October has always been my favorite month of the year. The weather is often picture perfect, the colors are so beautiful, and apple cider is every where to be found. It’s the month we got married five years ago, and while it now also has some sadness associated with it after our second miscarriage at the very beginning of this month, there is just too much to love about October and the fall.

Because I was too late to share my October goals during the actual month, and I’ve only now thought about my November goals a week or so into this new month, I thought I’d try combining the two months into one post! I also very intentionally decided to take October’s goal setting easy given the timing of starting the month with pregnancy loss. To be honest with you all, five weeks later I’m still not feeling great. You’ll see that reflected in how easy I’m trying to take November too.

I’ve also started to think a bit about how these monthly goal posts will continue in 2021, and wanted to give this approach a try. We’ll see how I like it and what makes sense when I start to turn my focus to December’s goals and then 2021 following. And as always, let me know if you have an opinion! I share my goals for some accountability and to help inspire you to break things down each month. What approach will help you most, friends?

On my calendar in October & November:

• Our five year wedding anniversary!

• My mother- and sister-in-law also came to visit in October for a few days.

• The first weekend in November we had professional photos taken to use for Christmas cards. We haven’t had professional photos taken of us since we lived in Florida!

• While it’ll likely be small, I am looking forward to some time spent with family for Thanksgiving.

What I’m loving right now:

• We took a drive up to our wedding venue in October on our anniversary to take our annual selfie in front of the lake and share our favorite wedding memories with one another. I love this little tradition and am glad we’re living in a place where we can easily continue that year after year!

• I ordered some new fall and winter scented candles from Antique Candle Co. and this Apple Cider scented one is by far my favorite so far!

• In anticipation of struggling a bit through the holidays again this year, Kurt and I have decided to try and make as many fun memories just the two of us by trying new things! In November, we’re planning to cook an entire Thanksgiving meal and invite our neighbors over to grab a plate to go in order to thank them for the support they’ve shown us following our pregnancy loss this fall.

October & November goals:

• Clean out and edit my closet, switching out spring and summer clothes for fall and winter clothes.

• Completely update my Cladwell closet to reflect the clothes I have left following the clean out.

• Finish refreshing the dining room table set that we bought on Facebook marketplace (this has been such a fun project - I can’t wait to share it with you when it’s finished!).

• Declutter and finish decorating our downstairs.

• Clean up the garden for winter and plant spring bulbs. I’m also going to plant some garlic cloves to try and grow my own heads of garlic!

• Clean up the office and the office closet, and set up my bike on the indoor trainer so I can start taking Peloton classes again.

• Finish up the lingering parts of our kitchen project that aren’t finished yet.

As a reminder, many of these monthly goals are directly related to my overall goals for 2020!

Slowing down is something that I have prioritized in both my October and November goals. How are you planning to slow down and enjoy the holidays and these last few weeks of 2020? I know it’s easy (and sometimes really desirable!) to wish the time away, but I’d encourage you to not - I keep telling myself there is still time to find something positive from this year and I’m going to make every effort to do that before we ring in the new year!