In A Nutshell: September 2017

And so another month comes to an end. September is over for another year! I was going to write that I can't believe how quickly the year has gone but I'm unsure whether I've found it quick or not. For once, it seems like a normal pace. It is a little scary to think that we're nearly in 2018 though!

SEPTEMBER ROUND UP

September was a little more exiting that August was. I spent a lot of it working but I can't complain because I'm lucky to enjoy my job and everyone's nice there. Plus I need the money. Desperately. My four month trip to Asia definitely dented my savings.

1. I visited Madrid 

My friend randomly messaged me one evening in August asking if myself and two of my other friends were free the weekend beginning the 15th of September. I assumed she wanted us to come and visit her in Manchester and maybe have a night out. Or just binge watch shitty TV. Whatever took our fancy.

BUT 

She actually was planning a trip to Madrid. And of course I said yes. Which technically completely contradicts the fact I just said I have no money. But my wages from my job were enough to cover the trip and we did it on the cheap. 

Luckily, I was able to get the weekend off work and so we were able to enjoy a very brief weekend in Madrid.

I'll be completely honest and say I'm unsure I can 'tick' the city off because we didn't quite see everything. But we had lots of fun and drank lots of Sangria. Which I think is my new fave drink. 

We also embraced the Spanish culture and had a siesta. 3am wake ups and a planned night out don't mix well so a nap was well needed!

2. I bought myself a new camera lens

I've wanted the 45mm lens for my Olympus camera since I bought the camera two years ago.

But the camera lens I eventually purchased wasn't the 45mm! After wanting it for so long I changed my mind last minute and decided upon the 30mm instead.

I technically don't need it. But there was a few 25% discounts floating around from bloggers so it seemed like the perfect time to finally get a new lens. And so I did.

I've tested it out a little and I'm so excited to use it for blog photos and future trips.

Oh, and the 45mm is still high on my wish list.

SEPTEMBER FAVOURITES 

This is a new section I want to start including in my monthly round up posts. I don't have enough favourites to do a separate post and I don't think such posts would fit with my blog. So I'm going to feature a few in these posts instead and see whether I like it. 

The transition to Autumn

The evenings are getting darker. The weather cooler. Leaves are changing colour. It's beginning to look like Autumn. Well, technically it is Autumn. I'm not a complete Autumn lover; I don't really enjoy the cold morning walks to work. But I do enjoy snuggling in bed watching Netflix with a huge hot chocolate. 

Madrid 

I know I just waffled on about Madrid above. But it would seem rude not to include it in my favourites. And quite frankly a lie. Because it was my favourite moment of September. 

It was so nice to enjoy a bit more sunshine before Autumn takes full swing. It was also great to be able to forget about the stresses of everyday life and have fun with my friends. 

Tea

I'm a coffee gal. But lately I've been enjoying a good old cup of tea. And I'm rather enjoying it. 

IN RETROSPECT: SEPTEMBER GOALS 

1. Read three books

Nope, I haven't finished any books! 

*hangs head in shame*

But I have started a book. Or two to be precise. Not that I usually read two books at once. However, there is a reason why I ended up starting two books. And that reason is that I want to finish reading IT before the film stops showing in the cinemas.

I actually bought the kindle version of the book to read on my trip but my kindle is rather old and didn't fancy playing along and so I can only access the book through my kindle app.

This makes reading a little more difficult. Reading a book with over 1,000 pages on a tiny screen isn't that fun. Hence, why I've been rather slow. But that's no excuse.

Hopefully I'll be finished by the end of October!

2. Exercise 

Well, I haven't joined the gym or anything exciting. But I am walking to and from work more. Small steps!

3. Decide what's next 

Still pending.

  

OCTOBER GOALS 

1. Read three books

A little bit of deja vu. I'm determined to actually do this in October. And if I don't then I'll keep putting it as a goal until I do!

2. Keep to my blogging schedule 

I'm still not quite back in the flow of blogging. I've made a plan. In fact, I know every blog post I'll be posting in October.

But, that's the easy part. Now I need to plan, write and post them.

I didn't quite stick to my schedule in September so I want to be more consistent this month.

3. Be more interactive

I'm using twitter more and more but I'm still so bad at engaging in conversation. Part of me is a bit scared. I'm not exactly a people person in real life and this gets translated to twitter.

I also want to start sharing and commenting and more blog posts I've been loving. I read so many but never really give anything back and that's something I need to start doing.

____________________________

I hope everyone had a wonderful September. What were your September highlights? 

Sophie