November Goals

Happy November, everyone! 

Not to detract from the brilliance of this month, but it is a mere 7.5 weeks until Christmas. That is it. I feel a little shocked by this. I swear, Christmas always comes round so quick! In the Way household we tend to start getting into the festive spirit mid November, so in two weeks we have our first Christmas 'Deck the Halls' party. 

But I shouldn't get too much into that as there is lots happening between now and then. This includes the second Dear Friend workshop, which is happening on the 13th of November, and I'm really looking forward to it! It's still in the planning stages, but I feel it may involve some blackboard paint, pretty ribbon and a sprinkling of Christmas (or whatever takes your fancy)! Do let me know if you're interested :)

We got back from New York this morning and it was such a brilliant time. Personally, it was WAY better than I thought. I love that city and I feel this could be the beginning of a love affair with the States for both Matt and I. Thanks for all your suggestions. 

I'm diving into some stressful times this week, so there's no better way to start than with a recap of last month's goals and some fresh ones for the penultimate month of 2013.

Last month's goals:

1. Make time to explore outside London (enjoy autumn) 

 - I'm so glad I can tick this off the list. I looked after my cousins in Woking and went to Epping forest twice this month!

2. Prepare for and run first workshop (exciting!!)

 - It was great. Looking forward to the 13th.

3. Decide on Dear Friend publicising (invites, business cards, etc.)

 - This is stalled a little because I need to buy a 'business permit' type thing to use the design on the blog. This means waiting a little while until Dear Friend has enough money to buy it. So watch this space!

4. Buy fabric and sew a skirt using a pattern (no more wimping out with 'practising' on old fabric)

 - Sadly, there was no time, so this didn't happen. I have, however, bought most of the materials to make Matt a new laptop case. It is going to take a while to make, and I'm going to have to really push into the side of my character that doesn't get bored with a project after 10 mins, but it is going to happen. More on this in the future.

5. Decide what the Dear Friend Christmas shop should feature

 - After quite a lot of thought, I have decided not to go down this route. December is busy: it's when all my uni deadlines are, we'll also have no free weekends between now and Christmas, and lastly, there are people to see and weddings to attend. I have decided that instead of getting stressed I am going to let go of the idea of doing the Christmas fayres and having a shop filled to the brim with lots of items, which has been my hope all year. 

 For the past few weeks I have been toying with lots of ideas but none seemed to work, it was just making me feel panicked and discouraged. I know it may seem like a foolish decision as December is such a good time for growing businesses and Etsy, but I have made the right decision for me. I need to concentrate on enjoying December, running the workshops and passing my degree. 

Since I decided on this, I have felt so much better. If something changes, it will be down to a natural state of things and some God given time and ideas. 

6. Go to a pumpkin farm 

 - My mum and I went to a brilliant one in the little village where Matt and I got married.

Sorry for the bad picture, but can you see, its Cinderella! 

7. Try to get to know some London bloggers 

 - I didn't do this. I was going to go to my first blogger meet-up type things but then I couldn't make it. Part of me is pretty scared at the idea of going to a blogger event on my own. One day…

8. Write a daily schedule to get me back in the swing of things (uni time/creativity time/marriage time)

- Nope

9. Finalise the packaging I use when things are bought from the shop

 - I have done this! Well, for jewellery anyway.

10. Do the 'one photo a day' challenge.

 - Almost. I feel I've done alright on the photography front, even if it's not quite one a day.

11. Prepare for ALL my lectures the day before

 - Nearly all! 

November Goals:

1. Start waking up before 7.45am 

2. Hand in my essay on Thursday, having tried my hardest (I'm so bad at this)

3. Plan and run November's workshop

4. Eat well (Matt and I are picking up this post-NY challenge, starting tomorrow) 

5. Cut and dye my hair

6. Take control of my social media usage, no scrolling through Instagram when there are things I am midway through doing.

Which links to my last point:

7. Be more deliberate and disciplined with the decisions I make and the ways I spend my time; don't be passive.

It scares me a little to write those goals down as many of them are ones I toy around with in my head but never commit to. I've said it out loud now though, no going back.

Did anyone else manage to meet some goals they set for themselves this month?