My September Favourites

Hello there! How are you?

Not to sound like a stuck record or anything but HOW is it getting to the end of September already? I just can’t believe the speed of this year – Christmas seemed so bloody far away and now it feels like I’m already getting behind on planning! Ludicrous.

We have a couple of birthday’s to celebrate this week so we’ll be seeing family and going out for a nice meal and having a takeaway so I’m really looking forward to that.

This extra little bit of summer we’ve had has been nice, hasn’t it? It all just feels a bit cheerier and lifts my mood. Not that I’ve had time to get out and enjoy it at all, but it looks nice through my window. I’m particularly dreading the dreary winter months this year; I think because we haven’t really had a very good summer and after all of lockdown again (and of course the potential for more) I’m just so worried about endless dark, rainy, cold days where we have to get up in the pitch black and de-ice the car in the freezing cold for 17 hours before we can drive it.

Anyway, enough of my cheeriness, here are some of my favourite things that I’ve been enjoying this month.

My September Favourites

AirPods

I have had my Apple AirPods for a couple of years probably now and they are so absolutely worth the money I paid for them (I think I got them for around £110) – I love them so much! I use them most days and I think they are totally brilliant.

Not having a wire to get tangled up and have to detangle every time, plus not getting them tangled up around yourself (just me?!) is so great and they also charge SO FAST so they’re not a faff to use at all.

I find them very comfortable unless I am wearing them for many hours and then I need a little break from them, they stay in my ears well and generally connect fine to my phone. I listen to way more audiobooks and podcasts since I got them and I couldn’t be without them now!

Ivory Gloss Astrology Beauty Box – gifted

I was sent this beautiful Ivory Gloss monthly subscription box and I love it so much. Now, I wouldn’t say I’m a spiritual person at all, but I am definitely open to new things and different ideas and I have recently started collecting beautiful crystals that I am drawn to, whether that’s because they look beautiful or they have a special meaning or they just attract me! There’s a couple of little shops in Whitby that we now go to every time we are there that do lots of lovely small crystals and stones.

I love looking at them on my bedside table and I love just holding some of them sometimes and Ava also loves them and has a few little ones now too. I also love the idea of the planets and the moon having an effect on our lives and our moods.

So, this new monthly subscription box sounded so exciting to me. The Ivory Gloss monthly box is based around astrology and current planetary energies, with tips and meditations for the upcoming moon cycle, essential oils, teas, crystals, candles, self-care, snacks, and other celestial delights. I love the word celestial – it always sounds so magical to me! There are different types of box each month at different price points as well as some other boxes you can buy at any time, containing magical things!

Every box contains an astrology forecast for the month ahead with two meditations for the new and full moon, a guide to the upcoming astrological transits, a space to write your new moon intentions and the latest self-care products and spiritual tools too!

I got July’s ‘blue’ box and it was so lovely to receive and open. The amethyst cluster is absolutely beautiful and I can’t stop looking at it and I didn’t expect it to be such a good size. I love using the rose quartz gua sha massage crystal on my face – it feels so good and it’s really good for your skin too.

Then in the July blue box you also get Hampstead Tea raspberry green tea, a lovely and sweet-smelling Wildlight strawberry & rhubarb candle, Salt and Steam rose salts and a Love Raw cookies and cream vegan snack (which is so nice!).

It’s such a beautiful treat to receive in the post, either for yourself or as a gift for someone. The products are gorgeous and high quality and you get a good amount for the cost, with things you will actually use and enjoy. I think it’s great and right up my street and I’d love it if someone bought one for me.

Withings Smartwatch

I read about the Withings Activity Tracker on The Travel Hack a while ago now and it sounded like just what I wanted. It’s an activity tracker that is actually really stylish too! I love how it looks like a normal watch, but then you can press the side button to view all of the usual things you get on a smartwatch. The circle at the bottom also shows you the percentage of steps you’ve done in relation to your daily target so you can glance at it to see how you’re doing.

It works really well for what I want it for, and I’ve absolutely loved having it. It just encourages me to move a bit more and if I’m close to my daily steps target then I’ll walk around some more! Unfortunately, my first one went and bloody broke only a couple of weeks after I got it. The side button fell off – I then managed to get it to stay in so it was still usable and then water somehow got into the face of the watch so it was all steamed up! I know other people have had issues with theirs too which is so disappointing as I think it’s a great watch.

I really loved it though so I sent it back and ordered another and that has been great for about ten months now so fingers crossed it will stay that way. I wear it most days and the charge lasts for ages which is so good for me because I probably wouldn’t end up using it if it ran out too quickly.

The School Holidays Being Over!

We had such a great summer holiday together and we were lucky enough to go to Whitby a couple of times plus spend time with family and have some great times. But my goodness I was ready for some routine by the end of it! I wasn’t exactly ready for school runs and a very tired baby girl again, but I was really craving the routine of having every day to be able to sit down and work and just get on with things again.

I’m really enjoying working again (although I always forget how quickly the school day seems to be over!) and just having the chance to catch up and focus on work again after what feels like so long.

Is there anything that you’ve been loving this month?