10 Things I Loved In October

November 1, 2017 / By Rachel Ritlop

276 Shares

Happy November!!

Time really is FLYING! October felt like it lasted 30 seconds, amiright?!?

If you're on my newsletter, you know October was a tough month for me emotionally. Every time I turned on the TV it felt like another tragedy, and it all weighed on me pretty heavily.

Anniversary

It was our first wedding anniversary this year! I decided not to write a blog post about it because, well TBH, I don't feel like I “learned” a lot this year. This year felt like the last five years we've been together and I'm grateful for that. If anything we just got to have more fun together!

Hanson

E did surprise me with tickets to see my all time favorite band: HANSON! Don't hate! I was really bummed that I wasn't going to make their Middle of Everywhere tour, and checked the Epcot Food & Wine Festival “Eat to the Beat” line up since Hanson has played often in years past – but they weren’t on the original line up! I guess they added a few shows and E luckily stumbled upon them and it ended up being a complete surprise! #Winning.

Halloween!

Halloween is actually one of my favorite holidays (if not my most favorite!). We would totally deck out my house and throw a massive party every year in elementary and middle school! I am talking like a 30 girl sleepover! I honestly thought I was a witch or some sort of clairvoyant as a kid and would practicing contacting the spirits, elevating, and all that fun stuff.

Since we were already in Orland for Hanson, I decided to spend the night before at Halloween Horror Nights!! I LOVE HHN! It's always a really fun time going through the haunted houses and spending time in the park after dark!

If you're still craving some spooky vibes like I am, make sure to check out my ultimate list of scary and not-so-scary Halloween movies!

Networking

I've said it once and I'll say it a million times: your network = your net worth! I've been messing around on Bumble Bizz to grow my local network and it's been so fun to make my community feel smaller, but my reacher grow greater! If you're an introvert like me, who despises networking, don't worry, check out these 7 ways to network like a boss, even if you're an introvert!

Living Room

Of all the rooms in our home, the living room was stressing me out the most! I won't rehash the struggle of deciding what to do with it, and then ultimately bringing out West Coast Boho meets Mid-Century Modern vision to life since you can read about it in our living room reveal here. But, let me tell you, it feels SO good to finally be done with it! On to our bedroom which will be revealed later this month!

Answering Your Questions!

You guys send some of the best questions! I've been slowly making my way through the folder I keep them all in and finally had the time to answer two last month! So if you want to hear my advice on overcoming perfectionism and fear click here! Or if you're looking to move out on your own, check out my tips here.

Don't forget you can submit any questions here and my answer may appear on the blog! I would just suggest that if you have a blogging related question that you 1) check out the content already on the blog because I've been getting a lot of questions that I've already answered and 2) remember part of how I make a living is blog consulting! So if you send me a list of 20 questions where you are looking to get all the answers for free, maybe consider saving some money and investing in some 1-1 sessions with me!

Stranger Things!

Ahh who else has already finished binge-watching it?!? Seriously, can’t get enough of this show! I guess this might be a minor spoiler but it’s not a big one so I have no shame in saying it: I really thought Barb was going to come back! Even in the last 30 seconds I was still expecting her to pop up! Anyone else?!?

Jack Johnson

Another one of my all time favorite artists! I got to see Jack in concert in October!! Legit, he is SO talented! It was a massive amphitheater but felt like you were in this intimate setting watching them rehearse. It was so clear they weren't working off a set list, but just took songs that people called out from the crowd and transitioned between songs that felt right for them. It was SO fun.

Cleaning Up Our Beaches

After a Hurricane the beaches are always a little… trashy. You really see just how much pollution exists in our sea as it all ends up beached. Going to Jack Johnson and enduring Hurricane Irma, really re-awoke my desire to to clean up plastic and trash from the beach every week.

I am pretty good about limiting consumption of single-use plastic, however straws were my kryptonite. So I decided to go green and ordered this awesome pack. It has silicone straws for my smoothies, and these dope aluminum straws for my water, plus a bristle to clean them! I never used aluminum straws before but am obsessed! It actually makes my drink colder! I already only use Tervis cups (literally bring one with me EVERYwhere I go, unless it's to the beach, at which point I use a bubba keg. Make sure to use recyclable grocery bags, or ask for paper if you forget them. It's projected that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fishes in the sea! Do your part.

Getting Vulnerable

Last month I shared the first post in a series coming out about pregnancy; more specifically my fears about being pregnant! The response was so overwhelming and supportive. I’ve loved reading through all your comments and knowing I’m not alone. If you haven’t read it yet, you can read all about my fears about pregnancy here.

Lumberjack Tuck

And of course, this post wouldn't be complete without revealing Tucker's Halloween costume: a lumberjack

Trying to decide which tree to chop down ?

Get the lumberjack dog costume at Target here.