I cannot believe it’s November already, how quickly has this year gone? The 12th of November marks my 6 month anniversary in Australia, and I feel like it’s come round in the blink of an eye. This time of year feels strange for me, I think the time difference and seasonal reverse between UK and Australia is most prevalent and I’m doing my best to adapt to the concept of a hot Christmas. October was a great month for me. I made new friends, got my teeth stuck into a new job and just really felt like things started to fall into place. As the Christmas countdown has officially begun (only 7 weeks OMG), I wanted to share my goals and aims for November.

Detox
A couple of months ago I removed both dairy and gluten from my diet, due to suffering with fairly crippling IBS for most of my life. I’ve dabbled with cutting different things out before, but this is the first time I’ve ever given something up for good. I’ll share my story in a dedicated post, but my symptoms have really improved since eliminating these culprits from my diet. It’s not uncommon to have food intolerances, and it’s clear that my symptoms were either caused by, or exacerbated by both dairy and gluten. To continue into November and to help my gut heal as much as possible I’m going on a 30 day detox to really help flush out any nasties and get myself looking trimmer (bikini season is coming!).

Christmas 
It feels weird saying this at the start of November, but given we only have 7 weeks until Christmas it really is time I get cracking and start picking up presents for friends and family. This year I have to organise presents for my family at home, as well as get bits and pieces sorted for my partner’s family – who will be hosting me for Christmas. As an organised person by nature, nothing perplexes me more than the thought of a mad Christmas rush – particularly when online delivery here takes forever. On top of that, my sister is coming out to visit in early January so I want to plan as much as possible for her stay so that she has the best experience of Melbourne and wider Victoria as possible!

Weekends Away
Last weekend, my boyfriend and I went for a mini break to Torquay – we stayed in a pretty rustic cabin surrounded by Eucalyptus trees and it felt like the real Australian experience. We spent the evening on our deck, cooked up a BBQ, had some drinks and played card games, and despite being eaten alive by mosquitoes, we had such a relaxing and fun weekend. Now that we’ve got a real taste for it, we want to start planning some more little trips away to explore regional Victoria. As I’ve just started a new job I don’t have many holiday days available, and those I do have I want to save for when my sister comes to visit at the start of January. However driving somewhere late on Friday night and getting the maximum out of our weekends is so worth it. It was by far my most relaxing weekend in months, and whilst I was happy to get home, it felt so nice to get away.

Shop Shop Shop
It’s probably a bit ridiculous that this is one of my November goals, but I really need to get my summer wardrobe up to scratch. I binned a lot of my ‘summer’ clothes before I came out here as they were too big for me, and I just haven’t got round to selecting some key pieces that will see me through the hot and humid season. I’m eyeing up lots of midi skirts and dresses as they’re so versatile to wear both at work, and at the weekend. I recently treated myself to my first Gucci handbag, so I’m excited to showcase that over the Christmas season – and am already eyeing up what’s next!


What are your November goals?