SOCIAL MEDIA

9.03.2016

New Month // September Goals

sept
And just like that, here we are yet again, with a new month ahead of us... August was a pretty wonderful month over here and I am actually kind of sad to see it go. It was the first full month spent in my new home, my very first internship wrapped up, we went on a spectacular vacation, and school started back up. So many things!

September, though, will be a good one too I think! I have always loved September and the beginning of fall. It is kind of nice to get back into the routine of school and spend the weekends relaxing or doing fun things. It really is quite a lovely time of year!

Before we totally jump into September, lets review August's goals...
+ Get unpacked and settled in at my new apartment
Check! There are still some things I need to organize, but I am feeling pretty settled at this point! We have just about all the furniture we need (we would maybe like to just find a coffee table eventually) and the whole place is feeling pretty home-y. It makes me so happy! Next, I'd just like to hang some things and add finishing touches.

+ Celebrate Dai's birthday and our 5 year anniversary
We definitely did this! August was a lovely, celebration filled month. On Dai's birthday, I made him dinner and a cake and we had a quiet evening at my house, watching MasterChef and going to the jacuzzi.  We also spent the next day in Santa Cruz at the boardwalk, which was lots of fun. Our anniversary was on a Monday, so we both had to work, but Dai sent me flowers at work (so sweet!) and we went to dinner at a nice restaurant that evening. To top it all off, to celebrate our anniversary, Dai planned a surprise trip to Hawaii!! So, our anniversary clearly was amazing :)

+ Start school
Done! School started a week ago, but thankfully things haven't gotten too busy yet and I actually really like the classes I'm taking, so I am hoping it will be a great semester! The only thing that was kind of strange was having my last first day of school ever (unless I go to grad school, but currently no plans...) and to realize that next fall, for the first time in 18 years, I won't be starting a new school year. Life is weird, guys!

+ Spend time with Dai
I'm pretty sure you can already tell I spent lots of time with Dai considering we went on vacation! This was an easy goal, but since it felt like we hadn't spent much quality time together in July, I wanted to be more intentional about this. It was a great month for us!

+ Try out the gym at my new place
Ok, so I'm sorry to say that I didn't do this... I know, I know, so bad! This goal (conveniently) slipped my mind... Definitely going to keep this goal in mind for September!

+ Have a get together/party with friends
Success! This past weekend we had a house warming party, which was really fun! A couple weeks ago I also had some friends over to swim and have a little BBQ by the pool, so I would say this goal went well :)

+ Spend some time alone doing things I want to do
Yes! I had two full weekdays completely off from work before we went on vacation, so I spent those doing things I wanted, like building a jewelry hanger, going to the pool, and simply relaxing. I didn't do everything I had wanted to, but I feel alright about it.

+ Give oil pulling a try
I will admit, I did try oil pulling, but only twice! I didn't hate it, though it takes a little time to get used to the feeling of the oil in your mouth. I did it for a couple days, but then I went on vacation and kind of forgot about it! I'd definitely like to give it another shot!

Goals for September...
+ Book a photo session with a client
For quite a while I have been itching to shoot some more photo sessions, so lately I have been working hard to seek out those opportunities. I have been looking a ton on Craigslist for people who need portraits and events shot (even a couple weddings!) or photographers seeking a second shooter/assistant, and have been sending out many emails. I'm hoping I can at least get something solid on my calendar this month!

+ Read two books
Last month I was successful at finishing two books and got into a really nice routine of reading in bed before I went to sleep, so I'd like to continue that and read two more in September. I have quite a few books on my shelf that I haven't read and it would be nice to get through them all!

+ Work on my hand lettering skills
I have admired hand lettering for such a long time and from the little that I have dabbled in it, I have really loved it! I just need to spend some more time practicing and learning different techniques. I even purchased an e-course a while ago, but have yet to make my way through it! With the holidays just around the corner, I would especially like to work on these skills because I think it would be great to make hand lettered gifts for people.

+ Make a video of our trip to Hawaii!
We took our GoPro on this trip and we did so many fun things! I'd love to make a video of our time in Hawaii and then hopefully get into the habit of making ones for our future trips too. I have only made a couple videos in the past, but I have already started this project and am so excited to share it when it is done!

+ Frame photos and hang things on the walls
While mostly everything is unpacked, I would still like to hang up photos and other special pieces. I have a lot of photos that need to be printed and framed, so I'd like to get going on these things in September! I didn't hang anything on the walls of the place I last lived at, but I plan on being here longer and it already feels way more like home :)

+ Find eating balance/follow Whole30 principles
I have a lot of thoughts about food that should probably written in a post all on its own, but here are my basic recent realizations: I need to find balance when it comes to food. I have found through experimentation with Whole30 over the past year and a half that I am a sort of "all or nothing" kind of person when it comes to healthy habits. I am either super focused about it or I don't care at all and just eat or do whatever I feel like. I am realizing that's a very unhealthy pattern to be in and I am going to make conscious efforts to make changes to that! I will have to keep you posted on this as I go!

So far, in the 2.5 days of September, things have been going well! The weather got gloomy so I am actually wearing long sleeves and pumpkin spice is back at Starbucks, so I am currently having a coffee date with Dai and typing away while I sip on my pumpkin spice iced coffee :) We don't really have much planned for this long weekend, which is pretty nice!

What are your goals for September? What are you up to for the long weekend?