Ten happy things – March 2023

Each month I reflect on the month that’s been and write about ten things that sparked joy and that I was grateful for. These are my ‘ten happy things’ for March.

Lunch with Deana

At the beginning of the month I met up with my lovely friend Deana at Burgh House in Hampstead on a Friday for lunch. Burgh House is a small museum, which has a lovely cafe serving yummy food. Deana had just come back from a fabulous holiday in Antigua so it was great to hear all about it. After lunch we had a walk around Hampstead and popped into a few shops. It was a great way to spend a Friday afternoon.

Belated birthday lunch with Fee

Fee was in Australia – having the time of her life – when it was my birthday in February so we met in March for a belated birthday lunch. I chose to spend it at the Nomad Hotel in Covent Garden, which is an unbelievably beautiful restaurant. And Fee got us the best table!

I must say, the menu is pretty uninspiring, however the food was actually really good. We also had the loveliest server who surprised us with two complimentary glasses of English sparkling wine! It was great to hear all about Fee’s adventures in Oz and to celebrate my birthday in style.

The re-opening of The Ninth

We were so sad when The Ninth closed last year due to a fire (thankfully no one was hurt). It’s such a wonderful restaurant, serving incredible food. So we were delighted when they reopened – we visited the first weekend! Not only was the food exceptional, as always, we also got to chat with chef and patron Jun Tanaka, who was super lovely.

Keeping up my Italian study

I’ve now been learning Italian with Duolingo for over two months! I’m proud of myself for sticking with it and making the effort each day to learn new words and phrases. My vocabulary is definitely improving!

Delicious Thai with Genevieve

Genevieve and I grew up together in South Africa, although she moved to the UK quite a few years before I did. We reconnected a few years ago and meet up from time to time to catch up and, usually, to eat good food! We met up in Camden and went to the new food hall by the canal for lunch. There were so many tempting food stalls to choose from but we both opted for South East Asian restaurant Ekachai. Genevieve had the tofu Pad Thai and I had the seafood Nasi Goreng. Mine was so delicious, I’m still thinking about it weeks later! I was also impressed that they had perfectly chilled small bottles of Prosecco.

After lunch we had a wander around Camden market and went in search of this amazing mural of Amy Winehouse, which is behind the Hawley Arms pub. Isn’t it so beautiful?

As the weather was ok (ie, not raining!), we had a walk along the canal to King’s Cross and stopped in at the Wildlife Trust cafe to have a drink. We then walked back to Camden to get our train home. It was such a lovely afternoon!

Flowers that remind me of home

One of the best things about Mother’s Day is treating myself to half price flowers the next day! This year M&S had a bouquet with flowers from the Cape, so of course it really reminded me of home. They lasted ages too.

Dinner with the girls

It’s always such a treat having dinner and a catch up with Nadia, Cath and Jennie. We chose Brother Marcus in Borough Yards. I really enjoyed the food, however the service was a bit slow. We opted to share lots of dishes, which are all Eastern Mediterranean. They also had an amazing baklava dessert. It was a really fun evening with the girls.

Great new client

This month I have started working with a new charity client, which I’m very excited about as it involves some very interesting copywriting work!

Won a competition

I entered a competition on Instagram, which was to win a meal for two at South African restaurant High Timber, a Red Letter Days hotel voucher and three bottles of wine and I won! I am beyond delighted as I’ve been wanting to go to High Timber for ages – their steak looks amazing – and now I have no excuse. Looking forward to a hotel stay too and of course, drinking the wine!

AIRE with Shelley

To celebrate both our birthdays, my friend Shelley and I spent a wonderful couple of hours at AIRE Ancient Baths. I’ve been a few times but this was Shelley’s first time – and probably not her last! It is just so unbelievably relaxing. After the spa we had lunch around the corner at Smith & Wollensky, which was great. Absolutely loved the decor!

So that was my March. How did your month go? What moments made you happy and brought you joy? Let me know in the comments.