September 2014 Rewind

Now that I'm all caught up on my monthly recaps, I thought now would be a great time to try something new and add a little personality to these posts! Some of my favorite monthly recaps to read do this exact thing (like Jamie's and Hannah's--their monthly recaps are so fun and creative!). So what's going to be new? If you've been reading this blog for any length of time, I'm sure you've noticed I'm a picture person. I love photography and how it forces me to slow down and really observe what's around me, and the fact that it gives me a creative outlet outside my 9-5 office job (when I'm not reading, of course). So, naturally, I want to start including pictures I've taken throughout the month in my monthly recap posts, and these pictures will probably be a mixture of both iPhone and DSLR photos (because let's face it--a lot of life happens when you aren't carrying around a huge clunky camera!). Along with pictures, I'll also be including three other new things: My favorite book read that month, a link to the most popular post on the blog for the month, and what I'm excited about for next month. So here we go!    

September in Pictures

1. Kayaking the Hiwassee River - This is one of my favorite things we did in September! My husband (Kyle) and I love doing outdoorsy things, and it has been WAY too long since we've been kayaking together. Nothing beats the peace you feel being in the middle of a river with nothing but your thoughts and nature to keep you company. 

2. We sold my Jeep and bought a new car! - This was so bittersweet. It was definitely time to move on from the Jeep (I got it on my 16th birthday and drove it for the past 10 years), and we couldn't have picked a more perfect family to buy it from us. Now, after researching nearly every vehicle on the planet, we're the proud owners of a beautiful Toyota Highlander. And y'all, I'm pretty much OBSESSED with it.

3. Kaiser Permanente 5K and FBCL Autumn 5K - I honestly can't believe I ran survived two 5Ks this month! The first one I ran/walked with my sweet friend Keri, and the second I ran with the husband, my brother-in-law, and my little brother (and our pup, Doc!). I'm still not in good enough shape to actually run an entire 5K from start to finish, but I'm hoping to get there before we head down to Disney for the Wine & Dine 5K in November!

4. Garth Brooks concert - This was definitely a Bucket List concert for Kyle and me! We are pretty much shameless in our love for country music (see what I did there?), and Garth is without a doubt a country music legend. I can't even begin to describe how excited we were when we actually got tickets, and on opening night, too! We were both raised on Garth and Trisha's music, so it was pretty much a dream come true for us to see them live in Atlanta! Not gonna lie, I had a legit fangirl moment when Trisha started belting out "She's In Love With the Boy." SO nostalgic. And Kelly Clarkson even made a surprise appearance! 

5. Book Club - As you know from this post, we had our first book club discussion meeting at Jenny's house in September, and it was a big success! We've got The Maze Runner lined up to discuss in October, and in November you better believe we're taking a group trip to see Mockingjay: Part 1 (cue ALLLL the feels y'all)! I am SO excited about where book club is headed.    

6. Hanging with family after the UGA/Tennessee game - We have season tickets for UGA football this year, which means we'll be spending a lot of time in Athens over the weekends this Fall. A couple of weekends ago, not only did the Dawgs pull out a (nailbiter!) win against Tennessee, but we were able to catch up with my sweet cousin Ali and her boyfriend Ernesto afterwards. Ali is in PT School in Miami, and Ernesto works for Target Corporate in Minneapolis, so it's a rare but wonderful thing when we get to see these two!

Favorite Book Read in September

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

Most Popular Post in September

Top Ten Books on Lesley Anne's Fall Reading List

On My Shelves 

Bought on Sale at 2nd & Charles 
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce | Princess Academy by Shannon Hale | The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Bargain Buys for Nook

A God-Sized Love Story by Gretchen Saffles | A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman | The Measure of Katie Calloway by Serena Miller | The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons

3 Things I'm Excited About in October

1. Two trips to the North Carolina mountains - the first with my family, and the second with the Greavus for our 5th annual camping trip!
2. A fall wedding in the city = romantic date night with my man! :)
3. Starting something completely new and scary (and exciting!) and trusting that the Lord will guide me each step of the way. Hopefully I can share more about this in next month's recap!