September & October 2020 | Recap

Well, it’s November 3rd and I’m roiling with anxiety as I’m sure many of you are. Which is exactly why I’ve decided to jot out this blog post, recapping my September and October! It’s a little distraction for me, and maybe for you, too. After all, things could be very different tomorrow, and there’s a good chance I won’t feel like writing this, then!

I’ve largely been off social media and blogging the last two months – so I hope this is a nice catch up for all of us!

Where was I in September and October?

• Countries: 2 (USA and UK)
• Cities: Poole, London (UK); Lansing, Detroit, Traverse City, Grand Rapids (USA)
• Flights: 1
• Days on the road: 15

September and October on the blog…

Eeeek – not a single blog post since my August recap. I did not plan a practically two month break from blogging, but it was needed.

After a summer packed with writing blog posts, plus redesigning this entire website, I was feeling a wee bit burned out. I also had tons of freelance writing that I focused on, so blogging fell by the wayside. Sorry, y’all!

September and October adventured like…

• If you missed it, I spent 5 weeks in the UK this summer – pandemic travel is not the one, but it was necessary as I hadn’t seen my boyfriend in six months. I took every precaution I could and you can read about the trip here.
• I arrived back in the USA on September 11, and quarantined in Michigan until getting a negative COVID-19 test.
• Lots of freelance writing the last two months, including my highest income month this year in October! Getting laid off in March and going full time with freelance writing was certainly a blessing in disguise and I’m so grateful for everything I’ve learned along the way.
• A weekend away in Northern Michigan! In early October, I took a 3-day midweek getaway to Traverse City and Old Mission Peninsula with my mom. It was such a fun escape and we stayed at Neahtawanta Inn – a gorgeous inn I’ve wanted to stay at for YEARS. It’s lakeside, sustainable, and has celiac safe gluten free breakfasts and a yoga studio! Highly recommend checking it out.
• I’ve gotten into skincare! This is random but skincare is my new self care / hobby. My skin has been awful for the duration of the pandemic.. masks, stress hormones, I don’t really know. Anyone else? I recently got into testing out new skincare products, which I’m doing biweekly and documenting with photos. So far my skin feels a lot less inflamed and the whole “skincare routine” thing just… makes me really happy! Anyone want to see a skincare haul / favorites? Lmk!
• My birthday! I celebrated my 27th birthday in October with my family. I actually really enjoyed my birthday this year – I thought I’d freak out about “being in my late twenties” but honestly? It was just a really nice day! I swear I felt like I was turning less old than on my 26th birthday lol.
• New babies. I’ve got two new babies in my life! My cousin and his wife had a little baby girl this fall. And then a couple weeks later one of my best friends from grad school in England had her baby!! I can’t wait to meet them both.
• I’ve accepted a new job! Yes – full time freelance writing has been amazing but I’m happy to have accepted a job back in healthcare. I’ll save more details for next month once I start! It’s a per diem job, so I’m hoping to work about 30 hours a week so I can continue freelance writing alongside it. Best of both worlds, I’m hoping!

September and October in savings…

I am SO happy to say that I met my yearly savings goal in October – two months early!!

As many of you know, I set myself a lofty goal to save money for a round-the-world trip with Dan.

Well, all plans are thrown off course. Dan (a UK citizen) isn’t even allowed into the USA right now. And the idea of going on a longterm round-the-world trip seems ridiculously impossible until there’s a vaccine… who knows when.

But, I still feel optimistic that one day this dream will come true. If anything, this has been a great exercise in financial literacy and frugality for me. And I have a nice emergency fund, until we go traveling at least!

I’ve been keeping a spreadsheet so if anyone wants to see a blog post on how we saved, let me know!

Upcoming in November and December…

With everything happening in the USA right now it feels difficult to plan far in the future. I don’t know whether I’ll spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family, I don’t know when or if Dan will be allowed into the United States again. 

My main focus will be starting my new job – I haven’t yet decided how much I’m going to share about that on here but I’ll probably keep it quite limited as I have with all my healthcare roles. I will say I am apprehensive but SO excited to finally be working as an occupational therapist in the USA!

I’ll also be blogging! I’ve missed blogging these past two months and I hope to dive back in with some GIFT GUIDES!!! Any requests? Let me know in the comments below!

What have you all been up to?