Silvia sitting on her front porch at home. Moment captured by Sophie Hansen.
HELLO! And a very Happy New Year to you!
Can we still say that in late January? Of course we can. I am so glad that you are here. How are you doing?I trust that you are all well and enjoying this beautiful warm weather all around Australia.
I have had a wonderful break and feeling so relaxed and refreshed for the year ahead. People have been noticing my relaxed and wrinkle free face. My wish is that it stays that way forever and ever. We hope! My elderly neighbour Andros continues to visit me every day. Watch me capture our special moments together. And I am keeping my summer reading up. Read my thoughts as to why this is important.
A highlight for me was spending a week away with family (on my husband Matt’s side) near the beach at Philip Island. We booked a big house and enjoyed each other’s company for seven nights. It was just so lovely to spend quality time together. The cousins had uninterrupted catch ups without rushing to be here, there and everywhere, and every night we gathered in the kitchen and at the big dining table to cook together, play board games and just catch up. It was nice to have moments where we all came together and then casually broke off into little groups to do things like hiking, swimming or visiting the chocolate shop (delish) over the days and nights to suit our interests.
I have also been swimming in the ocean. Late last year I decided to become an ocean swimmer, to give it a try and see how I felt about it. And my goodness, it’s been life changing on so many levels. The physical and psychological benefits are quite profound. And that salt water is just so good for you (and I suspect it’s the reason for those compliments on my skin!). Not to mention the camaraderie and support of the women that I met and are swimming with about three times a week. It can be quite scary swimming into the abyss, with a wave here and there and a stingray or two to keep you on high alert. But, I’m doing it and loving it immensely. I have become a member of the ‘Seagals’ and here is a little article about them called 'Happy hormones’: Starting the year with nature’s caffeine of a cold water swim’.
Rolling up my sleeves and cleaning all the overgrowth in my garden has been my other exercise. I recently picked a massive bouquet of hydrangeas and put them in a vase, and my ornamental grapevine is the most divine canopy this year. I had no luck with cucumbers (3 tiny ones, that's all), my zucchini failed and my basil got eaten by those pesky snails. But on a more encouraging note I received a generous glut of tomatoes (thank you very much), my passionfruit are sweet and full of pulp and my roses are well and truly on to their third flush of growth due to the extra watering and feeding. I am learning to lift the TLC on my garden to be truly rewarded. Allow me to take you on a typical, early summer morning stroll around my garden.
I am so excited for 2025 and can’t wait to share more with you in the coming weeks and months. We have lots planned. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading This February in our Village and have a wonderful month ahead.
Stay well,
This month our Cookbook Club book is “Kitchen Sentimental”
November’s cookbook club and Zoom chat discussing Ela! Ela! invoked a meandering conversation of what we had been up to in our lives and then a deep conversation citing a quote from Ella’s book which mentioned how one small section of a street created a sense of community and belonging that she hadn’t been able to locate all her life . Thank you to all the women who joined us and shared. These gatherings fill my cup every time.
The Cookbook Club book for February 2025 is Kitchen Sentimental: A journey to self-discovery one recipe at a time by Annie Smithers. Our Zoom chat is scheduled for Wednesday 12th February at 8pm AEST. Click on this Zoom link five minutes before we go live.
Please join our Villagio Community Forum here. We would love to welcome you. Details of upcoming books are here.
This month in our Village
A passeggiata in the Sicilian town of Vizzini. Moment captured by Silvia Regos.
A special Italian tradition is that of the ‘passeggiata’. When I visited the town of Vizzini in Sicily my friends and I would often go for an afternoon passeggiata.
Listen to Nonna Concetta’s pearls of wisdom on the paradox between traditions and rituals and also moving with the times and making the most of it.
There is something so special about having a collection of baskets at home ready to go for shopping and leaving parcels on the front door steps of family and friends.
I believe in surrounding ourselves with as much beauty as possible, and one way to do this is to invest in beautiful pieces that serve everyday purposes.
Follow Villagio’s Instagram for weekly inspiration on how to build your village.
This month we are cooking Nonna’s Sicilian Pizza
Nonna’s Sicilian pizza. Moment capture by Sally Frawley.
When I was a young, I would also turn to my Nonna for her very basic, very good pizza dough. It’s perfect for a summer family meal at home, the beach or park.Get the recipe card and watch me make it.
Watch my mum and I make calzone from this dough too (it’s a funny one!).
A dynamic woman who has been a chef, journalist, food and wine consultant and a restaurant critic. She is a bestselling author of numerous books on Italy and is the author of two cookbooks on Italian food.
This month we are meeting Nellie Kerrison
Nellie Kerrison is an incredible woman with heart and soul who has a love and affinity for bringing people together around a shared table.
She has just launched her second tour to India later this year and her generous cooking club is a place where you can receive access to live cooking workshops, a deep treasure chest of recipes and weekly dinner menus.
Visit Nellie’s website hereand follow daily inspiration through Instagram.
Silvia and Sarah at Half Moon Bay in Melbourne learning the art of ocean swimming. Moment captured by open water swimming teacher Peter Hendriks from Swimwell.
