{october must list}

October is here! 

Which also means the LAST month of my sabbatical.

Cue a bit of a freak out.

But it has been so lovely and inspiring to be away from work for this long, and I'm ready to get this month started!

October has always been my favorite month, and I've been excited all year to be able to spend this month away from my office and doing more of all of the things I love about this time of year.

I sat down last night and sketched out a "must list" of some of the things I'm looking most forward to doing during the next 31 days...

1. Orchard trips - We are lucky to have three orchards close to our house and I'm not ashamed to say I've already been to one of them almost a handful of times to pick up cider, donuts, pumpkins and various fall must-haves. I mean, when something so lovely is so seasonal, you gotta get all you can out of it, right? There can never be too many pumpkins.

2. Nature walks - I am really enjoying walks around our neighborhood but could definitely up the number this month. Bonus points for a lot of hills!

3. A good book - I have been reading quite a bit lately and want to get in at least one more before I go back to work. 

This morning I started my first Rob Bell book accompanied by a warm mug of coffee and my favorite blanket. My kind of church...

Traveling Mercies might be the next..we'll see! 

4. Closet clean-out - So this morning I pulled all of my sweaters out of my closet with the intention of purging, but only two made it to the outgoing pile. I might have a bit of a sweater problem. Or addiction. Whatever.

But I did arrange them by color and style...so I feel like I can mark this one halfway off of my list!

5. Coffee dates - OK so this one might just be going to get coffee a lot by myself...I do enjoy my own company. Seriously though I would love to meet up with a few friends for coffee or lunch this month. Last night I texted a friend that I haven't seen in ages and we are planning to meet up so I feel good about this one. It is hard for this introvert to reach out! 

6. Lots of drawing - I mean, of course this is on my list!

7. Podcasts - I've gotten into the habit of listening to more podcasts now that I'm home or at the coffee shop during the day. I've talked quite a bit about Creative Pep Talk. It is my absolute favorite. I've listened to a few others sporadically but would like to find another favorite in the spiritual/self-improvement category. Suggestions happily welcomed! 

What is on your October must list? 

XO,