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realizing
That it was finally time to share more of my depression story. I’ve talked about my struggles with depression and anxiety on the blog with the hopes of helping others also struggling, but I never have shared some of the more painful details, so I posted this week about the lowest point in my depression story.
stirring
All things pumpkin and spice. I did a blog post in conjunction with Krusteaz, which has led to a house full of pumpkin spice goodies.
I also whipped up some of these mummy dogs for an at-home Halloween date night that also included The Nightmare Before Christmas and caramel apples.
appreciating
Spending time with my hubby. Unfortunately this was definitely a fail month for date nights. Between not feeling well and some other weekend commitments we only ended up having one official date night. We went to a beautiful Japanese garden and house in Fairmount Park. It’s hard to believe that this beauty can be found within walking distance from our rough inner city neighborhood. There was a little festival there that included a scavenger hunt and dumplings and rolls from a food truck.
investigating
All the ins and outs of opening an Etsy shop. I will be opening my Etsy shop later this month with printables related to marriage, mental health and self-love. I can’t wait to share it with all of you!
following
Some of my favorite bloggers lives. I was especially excited to see Elyse’s (of Just Murrayed) official announcement that baby Murray will be arriving next year. Two other blog posts that resonated with me this month were:
Blair Blogs “The Most Awkward Years of My Life: My 20s”
The New Wifestyle “Is Your Life Normal?”
Currently Reading
I finally got around to getting my library card for the Philly library system and stocked up on some chick lit for some relaxing reading. My favorite reads this month were:
My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
You may have gathered by now that I love anything set in England. This book was split between busy London and the English countryside, featuring a twenty-something woman who is trying to live out her big city dream and well, failing. She tries to keep up the illusion of a perfect life on her Instagram account until everything simply falls apart. It turns out that having the perfect life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, which she discovers when she ends up back in her hometown.
The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side by Agatha Christie
So, confession time, I realized at the library that I’ve never read an Agatha Christie novel. I’ve watched television adaptations (thank you, Masterpiece Theatre), but never actually read one. This Miss Marple mystery features the glamour of the film world. It all begins when an actress moves into the neighborhood and then a local dies at a fundraiser she hosts. If you put aside a very antiquated perspective on mental illness that is reflective of the time period it was written in, the mystery part of the story is intriguing as Miss Marple and the Scotland Yard try to catch the killer as the bodies begin to pile up. Christie dropped enough red herrings that I was surprised by the killer and their motive when they were finally revealed.
Currently Loving
All manner of things that help me get through the season change. As soon as the weather started getting colder, my body began to rebel. A stuffy nose, dry skin, sinus headaches, and a really bad cold have plagued me in the last few weeks. My favorites have been Puffs tissues with lotion for my poor nose and vitamin c drops for my throat. We also have broken out my favorite winter accessory: our Crane Cool Mist humidifier. This is a great help for my eczema, which gets worse during cooler weather.
What were you up to in October?
Linking up with What I’m Into at Leigh Kramer.
This sounds like a great idea for an Etsy shop – hope your launch goes great! And as someone who has dealt with depression and anxiety, I always appreciate it so much when others are open to talking about their own – a great way to connect and feel less alone! Thanks for sharing, and for linking up!
Thanks! I’m excited about it.
Thank you for sharing your struggles with anxiety and depression. I have been trying to be more transparent in my real life about sharing my battle with people, but for some reason, the idea of writing about it terrifies me. Can’t wait to see what you’ll have in your Etsy shop!
It took me a number of years before I had the courage to write about it.
Good luck with the Etsy shop! I just opened one just over a year ago and it’s been so fun!! And way to go on sharing your journey with depression–you are so strong and brave and it takes stories of hope to encourage and normalize the struggle/those who are struggling!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Those hot dogs look amazing and so simple! My inner seven year old wants to gobble them up right now… my actual 24 year old self want to pair it with a good pumpkin lager. 😉
Yep, they were really simple to make and so adorable!