September’s my least favourite month of the year to be honest as it’s the anniversary of when my brother died and the anniversary of when my Mam found out just how ill she was the year later. I’ve also struggled with going back to work this month after being off for most of the Summer ill and we’ve had all of the usual stress of going back to school and the various bugs and dramas that come with it.
So, all in all, it’s been a funny old month with more than it’s fair share of lows but I think the lows have made us spend more time together and enjoy each other’s company more than usual.
One huge thing that’s making me happy right now is ‘The Plan’ which is something I’ve been considering for quite a while but kept backing out at the last minute – I finally decided this month that I was going to go for it because life’s too short to have any regrets. You’ll all be the first to know when I’m ready to share but for now, just know that it’s something I’m really excited about.
Our early evening walks to the beach have been making me happy this month because the weather has been just cool enough that there is barely anyone there. I love wandering around with my camera while the kids play football with Mr Frugal and the dog just runs between us all.
After a visit to the Festival of Thrift, I came away filled with ideas and determined to make living frugally as stylish as possible for us. I almost feel like I lost sight of that over recent months and my homemade essential oils room spray is as good an example of that as I can think of.
I bought the essential oils I needed to make what I had in mind but then used an ugly old plastic bottle from the back of the cupboard to make it in. I loved the spray itself but the bottle wasn’t nice at all so I treated myself to a cheap vintage spray bottle which made the spray look prettier and made me happier. My spray isn’t any less frugal or thrifty because I paid a few pounds for a bottle to put it in as the bottle will more than earn it’s money as I use the spray daily.
Does that even make sense to anyone but me?
Miss Frugal turned 14 and we made her an American themed hamper and a travel journal ready for our trip to New York next year (I’ll get to that in a minute ;-)) and I was so pleased to see how much she enjoyed her Birthday. She didn’t want a party this year but even so, she got that many presents off her friends at school that she actually had to leave some of them in her locker because she couldn’t carry them all. It’s not the presents that made me happy (although they made her VERY happy) it’s more the fact that so many of her friends actually went out and spent time choosing the things they knew she’d love. Some of the presents were clearly thought about well in advance too as they were a brand she loves from the US so must have been ordered online. She’s a very lucky girl to have friends like that.
Travel is something we really want to focus on a family next year for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we paid a small fortune for Butlins this year and we could have easily gone abroad for what we paid and secondly, the kids are old enough to know where they would like to see in the world.
We’ve got a few trips planned already – one of them being a family holiday to the Isle of Wight with a group of friends and another is a trip to New York for Miss Frugal and I. We decided to go away just the two of us after the brilliant time we had in Cyprus earlier this year and we chose New York as the men in the family aren’t keen so we don’t feel like we’re doing something that they’d like to be doing. The third trip we’d like to take next year is Munich which is Master Frugal’s choice and has something to do with a football stadium and a beer festival for some reason. 😉
Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer!
Master Frugal is doing great at his new school and is making new friends all of the time. I was worried he’d struggle in a new school after he missed the two week transition period (thanks to a school mess up that had him at a different school to his sister until the very last minute) but he’s been great and is settling in brilliantly. He’s even had a headteacher’s commendation for defending a girl who was being hit.
Did I say this one last month? I always feel happy when I’m looking at the world through my camera and it never fails to lift my mood. There’s been a few times this month when I’ve just wanted to forget about the world and hide for a little while and I’ve done that by getting in my car with my camera and taking random photos of wherever I end up.
As much as I’m not keen on September, I should say that it’s my favourite time of year for getting organised and I always use it as an excuse to buy a new notebook and a nice pen so I can make an attempt to get back to routine after the long Summer days where the only routine I have is waking the kids up at 10.30 because they’re sleeping the day away! This year, I’ve splashed out on a Moleskin squared notebook and jumped back in to bullet journalling which is making me feel so much more organised with everything.
That’s probably enough for now but I’m looking forward to writing October’s post already – it’s my favourite month of the year, partly because I love the cooler weather and the cosy nights and partly because I feel a weight lift on the 1st October just because I know September’s over. Weird, isn’t it?
What’s made you happy lately?
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