The year that was: 2022

What happened:
Ah, 2022. Were we still pandemic-ing at the start of the year? Were we not? It all starts to blend into one! But one pandemic-related thing that did happen in 2022 was... I finally officially had COVID. I tested positive in July, right when we had a heatwave of 40.3°C. So that was fun with a fever.

But. I'm getting ahead of myself. (And mercifully was only really poorly for about 1.5 days. I recovered quite quickly.) Let me go back to the start of the year. January was all about getting ready for the move - and wondering when we were going to complete - which eventually happened mid-February. Hurrah! Definitely a highlight of the year. I love our house so much. And it's AWESOME having a garden. 

February also saw our first trip to the theatre - we saw Cabaret with Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley, which was incredible. Other trips to the theatre were made throughout the year for Back to the Future, Come From Away (excellent), Cinderella (worst thing we saw), Moulin Rouge (brilliant as it was when we saw it on Broadway), Only Fools and Horses (second time for me), Life of Pi, Beauty and the Beast and To Kill a Mockingbird (superb). 

This year saw us travel to Malta in summer - we spent a week on Gozo with Olly's family, then Olly and I headed to the mainland where we had some seriously yummy food. (Blog posts coming soon!) We also jetted off to Mauritius in November. (Again, blog posts soon!) Closer to home, we headed to Bath for my birthday. Plus stayed over in Whitstable as well. And there'll be more UK-based trips in 2023 as we finally got our car in December, a Polestar 2. (I need to remember how to drive!) 

Various family members came to stay at the house over the course of the year - and we had Christmas at ours with Olly's mum - plus I met a new family member, thanks to DNA testing(!). We ticked Wimbledon off the bucket list, went to see the Tower of London Superbloom, visited Hampton Court Palace (twice; both times in December), and went to the Just a Tribute festival. Oh, and I finally started Invisalign! 

Obviously this is just a very brief snapshot of my year. And it's only the positive stuff. But, all-in-all, 2022 was a pretty fabulous year. 

What I ate:
The nine-course tasting menu at Menu Gordon Jones with the matching wine flight was definitely my meal of the year, and I highly urge you to try and get a table there if you're ever in Bath. Such beautiful flavours. In London, my favourite meal was had at The Barbary Next Door (below), and no year is complete without quite a few all-in Sunday roasts at Blacklock (below) and Dishoom brunches. I also did the tasty sharing journey at Bala Baya again. Super yum, as always.

    

Other top London highlights were Six at Nico (we did their "Best of 2021" menu and the "Chippie" menu), a fab Indo-Chinese feast at Fatt Punditt, the chilli crab Xiao long bao at Din Fai Tung, an excellent meatball lunch at Manny Dartin (below), yum pizza at Rudys, a delicious brunch at Hideaway, Cinnamon Bazaar had great flavours, we enjoyed a Thai feast at Plaza Khao Gaeng, an epic Sunday roast at Kudu Grill (below), delicious pasta at Lina Stores, and excellent chateaubriand at Gazette.

    

There was street-food love for Dumpling Shack's excellent pulled noodles and soup dumplings (not new for me but new for Olly), Bad Boys Pizza Society and Truffle Burger at Seven Dials Market, the tacos from Carne at Canopy Market, the Wagyu keema pao from Hero, chicken momos from Tipan Tapan and tacos from Mexa, all at Arcade Food Hall, plus Korean fried chicken from KoKoDoo.

    

Leeds highlights were Zaap Thai, the bunny chow at Mowgli Street Food (above), and the best ramen I've ever had at House of Fu. In Whitstable, an incredible baked monkfish in lobster bisque at The Rock Lodge, and the superb tasting menu at Wheelers. In Malta, there's love for Casa Vostra, Hammett's Mestiz, Wigi's Kitchen (above) and Chophouse. And a shout-out for Chateau Mon Desir in Mauritius. 

     

We bought a pizza oven, which is AWESOME, so home-made pizzas featured heavily in 2022. There were less food kits this year, but hurrah for the Mexican spiced duck kit from El Pastor, plus their short rib taco party (above). And we had many, many Almost Famous burger boxes when they were available (above).

What I watched:
Best TV show of the year was Severance on Apple TV+; in fact, most of the top shows we enjoyed (The Shrink Next Door, Dopesick, The Dropout and WeCrashed) were Apple TV+ ones. Exceptions were House of the Dragon and The White Lotus. And, of course, the latest season of Succession and Somebody Feed Phil. 

We went to the cinema eight times: Uncharted and Top Gun: Maverick were my faves. 

What I read: 
In 2022 I read 158 books. Which wasn't as many as 2021, but still a decent number. Full reading list can be found here.

And that was my year! Hope yours was a good one. And that 2023 is awesome for you. x