Hannah’s Picks: 5 Things on My Mind in October

Fall is here and I’m embracing the changing of seasons – even more so this year. With a continued focus on staying healthy, my husband and I are making our new house, home and enjoying the magic that comes with October -- the cravings for the tastes of autumn, the definite chill in the air, and less-than-cliché things that are putting me in the mood, like this playlist. I invite you while sipping a bourbon nightcap to enjoy this curated Spotify playlist to get you in the mood.

I already requested my absentee ballot, but the second thing on my mind is the crucial need to VOTE! We’re counting down to election day and it’s imperative to know your state's deadlines for requesting a ballot and ensuring it’s postmarked in time and that you’re careful when completing it. Your vote is your voice!

As mentioned, we moved into the house at the beginning of the year and after taking time to unpack, I’m styling up our living room and making it extra cozy. Along with my favorite woodsy, balsam fir-smelling candles, the chunky knit throw pillow was the final touch to ready the space to dive into the latest page-turner! If you missed the teacher, Ashley Tackett, last time, mark your calendar for October 21st!

Speaking of page-turners...I want to amplify black voices and I have two great reads on my nightstand from two authors that deserve attention. Freshwater, the debut novel by Akwaeke Emezi is remarkable. Grab your copy and read it along with me! With a new perspective on mental illness, you’ll become captivated by how this piece is narrated with multiple personalities. With as much anticipation for the first book, I’ll be eager to get into the second one -- Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson. Selected by many book clubs, it was this review in the San Francisco Chronicle had me hitting, “Add to Cart”:

“Brave, clear and shatteringly honest in both approach and delivery . . . Extrapolating Wilkerson’s ideas to contemporary America becomes an unsettling exercise that proves how right she is and how profoundly embedded into society the caste system is. . . . Her quest for answers frames everything and acts as the perfect delivery method for every explanation.”—Gabino Iglesias

Why wait until Thanksgiving to start giving thanks?! While this year has been a bust in many ways, I can still count blessings. A girlfriend who has a knack for finding the perfect meme (every.single.time) and a husband’s post-it notes that leave me blushing...the list continues. So as I sip my PSL (*wink), I’m making a running list of things I’m grateful for … storing them up for cold, grey days after the trees have shed the last of the fall leaves.