October 2020 Highlights

I put together a post full of highlights at the end of each month. This practice is helpful when you feel like your little habits aren’t making a difference in your life. It’s an opportunity to gather up all of your goals and revel in how much you’ve accomplished by simply doing a little at a time. My monthly highlights almost always include a small roundup of books that I loved, a check-in on my planner spreads, a look at the stitching projects I’ve been working on, a video of my journaling pages, and a smattering of my favorite pictures from the month.

On the first Wednesday of the month, I will share this post with Ginny at Small Things for her Yarn Along link up. It’s a monthly gathering of readers and knitters who share their current projects. On the 15th, Anne Bogel at The Modern Mrs. Darcy will host a QuickLit link up. You can find hundreds of devoted readers sharing their new and notable books for the month. Please visit both of them to fill your TBRs and knitting bags!

Favorite Books This Month

October was a strange reading month for me. I finished 10 books, yet had a difficult time finding anything that I actually enjoyed! But these three were bright spots during a dark month.

A Circle of Quiet is the first book in L’Engle’s Crosswick Journals. It’s a lovely look into her theology of life and writing. So many quotes from this book went into my Zettelkasten system!

The Girl From Widow Hills is Megan Miranda’s latest effort. I don’t typically enjoy thrillers, but I always binge hers! Olivia seeks a new identity after being known as “the girl from Widow Hills” as a 6 years old. Back then, she was a sleepwalker who went missing. The search for her caught the attention of the world and she’s now trying to outrun her infamy. There were unexpected twists in this book that kept me reading!

Clap When You Land was my first book by Elizabeth Acevedo and I’m looking forward to more. Two half sisters – one in NYC and the other in the Dominican Republic – have no idea the other exists until their father dies unexpectedly. They both grapple with their grief and the fact that their father lived a double life. This was beautifully written and the audio version was beautifully performed. I highly recommend it!

As always, you can see my complete 2020 reading list here.

Traveler’s Notebook Spreads

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Emily P. Freeman recently said that “our daily decisions are actually making our lives” and I totally agree with her. This practice of documenting my day has been so helpful. Not only does it keep me grounded and focused on how I spend my time, it’s also a beautiful representation of my day. I’m an aesthetic loving Enneagram 4 who craves beauty. Looking at this notebook all day? It definitely ticks a lot of boxes for me!

Stitching

I didn’t do much knitting this month, but I did finish a single sock. No sign of the second sock anywhere yet – perhaps in November?

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I didn’t do much knitting because my stitching time was dominated by this project. I started cutting and handsewing this project in January 2014 and, friends, the end is in sight. I love looking at these progress shots next to each other – it’s only taken me a month to sew on over 375 background hexies (each corner is just over 125 hexies, plus the ones needed to fill in the top). Even if I slow down dramatically in November, I think I can at least finish filling in the right side and the bottom. And then I can use December to focus on the border. It’s coming along!

Morning Pages

It was another perfect month for morning pages in October. I journaled all 31 days. October 22 was a red letter day for me: my writing streak reached the 200 day mark! Each month I write about how the choice to wake up early each morning and write in my journal is a boon for my mental health and well-being. Friends, there’s been no downside to this for me. Yes, I’m tired, but I would be tired no matter what. And knowing that my alarm is set to go off at 4:15am gets me into bed at a decent hour each night – which brings along a whole host of other benefits. Getting up and writing morning pages each day, writing about everything that worries and upsets me, getting it out of my head and onto a page that I’m never going to read again, sets my day up for success. There’s no question about it.

Pictures from October

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October flew by and I’d already forgotten so many of the memories that I’m sharing here today, so I’m thrilled that I took the time to put together this post. I’m publishing this on Election Day — instead of scrolling news websites on my phone, I should scroll through my photos. Maybe that would be a helpful practice for you today, too?

Time for November and to focus on gratitude. There’s so much to think about!