What Happened in September?
Hello everyone! I’m sure you are all sick of me saying this, but WOW September came and went just like that, huh? I’m almost unhappy that 2020 is going so fast…but who am I kidding, this year has been intense. Maybe it’s a good thing we’re flying through it!
Since September went by so fast, I feel like I don’t have a whole lot to say about it. There are some cool things that happened this month, however, so let’s get into it!
Banged Up
For my birthday last month, my GM Tab gave me a gift certificate to her best friend’s salon. I needed a haircut, and the gift card came at the best time. The first Tuesday of September, I went to Citrine Hair+Skin to finally get my hair cut.
Now, let me talk about my old hair spot, Lucky 13 Salon. I’ve been going there since high school. After I would get my hair relaxed at a different shop, I would refuse a hair cut from the stylist and go to Kelly at Lucky 13. She’s seen my hair at its worst and made it look its best for so long. She gave me the confidence I needed to rock any hairstyle, including when I shaved it all off!! I’ve been faithful to her for so long that it felt strange, almost dirty, to go to someone else.
Lucky 13 has been VERY open and honest about the state of their business during this pandemic. I got put on the waitlist a long time ago to get my hair cut, but I had no idea that Kelly wasn’t taking any clients period up until very recently. Because of that, I waited until my hair was at a strange, unmanageable point before getting it cut.
Technically, if I had waited a little bit longer, I guess I could’ve gone to my OG stylist. But who knew, right? Not me!
I will still go see Kelly at Lucky 13 because I feel comfortable there. However, now I have a new hair spot to go to if I can’t get in to see her for a while!
Citrine is everything I thought it would be and more. The atmosphere was calming and warm, and my hair stylist Amie is basically me in a decade or two. Her energy definitely made me feel so welcome, and it didn’t hurt that I basically knew all of the stylists thanks to working with the owner’s best friend.
It didn’t take much for Amie to talk me into cementing my halfway already there bangs into actual bangs. She kept them long enough that I can pull them back into my everyday puffball on a busy morning, but manageable enough that it doesn’t really take that long to style them. And honestly? I absolutely love my bangs.
If you’re in the market for a good haircut, you really can’t go wrong with either Citrine or Lucky 13. Amie and Kelly are both phenomenal stylists, and now I have the dilemma of figuring out which one to visit next time I’m due for a trim!
Finally, Some Good Family Time
This month was the first month in a long time that I’ve seen almost all of the parents. We saw my dad after months of not being able to due to the Rona (he and his husband are 100% better, by the way!), and we finally got to see Matt’s dad, his sisters, and the nephews and niece after almost a year. My mom came and visited for the first time since January as well.
The only parents we didn’t see was Matt’s mom and her husband, but I’ve been trying to make sure we see them before too long as well. I miss them just as much as I’ve missed the rest of all my families, and it’s exciting to think that I’ll see them soon!
Coronavirus has presented a brand new flavor of guilt for Matt and I: Familial Guilt. Before the pandemic, Matt and I would try our damndest to see everyone at least every few months. Out of fears of getting the kids or our parents sick, we’ve avoided visiting anyone outside of our bubble.
When we eventually saw Matt’s dad, sisters, and their kids, we were so thankful that they understood why we stayed away for so long. His mom is also super understanding, and I understand why my own mom stayed away from my sister and I for so long. It’s so risky to see each other when one of us could be carrying the virus and not even know it. It was torture to stay away from my dad when he was sick. Now that we’re so into the pandemic, it’s definitely not the time to be getting too comfortable, but it is time to have a good, but responsible, time with family.
The Curse Has Infected Me
I got a fucking TikTok. I’m not happy about it. But I’m obsessed. I blame 2020 for this development in my life.
TikTok is for sure for the younger generation in general, but I’ve found lots of great content creators and artists through the app, including small business owners, cosplayers, artists sharing their processes, and of course, comedians and goofballs. Most of the creators I follow are surprisingly my age, but I do enjoy seeing Gen Z kids living their best lives on the app! I’ll make a post in October about my favorite creators, so keep an eye out for that!
Honestly I think the best part of TikTok is seeing Gen Z letting their creativity run free. There are so many kids on there who are so talented, whether it’s through art, music, fashion, you name it. I can’t imagine being confident enough at their age to share my ideas and talents on a huge site like TikTok. It’s very sobering to realize that I could be their (very young) mother sometimes. For the most part, however, it makes me so happy to see kids and young adults being able to embrace who they are out loud with little to no fear.
So yeah, fine, TikTok is cool. Whatever!
Music Obsessions
I’m not going to lie to you all. As of right now, 3:19 PM on September 28th, I have not finished the playlist for the month! By the time you’re reading this, however, you’ll have a finished set of music.
“Why aren’t you done with the playlist, Mary?” you may ask, sipping on your Pumpkin Spice Latte in disbelief. “It’s your favorite part of the Monthly Roundup!”
You’re right. It is! I love music, we all know this! I love sharing the music I’ve been listening to with you all!
But that’s the thing. I’ve not been listening to music that much.
Shocking, I know. Please don’t drop your PSL!
September was the month of YouTube for me. I think I’ve watched every video on my subscriptions list like, way more times than I’m ready to admit.
At the beginning of the month, one of my favorite YouTubers, Matt Watson, released his debut EP, “OUCH!”. I’ve been listening to that pretty nonstop when I’m not listening to Let’s Players scream and yell in the background of whatever I’m doing around the house. It’s a little under 2o minutes of self-taught, home recorded music that is honestly pretty great.
As someone who’s been a fan of Watson since (almost) the beginning of his career, it’s very heartwarming to see him doing something he’s been wanting to do for years and actually pull it off. The EP isn’t perfect, but you can feel his passion for what he’s created in every song. It makes me smile to listen to his music, and I almost feel like a proud mom knowing that he accomplished a goal he set for himself. Definitely check out his EP if you have 20 minutes to spare.
Casey Frey, one of my favorite people on the internet, shows off his dancing skills in Tiësto’s new single, “The Business”. It’s a catchy song and a spooky video that’s perfect for the upcoming spooky season. Since I’m begrudgingly obsessed with TikTok right now, I’ve had “Buttercup” and “YOU’RE THE ONE” stuck in my head all month as well.
Right this second right now, I’m in the middle of shuffling through my likes on Spotify to give you all the finished playlist you deserve. Check out the (hopefully finished) playlist here! Next month, I’ll have everything done on time! Constant procrastination is my curse, but hopefully October doesn’t get away from me like September did.
Honestly, now that I’ve been writing, a lot more happened this month that I didn’t even write about. My friends got married, I had my first root canal, work has been crazy…but I’ll save those stories for another day.
Next month, I plan on playing lots of Animal Crossing (have y’all seen the new update coming on the 30th?! Spooky Season is here, babes!). I also plan on polishing up “Years Apart” by giving it a new name, a solid plot, and a believable character arc. Right now, the development has me a little stumped. I really want to make sure I go into NaNoWriMo in November with a solid plan so that I can finish and move on to polishing up the story to share with you all!
I also want to improve and learn more about Procreate, especially because they just added new features. Eventually, I’m thinking about designing stickers and pins…but that might just be me getting a little too into Small Business TikTok. We’ll see if I still feel like dedicating time to that here in a month!
October is one of my favorite months because I love the spirit of Halloween. I’m going to try and give you guys a spooky short story next month, and I’m going to share some of the things I do to embrace my favorite time of year. I have lots of plans and ideas, so wish me luck! I really want to make my posts something that you look forward to. Hopefully you feel like that anyway, but I’m confident that I can give you all some gems to really appreciate!
Thank you for reading, as always! Follow me on Twitter for daily Mary shenanigans, memes, and complaints. If you want to follow me on TikTok, you can do that as well. I don’t plan on posting anything on there, but feel free to go through my likes! See y’all here next week!
