October was lifechanging. It was the official start of our home renovations. Whilst we have been dabbling in small miniscule home DIY projects and home improvements, it was time to get started on the real house renovations. It all started with having more time at home over the long weekend, daylight savings, warmer weather and then rainy weather at the end of the month preventing us from going out. So we stayed in instead. It has been hectic and we have made a huge dent in the long list of things to get done.

So my month of October looked something like this…

Listened to - 

* Truth for Teachers Podcast with Angela Watson

* created an October Waves playlist on Spotify

* Commune with Jeff Krasno Podcast

* The Awake With Jake Show Podcast

* Sleep Cover Podcast with Christopher Fitton

* SBS Chill Radio on TV

 Read - 

* Catalyst; How To Change People’s Minds by Jonah Berger

* Into The Abyss by Carol Shaben

Splurged on - 

* Stainless Steel Motion Sensor Garbage Bin

Watching - 

* NRL Footy finals

* Bathurst 1000 race

* Have You Been Paying Attention?

Went to - 

* op shops during the school holidays

* dinner at Darling Harbour with my boyfriend

* caught up with a friend and her four kids at the park

* went to the skate park with another good friend and her twin girls

* had a drink with a friend at The Fiddler

* had a picnic by the river with a good friend

* had Thai in Gladesville with my best friend

* stayed overnight in the Hunter Valley with my boyfriend - it was meant to be in May for his birthday but we had to delay it due to the shutdown due to the pandemic

Booked - 

* a night away for my birthday with my boyfriend for November

Cooked - 

* Lemon Meringue Tarts, Raspberry Muffins, Carrot Cake Cupcakes

* Seafood Paella, Spaghetti Bolognese, Mushroom and Mince Lasagna, Red Curry Noodles

What's new - 

* Completed Blogtober - a new blog post each day of the month

* Had Book Week at school and dressed as a Cat

* Discovered putting cinnamon on top of my Chai Latte makes it taste so much better

* Home improvements - got rid of an old shower screen that was waiting to be used in the ensuite; decided to buy a new one instead, edged the paths, trimmed the front garden native trees, weed sprayed the lawn, rewired the clothesline, cut the bedhead off our bed so we could move it in front of the window and rearranged the furniture in the bedroom, prepared the ensuite so ready for renovations, installed man hole in what was an empty roof hole, changed the shower curtain downstairs, removed extra furniture in the upstairs lounge area and rearranged furniture, hung two bedroom doors, installed door jamb and new bathroom door, booked another council clean up for next month, rewired house for three new television points and mounted televisions in new positions, ordered three air-conditioners to get installed (were to be installed this month but delayed due to wet weather), and had antenna guy visit and we bought a new antenna and cabling.

Looking for - 

* Outdoor blinds for deck in summer

* New watch - maybe Horse brand

Sold -

* Silver Jewellery Stand, Water Filter Jug

Started - 

* paying more attention to the garden - fertilized, sprayed Seasol, used and ‘weed n feed’ on the weeds in the lawn

* diffusing essential oils - bought a cheap diffuser before committing to a more expensive one to see how often I would use it. Did use it for the first two weeks, haven’t used it since. I do like it but still burn candles more than turn on the diffuser.

Attempting to -

* keep up the blog writing often during November

How was October for you? Did you get away for the long weekend? Have you been getting lots done or you are winding down preparing for the end of the year? We would love it if you joined the conversation and left a comment below.

For other months in hindsight click here