Updated April 2015: For the past few weeks, while stuck inside with sick babies, I’ve been spending a lot of time on Pinterest. While it can sometimes be overwhelming, I really do enjoy the visual inspiration. At the same time, I tend to be a “pin it and forget it” pinner…on to the next pretty picture while forgetting the rest.
Last week, I found myself browsing through my boards and thinking, “Wow! I would love to make that!” or “That looks easy enough…I should try that.” I started jotting down a few of the ideas and then..lightning bolt! If you’ve been reading for awhile, you’ll remember my list of 100 little things I did in 2014. I loved working on that list, so I decided to revamp my life list to include a little of both: big and little and everything in between.
Living a full, intentional life doesn’t have to just be about traveling to new countries or attending Olympics games. Sometimes it’s just trying a new recipe or camping in the backyard with your kids. You know the quote, “Enjoy the little things in life because one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things”? I really want to live that way. I hope you will too.
I’ve included a bit of my new life list below. I’ll be periodically adding to it and checking them off as I go, if you’d like to follow along!
P.S. I’m also using these journals to hold my notes and ideas from my pins on Pinterest. The paper quality is fantastic!
Food
Make homemade icecream completed 7/2013
Make pasta from scratch
Make a layered birthday cake
Make my own vanilla extract
Perfect a delicious iced coffee recipe
Bake homemade pretzels
Make strawberry jam with Mom
Bake pita bread
Creativity
Make 100 beautiful things with my hands
- #1. Princess and the Pea Cross Stitch
- #2&3. Instagram Yearbooks
- #4. Arm-Knit Scarf
- #5-7. Superhero Cross-Stitch Pillows
- #8. Pom Pom Wreath
- #9: Grapefruit Soap
Make a pennant using vintage sheets for Sophie’s room
Learn how to use my camera in manual mode
Make a piece of clothing using a pattern
Learn how to knit
Learn floral arranging
Finish the cross-stitch superhero pillows for the boys completed 5/2015
Learn how to make candles
Learn calligraphy
Write a children’s book
Create a journal with prompts and publish
Make my handwriting a font
Make silhouettes of the kids
Home Decor and Improvement
Purchase an old home and completely renovate it
Complete a total gut renovation project (bathroom or kitchen?)
Build a tree house in the backyard
Buy a new welcome mat
Hang Sophie’s gallery wall completed 11/2015
Purchase a bench for the dining room table
Paint a piece of furniture with milk paint
Find a white pitcher for the mantel found 9/2015
Splurge and buy fresh flowers
Health & Fitness
Run 100 races: 5K, 10K, half marathon and anything with my dad
My First Race! May 2013: Semper Fred 5K, 33:08 // #2. September 2013: Crossroads 4 Miler, 39:53
#3. My First Half Marathon! May 2015: Marine Corps Historic Half, 2:37:53
#4. My first 10K! October 2017, Shenandoah Leaf Peeper 10K, 1:11:16
Go horseback riding
Run a relay race
Complete a weight lifting program
Learn to paddleboard
Books to Read
Read every book on my “College Bound Booklist”
Read The Temperament God Gave Your Kids (a recommendation)
Start a book club started The Inspired Readers Book Club 6/2015
Wardrobe & Self Care
Donate my hair to Locks for Love completed 01/2013
Buy a dress over $50 and not feel guilty about it
Travel
See all 50 states
Go on an Alaskan cruise
Ride on the Amtrak
Visit every NFL stadium and see a game
See a show on Broadway
Take a family vacation in Seaside, FL
Take a family vacation to Bald Head Island
Making Memories
Go paintballing
Camp out in our backyard
See Cirque du Soleil
Have our family pictures done by a professional photographer completed 10/2013 by the wonderful Lucy O Photography, 11/2015
Take the kids boating and tubing
Make tie-dye t-shirts
Take a cooking class with my husband
Learn how to flyfish with Dad
Take the family to a game at Fenway Park
Organize a getaway trip with my cousins Chicago in 4/2014
Put Christmas wreaths on the graves in Arlington National Cemetery
Challenges
Make every recipe from a single cookbook, like Julie and Julia
Support 100 Mammas in their small businesses
- #1 – Ikat Pouch from Kim at Daisy Faye Designs
- #2 – Usborne Book Credit from Jessica
- #3 – Gratitude Journal from Rori at MadeByRori
- #4 – Mason Jar Tumbler from Hustle Mama Handmade
- #5 – Baby Blanket from Cotton & May
Read the entire Bible in one year
Give in 100 different ways (at least!)
Purchase a handmade item from every state in the USA
Miscellaneous
Learn how to make my own cleaning supplies
Write down all of the kids’ birth stories
Buy stock
Learn to shoot a gun
Donate blood
Run a successful home decor business Big White Farmhouse launched 1/2014
Open a brick-and-mortar retail location for Big White Farmhouse
Start a scholarship
