26 Before 27

Here are my goals this year:

1. Redesign my blog.
2. Go on a spontaneous roadtrip.
3. Grow out my hair. Only trims this year!
4. Get a new job!
5. Date night with Chris once a month. (This means a movie/show/dinner. Not fast food at the apartment!)
6. Find a new livingroom chair!
7. Do a better job of remembering Birthdays and sending great gifts.
8. Go down at least two dress sizes.
9. Take at least one picture every single day. Document it.

(Cell pic rom yesterday. We were packing to go to the in-laws' house and Lemon wanted to make sure we didn't forget to pack her.)

10. Get back to blogging each day.
11. Call a friend at least once a week.
12. Mixtape every month! I did it last year, I can do it again!
13. Go to a concert.
14. Legally change my name.
I was born Stephanie Kathryn. But I've always been called 'Katie.' When we got married, I assumed I could drop my first name on my Social Security card, keep my maiden name and add my new last name. I was wrong. I have to appear before a judge and pay an exorbitant fee and legally have my name changed. The notice even has to run in the local paper for four weeks. I find this whole thing to be ridiculous.
15. Make homemade jam.
16. Get tipsy more often. (I tend to be a little tightly wound sometimes. I should let go more often.)
17. Write at least 10 letters. On paper. And send them!
18. Put together a recipe book of family recipes.
19. Sleep in a tent under the stars.
20. Read a classic novel. Or three.
21. Give up something for Lent.
22. Finish my Long Distance Quilt. It needs to be done.
23. Enter something crafty in the Fair.
24. Stand on top of a mountain. Take a picture.
25. Start collecting t-shirts from St. Simons for a t-shirt quilt.
26. Purchase a piece of vintage furniture.

Let's see how I do this year.

xoxo

25 Before 26: Update!

Six months ago today, I posted this list of the 25 things I wanted to do before I turn 26.


Well, I'm halfway there. Have I done everything on the list? Not by a long shot. But I have done a few. Here's what I have accomplished in the last 6 months:

1. Buy a sofa. Yes! We bought our sofa a few months ago and we all (Me, the hubs, and the kitty) agree that it was a very smart purchase!
   
2. Make a headboard. Not yet. But we did paint the bedroom and move it around, get a comforter, and hang my embroidered heart above the bed. There may not be a need for a headboard now.
   
3. Open an Etsy shop. I'm working on it. And I'm so close. Just a few more things to do before I can!
   
4. Start a record collection (and buy a record player). Yes! We bought a record player and have been collecting vinyl like crazy. We've found that the two best places to find records are Goodwill and our parents' old collections. We have some real gems!
   
5. Finish LDQ & Arrows quilts (and make another!) Oh gosh. I honestly haven't even touched either of them. I still have 6 months, right?
   
6. Find a great rug for the living room. We took a step in the right direction. We got rid of the old rug that just wasn't working. Great rugs are expensive and it's not exactly a priority in the budget. We'll see if we stumble upon something great in the next 6 months.
   
7. Camping on Cumberland. Take a picture of a wild horse. This is planned for the summer or fall. We really wanted to make a trip in the spring, but we just haven't found a free weekend yet. Fingers crossed.
   
8. Make health a priority. Yeah. I need to do that more.
   
9. Bake a Red Velvet cake. I still haven't done this one! And I can't believe it! It's an afternoon easy-peasy project, but it just hasn't happened. Soon.
   
10. Make a 17 song mixtape playlist for every month. YES! I'm proud that I really have done this. And now my mixtapes are downloadable!
    
11. Write a letter every week. Oh. I think I completely forgot about this one. Uh oh!
    
12. Read 20 books that aren't Twilight or Harry Potter. I've read 3. I'm working on it! Give me time..... geez!
    
13. Sew something wearable. Nope. Still no Katie-made wearable. It mostly stems from the fact that I have a hard time making anything and keeping it for myself.
    
14. Fill the pages of a sketchbook. Working on it! I'm about halfway there!
    
15. Mail 5 care packages for no reason. I think I've done 2 or 3. I'd better get to mailing, right?
    
16. Go to a state I've never been to. Yep! Just got back from Virginia/DC. This wish will probably always be on my list. I think I'll always want to go places I've never been.
    
17. Make a painting and hang it in our apartment. The painting 3/4 done! I swear!
    
18. Design a website. This one's tricky. I've registered my domain name (it leads here, to my blog) and talked to a friend about helping me out with this one. I'm pretty sure it won't be a full-blown website, but a sort of splash page that goes to my blog and etsy shop (when it's opened.) So, at the very least, there has been progress on this one.
    
19. Watch 5 movies in theaters. One. I've seen one. With plans to see another in June. Chris and I just don't go to the movies. I always go with Jessica. I guess we need to go more often!
    
20. Get a really great haircut. Done! My new bob is comfortable, easy, and cool for summer. I really kinda love it. I do miss my long locks, sometimes though. Pictures of braids on weheartit get me a little misty-eyed.
    
21. Drink a bottle of wine worth more than $20. Ummm... we just got married. $20 is a lot of money to spend on one bottle of wine. We did go to a local wine shop and spend around $75 on 4 bottles. That almost makes the cut.
    
22. Give at least 1 trash bag of clothes to Goodwill. I'm calling this one done. The bag is ready, packed and sitting in our bedroom floor and they're going with me the next time I make a Goodwill trip.
    
23. Buy Chris something he'd never buy for himself. Hmm... I can't say I've done this one yet. I'm still working out what exactly to do for him.
    
24. Eat a whole lobster. Nope. No excuses. Just no lobster yet.
    
25. Make business cards for myself. Sadly, no. But I am working on it! There should be progress on this one in the next month or so.

Well, it looks like I've got a ton of stuff to do in the next 6 months! But I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for what I have done. I'll let you know in December how many more items I can cross off my list. And what I'll have to keep on the list for next year!

xoxo

Listography

I'm a list maker. I think I got it from my mother. She makes lists. Grocery lists, things to do... I remember her once making a list of back-to-school clothes that I needed before a trip to the mall.

I love the way a list looks. I love the way it feels to cross something of a to-do list. I love the way it feels to look at a list of things you've done or things you love. Writing down goals makes them more reachable, more tangible. Writing down memories makes them fade slower.

I have an entire notebook full of lists from wedding planning. Lists of people, times, phone numbers, vendors, flowers, groups of people for pictures, songs for the reception, things to take, things to remember, things to do .... it all got a bit ridiculous.

List making helps me blog quite often. When I'm at a loss for anything else to say, I think of a list of things. 10 things I think are pretty. 5 songs I love right now. 25 things to do before I turn 26. 10 things you don't know about me. See, I'm listing right now!

That's why Listography is awesome. You can make lists! Tons of lists! And they're all stored there, safe and sound. And if you're stumped about what to make a list of, there's a list topic generator!

So now that I've told you all about a place to make and keep your lists, I should share one, right?

15 Things I Do at Work (That Aren't Working)

1. facebook
2. tweet that I'm bored
3. watch youtube videos
4. crochet scarves
5. text family and friends
6. try to make the perfect station on Pandora
7. send Chris emails with links to silly articles
8. crossword puzzles
9. get up to date on blogs on Google Reader
10. read really bad fanfiction
11. put pieces of tape on my arm to see how much dead skin comes off
12. stare out the window
13. post blog entries
14. read 26 pages on fmylife.com
15. make this list

What do you list?

10 Things I Love RIGHT NOW!

Click on any of the pictures below to go to the page they come from.

1. The new freebie embroidery pattern from BadBird. Have you ever seen a cuter giant lizard?

2. Incognito wedding pictures! (Note to self: acquire fake moustaches before October...)

3. These hand-dyed lace earrings from White Owl at Etsy. Soooo pretty.

4. This "man-broidery." I'm dying to get some toile and do this now.

5. These arrow earrings. I've had these in my Etsy favorites for a loooong time. (The same shop has tiny little hammer earrings, too.)


6. Mysterious Letters. These two people sent a personal and unique letter to all 467 households in the Irish village of Cushendall, even if they knew nothing but the address, a letter was sent all the same. It makes you think about how a letter from a complete stranger could brighten someone's day.... and how much fun it might be to write a "mysterious letter."

7. HARRY POTTER! I'm trying so hard to re-read all 7 before HP & the Half Blood Prince comes out July 15th (for which I already have a date with Jessica). I'm halfway through the third one now.

8. This crazy, crazy show. It's insane and most certainly not for children, but it hooks you and you can't stop watching.
9. Covers of old songs when the covers are really, really well done.
Ryan Adams - Wonderwall
The Watson Twins - Just Like Heaven
Iron & Wine - Love Vigilantes

10. Jenny Lewis! Lydia and I have tickets to see her in Athens on Wednesday night. I can't wait!