October was definitely a wildddd ride over here. I’ve found myself smack dab in the middle of a season of change and while I’ve been trying to keep up with everything I’ve debated if I wanted to pause my updates for a bit. Let’s be real, I’ve thought about that quite a few times this year because… 2020!

I keep on showing up though because each month I remember that life is NEVER linear. Whether we’re living through the shitstorm that is this year or it’s another, we are ALWAYS going through ups and downs. That’s life for you! And if you wait to do things until life has calmed down… or only acknowledge your progress during the good times then you’re going to miss out on a hell of a lot.

Every month we have a new opportunity for growth and I love doing my check-ins because they remind me of just how much can happen in a month and help me realign for the next. Even more important, especially during this chapter, they remind me of just how strong and truly capable I am to accomplish big things even when life is a little cray cray!

So let’s get down to my highlights (both big and small) this month!

1. I hit 80% of my yearly website traffic goal for my blog and had my top month of the year! That, even despite coming in short on my goal for new posts this month.

2. Signed project contracts worth 20% of our annual business this year in one week’s time 😳 You could say it’s been a busy month for new business

3. Invested in a course to learn a new skill I’ve been wanting to learn for awhile

4. Started (and actually stuck) to a new skincare routine. Yes, quite the contrast to the others but… self-care

5. Set limits on social media during my off hours and have cut back on my daily usage which was so necessary this month

I hope this update will encourage you to take a few minutes to reflect on your month as well! As always, if you want a little help through the process too, I have free downloads at the Get Your Goals section of my blog too! 🙌

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Why do I do goal check-ins?

I started doing goal check-ins publically as a personal accountability challenge. Working on my goals and strategies to accomplish them have always been really important and by sharing them I felt an extra weight of commitment. Plus, I wanted a way to try and encourage others to have their own check-ins and keep working on their own goals. Helping others reach their dreams has always felt like my purpose and by being vulnerable and sharing the journey of my own I hope to inspire others as well.

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I cannot tell you how EXCITED I am to have a front porch to decorate for the holidays! It’s our first Halloween at the townhouse and whether we end up getting trick or treaters or not, the decorations were going up! This is the first time EVER in my adult life that I’ve actually had a front porch of my own and not just an apartment door so I definitely had a lot of fun with it!

Bats: Similar | Skeleton: Similar | Spider Webs: Similar | Candy Corn Lights: Similar

Our front porch isn’t super big so we decided to also take advantage of our Juliette balcony for some decor! We added a skeleton we had, as well as some spider webs and lights. Since he gets s little windy up there too we also tied the skeleton to the balcony with some twine.

My other favorite part of our decor are these bats! How fun right?!

Next up is the front porch! Of course we all know the real stars of the season are pumpkins! We picked up a bunch of varieties at Trader Joes this year. I also brought out a wood crate we had to add a little height and give us more space to stack pumpkins. Add in some corn cobs and some lights and the front porch was ready to go!

Wreath: Option 1 & Option 2 | Halloween Ornaments: Similar

Another fun decor element is our wreath. I actually got this years ago when I was living in NYC and thought I was splurging (it was a whole $30 😂). What I love about it is since it’s black and silver I can change the decorations to match the holiday. In NYC this was more a matter of space, but even still I like having the option. So for Halloween, I add a spider and some Halloween ornaments. For Christmas, I swap out the ornaments, add some ribbon and a hanging snowflake. Then for Valentine’s Day, I add some cute heart lights. It’s nice to have something that is versatile!

Spider Webs: Similar | Plastic Spiders: Similar | Halloween Tombstones: Similar

To finish off our decorations, we added spider webs to our bushes with plastic spiders sprinkled throughout them. Then a few faux tombstones in our flower beds!

It was so fun getting in the spirit! I hope you liked the tour and maybe even got some inspo for your decorations too!

Shop my Halloween Decorations

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This year for Evan’s birthday weekend, he decided he wanted to go mushroom foraging! It’s something a lot of his family has been doing for years but neither of us had tried it so we decided to give it a go! We ended up having such a blast and I thought it was something cool to do that’s a little different so today I’m sharing some tips and things I learned in case you want to try it for yourself!

What to Know

Before you think about going you definitely want to make sure you’re educated and well prepared. We went with family who taught us the basics and knew where to go, but I know that isn’t the case for everyone so here are some helpful resources to guide you. The first one specific to Washington state that I recommend checking out is the Puget Sound Mycological Society which is a full-blown organization specifically focused on mushrooms! Apparently, the one in Washington is also one of the largest chapters in the country too! Although if you aren’t based in Washington there are chapters all over so be sure to find the one nearest you. If you check out their website you’ll find a wealth of resources with everything you need to know from rules and needed permits (depending on where you’re going), mushroom identification, book recommendations and even recipes! They also offer classes on mushroom identification and even do field trips where you can go out together (restricted during COVID). Definitely worth checking it out!

I also found a number of great books on the topic that will walk you through what you need to know. Here are 3 popular and well-reviewed options.

• Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest by Steve Trudell

• The Complete Mushroom Hunter by Gary Lincoff 

• Mushrooming without Fear: The Beginner's Guide to Collecting Safe and Delicious Mushrooms by Alexander Schwab

The number one thing you definitely want to be confident of before going is your ability to identify the Chanterelles — I don’t want anyone getting sick here! Having a resource on-hand to double-check the ones you picked when you get home before you eat them is a good idea too.

When to Go

Once you’ve learned some of the basics, let’s chat about when to go. This is going to depend on your region, but for Washington Labor Day to the first frost is generally the prime season. Although some of the group we went with said they can be found as early as July and intro January if we don’t get a bad freeze. It really just depends on where you are and the weather because mushrooms need wet conditions to grow. That being said, we all know Washington gets a lot of rain so it makes sense why our area has one of the most expansive selections of mushrooms in the world!

What to wear

Now that we’ve been, I definitely have some recommendations for what to wear! I didn’t totally nail this our first go-around. I’d compare it to similar clothing you’d wear hiking in the Fall in Washington. Decently warm and most importantly waterproof! I didn’t really know what to expect and didn’t realize we’d be walking through brush so I just wore yoga pants with hiking shoes and my ankles got pretty scratched up. So that being said here’s what I’d recommend.

• Raincoat or something waterproof and decently warm

• Rainboots, or hiking boots with tall socks — If you go with rainboots I’d pick shorter ones if possible, I know my tall hunter rainboots make it kind of tricky to walk and you’ll be walking over logs and through brush

• Hat — again, walking through tree branches and in the forest so this will help protect your face and not get your hair stuck in anything!

• Gardening gloves — These are a personal choice but I liked having them to keep my hands a little cleaner. I’d recommend rubberized ones if you do too to keep your hands dry

What to Bring

Beyond what you wear, here are some other things you’ll want to bring:

• Something to carry them in — We just used canvas bags but I’ve also seen it recommended that you use baskets

• Knife or garden clippers — Any kind of knife will really do, but they even make ones specifically for foraging. You can also use gardening clippers which is what we did

Where to Go

Luckily for us, we went with Evan’s family who already had some go-to spots in our area. If that isn’t the case for you though, there are a ton of places to go! I pulled together a few different guides to lead you in the right direction:

• Washington Trails Association Guide

• Visit Rainier Mushrooming Guide

• Outdoor Project Pacific Northwest Mushrooming Guide

What You’re Looking for

Chanterelles are known for their yellowy-orange color which separates them from some other varieties. They grow on the forest floor and we found quite a few near logs, or by trees, and also in mossy shrub filled areas. Some areas they were easier than others to spot but with a lot of fallen leaves a similar color they can blend in. It’s kind of like an Easter egg hunt in the forest! Here are some of the key things you’re looking for to ID chanterelles (but again, make sure you do your own research because there’s a few lookalikes)

• Golden color

• Veins go all the way down to the stem

• The “veins” are just ridges and not actual gills like you see in grocery store mushrooms

• The stems are solid all the way through and not hollow

• Don’t usually grow in clusters but if you find one there’s usually another one or a few nearby

• The caps aren’t slimy like some other mushrooms — they can be damp but won’t feel like a slug walked over them

Once you find them, you’ll want to slice or clip them at the bottom of the stem, brush off any bigger chunks of dirt and put them in your bag. Then when you’re home, you can lay them out on a cookie sheet for a day or two until the remaining dirt dries and then you can brush off the dirt with a toothbrush and then they’ll be ready to eat if you’re cooking them fresh! You can also dry them out, freeze them or can them. Lots of different options.

I hope you’ve found this post helpful and give it a try! We had such a fun time our first trip and probably found 30+ between the two of us! So we’ll definitely be enjoying those in the meantime and looking forward to our next trip!

P.S. If you like keeping up with my PNW adventures, Evan and I started an Instagram account focused on just that! Follow along at @TheHicksintheSticks