IT’S OCTOBER! Ok, well it’s almost the end of October. You may have noticed that I decided to forgo my monthly wrap up this month. There are aspects of the month that I still plan to discuss in separate posts, but one of my favorite things to come out of my September Bucket List was that I created a piece of art for my sister. She was completely surprised (and of course there were tears involved) and I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. In all, I completed 6 out of 8 items on my September Bucket List. The 2 items that I didn’t get to last month (decluttering and donating old clothes) I was able to complete at the beginning of October!

This month has been crazy for sure, but here is how I have been attempting to find balance in October:

Apple Picking

Last year was the first time that my family and I went apple picking. It was a fun fall experience and I am hoping to repeat it with a friend or two this year!

All of the Farms!

There are a thousand things to love about Fall, but my favorite Fall activity is going to farms! I mentioned one of my favorite farms in my 2017 Fall Favorites: Farms & Orchards post, but I want to add a new farm to the list.

Visit a Haunted House

Getting a little bit into the Halloween spirit with this bucket list item! My brother mentioned that he wanted to try his first haunted house this year, and I thought that it was a great idea. Fun fact, I actually got to volunteer as a scarer during Halloween Haunt at Kings Dominion one year. It was so fun to get all dressed up for the evening (even though it was FREEZING).

Scary Movie Marathon

Another Halloween inspired item. One of my favorite past times in high school was going to my friend’s house, loading up on junk food, and watching all of the terrible scary movies that Netflix had available. I can’t remember the last time I sat down to watch a scary movie, so why not watch a ton in a row?

Gratitude Journal

My life gurus, aka Rachel and Dave Hollis, launched their Last 90 Days challenge at the beginning of the month! I decided to join them with the intention of finishing out the year with as much intention as we tend to start the year. The rules are simple and entail completing the “5 to thrive”every day. I discussed the challenge in my Instagram live last week (my first live!) and I will be giving updates. One of the “5 to thrive” is to write 10 things that you are thankful for throughout the course of a day. I have been wanting to start a gratitude journal for a while, and I am already observing how it impacts my outlook on life.

No Candy or Soda

Another aspect of the challenge is to give up a food group for 30 days. I chose to give up candy and soda. When I told my bestie this, her immediate reaction was “ON HALLOWEEN? THAT’S INSANE.” She is not wrong. I have never been offered candy more or craved it more in my life than now that I have denounced it.

Soda is always something that I am working on. It’s a slippery slope for me. I know that I can live without it, but as soon as I have just one, I want it ALL THE TIME. The idea with this aspect of the challenge is to break the habit.

Increase Water Consumption

I NEVER drink enough water. Like literally I would go through an entire day barely making it through a single medium S’well bottle. I was already planning on adding this to my list, but the Last 90 Days challenge gave me a more tangible goal to meet every day. For the challenge, one has to take their weight and divide it in half to find out how many ounces of water they must drink daily. Basically, if you weigh 100 pounds, you would have to consume 50 oz of water. This is going to be a tough one, friends.

New Pumpkin Recipes

Who doesn’t need a little more pumpkin in their life around this time of year? I have already whipped up a pumpkin dish from last year’s 2017 Fall Favorites: Food post, but I thought it would be fun to explore new recipes as well!

My favorite month is almost over, but hopefully you are keeping in mind ways to find balance in October!

♥ Cierra