March has been a stressful and difficult month for a multitude of reasons. And yet, in the midst of all the messy feelings and circumstances, there have been both big and little things to love, and they have been an important part of me being able to manage. The anchor I find in the unwavering beauty of a sunrise, the ability to escape to another time & place through the pages of a book, and the connection with other humans through the medium of music have been absolutely key in getting me through.
Here are all the little things I’ve been loving lately throughout March…
READ
Hello Beautiful: by Ann Napolitano. I started this at the end of February and it had me intrigued right from the very first page. It took me three weeks to finish it, using every stolen moment and snatched sliver of time I could find: in between clients; whilst waiting in the car on the afternoon school run; standing up in the kitchen at lunchtime; eating dinner solo… I couldn’t put it down.
It is, in some ways, an homage to Little Women. It spans the lifetimes of four sisters, from their childhood to all the way through to getting older – relationships, family bonds, tragedy, love, intimacy, grief, marriage, sisterhood, mental health, friendship, sexuality, motherhood and so much more. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective (I love those kinds of books) and I was deeply invested in all of them & genuinely cared for them. It’s both joyous and quietly devastating, and it offers the most honest depiction of depression I’ve ever come across in a fiction novel before. It’s exquisite. 10/10 recommend.
The Wild Other: by Clover Stroud. I needed a couple of days to recover from ‘Hello Beautiful’ before I picked up my next book to read. ‘The Wild Other’ is a memoir – interestingly, it’s the third one I’ve read this year and I have several more stacked in my to-be-read pile. It’s a deeply raw and honest account of the spiral the author enters into following her mother being in a life-changing horse riding accident. I’m just over halfway through the book so far, and currently journeying with her through her desperation to escape herself and all the events that followed. Her connection to horses has pulled me in – I used to ride as a young teen and still love horses now – along with her way with words, which tells her story so compellingly that it makes me want to pick it up to read a few more paragraphs at every opportunity.
‘The Wild Other’ – a memoir by Clover Stroud
WATCHED
Sunrises: I’ve always said that March and September are the best months of the year for sunrises and sunsets, and this month proved me right. The skies have been insanely beautiful these last four weeks, colours ranging from soft pastel watercolours all the way through to intensely saturated hues that don’t look real. It never ceases to amaze me that this happens every single day (even if we can’t see it sometimes because of clouds or the weather). These are a couple of my favourites:
I absolutely love the clouds in this sunrise – nature’s beauty will never, ever get old
A neon sunrise
HEARD
Gracie Abrams: Ella is a big fan of Gracie Abrams, so I was thrilled to be able to snag tickets to see her in concert as a surprise gift for Ella’s 18th birthday back in December. Thankfully she only had to wait three months for the date of the gig to roll around, otherwise I think she might have exploded with excitement. The venue for the concert was Manchester Co-Op Live – the UK’s largest entertainment arena, which has a capacity of 23,500 people. We’ve never been there before… it was HUGE (and very loud when that many people all scream collectively together).
The support act was Dora Jar, who was interesting and different (in a good way). She did a gorgeous version of Champagne Supernova, in honour of Oasis who are, of course, from Manchester.
I was very impressed with Gracie herself – she spent about half an hour mid-set interacting with fans crowded around the B-stage, taking selfies with them and listening to their stories as they gave her gifts. Her energy was electric and her voice was fantastic despite her having had to cancel two big shows earlier in the week due to ill health. She sounded exactly as she does when I hear her on the radio whilst I’m taking Lola to school in the mornings, and when she’s blasting out of the girl’s bedrooms on Spotify/Alexa. I only knew four of the twenty or so songs she played (‘Risk’, ‘Close To You’, ‘I Love You, I’m Sorry’, and ‘That’s So True’) – all of which were excellent. I also liked ‘Free Now’, which was new to me. Ella knew every single word of every single song and sang her heart out at the top of her voice – it was wonderful to see her so happy. A brilliant night full of memories made.
We stayed overnight at StayCity Aparthotel, right next to Manchester Piccadilly station. It was exactly what we needed in terms of space and location, and I would definitely choose to stay there again (in any of the cities they’re located).
Gracie Abrams on stage at Manchester Co-Op Live
Alec Benjamin: Just over a week later I headed in the opposite direction – to London this time – with Mimi and Lola, to see Alec Benjamin perform at the Royal Albert Hall. It’s one of my most favourite venues. None of the girls have been there before and both of them audibly gasped when we walked in and they saw how beautiful it is inside. It wasn’t sold out but there was a good crowd. He played some old songs (which I knew): ‘Water Fountain’; ‘Boy In The Bubble’; and ‘Let Me Down Slowly’ were all excellent. Intermingled were some new ones from his new album – I liked ’12 Notes’, ‘Sacrifice Tomorrow’, ‘In A Little’, ‘I Sent My Therapist To Therapy’, and ‘Different Kind Of Beautiful’. We all really enjoyed it, the girls had a brilliant time and we made some memories together.
Alex Benjamin performing at the Royal Albert Hall
MADE
Pancakes: We made pancakes two days early due to other things happening on actual Pancake Day (Lola was heading off on a school trip to Paris and Mimi had a netball match that evening). Over the years we’ve tried crepes, fluffy American pancakes and various different flavours, but this year we stayed traditional and I used my Mum’s recipe, which never fails. They were a hit, as always.
WORE
No coat(!): We had a week of absolutely GLORIOUS weather at the start of the month – cloudless blue skies, golden light and 17° temperatures – and it made me so happy that no coat was required for a few days. It’s amazing what a glimmer of sunshine can do.
AND FINALLY…
Paris: Lola had a four-day school trip to Paris with her French class at the start of March. She’s been looking forward to it for over a year and the excitement in the last few days leading up to it bubbled over into everything. There was some nervousness too of course – she’d never been abroad without us before, and had never even been away for longer than two nights. She took it in her stride though.
They travelled by coach all the way down to the south coast, then caught the ferry over to France, before driving the rest of the way to their accommodation. This involved me dropping her off at school at half past midnight, ready for them to depart at 1am. They arrived at their chateau at 3pm (UK time) having spent a total of 14 hours travelling.
They had two full days in Paris itself (with the intention of practising their French, although I’m not sure how much actually got spoken!) and she sent little updates on WhatsApp to us each day. The first day was to explore the city, so they went up the Eiffel Tower, had a riverboat cruise on the Seine, and a coach tour of all the main sights. The second day was spent at Disneyland Paris! Lola has been desperate to go back to Walt Disney World in Florida ever since we holidayed there in 2017, so whilst this wasn’t quite the same, she absolutely loved it. They got there for when the park opened and were there all day until the very final fireworks show of the night. There were evening activities at the chateau they were staying in as well.
The return journey – another whole day – was via the Eurotunnel rather than the ferry, and she needed to be picked up from school at 11pm. It really was a full-on, non-stop trip. I loved hearing her tell me all about it properly once she was home – she showed me all the photos she’d taken, and told me stories about what she and her friends got up to. I’ve not seen her lit up like that for a while – it was really good to see. She had an absolutely brilliant time and made lots of memories that I hope will stay with her forever.
Lola at Disneyland Paris!
All of a sudden Chapter three of 2025 is closed and we’re now a quarter of the way through the year, which is crazy. It’s officially Spring (whether you abide by the calendar year, the seasonal year, or the clocks springing forwards) and we’re moving rapidly towards exam season.
I hope that you found plenty of little things to love throughout March and that you’ve got lots to look forward to in April.
With love,
Chloe x
