October Super Stack: October Underconsumption & Over Fun Edition

🎃 All the things to look forward to this October

Welcome to The Seasonalist, a happy place to land. The first post of the month is always the monthly Super Stack—setting forth intentions & joy for the month. Welcome!

Welcome to the seasonal living journey!

I believe that the art of joyful anticipation—getting things on the calendar, looking forward to them, and experiencing them—is the key to happiness. I’m so glad you’re here to join in, and I’d love to hear from you about your seasonal experiences and their resulting impact on your life.

I’ve got a lot of fun things planned for the Seasonalist this month. Tune in every Tuesday of the month (a deep dive—sometimes for paid subscribers only) and for Fluff Stuff Fridays (always free).

The Seasonalist’s front porch. I’ve had this forever (one of my sons begged for this when they were little). 💀 Using what I already own to decorate. Why yes, that is a fake boxwood (because: Texas heat).

“Ah, September! You are the doorway to the season that awakens my soul... but I must confess that I love you only because you are a prelude to my beloved October.” — Peggy Toney Horton

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Welcome to October!

This newsletter means everything to me and seasonal living experiment has changed my life for the better.

Caveat: I’ve been disturbed by the “seasonal junk” and overconsumption of Halloween everywhere, and I wrote about it here. I’m really inspired to take away the “ick factor” of Autumn, and instead make do with what we already have, and focus on the experiences of the season (food, music, drinks, movies, and books).

🌼 Seasonal flower and stone

The October gemstone is the Opal—the coolest birthstone IMHO. The Opal is primarily found in Australia, Brazil & Ethiopia (the world is a vast diverse place), and the Opal symbolizes love and hope, and is considered a lucky gem.

The flowers of the month are the Marigold and Cosmos.

🍎 Seasonal Holidays & Celebrations

• Rosh Hashanah (begins October 2nd at sundown)

• Yom Kippur (begins October 11th at sundown)

• Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 14th)

• Halloween (October 31st)

📚 October Reading

• For those who like magic and scary books (not me!):

fall reading: a spooky october reading list

• For all the October book releases:

October 2024 Book Releases

What the Seasonalist is reading this month:

• I mentioned a few books I was looking forward to reading in this post-I am picking up “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Sophie Sullivan today from the library.

• I’m beside myself over Ina Garten’s autobiography release and will be doing a deep Ina dive this month.

• I am a rabid Sophie Kinsella fan and was devastated to hear about her brain tumor diagnosis. She has a new book releasing this month, “What Does it Feel Like?” It’s a fictional look into a character with a brain tumor, and according to Bookshop.org, “(t)his short, extraordinary novel is a celebration of life, shot through with warmth and humor—it will both break your heart and put it back together.” I normally shy away from tragedy, but Kinsella will put her humor and heart all over this book.

📺 October Television