January saw me try my hand at a new cuisine: Caribbean! I made my first-ever Curried Goat, served with traditional rice and peas, and macaroni pie. I was rather impressed with the results and it got a big thumbs up from my partner, Jordan. The curry and rice was my own interpretation, inspired by multiple online recipes. For the Mac, I used a fantastic recipe by Alex In The Kitchen which can be found here.
Later in January, I succumbed to the dreaded Covid-19 which wiped me out for a solid nine days. Despite having both vaccinations beforehand, the whole experience was horrendous.
In February, I explored my love for design and began @ShannonIonaDesigns - handmade, bespoke greeting cards for all occasions, using up-cycled materials. I have always made cards for special occasions but have never sold them before, so I was so grateful to see others invest in my designs.
In March, I was trusted to make two birthday cakes for extended family, despite not being a professional cake baker. The first was for an Aunt’s birthday and had to be red and yellow. The second was for a little boy’s first birthday and needed to include Elmo and the Cookie Monster. With exception to these requirements, I had free rein to design both cakes and had lots of fun (plus a little stress) coming up with the cakes below.
I’ve been so lucky to spend lots of quality time with my niece this year. Living in Switzerland means FaceTime is a MUST for us, but 2022 brought lots of family trips which I’ve been so grateful for! The first holiday together came in April, when my brother, sister-in-law and niece visited the UK. We had lots of days out around Suffolk, including fun at Felixstowe Pier, walks along the harbour at Pin Mill and visiting local farm parks. The best experience was definitely meeting the Lemurs at Jimmy’s Farm - just look at these cute little guys!
Not two weeks later, Jordan and I flew to Switzerland to spend time with them in Geneva. First stop: Fondue at Bains des Pâquis! If you’re visiting Geneva, you cannot miss the chance to try this signature fondue, melted with champagne in the cheese - sooooo good! To burn off all those cheese calories, we spent the following days building up our step counts. We completed the aerial courses at Parc Aventure, Signal de Bougy; toured around Old Town Geneva; and hiked through Monnetier-Mornex at the Swiss-French border.
May brought a lot of changes for me professionally - I resigned from my company, S.W.A.T., and enrolled at the British College of Journalism, where I’m now completing my Diploma in Professional Freelance Journalism. It has been six years since my original plans to study the course fell through, so I thought it was about time I pursue my passion for writing.
To celebrate my Mum’s birthday in May, we had a very indulgent weekend at The Pier Hotel in Harwich. We started the weekend with a fabulous two course lunch at the hotel, following by a boozy pub crawl in the afternoon. We dined at The Pier again in the evening, and had the most amazing three course dinner (and far too much champagne!). Of course, we had to complete the dining experience with brunch the following morning. I loved the homemade smoothies that were served in ice-cold milk bottles.
As summer rolled around, I began to work on my new garden. After a year without a garden at my previous flat, I am beyond happy to have one again! I dug out a long vegetable patch and planted seeds to my hearts content - radishes, chillies, peppers, cucumbers, courgettes, strawberries, runner beans, broccoli, green beans, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, carrots and parsnips. Phew, that’s a lot of veg. Unfortunately, some seeds didn’t take (any advice on growing parsnips is very welcome, as I’m consistently unsuccessful) but I was overrun with tomatoes and chillies.
In the height of summer, I experienced Pride London for the very first time. A family trip into the heart of London turned into an incredible day of colour, music and LOVE! The atmosphere and overwhelming sense of community was astonishing.
In July, I channeled my inner 80s chic at Heritage Live - a day of music from Boy George and Culture Club. Being born in 1995, I thought I’d only know a couple of songs but was surprised at how many I could sing along to.
Our second holiday in August took us to France with (almost) the whole clan. We hired a country house in the small village of Cuisery - known as the Village of Books - where we could relax, swim and most importantly, eat! We spent one afternoon on pedalos, racing each other down La Seille river, and another day exploring the local town of Tournus. We also visited a traditional French market in Louhans and dined at Restaurant Ferme Auberge du Colombier in Vernoux, known for their famous Poulet de Bresse. And of course, no French trip would be complete without a wine-tasting.
September was our month of quiet between two holidays but we did manage to squeeze in a 5k Obstacle Run. It was great fun but I was absolutely knackered by the end of it!
At the end of September, myself and Jordan were supposed to be off to Palma de Mallorca but air traffic disruption meant our planned holiday was cancelled. After hours of last-minute searching, we booked ourselves onto a new holiday to Chiclana de la Frontera in Southern Spain. The silver lining was an all-inclusive resort (I have NEVER eaten so much food) and much hotter weather, so it all worked out well.
During our holiday, we took a day trip to Gibraltar and got up-close-and-personal with the Barbary macaques. In the Bay of Gibraltar, I got to witness one of the most incredible sights - pods upon pods of Common Dolphins. They all swam alongside the boat, riding the surf and showing us their bellies. One cheeky chap even gave us a little dance while jumping out of the water.
I’m sad to say that while away, my wonderful Grandfather passed away. Im comforted to know he was surrounded by many of our family and we gave him a wonderful send-off later in the month.
After months of card-making, I attended Sproughton Christmas Fayre in November where I held a card stall. It’s safe to say I spent all the money I made at other stalls, buying handmade Christmas items as presents for my nearest and dearest.
After a tour of Stamford Bridge earlier in the year, Jordan took me to my first football match to see Chelsea FC Women’s vs Tottenham Hotspur Women’s. I’m happy to report that all my cheering and Mexican waves lead us to victory, as we won 3-0! In December, we attended a second women’s match against PSG, with another 3-0 win.
Mum and her work team entered us all into a Santa Fun Run in Colchester, where we raised over £1,500 for the Children’s Department at Ipswich and Colchester Hospitals.
This year I’ve seen a crazy amount of stage shows - Chicago, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, Cinderella, The Mousetrap, and SIX - all of which were incredible.
I’ve been so lucky to work with some amazing brands and can’t wait to produce more food collabs in the New Year.
To end the year, I took two weeks off work to spend some well-needed, quality time with friends and family. I’ve eaten far too much cheese and chocolate, drunk one too many snowballs and ticked nothing off my To Do list! All in all, a fantastic time has been had.
So, after an eventful year, what are my desires for 2023?
1. Land a new job in Journalism. I’d love to launch my freelance career once I wrap up my course which is due to finish in May.
2. Expand my cooking repertoire. I’ve saved so many recipes shared by other creators and I’m determined that this year will see them be born in my own kitchen!
3. Spend more time on DuoLingo. I currently hold a 619 day streak which I’m ashamed to say has mostly consisted of quick five minute lessons before bed. I would love to dedicate some serious time to learning Spanish next year.
I hope the New Year brings you all health and happiness. May you find the strength and courage to achieve your goals. Wishing you all a marvellous 2023!
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