a march vibe check
a dose of joy, interestingness and inspiration to get you through the month.
vibe check: noun | an act of finding out how someone is feeling or how they make you feel, or what the mood in a particular place or situation is.
Welcome to The Vibe Check – a dose of joy, interestingness and inspiration to get you through the month featuring a (ever-changing) combination of things to read, things to listen to, things to laugh at, things to buy, things I’ve saved over the last month and more.
Hiya. How are things and how are you?
We have a fair few new faces (try saying that five times after five wines) around here, so I just wanted to say a big hello and an even bigger thank you to everyone who reads these words and supports my writing. After 10 years of hiding behind the brands, it still feels so daunting to step out and say, ‘Ok this is my voice, actually! These are things that I think, actually!’ – so your support means a lot.
I’m dropping a little 25% off forever discount here, for those who might want to go one step further in their support and become a paid subscriber. It works out as £37.50 a year, or £3.15 a month. This is 48% cheaper than the usual £50 a year, or £6 a month, and means I can spend more time making this newsletter even better, and less time on other work. (I’m pretty sure you can use an L&D budget at work for Substack subscriptions, btw.)
As always, tell me what you’ve loved in the last month, what you’re into going into the next and how you’re doing right now in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
SNAPSHOT
Well, what a speedy little month that was. Four neat little weeks to round off the long schlep of winter and to say ta-ra to dark nights that start at 4pm. And as of this week, the blue sky’s back, the daffodils are showing off their yellow outfits and my brain is back in business. Also, it was St David’s Day on Sunday, which means you have to be extra nice to the Welsh people in your life for the rest of the month (especially while the Six Nations is on, ok?).
February felt like a bit of a squeeze, though. I felt like I was constantly playing catch up – both with my ever-growing work to-do list but also physically catching up with so many friends, family and work connections who all seemed ready to defrost after a long January. I’ve had sleepovers with friends. Dinners with friends. Coffee with writers. Lunch with fellow creatives. I spent Valentine’s Day on a Jack the Ripper walking tour with my husband. I went to Iceland for five days. I saw Wuthering Heights. I saw the Blondie exhibition at the Barbican. I went to two gigs. I went to see stand-up. I went to the same restaurant twice.
It was all very, very busy. But it was good busy. I got things done but I had my fun. And actually, I feel quite stunned at just how much I managed to do in just 28 days. This time last year, working in a full-time job that frequently extended my 9-5 into the 5-9 (and beyond), I would never have thought I’d have a month that saw me live so much of my life outside of work – while still doing everything I actually needed to do, too.
Madness. Who’d have thought it? (Except for everyone who told me that it would happen eventually.)
Anyway, now onto the good stuff. Scroll down for this month’s Vibe Check recommendations, here to deliver a dose of joy, interestingness and inspiration to get you through the month.
Enjoy!
IN THIS MONTH
‘Half caff’ oat flat whites. Unbelievably embarrassing to order, and often a source of stress for those wielding the coffee machines, but I have discovered that my brain and body cannot cope with a double shot of caffeine. For a few weeks I tried asking for a ‘single shot oat flat white please, sorry’ but it’s just weak and horrible. But then someone in my Instagram DMs told me about one shot caff, one shot decaf and it’s changed the game. No more rushing anxiety. No more heart palpitations. No more throwing up outside the toilet on the train after drinking one too fast (this really happened a few weeks ago). I would recommend.
OUT THIS MONTH
Using hats to get away with dark roots and four days’ worth of dry shampoo.
THINKING
About freestyle ski gold medalist Eileen Gu’s incredible response to the question, ‘Do you think before you speak? Because you answer questions so quickly and so comprehensively…’ in which she talked about the value of being an introspective person who spends a lot of time in her own mind.
FEELING
Like Peanut’s movement to finally bring the concept of ‘matrescence’ into global consciousness could not have come at a better time, as we see so many women become mothers without society’s support – and so many men continue to make political decisions that actively harm them. Read about the campaign and sign the petition here.
LISTENING
My daily soundtrack of ‘Absolute Radio playing from another room in the flat’ is still ongoing, but my roadtrip around Iceland with my husband involved a game of ‘pick-a-song-each-to-distract-us-from-the-extremely-dangerous-blizzard-we’re-somehow-still-driving-through’, which brought back some throwbacks like Fade Into You by Mazzy Star, Sewn by The Feeling, Run by Stephen Fretwell and Just Like Heaven by The Cure (my favourite song of all time).
Tom Misch’s new album is out on March 27th, but a few singles have dropped already. I love Red Moon and Slow Tonight and foresee this album being a big writing soundtrack for me this year. I’m also still completely infatuated with Raye, and can’t get over her voice in Nightingale Lane. And I’m very much loving Cat Burns’ How To Be Human, too.
In podcasts, I loved the Debbie Harry episode of Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud, and the Helena Bonham Carter one, too. The podcast is an exploration of the connection between fashion and identity and starts off being about the things we wear, and ends up being about the things we are and the things we feel. It’s great.
READING
At the start of the year, I did a big roundup of everything I plan to read in 2026. As predicted, I immediately went off-piste and read other things instead. This month, I read Four Stars: A Life. Reviewed by Joel Golby (a very funny memoir that’s actually just a series of reviews on all the small and big aspects of life), Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham (a re-read in anticipation of something very exciting coming up) and Bread Alone by Kate Pasola (an brilliant essay collection from working class writers, arguing for reinclusion).
I also adored this deeply honest interview with Tom Misch on the burnout he experienced after the scale of his music career became overwhelming, which led him to work as a surfing instructor, a gardener and a barista over the last three years. And this piece on how adjustable waistbands are the way forward to stop micromanaging our bodies.
WATCHING
I saw Wuthering Heights in the cinema with two friends and we enjoyed it! It wasn’t as scandalous as we’d all been led to believe, but it was fun and sexy and glamorous and it made me want to rewatch Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, which I did a few days later at home. Apparently creating my own venn diagram of Sofia Coppola, Jacob Elordi and fucked up relationships, I also watched Priscilla, reigniting my rage (which never really goes out) for the things we let powerful men get away with.
Elsewhere on smaller screens, I rewatched Such Brave Girls and my stomach hurt from laughing. I also started rewatching Schitt’s Creek again to be reunited with Catherine O’Hara. I’m also halfway through Love Story: John F Kennedy Jr & Carolyn Bessette and loving it. And I’m also finally getting stuck into Tim Robinson’s The Chair Company, which is hilarious and insane.
BUYING
Everyone seems to have stopped throwing it back to 2016 with all their photo dumps on Instagram now, but I get to relive who I was that year every day, thanks to the return of Urban Decay’s Naked eyeshadow palette. 10 years after it originally launched, and got millennial women through their twenties, Urban Decay have brought the iconic product back. They sent me a brand new palette, and I sent back a snap of the OG one that I still have, and will probably still be using until I die. And although I’m sad I can’t wear this eyeshadow to Oceana anymore, I’m glad that some products still endure and remain relevant and loved!
EATING
The majority of my family spent St David’s Day making Welsh cakes to various levels of success. We used my gran’s recipe and in the absence of a bakestone (the traditional flat cooking plate used in Wales for Welsh cakes, pikelets and pancakes), I used the mini griddle pan from Our Place, which is an actual gamechanger and probably my favourite kitchen item right now.
Outside of my tiny kitchen, London-based culinary endeavours included going to The Marksman in Hackney for a big, excellent lunch (a divine chicken pie for two), Bara Café in Peckham for all things Welsh and delicious on bread, Leigh’s in De Beauvoir for coffee, sandwiches and flowers, Delaterra for tapas (the crispy aubergines were incredible) and The Old Ship in Richmond for an epic Sunday roast. I also went to Santoré on Exmouth Market not once, but twice (their aubergine parmigiana is elite).
Aaaand outside of London, I popped to West (best) Wales and went to my favourite ever pub Wiseman’s Bridge Inn for ham, egg and chips (call me a child if you want, but you can’t beat it). Maybe I’m biased because they let me get married on their beach two years ago, but who cares.
WEARING
The only bad thing about spring finally deciding to have sprung is that I need to take my Clòimh bonnet off. All their wool accessories are amazing, merging the heritage of Scottish wool with modern aesthetics and styles. And also, my ears have never been warmer – even in Iceland.
DOING
I’ve very much been taking advantage of living in London this month. There’s been so much interestingness going on. My husband and I spent Valentine’s Day on a Jack The Ripper walking tour, which was excellent. It focused on the women, rather than glorifying the murderer, and it was so impactful that I cried at the end. I also went to Amy Charlotte Kean’s brilliant, brilliant, brilliant ‘Unlikeable Women’ Summit, with magnificent talks from Fearne Cotton, Charlie Craggs, Oloni, Dr Kate Lister, Marina Purkiss and Dr Pragya Agarwal. I saw the band Whitney play at Hackney Church. I went to the Barbican to see the Blondie on Camera 1978 exhibition. I saw Alexandra Haddow’s standup at The Bill Murray in Angel. And I went to a few events at London Fashion Week, including the launch of a new collection from Cambrensis, a Welsh heritage menswear brand.
GOING
My husband and I spent five days in Iceland and it was epic. We saw whales and seals, made our faces soft at the Blue Lagoon, saw the Northern Lights, drove the Golden Circle, gaped at waterfalls, made friends with horses, battled through a blizzard, stomped through snow, traipsed through volcanic sand, stared at glaciers, saw icebergs on Diamond Beach, walked into a frozen volcano and generally marvelled at fellow tourists who don’t seem to be aware of just how scary the sea can be, who then got taken out by sneaker waves. Insane.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
That’s all for now. See you next month!
Em
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