February is, generally, my least favourite chapter of the year. It might be the shortest month, but it’s full of difficult anniversaries. This year marked a decade without my Dad, and it’s been so grey all month that I often felt like I was drowning. And then a day would come along where the sky looked like a watercolour painting, the sun burst out from behind the clouds and the grass was crunchy with frost underfoot and suddenly everything seemed ok again, even if only momentarily.
I tend to try and keep myself as busy as possible and seek out glimmers at every opportunity throughout February. Fortunately, this year I’ve been able to do both.
Here are all the little things I’ve been loving lately in February…
READ
Apparently it’s been pink-paperback-cover kind of a month…
Heart Bones: by Colleen Hoover. Another easy-to-read novel from this author that I didn’t need to think about too hard. I finished it in about five days and it was the fictional antidote I needed to last month‘s memoirs. It covered tough topics, just like her other books do, but it’s definitely made more palatable because of the ‘spicy’ (as my 18yo would call it) content interspersed in between those sections.
A Curse For True Love: by Stephanie Garber. I felt the need to escape the real world entirely and disappear into a fantasy world for a while. This is the third book in a trilogy (I read the others last year, or maybe even back in 2023?). It was… ok, and easy to dip in and out of. I mostly read it because I wanted to complete the series rather than because I was particularly invested in the characters or the storyline. I preferred the first two books in the set and didn’t feel much of a connection to this one at all, but that could easily be because of my headspace at the time of reading it rather than the book itself.
Hello Beautiful: by Ann Napolitano. I’ve read a previous novel of her’s several years ago – ‘Dear Edward’ – and really enjoyed it. ‘Hello Beautiful’ has been on my list for quite a while now, and I’ve been excited to get started with it. I’m currently only a few chapters in, and I’m most definitely intrigued so far. I like the writing style – it’s very matter-of-fact in it’s delivery, and there isn’t lots of suspense or build-up. It feels very much like a narrative, but there are subtle nuances in there that really hit you hard in the emotions at certain points. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective, and I really enjoy books like that – it gives a totally different viewpoint on the storyline. I’ve no idea what’s going to happen in it or what the conclusion will be – it feels unpredictable and I have a feeling it might be quietly devastating. You’ll have to read next month’s Little Loves post to find out what I thought of it!
‘Heart Bones’ by Colleen Hoover; ‘A Curse For True Love’ by Stephanie Garber; and ‘Hello Beautiful’ by Ann Napolitano
WATCHED
Colour & Light show: Ella and I spent a couple of days in York again this month (more about that later) and we were thrilled to discover that the Colour And Light Show happened to be on whilst we were there. After eating dinner on our first night in the city, we made our way over to York Minster Cathedral and watched the ten minute projection spectacle from start to finish. Set to music, with the cathedral bells ringing out loudly in the background, it was a visually stunning piece of storytelling. The peacock feathers and the fox were my favourite parts.
The ‘Colour & Light’ show at York Minster Cathedral was spectacular!
HEARD
Variety: My music choices have been all over the place recently. I’m very into a few of Teddy Swims’ songs at the moment, plus I’m still enjoying Joshua Radin’s new album ‘One Day Home’ – ‘I Believe I’m Falling’ and ‘Same Star’ are my favourites. A colleague introduced me to the beautifully raw voice of Noah Gunderson (listen to ‘Day Is Gone’ and ‘First Defeat’ if you want songs that’ll give you goosebumps). Plus I’ve been adding in a bit of Gracie Abrams ready for next month when I take Ella to see her perform in Manchester.
MADE
Travel plans: I decided that in order to counteract the February-ness of February, I needed something to look forward to. A trip abroad (either solo or as a family) is looking unlikely this year, so instead I made plans for a UK-based mini break for the girls and I, utilising a well-timed inset day in late June. We’re not going anywhere exotic, but it’s somewhere new-to-us and I’m excited to go exploring. The planning and research stage (which I love doing just as much as the trip itself) is already in progress…
WORE
An eclectic mix: Some days have been frosty and freezing and multi-layered. Others have definitely been warm enough to take off my coat. I can’t wait for properly warm weather to arrive.
AND FINALLY…
Trip to York: As I mentioned earlier, Ella and I travelled up to York for a couple of days during half term in order to attend an offer-holder visit day for uni. We travelled in first class seats on the trains on our way there (I’d managed to snag some bargain seats in the Trainline sale), and we felt very fancy, especially when we had the entire carriage to ourselves for the final leg of the journey.
We managed to squeeze quite a lot into the day and a half we had in the city. As well as the uni-related things we needed to do, we also wandered around St Mary’s Abbey in Museum Gardens (which was astonishing!); discovered an anime gallery/shop/cafe that Ella loved; found Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma Gate (the shortest street in York); watched the Colour and Light show at York Minster; went out for dinner; and I managed to explore a different section of the City Walls too. It really is a beautiful city and it’s good to see Ella feeling so comfortable there.
Exploring St. Mary’s Abbey in the Museum Gardens in central York
Trip to London: Two days later I headed in the opposite direction – this time with Mimi. We had a day out in London together as she needed to take some photographs of some very specific things for her A Level Art project and London was the best place to get them.
We spent a little time at the Imperial War Museum, which was awesome. Then we did a walking tour (which I’d mapped out and put together in advance) of various statues, monuments and memorials of numerous notable war-related people from around the globe. Mimi also managed to make friends with an inquisitive squirrel whom she named Teddy Roosevelt. We had a really good day together, and I loved getting to spend some proper 1-1 time with her because it doesn’t happen often enough.
Dad’s anniversaries: His death, his birthday and his funeral all happened within the space of three weeks. The anniversaries of each of them feel different every year – sometimes I’m fine, other years I’m a mess. This year I was mostly in the middle. I can’t quite believe it’s been ten whole years. I often wonder what he’d think of the girls if he knew them as they are now. I marked the day by buying a bunch of daffodils as I always do – they were his favourite.
Daffodils for my Dad
And that’s Chapter two done and dusted. Spring is on it’s way; March has a couple of exciting things lined up music-wise; Lola will be off on an adventure with school, and both Ella and Mimi have yet more exams (Mocks for Ella before her actual A levels in May) so it’s going to be quite full-on.
I hope that you found plenty of little things to love throughout February and that the promise of lighter evenings in March gives you something to look forward to.
With love,
Chloe x
