It’s hard to believe that we are already through the first quarter of the year. March has been a nice month but passed far too quickly in my opinion. I usually make notes in my planner during the month to aid me when writing these round-ups, in March I slacked on this a little so I know I’m missing loads of things.

Adventures

March wasn’t a great month for getting outside and having adventures, between the kids being poorly and Chris working we just couldn’t find the time. We did however have a few nice experiences.

Daisy and I started the month of March with an overnight stay at Llyndir Hall in Wrexham with Red Letter Days for Mother’s Day. We had a lovely time, the hotel was lovely and the gardens were stunning. It was an absolutely amazing way to start a new month.

I bought my eldest daughter Jess an afternoon tea experience for her 21st birthday last November. We finally got around to booking it and chose Hotel Gotham in Manchester. The afternoon tea was delicious, we had a glass of champagne with it too which made it that extra bit special.

I joined Daisy’s class on a school trip to Croxteth Park Farm, we had such a lovely day. There was such a wide variety of animals and the kids got to groom a pony, hold a lizard, go into a Meerkat pen while they were being fed, and lots more. I even got to hold a hoop for the hawk to fly through.

We also visited a local park where the kids got to scoot around and work off some more of their energy climbing and swinging.

Daisy and Jake got dressed up as their favorite bookish characters for World Book Day at school, they both loved taking part.

Chris and I spent the night at Chester St David’s Village Hotel, I won a competition to stay there on Facebook. We had such a nice time, the food was delicious and the room was lovely. It was really good to spend some time together and to have an uninterrupted lie-in on Sunday morning.

Reading

I’ve been on a bit of a thriller kick at the moment and have been treating myself to some new books. I started the month with Watching You by Lisa Jewell, this is the fourth book by her that I have read. She writes amazing thrillers and is fast becoming my favourite author. Watching You follows Joey who has moved back home with her new husband after working abroad for four years. She becomes obsessed with the man next door and finds herself watching him, but is someone watching her too ? There are lots of twists along the way, illicit affairs, hidden secrets and a murder. I loved this book and think it would make a brilliant holiday read.

Next up was Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough. I bought it after hearing it advertised on a crime podcast I listen to. It’s described as a gripping psychological thriller and I found it a tough read in places with sensitive subject matter. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away but I definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of thrillers.

Keeping on the theme of thrillers I read Now You See Her by Heidi Perks next. This was a fast paced thriller following the story of Harriett, an overprotective mother and her friend Charlotte who is looking after Harriet’s daughter Alice, when she goes missing. Although I loved this book I did find it uncomfortable in places as it deals with mental abuse and gas-lighting.

Just in time for the end of the month I’ve started reading one of my charity shop finds, Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan. I’m not very far into this book but I am hooked, the first chapter was like watching an episode of a crime drama on TV. A local girl has been missing for weeks when Margot, agony aunt for the local paper receives a chilling letter. The letter is from a girl kidnapped twenty years previously and sets Margot off on a journey to solve the puzzle and save someones life.

I’ve been reading the kids one of my all time favourite children’s stories, My Naughty Little Sister by Dorothy Edwards. They really enjoy these sweet little tales especially the ones that feature Bad Harry.

Watching

This month has been dominated by Black Sails on Amazon Prime, Chris and I watched it almost every evening and quickly got through all four seasons. We loved how it featured fictional as well as real life pirates, it was fast paced, full of action and just an all round fantastic show.

Other things I’ve watched include:

Cheat-ITV (predictable thriller with a weak ending)

The Bay-ITV ( still ongoing but I’m enjoying it so far, love that it’s set in Morecambe Bay)

Baptiste-BBC (really liked this, much better than it’s predecessor The Missing)

Velvet Buzzsaw-Netflix (very creepy film about haunted artwork, still deciding if I liked it or not)

I’m in a bit of a viewing slump at the moment, choosing to listen to podcasts and read instead of switching on the TV. Nothing is grabbing my attention at the moment.

Listening 

I’ve been listening to podcasts a lot this month, I have found the most amazing one that’s helping me drift off to sleep. The Nothing Much Happens Podcast is a series of gorgeous bedtime stories for grown ups. Written and read by Kathryn Nicolai, who has the most soothing gentle voice, the stories where nothing much happens send you off into a peaceful slumber. If you are having trouble sleeping definitely give them a listen.

The other two podcasts I have to listen to in the day or else they would give me nightmares. I’m working my way through the true crime podcasts, They Walk Among Us and Casefile. Both are really interesting but often difficult to listen to.

If you’ve enjoyed this post you might like February At The Websters 2019.

February Monthly Round-Up {2019}