(The Year is at the Spring, Lawrence Alma-Tadema)

So it’s March. Sigh. All winter gaiety over – not quite spring (opposite, of course, for our Southern Hemisphere friends).

A time of ‘not yet’, ‘almost,’ ‘waiting and ‘in a little bit.’ Too early to plan summer vacation – too early to get into the garden. Planting a few seeds in mini-pots is fine and all, but not exactly heart-thrilling,

So you might as well embrace the suck. Etiquette central is always an advocate of embracing the suck. Get stuck into the time you are in. March means no sudden moves. Do not cut your hair. Do not embark on wild decoration schemes. Easy does it. No use wishing for August’s blue lakes, puffy clouds, ice-cream and the thwacks of screen doors closing and flip-flops flapping.

For example, the movie Dog. A perfect March movie. Watch the preview and sniffle. We know the plot arc – we know what will happen. No surprises. It’s not a French movie so we are safe. The dog is not going to be killed by a flying baguette. Channing is not going to sit in an expensive chair, smoke cigarettes, drink wine and talk about books we have not read. A little sadness, a little comedy, Channing will be shirtless in at least one scene and the dog will do a few cute things like roll-over. That’s as much as we can take in March.

Darling, you can, of course, manifest a little. But only a little. Manifesting should be done with the same spirit as making desserts – you only need to please yourself and no more than 42.

We do not approve of “The Secret” – utter tosh – but sometimes making a mood board can help get you through a weekend as there is something very soothing about cutting up magazines/ fussing with images on a computer to create a mosaic of colors and scenes.

There is no one pattern or right way to go about creating a ‘vision board’ and a pox on all that ‘if I have only positive thoughts, I can manifest what I want’ nonsense. It’s March – play around with pretty pictures while you wait for your college acceptance or your job interview or to hear back from the publisher. Just remember that it’s your skills plus 3298642 other variables which will determine what happens, not the sincerity of your wishes (nota bene – Linus in the Pumpkin Patch).

Yet, perhaps you need a little boost, a little something to help you along. Well, as you know darling, I am all in on scents [Rigaud is the air-born nectar of the Gods] and to survive March “whatever gets you thru the night, it’s all right” – so if you need a little motivation, Darling,

Ideas for when you have other things to spend your money on:

• Airwick Botanica
• Glade
• Yankee Candle
• Bath and Body
• Chesapeake Bay
• IKEA
• H & M
• M & S

Slightly more chi-chic ideas:

• Paddywax
• Mrs Meyers
• Nest
• New Moon Beginnings

Tres chi-chi ideas:

• Harlem Candle Co.
• KarmaLit
• Otherland
• Ani + Co.
• Skandinavisk

Homey:

• Bluecorn Beeswax
• Greentree Home

Money to burn:

• Cire Trudon
• Seda France
• Diptyque
• Lafco
• Jo Malone
• F & M