An October to Remember

If I had to describe October in one word, it would be full. Full of love, laughter, tears (the dramatic kind), and so many moments that reminded me how lucky I am to have the people I do.

Growing up, I always looked forward to October because it was my birthday month and I loved being the centre of attention. That all changed a few years ago when I realised how much I hate ageing, but nonetheless, this October reminded me that growing older doesn’t have to feel gloomy. It can be about celebrating the people you’ve grown with. From Ruby’s 21st and silent discos to zoo days and surprise dinners, this month was bursting with moments that made me feel incredibly grateful (and slightly hungover).

Ruby’s 21st & The Greatest Kahoot of All Time🥳

October wasn’t just my birthday month, it was Ruby’s too! We celebrated by going to an event called The Best of Both Worlds Party, which was basically a nostalgic fever dream. Whie technically this was a joint birthday event, I wanted it to be all about Ruby. After all she was turning 21!! Thats way more significant than me turning 24. Before heading out to the city to participate in this event, we had a really fun pres. A few nights before, Rubes and I had created not only our own individual Kahoots, but a combined one! The greatest Kahoot of all time in my humble opinion. We sat at the Dee Why RSL cackling as we looked back on photos, created fake answers, and even writing the real answers. What can I say? we crack ourselves up! We set the Kahoots up at pres and everyone had a go at them!

Now this party in the city was amazing! They played all the songs from our childhood, Disney Channel hits, early 2000s pop, and everything in between. There’s something so comforting about screaming the words to Breaking Free surrounded by people who grew up just like you. I was definitely feeling a little woozy by the end of the evening and went to bed a dizzy, but happy girl.

The Zoo🐯

Of course the next day had to be the day I caught up with my mum, sister, and beautiful niece for a day at the Zoo. I’ve always loved the zoo, but seeing it through my niece’s eyes makes it even more special. She’s growing up so fast! I swear she gets taller every time I see her. We watched the seal show (a family favourite) and spent the whole day wandering around in the sunshine. There were only a few tantrums/meltdowns and we had some lovely ice cream. You can never go wrong with a day at the zoo.

Stephens Housewarming🏡

Somewhere between birthdays and Halloween, we went to Stephen’s housewarming, which turned into another eventful sleepover. We wore glow sticks as glasses, blasted karaoke in his backyard, and laughed until we couldn’t breathe. I couldn't think of a better

Stephen-esque housewarming. Me, Justy, and Ruby arrived late due to the fact that me and Rubes saw a performance of Peter Pan the same night. I'm sad we couldn't join Stephens a bit earlier but it was still a blast.

Oktoberfest🍻🇩🇪

A few weeks later, I found myself in Newcastle for Oktoberfest with some friends. I've never been to Oktoberfest before so I was really excited! there was the slight issue of me having less than a week to obtain a costume. I searched everywhere on the internet but I needed it to get here before Friday. Thankfully, there are online costume stores that understand this dilemma! I ordered one, and two days later it arrived and fit me perfectly. We then bought Justyns costume which looked like a black garbage bag repurposed. It was perhaps the cheapest costume I had ever seen, but I guess that what you get from the two dollar store and at the end of the day, i'm just thankful he found something.

We travelled up on the Friday evening, and somewhere along the highway hunger struck. Naturally, we ended up at KFC and that’s where the night took a slightly chaotic turn. What should’ve been a quick pit stop turned into a comedy sketch. Of course, they didn’t have what Justyn ordered, so the poor drive-through worker started listing off alternatives. That’s when Justyn said one of the most annoying things you can possibly say to someone wearing a headset at 9 p.m.:“Ugh, I don’t know… surprise me?”Nobody wants that kind of pressure. You could hear the existential dread through the speaker. But honestly, it gave us something to laugh about the rest of the drive.

We woke up the next morning ready to face the festivities costumes on, energy high, and KFC regret slowly fading. Before heading over, we stopped at a local pub for a quick drink to warm up. Of course we had to kick things off with a jaegerbomb. Once we were slightly loose, we jumped on the ferry to the festival, surrounded by people in lederhosen and dirndls, everyone buzzing with anticipation.

As soon as we arrived, I ordered a wine straight away (yes, wine at an infamous beer festival). It might’ve looked ridiculous next to the endless towers of beer steins, but it was absolutely delightful: crisp, cold, and exactly what I needed.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur of laughter, music, and sunshine. The silent disco ended up being my favourite part, rows of people dancing to completely different songs, everyone singing off-key in their own little worlds. I swapped headphones with strangers, jumped around like an idiot, and completely forgot about how tired we were from the night before.

By the end, I was surrounded by Schnitzel, beer, and people throwing up. A good day if you ask me. Post fest- we went back to the pub and had a few more drinks before heading back to the house. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again!!

My Birthday🎉

By the end of the month, I had turned 24, which still feels weird to say out loud. I walked into work on my birthday to find that my colleagues had surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. And, in true Sarah fashion, I immediately burst into tears. Not a cute, single tear, but a full dramatic cry. It was one of those small but meaningful gestures that just hit me right in the heart.

Later that night, my boyfriend completely outdid himself. He organised a surprise birthday dinner and somehow managed to get all of my friends together without me suspecting a thing (still not sure how he pulled that off). Everyone showed up with the most thoughtful, personal gifts, things that actually meant something. I just remember sitting there, surrounded by the people I love, thinking about how lucky I am. It took everything I had not to cry again. The thought that went into these gifts was so meaningful and I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends. Hands down one of the best birthdays.

Halloween🎃

To top off an already unforgettable month, we went all out for Halloween. My friends and I dressed up as characters from The Wizard of Oz — glitter, green face paint, and all. It was less than a week to go, and I needed to find a costume for myself (Dorothy), the scarecrow, and the tinman. I had my work cut out for me. Surprisingly, Scarecrow was not that difficult to shop for. I headed into Big W and bought some brown linen pants, and an oversized shirt, completed with some craft rope from the reject shop and a broad brimmed hat. Now for my Dorothy costume, all I need to buy was a blue plaid skirt and for the life of me, I couldn't find anything!! Holy moly i couldn't even find a plain blue skirt and I was stressing. I didn't want to spend a boatload of money on a costume or a skirt i was only going to wear once so i tried to stick to Kmart, BigW, and Target. Nothing. I. couldn't find anything. I stood in BigW looking at what I could find in store and the only thing that matched what i needed was a kids skirt. There was no way I was going to fit in a kids sized skirt, or so I thought...

I found a blue dress closely resembling exactly what I needed but when I picked it up I knew i was going to be disappointed, that dress was tiny. At that point I had nothing left to lose so I walked into the dressing room with this tiny dress made for a 10 year old in hand, and I put it on. It fit. I actually couldn't believe that it fit. I dont know what sort of material BigW are using for their clothes but oh my god it fit over my huge child bearing hips! My hips are the death of me when it comes to wearing skirts or dresses so I couldn't believe that a kids dress fit so well. I didn't have to struggle at all!

Friday rolled around and I was so excited! we did pres at Justys and then headed to the city where there were drinks, music, and a mechanical bull. We even ended up doing a human pyramid by the end of it, before we were told no. It was a great halloween! I can't wait for next year.