October Favorites

First things first…Happy Halloween!!

I decided to carve a pineapple this year to mix things up, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. Plus, it only took like 5 minutes to do and required minimal effort, so I’d call that a win.

Does anyone else feel like Halloween happened awhile ago? I celebrated with friends this past weekend, so today is a pretty normal Wednesday for me.

I finally got rid of the sugary Halloween foods I had lying around, as well, which is a relief because it’s hard for me to say no to candy. Between sharing it with friends and leaving it at work yesterday (one of my tricks for staying healthy on Halloween), I’m feeling more open to eating more veggies again…which is good timing considering it’s just the start of the food-centric holiday season!

As October comes to a swift close, take a look at some of the randomness I’ve been loving.

October Favorites

Halloween Costume – It took me awhile to decide on a costume this year, but I ultimately went with Mary Poppins! My goal was to 1. Not have to slave over DIY-ing a costume. 2. Not have to buy much to do the minimal DIY work, and 3. Still end up with something semi-cute. My finger may still be healing from a hot glue burn I got as I was creating that bird umbrella two weeks ago, but I think the end result was worth the struggle.

Voter’s Edge for Ballot Research – Election Day is coming up (on Tuesday)! Although this is an exciting time, it’s always brought up stressful feelings for me because I never feel informed enough to vote for or against most things…until I do hours of research. When I first starting voting, I didn’t do nearly as much as I do now, and it made me really uncomfortable because, how can I cast my vote if I don’t actually know everything about what I’m voting for? A few years ago I discovered the website votersedge.org, and if you need to do some research for any or all people/measures/props on your ballot, I HIGHLY recommend checking this site out. It has a wealth of objective information about individual sections of your ballot as well as comparing against the opposition.

Plaid Button-Up Shirts – If it didn’t make me look like a lumberjack, I’d wear flannel/plaid button-up shirts every day. I have to hold myself back from buying more because I love them so much. This is one I bought in a moment of weakness recently; it’s from Charlotte Russe and is proooobably going to fall apart soon because it’s such cheap quality, but I really liked the colors so here we are.

Duvet Cover with Comforter – I’ve been wanting to get a new comforter for our bed for a few years now, and when I discovered this “Boho”-style duvet (on Amazon here, if you’re curious), I finally committed to a new style. (Don’t mind the wrinkles.) What I really wanted to share here, though, was the thick comforter I recently put inside the duvet. If it’s not too warm where you’re at, I highly recommend getting the fluffiest comforter you can find because, even if your mattress isn’t dream-worthy (get it?), I’ve found it makes a HUGE difference in how comfortable your bed is. SO GOOD.

Moneygrabber by Fitz & The Tantrums – I’ve been all about Fitz & The Tantrums lately, and this is one of the songs I’ve had on repeat. It’s upbeat enough to work well on a workout playlist as well, if you need some fresh ideas!

Adhesive Nosepads for Glasses – This might seem weird, but if you struggle anywhere near as much as I do with getting new glasses, especially plastic frames, you need to know that these things exist. I got new glasses recently that took me awhile to realize will never fit like I want them to, no matter how many times they get adjusted. My eye doctor actually put a pair of adhesive nosepads on my glasses, which helps me so much. However, due to my incredibly oily skin (TMI) and the fact I work out in my glasses (read: sweat), the adhesive wears off surprisingly fast. So I went on trusty ol’ Amazon and found a variety of options there. If you have a plastic nosepad area on your glasses, and they constantly are sliding down your nose, definitely try a pair of rubbery nosepads! While it doesn’t completely solve the problem, and they will need to be replaced eventually, it helps keep me sane.

Hand Knitted Blanket – I go through random periods of feeling super crafty, and during a couple weeks when I was feeling particularly motivated, I hand knitted a fluffy blanket! I actually did it twice, because using huge yarn for a tutorial I was following resulted in an awkwardly tiny blanket, so I unraveled the whole thing and started over with four-plus skeins of this massive yarn. I ended up using this tutorial if anyone’s curious. Except here were my changes: I started with about 10 ft. for my tail and made about 25 stitches (instead of 18). If you use the yarn I used (Bernat Blanket Big Stitch ‘n Win Yarn in Sandy Cream), I’d definitely recommend getting at least 4 skeins of yarn.

63 Days by Atlas Genius – Atlas Genius has so many good songs, and there’s a good chance you’ve heard some of them, possibly without realizing it was them. As I was exploring their discography on Spotify, I discovered this one that I really liked.

Reading Before Bed – If you like the idea of reading but have always struggled to actually motivate yourself to open a book on a regular basis, I’ve learned it’s all about making it a routine (unless you actually get hooked on books, but I very rarely do). I started reading before bed a few months ago, and while I definitely skip some nights, it’s been exciting to finish book after book and feel like I’m actually doing something good for my brain at the end of the day (whereas normally, I just watch TV to wind down until I go to bed, which I still do but just not for as long).

Banana Chips – Dried fruit has been my jam lately. It’s dangerous because there’s a lot of sugar concentrated in it, but I’ve been trying to reach for it instead of processed candy lately. I picked these banana chips up at Trader Joe’s when I was creating my Banana Split Trail Mix recipe, but it wasn’t until a few weeks after that I realized just how AMAZING they are. Crunchy…salty…sweet. Mmm.