It's here. I was not really feeling turning 29.
But then I put on some Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday nail polish, and I immediately started to feel better. I decided to embrace it. In a few years, I'll look back and wonder why I was so worked up over getting another year older. It's just a number.
And after looking back on my 28th year, I realized that I still have many great things to come. After seeing some other bloggers like Joy the Baker and Beantown Baker do a 30 by 30, I wanted to join in the fun.
1. Learn how to knit
2. Learn how to use a sewing machine (Mom, this means I need your help!!!)
3. Start taking vitamins (for real. Not just buying them & stashing them under the sink)
4. Lose 10-15 pounds and maintain it (!!) I want to look like this again:
5. Be better about correspondence with friends; Skype with the friends I’m missing across the country!
6. Learn how to properly use my DSLR - the manual setting, white balance, the whole shebang! Any book recommendations? Or classes?
7. Get our entire home painted via professional painter and lit via professional electrician
8. Organize our den/office so that it is cute and inviting...not serving as a giant storage closet
9. Call my Dad once a week (I already talk to my Mom at least once per day)
10. Call, Skype or email with my sister Christine at least once a week (Kimberly and I are already pretty good at Gchatting almost daily and seeing each other often since she lives in NYC)
11. Find paid freelance assignments
12. Write a book
13. Meet my Dad for lunch or dinner in New York City (where we both work!)
14. Devise organizational system for my shoes (for the first time in my life)
15. Find a spot for my cookbooks where they will be easily accessible...and used!
16. Watch 10 classic films
17. Try bone marrow
18. Get my wedding album made (before our 4th anniversary)
19. Read 5 classic novels (suggestions? I recently read Jane Eyre and adored it)
20. Visit a new US city
21. Make a budget & stick to it, making it possible to grow our savings!
22. Unplug - turn off my computer at a reasonable hour after work. Put the Blackberry on silence. Enjoy quality time with my husband that isn’t disrupted by Facebook, Twitter, the blog, work emails, etc, etc, etc.
23. Make things happen for myself, instead of waiting for them to happen to me.
24. Buy a piece of art. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. But something Shaun and I like!
25. Learn how to make my mom’s famous tomato sauce & meatballs
26. Make at least one new recipe from each cookbook in my collection
27. Host a girl’s night with all my best ladies
28. Eat at 10 new restaurants in New York City (I will already cross one of the list tonight because Shaun is taking me to BLT Steak for dinner!)
29. Make a Top 30 Of All Time playlist...what would your list include?
30. Take time to enjoy life, recognize how lucky I am and spend time with my husband, family and friends. At the end of the day, that's what matters, right?
31. (One for good luck) This is reader's choice. What do you think should be added to this list? Leave me some suggestions and I'll pick one next week to add to the list!
So there you have it. My 30 things by the time I hit 30. I know this is a lofty list, but I have high hopes for year 29 :) I'd better get busy!
And while we're on the subject, what do you think? What are your suggestions for classic movies or books? What would you put on your Top 30 Of All Time playlist? Any recommendations for NYC restaurants to try?