September was busy. I started in Washington for the first couple of days and then I flew back to Spain. I had to move from Zaragoza to Cartagena on my own on the 7th of September which was an absolute handful. By the 17th, I was starting school. To make this month a little more interesting, I want to do it in a slightly different form. So – I thought I would do a 4,3,2,1 format – something we sometimes use in teaching. Let’s go!
4 Things I loved this month:
- Watercoloring – When I went to the US, I knew I wanted to pick up some new water coloring materials – something maybe a little bit more professional than the Spanish equivalent of crayola. I ended up with this pack of 36 colors by Arteza which had pretty good ratings on Amazon. So far, I’ve worked with them a fair bit and I’m pretty pleased with the color payoff. I think watercolors are a good way to start with painting since really, if you make a mistake, it’s relatively easy to just add more water or color and fix.
- Reversing Roe – really would it be a roundup of my month if I didn’t talk about an amazing documentary. I think this one is interesting because it talks about the history of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court case regarding abortion in America, as well as the current controversy surrounding it. Yes – it’s a touchy subject and while it didn’t do a great job being completely unbiased, it did show both sides of the debate.
- Robert Irwin – This one is so random but seriously if you want to have your day brightened, look up Robert Irwin youtube videos. You will not be disappointed. He’s bright, intelligent and clearly as enthusiastic as his late father about all animals.
- Glossier products – when I was in New York, the only thing I specifically wanted to do was to go to the Glossier show room. I ended up picking up six items that are now seriously a large part of my daily makeup routine. I love their relaxed and easy style and use at least 1-2 products per day. Probably my stand outs are the cloud paints, wonderful cheek tints that can be mixed for customs colors, and the Boy Brow which leaves my brows looking full but totally put together.
3 favorite things in my new city: Cartagena Spain
- The Street Art – from the second I got here, I immediately noticed the amazing, vibrant and varied street art. I’m planning on doing a whole post about it just showing so many different gorgeous pieces I’ve found.
- The Roman Ruins – like Zaragoza, Cartagena has some gorgeous Roman ruins. They have a forum, a really gorgeous theatre, a bath house and plenty of roads. The remains themselves aren’t exactly integrated into the city but they are within the center and are full of cats (my favorite animal).
- The people (especially my coworkers) – I find the people here so warm, comfortable and welcoming. I’ve felt so included in my new school and I am excited to continue to get to know my coworkers and students.
2 Planner Updates
In August – shit went down with my planners. My bullet journal went more or less unused while I was traveling. My Erin Condren stayed in Spain while I went on my trip to the states.
So in September, I really wanted to get back into the swing of things – especially since I knew I would be juggling moving, a new apartment, new city and new school.
My Bullet Journal
My bullet journal is back in action this month. While I ended up not being crazy about the theme, I did make a conscious decision in the end of the month to go back to a simpler style with more doodles. While it’s not the only change I’ll make moving into October, it is one that I’m feeling satisfied with. I am thinking about removing some of my in spread habit trackers – just because I’m not really feeling the need to have them.
My Erin Condren
At the beginning of September, I spent a few days going back to my trip to America and memory planning. I had three weeks of traveling spreads, including my birthday week, to contend with. In general – I have been so happy with my planning style lately. It’s functional and beautiful.
The one thing that’s been really irking me has been that I didn’t love the way my pens weren’t always able to write both on the sticker and the planner paper without the ink seeping through. So I caved and bought some medium expensive Papermate Ink Joy Gel pens. So far – I can confirm that I’m a huge fan!
One other small change for this month, I started to lay out some basics of stickers on weeks where I for sure had a sticker kit picked out. I didn’t want to buy any extra kits for holidays or events. For example, my friend is getting married, so I put down her wedding kit ahead of time. I also have Halloween’s basic outline put down so I am not tempted to pick any extra unnecessary stickers up.
1 Thing I’m looking forward to in October.
In October, I get 5 whole days with my best friend who will be visiting me in Spain. While I’ve had two friends come to Barcelona for a visit – Katherine will be coming to Cartagena to see where I live. My plan is to show her everything to make her love it here so she has to visit again with her husband. I seriously cannot wait!
I would love to know – how was your September. Mine was busy and ultimately really fulfilling. I’m so optimistic about my new school, city and coworkers. Let me know where you are in the comments below!
The Minimalist Abroad 