You know how tax-people are always so slammed from like January – April? And then once Tax Day is over, they all breathe a collective sigh of relief because now they can stop working crazy hours until next year’s tax season? To be honest, I actually hang out with any “tax-people” myself nor do I know if they like to be called “tax-people”. Nevertheless, I am highly empathetic to their January – Tax Day struggles, because tax season to accountants (or tax-people) is a lot like summer wedding season is for photographers.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my job. Being a photographer is literally my childhood dream come true. Buuuuut I’m definitely looking forward to my schedule slowing down a bit in October.

That being said, September had a lot of wonderful things in it. Now that October has begun, you know what time it is! *drum roll please* September Roundup time! Here is a list of some of my very favorite things from the past four weeks.

Kroger Pickup

Why did no one tell me about this before! Kroger Pickup is the most amazing thing I’ve discovered this month, and quite possibly, my life. I’m not the most domestically skilled person around which means my laundry is usually dirty, my sink is usually full, and my fridge is usually empty. I honestly don’t know how people have the time/energy to meal plan, grocery shop, tidy, make dinner, and then still do the dishes after.

As I was contemplating the everyday trials of “chores”, I discovered *cue magical glitter puffs* Kroger Pickup!! It only took me 30 minutes to get my entire week of grocery shopping done. I already had my recipes selected so I just typed the items I needed into the Kroger search bar. Then, I scheduled my pickup time and the next morning, I drove to Kroger before all my meetings at 7:30am. I didn’t even have to get out of my car! After notifying the store that I arrived, a nice teenage boy (I know, I sound 90 years old. Don’t be a hater.) came out, and loaded the bags into my trunk for me. Then I drove away. That’s it. Mind blown. The future we’re living in is weird and I like it.

Espresso Machine

As mentioned in a previous roundup, I had a birthday not too long ago! For this birthday, my husband got me the best birthday present ever: an espresso machine!

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw me gushing (*cough* bragging *cough*) about this in my stories last week. Although this present was “the best birthday present ever”, it didn’t get it’s shining moment of glory in my June, July, or August roundups because it took me about 12 weeks to take it out of the box and read the instructions. Which, hey, I’m not proud. I’m just keeping it real over here. Anyways, now that I’ve gotten my act together and set up the machine, it is so amazing! Not only do I have espresso available at the touch of a button (dangerous, I know), but I am saving so much money not going to coffee shops (as often).

The real reason why this machine is the “best birthday present ever” is because unknown to Matthew, I had been dreaming of owning an espresso machine for the last year. Back when I was working my corporate job and running my photography business, I would come home from my 8 hour office day and then edit photos for another 4-5 hours. Whenever I was so burnt out from working two full time jobs, I would dream of the day I could quit my day job, and work from home solely as a photographer. In my daydreams, I would always picture myself making a latte at home, going into my home office, and working my dream job.

When Matt gave me this machine on my birthday, 5 days after I officially quit my day job, I cried like a baby because he didn’t know it, but it felt like my daydream had come true. Also, this may be the most caffeinated I’ve ever been.

 

Mini-Vacation

August was HECTIC. So, Matt and I decided to take a mini-vacation up to Charlevoix, Michigan. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the greatest tour guide Barbie and booked us an Airbnb with no wifi or air conditioning. Then, we found out the hard way that all the restaurants in Charlevoix closed at 8 p.m. since it was the off season. After all that, it ended up pouring rain for our entire trip. Getting off to a rocky start, we ended up ditching Charlevoix and spending most of our time in Traverse City. We found an adorable little crepe shop and the rain made for a romantic getaway after all.

Audible (Current Read: Terry Pratchett Books)

I mentioned back in April that my goal for 2019 was to read 5 books. That might sound unambitious to all you readers, but for me that’s a lot! Matt and I spent a lot of time in the car together this month. On our road trip up to Charlevoix/Traverse City, we listened to some Terry Pratchett books. I’ll be honest. I’m not sure if I would listen to Terry Pratchett on my own, but Matt likes his books so much. Pratchett has a really witty sense of humor and it made our drives feel a lot faster. Even when we’re not in the car we like to cuddle up on the couch, drink our freshly made lattes (thank you, espresso machine), and listen to audiobooks together. It’s the perfect fall-stay-at-home date night!

 

A few other things that I loved this month were having my nephew’s visit and meet Kona for the first time, a concert in Grand Rapids listening to Mandolin Orange, and enjoying the transition out of summer. But I guess that’s a wrap on September! Another spectacular month on the books. 2019 has been good to me and I can’t believe it almost come to a close. I’m excited for apple cider, fall family photoshoots, and everything else October has in store!

 

Liv