"All the months are crude experiments, out of which the perfect September is made." So said Virginia Woolf, and so say I.
In keeping with that sanguine sentiment, here are a few of the very best parts of my own September—specifically what I’ve been reading, eating, playing, obsessing over, recommending, and treating myself to this past month—including magical fall books, autumnal apple recipes, cozy fall movies, earplugs I can no longer leave the house without, and an inner-child-healing weekend at Efteling (aka Dutch Disneyland).
Reading: MAGICAL FALL BOOKS
I’ll admit that fantasy isn’t typically my genre. Don’t get me wrong: when I do indulge in it, I nearly always enjoy myself. I just don’t gravitate toward it most of the time.
But for whatever reason, for me, September tends to be a month for magic.
It’s a special time of year when the windows in my skeptical mind are cracked open juuuuuust enough to suspend disbelief so I can fully immerse myself in stories rife with magical realism.
A few of my favorite cozy, fantasy-adjacent, magical fall books, which—to my TBR’s disappointment—I’ve delighted in re-reading this month:
Speaking of THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA, its long-awaited sequel SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA was finally released this September! My copy just arrived this week, so it would appear that my plans for the last weekend of the month have already been sorted.
Eating: ALL APPLE EVERYTHING
It is apple season and I am thriving! Cinnamon baked apples! Apple crumbles! Apple ginger fizz mocktails (and sometimes cocktails)! Homemade apple butter! I simply will not be stopped!!!
Playing: FEEL-GOOD FALL FILMS
Too many people dive headfirst into Halloween content the second they catch a whiff of PSL, and then they get tired of ghosts and ghouls before it’s even time to go trick-or-treating.
Rookie mistake.
Instead, I like to kick off the season with cozy, feel-good fall movies that aren’t Halloween-related, so I can save all spookiness for October. Which is why I’ve had the joy of playing the following films over the past few weeks:
Best enjoyed as though you just rented them from Blockbuster: with buttered popcorn and your movie theater candy of choice. Maybe even a soda or two.
Obsessing over: MY (FINISHED!!!) BOOK
I can’t believe I’m finally saying this, but my book is DONE—like, fully and completely finished and going to print within the week!!!
I’m in talks with my team at Lonely Planet about what I’m allowed to talk about and when, but I’m hoping that I’ll soon be able to share behind-the-scenes sneak peeks soon, like…
the front cover and the cover design process, including the designs we didn’t end up going with and why
the story behind the book’s dedication, which I tear up just thinking about
the table of contents and why we chose to structure the book this way, since it’s not really something that’s been done before
how things progressed from idea to proposal to offer letter to draft to design to print to an actual book you’ll be able to pre-order in just a few months
…and more! I’m particularly excited to lift the veil here and let CARRY ON’s paid subscribers in on how this process worked from start to finish, because I had no idea what to expect before I was in the midst of it myself.
Recommending: LOOP EARPLUGS
After two years of telling everyone how obsessed I am with them, I was just welcomed into the Loop Earplugs affiliate program—so if you’ve been thinking about giving them a try, you can take the quiz here to see which pair would be a good fit for your needs and use code ALICIAV-AF05 at checkout for a discount! But first, a story:
I kicked off September in Barcelona on a work trip, and I can say with complete certainty that I could not have gotten through that trip without having a total meltdown if not for my Loop Earplugs.
One of the AuDHD symptoms I struggle with most is noise sensitivity. And not to sound like Nate from The Office, but the thing I struggle most with is when there are a lot of noises happening at one time—which is a near-certainty when traveling through airports, train stations, and basically any major city, so I know to bring my Loops along when I head into those kinds of situations.
However, after working almost entirely remotely these last few years, I hadn’t considered how much I’d struggle with all of the background noises my own colleagues would make while we sat in a conference room together trying to listen to hours of back-to-back presentations.
At first, I couldn’t focus on what the presenters were saying because I couldn’t block out the sniffling and throat-clearing, rustling of papers, scribbling of pens, crinkling of gum and candy wrappers, scraping of chairs against linoleum floors, tapping on keyboards, and whispering of dozens of side conversations. Honestly, I thought I was going to have to leave the room.
But then! Then I mentally high-fived myself for remembering to pack all three pairs of my Loops for this trip, because I knew the Engage earplugs would be ideal for this situation since they're specifically designed to reduce noise and filter out distractions while keeping speech clear. I popped them in to drown out the excess sounds so I could focus solely on what the presenter was saying and breathed a sigh of relief.
In the days that followed, I wore my Engage earplugs during every other moment when we were all gathered in a group, my Quiet earplugs to help me sleep soundly in my thin-walled hotel room and on the plane ride home, and my Experience earplugs while out at a company-wide karaoke night and navigating the airport.
I’m so grateful that I remembered to bring all three pairs with me so I could choose which to wear depending on how present I still needed to be in any given moment (though I’ve heard that Loop’s new Switch earplugs allow you to cycle between Quiet, Experience, and Engage modes as needed, so those are the next ones on my list).
Treating myself to: A WEEKEND AT EFTELING
Another place I wore my Loop Earplugs this month: at Efteling, often referred to as Dutch Disneyland, where we spent the most beautiful September weekend in a glorious state of childlike wonder.
We wandered through the fairytale forest, soared through the air on roller coasters, screamed and laughed with glee in the darkness on underground thrill rides, and raised our tavern beers in a toast to the magic of friendship (and of managing to enjoy an entirely rain-free Saturday together under sunny blue skies in the Netherlands)… Full review to come, but in short, it was a fantastic experience and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
What’s in your September report?
Even if you’re not someone who enjoys “journaling” per se, this kind of guided reflection is a fun way to think about how you’ve been spending your time and energy lately. So, what have you been reading, eating, playing, obsessing over, recommending, and treating yourself to in the past month? I’d love to know!