10 ways to make October Outstanding

Something about October makes me very, very happy. It has a lot to do with the fact that I’m one of those pumpkin fiends who goes crazy at the first sight of a can at Target, and even more to do with the fact that I LOVE Halloween- it’s always been one of my favorite holidays. In my 27 years of life, I haven’t gotten too crazy creative with Halloween costumes -I bow my head at the greatness that is Heidi Klum- but I am so excited for Liv’s first Halloween, and our first as a family since the Pilot is usually deployed at this time.

Here are some of the other things I love about October:

-Football games 

-Hoodies!

-Fall produce

-Pumpkin picking, carving, eating

-The Pilot’s birthday

-The treat-sized candies that seem to show up everywhere (mini Reese’s? Yes, please), candy apples, popcorn balls, rice crispy treats

-Crispy jeans (and actually getting to wear them)

-Nightmare Before Christmas

Source

-The chill in the air that finally appears around Halloween – it will be a welcomed change after the 96* day we had yesterday!

And here are some ways to make October even more awesome than it already is:

1) Host a creepy movie night (and if you’re like me and hate scary movies, you can watch Nightmare Before Christmas or totally skip out for The Holiday instead.. Jude Law… mmm hmmm…) and serve appetizers and cocktails. Some of my favorites: pumpkin soup (even more amazing in pumpkin bowls, but slightly more labor intensive), fall salad, apple pear ginger saketinis, apples with caramel dip, etc. 

2) Pick out your hoodie/jacket/coat love for the next few months. Every year, I have the warm weather staple that I enjoy all season. I already picked up a zip-up that I love.. it’s yellow, and there will probably be 1400 pictures of me on here wearing it from now on 😉

3) Lend a hand to a family member, friend or organization you support. When Liv was first born, it was harder for me to dedicate time to organizations I believe in. Now that we’ve found our groove (I found my groove, rather), it’s a lot more feasible for me to do extra things when I can. The point is to remember that even if it’s something small, every little bit adds up. You never know when a small action will make a huge impact for someone else.

4) Choose a goal that SCARES you. It can be personal, health-related, career-related, whatever- something that makes you shake in your boots when you think about it. Write down an action plan of how you’re going to accomplish the goal and another thing: don’t tell anyone about it. I just found out about this, but apparently when you tell others about a huge goal, you’re less likely to take the actions to achieve it. By talking about it, you somehow get a small amount of satisfaction and trick your body into thinking you’ve already accomplished it. So, write it down, keep it in your mind, and go after it.

5) Drink more water! As the weather cools down, it’s more challenging for me to remember to drink enough water. One of my favorite tips: put 8-10 little berries, chocolate chips, almonds, whatever you like, in a small dish, and every time you have a glass of water, eat one. It’s a great way to remind yourself to drink sufficient H2O.

6) Carve pumpkins and eat the seeds. I’ll never forget the “pumpkin party” we threw last year- we carved our pumpkins while listening to Halloween music and had a random food assortment (apple pie, pumpkin seeds, cider, corn off the grill) and it was fantastic. I can’t wait to do it again this year.

7) Make a trip to go pick fresh produce. Check out local farms in your area to see if you’re able to pick your own produce. We had the opportunity to go to Roberts Farm in Valdosta fairly often, and I loved being able to feed the chickens (and say thank you for the beautiful eggs), and get a huge basket of produce. We’re looking to make a trip to a local farm in the next couple of weeks.

8) Make clementines even more exciting. 

 

9) Rock something orange! It’s one of the colors I tend to stay away from, until I was feeling brave and got neon orange sneaks. Tend to go with the conservative side? Try orange nails.

10) Do something for you. Be lazy one afternoon and read a book, even when your to-do list is screaming at you, book a massage or spa treatment, enjoy a new fitness class, call up a friend for a friend date, see a movie- just do something that you’ve been putting off because you “need” to be doing other things instead.

So how are you going to make it an amazing month? What’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?? Feel free to link away 🙂
I’ll see ya later with the October workout- it’s a sweaty one! Don’t forget to check out the October workout calendar, too.

xoxo

Gina