A Mighty Working List.

This summer, as my 30th birthday loomed every larger in the distance, I began to think about what sorts of things I’d like to accomplish in my third decade. Inspired by Maggie’s Mighty Life List, I began to jot random, personal to-dos down on a scrap of paper tucked into my red daily planner. The more I thought about the list, the loftier my aspirations became. What initially began as a casual, make this happen before 40 list morphed into an ever-evolving, every expanding laundry list of things I’ve always wanted to do, see, try, learn, or experience. This list is ever-changing, one I reserve the right to edit and adapt as I see fit. There is no particular order or reasoning behind the list as it stands – I just add things as I think of them, as my own life evolves.

Now that I’ve ripped the self-imposed to-do in my 30’s lid off this list, I’ve been trying to decide what I’d like to call it. I debated a few fun titles – whatever you do, do not call it a bucket list – but couldn’t settle on anything that felt just perfect, until a friend recently sent me an email about a topic completely unrelated to this list. She ended her message with this thought: be strong, go after what you want. This is the way I try my best to live my life every day and what I hope is at the core of all the goals on my list. Because a life well lived waits for no woman.

And so, in keeping with my Working Title theme - my Working Life List:

Working Life List

Goals for a Life Well Lived

1.) Read Anna Karenina
2.) Travel to Africa – Kenya, specifically.
3.) Take a trip outside the States with my brother.
4.) Go back to London – revisit old haunts and neighborhoods – see how much I remember after living there 8+ years ago.
5.) Meet a boy. Fall in Love. See boy get down on one knee in front of me. Say yes. Proudly show off left hand. Walk down isle with my Dad on my right. Say I do. Walk back down the isle with my new husband on my left. Throw a fabulous party to celebrate.
6.) Write. Write. Write.
7.) Get something published.
8.) Kids. Have some. Become a Mommy.
9.) Start riding horses again.
10.) Buy a piano (or get my Mom to give me the one we had growing up.) Start playing again.
11.) Travel back to Europe.
12.) Honeymoon in Greece.
13.) Australia, New Zealand. Go there.
14.) Get a dog.
15.) Own a home.
16.) Practice Yoga regularly.
17.) Read The Grapes of Wrath.
18.) Make a piece of jewelry.
19.) See more of the USA – Washington, Oregon, the West Coast
20.) Read Huckleberry Finn
21.) Read some Jane Austen
22.) Get a really nice camera - digital SLR.
23.) Take more classes.
24.) Consider, pursue Master’s degree.
25.) Visit Hemingway’s home in the Keys.
26.) Design/Decorate more things – continue to define style through clothes, jewelry, home décor, etc.
27.) Redecorate my apartment.
28.) Hike at least a part of the AT with my brother.
29.) Learn to make my own/homemade ice cream and sorbet.
30.) Own a piece of jewelry from Tiffany’s. Save the little blue box it comes in.
31.) Visit Vancouver.
32.) Attend Kentucky Derby – wear a big hat, drink a mint julep.
33.) Decoupage.
34.) New blog/New design
35.) Learn to play the guitar.
36.) Take more trips to San Francisco and Northern California
37.) Remember actual street names in Boston instead of just “knowing” where I am by landmarks/visually.
38.) Own a cabin/small “camp” house on a lake – no frills needed, just a basic, cozy weekend get-away.
39.) Learn to knit.
40.) Get an exercise routine going and stick with it.
41.) Volunteer more – become a Big Sister.
42.) Sit in the Green Monster seats at Fenway.
43.) Take a helicopter ride.
44.) See all/set foot in all 50 states.
45.) Spend at least a week in Paris – exploring beyond the normal tourist spots.
46.) Own a Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress
47.) Dinner at The French Laundry
48.) Dinner at No.9 Park
49.) See Frank Lloyd Wright’s home(s).
50.) Write a Novel.
51.) Visit Iceland.