Goals & Productivity

October Favourites and November Goals

5 min read

One of my favourite youtubers Caitlin Shoemaker does a video at the beginning of every month where she lists her favourites of the past month and sets two intentions for the month ahead. I love that idea and thought I adapt it a little to suit this blog. Every month I will list my favourites in different categories and will set some goals for the next month.

October has been very busy but also very beautiful. I loved that the weather got a bit more autumnal, the air is crisp and the leaves turn golden… It is such a beautiful time of the year! I am hoping November will hold some more magical autumn days and won’t be too grey. Next weekend my dad is coming to visit us which I am really looking forward to. On Sunday we will be running the Lancaster Half Marathon together – I am rather nervous as my training didn’t go as well as I had hoped but fingers crossed that I will make it to the finish line!

But now, without any further rambling, let’s get into my October favourites!

Favourite food: I have loved eating porridge for breakfast lately. How can you start your day any better? My current favourite is to mix apples, bananas and cinnamon in with the oats and top it with some buckinis, blackstrap molasses and coconut flakes. So delicious!

oatmeal

Favourite TV show: Edd and I have been absolutely obsessed with ‘How I met your mother’ lately. We usually watch a couple of episodes most nights to chill out and we both absolutely love it and already dread the day when we have finished all the episodes. I also have just started watching Vampire Diaries and I really did not expect it to be any good, but the storyline is very gripping!

Favourite song: In the beginning of October I flew to Hamburg to see a band called BlumentopfThey are a German rap band and I have known then since my early teenage years. They did their farewell tour over the last few weeks which meant I had to go and see them. I flew out and met two of my best friends and we had such a fun time and listened to a lot of German HipHop and after I came home I listened to this song on repeat (oddly not by Blumentopf but these guys are native to Hamburg so it was very appropriate to our trip):

Favourite book: I finished reading The Sleep Revolution by Ariana Huffington which changed my life. For many years I have had trouble to fall asleep and I often wake up many times during the night. Over the last year or so I came to see sleeping as ‘over-rated’. I thought the reason for my problems with sleep was that I didn’t actually need that much sleep. So I dragged myself through the day after 4 or 5 hours in bed, feeling overly emotional and constantly tired. Arianna Huffington not only lays out the latest research on sleep and shows how important it is to get enough zzz’s she also gives a lot of useful advice on how to deal with sleep problems. I cannot recommend this book more. It is really well researched and founded on various scientific studies whilst being an amazingly easy read. I am a bit of a fan girl of Arianna Huffington now. She is not only extremely intelligent but also very funny.

Favourite event/experience: I already mentioned this one above – my favourite experience this month definitely was my trip to Hamburg. It was so nice to hang out with my friends, listen to good music and explore this wonderful city.

Hamburg Hafen

Favourite youtube channel: You might know that I love  youtube. I follow quite a few different people who vlog about lifestyle, beauty, veganism and other topics and my newest favourite youtuber is Kalyn Nicholson. She did a video every single day throughout October and all of them were just perfectly autumn themed and made me feel all cozy and helped me enjoy this season even more. Kalyn has a great taste in music, amazing style and is super creative and intelligent. Oh and she is vegan. (Basically, she is perfect). You should definitely check her out!

Favourite product: I am in the process of replacing all my beauty products with brands that are vegan and cruelty free and early in October I bought the Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser and I am so impressed! It gets off all my make-up without leaving my face feeling dry or overly oily but is super fresh and light on my skin. I can highly recommend!

On to my goals for November!

November

Prioritise sleep. After reading The Sleep Revolution I am actually quite excited about sleep! I no longer want to see it as an optional task but see it for its life-sustaining importance and make sure I get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

Knit a cardigan. This undertaking should not be too difficult to complete as I already made a start.  I took it up back in August but still am not finished – my excuse is that I spent all my time doing things for the blog! It is actually getting colder now so an extra cardigan could come in handy, so I am hoping to be posting some pictures of me wearing my handmade-(with lots of love and probably some sweat and tears)-cardigan within the month of November!

I hope you liked my little review and outlook of October and November. I really like to stop and look back of what little things I can be grateful for and to be intentional and plan out what I want to achieve.

What were your favourite events, books, shows and products last month? Do you have any big plans for November? Let me know in the comments below! See you here next Monday or before then on twitter, instagram or facebook.

Lots of love, stay bright and bold!

 

 

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29 Comments

  • Reply Dani 3 November 2016 at 1:04 pm

    Hey Britta,

    I love the idea of this post. It’s really easy to let things slip by without appreciating them so looking back at the end of each month is great way to stop that happening. I also love Vampire Diaries so glad you’ve been enjoying that!

    Love your goal of knitting a cardigan in November. I really want to learn how to knit. I tried last winter and never got the hang of it so gave up pretty quickly. Think you might have inspired me enough to give it another go this year!

    Dani xx

    flourishingfreelancer.com | brighteyedandbewildered.com

    • Reply Britta 3 November 2016 at 4:31 pm

      Oh I am so glad to hear that! Knitting is definitely such a great way to unwind. And it is so cozy to snuggle up on the sofa and a cup of tea with your project on a cold autumn day! Xxx

  • Reply blathnaid 3 November 2016 at 8:20 pm

    Im the same , for some reason I cant get enough of porridge recently – love the combo you suggested so must try it!! B x

    • Reply Britta 4 November 2016 at 10:09 am

      Yes porridge is life!

  • Reply Carrie 4 November 2016 at 10:20 am

    Ive been wanting to learn to knit. My mother in law loves to knit and knits all the time. Right now she is working on beanies for our kids.

    • Reply Britta 4 November 2016 at 10:27 am

      Oh that is lovely! You should definitely take it up! 🙂

  • Reply The Cornish House Interior Design 4 November 2016 at 10:32 am

    Love the idea of listing things to be grateful for, and what a great list and love the design of your blog – espeially your photos 🙂 http://www.thecornishhouse.com

    • Reply Britta 4 November 2016 at 12:43 pm

      Thank you that is really kind! X

  • Reply Marta 4 November 2016 at 1:12 pm

    I need to check your favourite vlog and the Sleep Revolution, these to appeal to me sooo much! Oh, and your porridge…

    • Reply Britta 4 November 2016 at 4:34 pm

      It is such a good book! 🙂

  • Reply Denise 4 November 2016 at 1:28 pm

    I’m into overnight oats at the moment and also have apple and cinnamon in them, very autumnal food to keep you warm in the morning. I’ve also been changing out my cosmetics to cruelty free as I don’t feel that we should still be testing on animals in this day and age. I’ve just recently bought nyx make up and am looking to buy some more pieces.

    • Reply Britta 4 November 2016 at 4:34 pm

      Oh yes I love overnight oats but usually forget to make them in the evening haha.
      I just bought some nyx lipstick and I am quite happy with it so far!

  • Reply Jasmin N 4 November 2016 at 3:03 pm

    Wonderful post! I hope everything goes well with the cardigan 🙂

    ~ Jasmin N
    littlethingswithjassy.blogspot.fi

    • Reply Britta 4 November 2016 at 4:35 pm

      Thank you Jasmin!

  • Reply Helene 4 November 2016 at 10:55 pm

    Hi Britta, i really like your blog. I love reading people’s favorites and i always get my dose of inspiration reading about the goals they are setting. I am going to check Arrana’s book as i have some sleep issues in general, not exactly insomnia, something more complicated. Thanks for sharing! Helene/ http://www.beautifulismyattire.com

    • Reply Britta 5 November 2016 at 12:58 am

      Thanks for your encouragement!
      The book addresses many different issues people have with sleeping, so I am sure you will find it helpful!

  • Reply Maikel 5 November 2016 at 7:01 am

    Oh october flew by so fast. I hope you enjoyed Hamburg! Its my favorite city:)

  • Reply Sarah | @lavenderlifeco 5 November 2016 at 11:26 am

    I definitely need to start prioritizing my sleep as well this month.

  • Reply Kait 5 November 2016 at 4:26 pm

    I love that you compiled a list of favorites from October! I am also trying to prioritize sleep this month!

  • Reply Kusum 6 November 2016 at 8:12 am

    Such a fun favorites list! And knitting is such a perfect activity for this season, wish I knew how to make me a few scarfs to begin with 🙂
    xx, Kusum | http://www.sveeteskapes.com

  • Reply Rodanthi Dimou 6 November 2016 at 7:29 pm

    I love your November goals! Prioritizing sleep should actually be my goal too, since I’ve been having sleep problems lately and this affects my life negatively. As for knitting, I love it but I don’t have the time for it. It can be very relaxing actually.

  • Reply janella panchamsingh 7 November 2016 at 1:18 am

    Thanks for your words of love. I hope you have a postive November!

  • Reply Ana 7 November 2016 at 1:43 am

    Love reading your October Favorites and November Goals! I also need to prioritize my sleep as my work was driving me crazy in the last few weeks and couldn’t take a much sleep!

  • Reply Savita 7 November 2016 at 4:22 am

    This is really super post to read in the morning. Thanks fr sharing some kind ideas with us.

  • Reply Jennifer L 8 November 2016 at 2:46 am

    Wow great favorites! I agree with Vampire Diaries…it’s really gripping! I like the Originals too.

    • Reply Britta 9 November 2016 at 9:01 am

      Oh I need to check out the originals!

  • Reply Elizabeth O. 9 November 2016 at 1:13 am

    It’s good to have goals for each month, it motivates you! I think it’s nice that you’re watching HIMYM! It’s an awesome feel good show. I really love it.

    • Reply Britta 9 November 2016 at 9:00 am

      Yeah always makes me laugh and puts me in a good mood!

  • Reply Surekha 9 November 2016 at 3:09 pm

    This post made me think what I liked in October, the month skipped so fast and it’s good to sit and think what we did wrong and what we liked and what we need to focus on next. I am also loving knit lately.

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