that enough was enough - anything I hadn’t looked at in at least 7 years was GOING. Well, mostly…
Because some papers were for secure shredding and others were just recycling, I started actually looking at them so I could sort them. Well then wasn’t that just the biggest time sink? Because I needed to remove things like paper clips (thankfully, not staples - on that note, the City of Toronto recycling guidelines say you can “leave staples in paper if you must”) I discovered a few things I actually DID want to keep so there’s that…
So yes, this took MUCH longer than I anticipated but I am glad I didn’t just toss everything in boxes to be shredded (and not just because you pay per weight/ volume for secure shredding) because I found some *gems* ;)
And oh, the photos… that’s a whole other thing to go through - I have time set aside in August for that because it’s going to be hard to go through all those and figure out what to keep/ what to get rid of. Also, every photo I see of myself now from the past, I can’t help but wonder “Did I have the tumour in this photo?” Gulp.
so, do I feel “re-set”?
Well I’m halfway through my break and I already feel like I have done so much (it helps that I have a list for everyday that has less things on it than I think I can do - life hack, right here!) so yes, I would say I am well on the way to feeling “re-set”. Is there more that I could do this break? Sure, there always will be. But for now, my office feels much “lighter” and half the rooms in the house (so far) have less dust so I’d say that’s pretty positive!
10/10 would recommend staying home for at least 1 vacation every few years…
join me for a baking class in April!
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links you might like
eat
Discontinued Australian lollies and sweets we can’t stop thinking about via Delicious. Definitely not an exhaustive list but I’d do anything to eat a Fantale again! And no, I’m not making my own.
The sweet dutch sandwich that makes no sense via BBC. My dad is Dutch and when we were little and visited relatives in Holland we were introduced to the magic that is hagelslag. And no, it’s NOT just like chocolate sprinkles, it’s MAGIC!
live
No eggs? No problem! King Arthur Baking to the rescue with some useful life hacks!
Why don’t people dress up to go out anymore? via The New York Times (unlocked article).
It’s not just at restaurants that the dress code has become more relaxed; it’s pretty much everywhere. People don’t dress up for the theater, the opera, work or travel. Sometimes airports look more like giant sleepover parties than transportation hubs. And it’s been that way for some time.
As I was going through photos from when I was in my 20s and regularly hosted dinner parties with my friends (we were SO grown up, don’t you know?), I noticed that we were always “dressed up” when we went out, even if it was just to someone else’s house. Not so much now. I mean, I don’t go out in my yoga pants but it’s definitely a more casual vibe than when I was growing up. What about you - have you noticed this?
How to teach your child to eat via Ruth Reichl’s La Briffe.
I was eight. My parents, big believers in the educational nature of travel, had taken me to the Yucatan for an instructive visit to the Mayan ruins. There they discovered, to their great joy, that our guide’s daughter was just my age. Wouldn’t it be wonderful, they thought, if I could experience Mexican life while they went on to Guatamala? I would learn Spanish! I would learn the culture! I would have a wonderful time! (Nobody, I might mention, consulted me about this splendid plan.)
Now THAT’S an immersive experience!
travel
The Good Life France Magazine’s Spring 2025 edition is out! Armchair travel at its best!
France with Véro shares a little bit about
one of France’s most endearing rituals, debating how to order the delicious viennoiserie (a chocolate croissant beyond our borders) filled with chocolate: pain au chocolat or chocolatine.
(spoiler: it matters how you order this treat, especially when you’re visiting Southwest France!)
How to actually sleep on an airplane via The New York Times (unlocked article).
What’s worse than being crammed in a too tight, too upright seat on an overnight flight? Being wide-awake the entire time. Short of receiving a golden ticket (i.e., an upgrade to a lie-flat pod), there are some strategies for making a long flight more restful so you won’t arrive feeling totally wrecked.
My take? Getting an unexpected (or paid-for) upgrade helps with this LOL!
Take off, eh? via The Globe and Mail.
Once a fallback for last-minute planners and lowkey travellers, staycations are having a moment. But how much will exploring your home and native land cost?
Timely, considering many Canadians are choosing to stay home (or, at least, away from the US) this spring break.
write
Dorie Greenspan shares a little bit about her writing process (and so much more!) via xoxo Dorie (a video conversation with Clare de Boer)
what I’m reading
One recent release and two books I was lucky enough to get advance copies of that were all 4-5 star reads for me (and read in a day!). Want to read my full reviews (and see what I’m reading currently?)
buy my books
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French food made easy … for everyone!
rent our holiday home in southwest France!
“We spent two weeks in Nérac at this fully-equipped, centrally-located home. It is within walking distance of everything, including the canal, stone bridges, museums, parks, historic churches and of course restaurants and local shopping. (and if you are there on a Saturday, a huge outdoor market is a 5-minute walk away). We enjoyed all the features of this home and especially the patio. We sampled all the food and wine the French are known for. We also joined the locals in playing pétanque at the square just up the street. Would highly recommend!
~ guest review, October 2022
Our charming house in Nérac, halfway between Bordeaux and Toulouse, is in the heart of Gascony. 2025 bookings are starting to fill up!
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for a French (Food Idiom) Friday soon!
Mardi
xo
Love this reminder! Spring cleaning is so healthy for the house - and mind!!