Whenever September rolls around again, I always become particularly aspirational and find myself thinking about all the things I want to do before the year is through. Perhaps it's because September is the start of the new school year, and it's still ingrained within me to learn, get to work, and achieve stuff? Whatever the reason, I feel particularly motivated and creative right now, and have come up with so many goals I want to achieve this Autumn, from carving a pumpkin on Halloween to learning how to use my new camera. I thought it would be fun to share them all with you today, so here they are. These are 30 things I want to do this Autumn...
1. Go for an Autumn walk at least once.
I don't really mind where, as long as it's pretty, the leaves have changed, and I can go crunch through some fallen leaves, and take photos of the pretty Autumn foliage.
2. Make it to the bonfire, and watch the fireworks.
My town has one of the best fireworks displays around on bonfire night, but I haven't been in a few years. I miss enjoying it with my family, so I'm hopeful I'll find a way to go this November.
(Responsibly, of course. If you actually play with sparklers, kids, you will get hurt)!
4. Carve a pumpkin.
In my opinion, carving a pumpkin is a must every Halloween! I'm already looking forward to carving one, and enjoying that amazing Jack o' lantern smell. I also want to buy some mini munchkin pumpkins to decorate the house with, and use for blog photo props.
5. Make pumpkin dog treats for Rosie.
The innards of the Jack o' lanterns we carve alway end up in the bin, so I want to use them to make dog treats instead this year, using one of the dog treat recipes I found on Pinterest.
6. Have Autumn and Halloween-themed movie marathons.
Forget the scary movies, I'm most looking forward to watching Hocus Pocus, and Practical Magic again!
7. Make French onion soup from scratch.
I haven't made it in a few years, but it's delicious, and always goes down really well with my family. It's the perfect Autumn comfort food.
8. Explore a cemetery.
It's been ages since I last explored a cemetery, and I'm itching to visit one. They always look particularly pretty during the Autumn, so it's the perfect season for wandering around graveyards.
9. Visit Pitt Rivers and The Ashmolean museums in Oxford.
I know I've been going on about this for years, but I still haven't made it to either, and I really want to pay them both a visit.
10. Visit Blenheim Palace.
I haven't been since I was five or six, so I'd love to visit it again, and experience it as an adult.
11. Buy / scavenge some Autumn blog props for my photos.
I seem to be lacking in good photo props for Autumn; everything I own is so bright and colourful! I'll probably start with buying some munchkin pumpkins and gathering foliage, and go from there.
12. Learn how to use my new camera properly.
I was given a new bridge camera for my birthday in July, and I'm still getting to grips with all the features. I'd love to be able to use them all for best results.
13. Work on improving my blog photography and photo editing skills.
To be honest, I'm always working on improving my photography, but my skills need a lot of improvement, especially when it comes to photo editing. I suck at it.
14. Read every day.
I've read more these past few weeks than I have the rest of the year combined, so I want to continue reading regularly, and spend more time off the Internet.
15. Paint regularly.
I find painting so relaxing and therapeutic, so I'm planning to paint as often as I can, and work on improving my watercolour techniques. I'd also like to try gouache paints, so I'd like to treat myself to a set and give them a try this Autumn.
16. Get cross-stitching.
I want to finish the flamingo cross stitch that I cast aside earlier in the year, and get the Christmas sampler I'm working on finished in time for Christmas. I think I can complete both by December if I cross stitch every day this Autumn. Challenge accepted!
17. Learn how to crochet a granny square blanket.
I've wanted to learn how to crochet for years, so I'd love to finally learn how to make a granny square blanket this Autumn that I can then curl up under over the Winter.
18. Fill my wardrobe with clothes in all the beautiful Autumn colours like burgundy, teal, forest green, mustard, plum, rust, and raspberry. I love all the Autumn fashion colours so much.
19. Dye my hair.
I haven't been able to dye my hair since May and my roots are getting ridiculous, so this one is a must.
20. Buy some new ballet pumps.
My last good pair have fallen apart, so I'm in dire need of some new ones.
21. Sit down and reply to all blog comments, and emails.
I'm ashamed for letting it slide and intend to reply to everything ASAP. I want to be reliable again. I've just been having problems being on my laptop for long, as the electricity is making my heart race faster!
22. Take as many blog photos as possible before the decent daylight is gone for another year.
It's hard to take good blog photos during Winter when you don't own blog lights, so I'd rather make the most of the bright Summer daylight before it goes, and take them in bulk now.
23. Give my blog a rebrand and redesign.
I've been dying to do this for years as I hate how my blog looks right now, and my blog name makes me cringe. There's a blog design I really want to buy, but I need my finances to improve before I can afford it, so this one will depend on whether things improve financially.
24. Blog as much as possible.
This will depend on my health, but I'm determined to blog as much quality content as I can, and bring Polka Spots back to life.
25. Prepare some Christmas blog posts ahead of time to make December less stressful. Christmas is exhausting with chronic illness, as I've realised these past few years, so I want to organise what I can ahead of time to lighten the load during December to take the pressure off.
26. Get started on my Christmas shopping.
I want to start putting presents away now to spread the cost, and be all organised come December.
27. Up my survey-answering game so I can afford Christmas presents.
I don't have any financial support right now, so I've been answering surveys online since January to earn a little money for myself. They're mostly paid in gift cards and on a good week I might make £15 from each site I use, but it adds up, and it's a great way to afford presents and treats for yourself without dipping in to your wages. I want to spend more time answering surveys every day, so I can earn more, and afford Christmas presents for my family and friends. I'm going to write a post on earning through surveys soon, if you guys want to know more about how it works.
28. Have another clear out to raise some extra funds for Christmas.
I've had a lot of clear outs this year already, but I'm sure I can find some more stuff to sell to earn a few pennies.
29. Clear out under my bed.
I've got so much crap stored under my bed, and I've been meaning to drag everything out to reorganise for ages. It's in desperate need of a tidy.
30. Continue training Rosie.
My dog still has a way to go with her training, so I'm intending to put the effort in, and keep teaching her things until we've cracked it.
What are you goals for Autumn?
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