My Monthly Favorites | October 2020 Edition

Hi there, friend! Welcome to my very first ‘monthly favorites’! It seems to me that just like that – – October has come to an end! And that means we’ve made it through another month in 2020 – – that’s an accomplishment right there. So to reward yourself, get comfy, pour your favorite drink and let me share with you a few of my favorite things from the month of October.

Fall is here in the Northeast and unlike in September where I desperately clung onto the last bits of summer, this month I allowed myself to fully embrace everything I love about fall!

I will note, here, that this post is NOT sponsored and at this time, does not contain any affiliate links. All of these pieces were 100% selected by me and paid for with my own money. All opinions are my own and are always truthful and genuine regardless of sponsorship, referral links and/or affiliation.

My Beauty Favorites

So let’s dive in and start with my beauty favorites.

I’ve been enjoying these products since they came out earlier this year but I have gotten an extra sprinkle of joy using the e.l.f. cosmetics Bite-Size Face Duo in the color Spiced Apple and the Buxom Full-On Plumping Lip Cream in Pumpkin Spice Latte ($21) this month.

elf cosmetics bite-size face duo

For $3, the elf face duos cannot be beat! With a powder blush on one side and a powder highlighter on the other, I simply love how effortless and warm this looks. And I’ve long been a fan of the Buxom lip creams – – and with a pumpkin spice scent, it had to be an October favorite!

mac glow play blush in so natural ($30)

Speaking of blushes, a recent addition to my collection is the MAC Glow Play Blush in the color So Natural. I bought this on Jessica Braun’s recommendation as she cited as it as her “holy grail” blush – – the one that she would own if she could only own one blush. And it definitely did not disappoint.

colourpop Hocus Pocus palette ($22)

Brand new to my eyeshadow palette collection this month was the uber popular ColourPop Hocus Pocus palette. (The entire collection is currently sold out). I know that many people find that ColourPop releases very similar palettes over and over again, but I found this palette to be really great quality and fun to use.

revlon photo ready candid foundation ($11)

This month, I found myself reaching for this un-sung hero – – the Revlon Photo Ready Candid foundation ($11). I wear the shade Creme Brûlée and find that it is one of the best “everyday” foundations I own. It is the perfect mix of good coverage but does not feel heavy on the skin.

My Lifestyle favorites

Next up are two items worthy of a crisp, fall evening snuggled up on the couch. The first is one of Bath & Body Works three-wick candles in Spiced Apply Toddy ($24). The second being this deliciously soft ‘thankful’ blanket from Target ($15).

I feel like I could add an entire category of ‘work from home favorites’ but I have a couple that have been lifesavers since transitioning to working exclusively from home that I wanted to share here in my monthly favorites.

I am blessed to not need corrective glasses but I have definitely enjoyed using blue light glasses. My favorite pair are from Diff Eyewear ($85) – – I have the Winston Sea Tortoise and love them so much I bought two pairs!

We don’t wear shoes in our home so I was finding I was constantly looking for shoes to grab the mail or take a quick walk outside to get some steps in but transitioning to fall also meant putting away all of my adorable sandals and flip flops. The solution was a pair of these beautiful Birkenstock clogs from Zappos ($140).

I have lots of fall favorites when it comes to food but a new one I discovered this month was these Werther’s Original Limited Edition caramel apple soft caramels ($4). I am warning you now – – these suckers are addictive!

My Entertainment Favorites

Movie

My husband and I can almost never (and I mean never) find anything we agree on to watch together. So when we found a movie that we both agreed to try AND ended up really enjoying, I thought it was worth noting in my monthly favorites. Ford vs. Ferrari starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale was really fabulous. I know this movie isn’t new by any means but was just recently released on premium movie networks so check it out if you get a chance.

music – this is us original score

While patiently awaiting the return of This Is Us, I was delighted to stumble upon the television score on Apple Music! This is one of those genres that I really enjoy – – television and movie scores – – maybe I’m weird but that’s ok. But needless to say, I devoured this counting down the days until October 27 when This Is Us returned on NBC!

I was thrilled with the launch of a new YouTube channel, Ashley’s Lemonade Stand, last month. A spin-off of the YouTube channel SeeYaRealSoon featuring Ashley and her family’s Disney adventures, I did not miss an upload of Ashley’s new channel in October. In this new channel, Ashley shares her daily mom life and continues asking her popular questions for us to ponder. I am in love and hope you’ll go check her out and show her some love today!

podcast – the Bible recap

Last on the list of my monthly favorites is something that has been a favorite literally all year – – the Bible Recap podcast! I am sharing now because we recently started in the New Testament on October 1. The Bible Recap podcast accompanies a Bible reading plan with the goal of reading through the entire Bible in one year.

Hosted by Tara-Leigh Cobble, the podcast is true to its namesake, “recapping” each day’s reading and sharing a daily “God Shot” where we identify something we noticed or learned about God’s character in that day’s reading.

My husband joined me on October 1 reading the Bible and listening to this podcast every day and I would love it if you would join me too! To quote Tara-Leigh, “it’s ALWAYS the right time to start reading your Bible!”