The 101 Things in 1,001 days Recap

I have to be honest, I lost some energy on this list in 2013.  Having 1,001 days is a long time.  And several things on the list are things I'm not interested in anymore.  My life was very different on July 1, 2011 than it is today.

So here is my full list (because I took the link down) and all the links to the items I completed.  Plus, I've made a few notes on some of them.

1. Inspire someone else to write a list (Melissa, Lauren, and Kimmi all completed lists)
2. Donate blood - The one time I went to do this at a blood drive at my office, I couldn't because I had gotten a tattoo within the year.  I've been meaning to do this before I get my next tattoo and just never got around to it.
3. Make my business official - Honestly, while I still like making cards for myself or for holidays or for gifts or helping a family or friend, I'm not really interested anymore.  I think being stuck out in MD where I wasn't happy, this was more important to me.  Now I have other priorities.
4. Design business cards for my business
5. Clean out/organize my closet
6. Find my signature cocktail - I sort of did this.  I order an old fashioned or a French 75... or I get a beer. :)
7. Find myself the perfect "home"
8. Define my decorating style
9. Decorate that home in my style - I have been trying.  Money plays a big role in this.  But everyone who's been here really likes how I have it decorated, so I guess I achieved this more than I thought.
10. Find my "go to" date outfit - Nope.  Still need that perfect little date outfit. 
11. Have a picnic
12. Find my makeup must haves - get rid of the old stuff
13. Develop a skincare routine
14. Take a cooking class
15. Join a gym that offers classes
16. Throw a party for someone
17. Go skydiving
18. Ride in a hot air balloon
19. Own a DSLR camera - This was an expensive list item.  I still want one, but priorities, Megan.
20. Take a photography class
21. Run a half marathon
22. Host a dinner party - STILL WANT TO DO THIS
23. Take a dance class - and this
24. Get a facial
25. Own a pair of Louboutins - After several outings, I am pretty confident that there are not many opportunities for this.  He only runs up to a size 10 and his shoes run small... so...  
26. Have breakfast at Tiffany's
27. Take surfing lessons
28. Get scuba certified
29. Go to Paris
30. Learn Italian
31. Bake someone a birthday cake - I'm still going to do this sometime soon.  Just need the right time.
32. Create a unique piece of art
33. Go to a concert
34. Watch 26 new movies - one for each letter of the alphabet
35. Make a new friend
36. Go on a first date
37. Take a girls trip - Technically, this happened.  My grade school girlfriends took a weekend trip out to New York.  I think when I added this item, I had a big vacation in mind.  But technically, my trip counted.
38. See the sunrise and sunset on the same day
39. Visit 5 new museums
40. Attend a midnight premier of a movie
41. See a movie in 3D
42. Have my fortune told
43. Try a new food
44. Learn to say "I love you" in 10 languages
45. Learn how to shoot a gun
46. Go to the zoo 
47. Visit the aquarium
48. Make myself a piece of clothing - I want to do this with a skirt... Coming soon.
49. Write a handwritten letter to someone
50. Send a birthday card to each of my family members and close friends - I was SOOO close with this.  I went most of the year and then got busy and forgot.  Ugh.
51. Move to another city
52. Pay off my credit cards - This was wishful thinking
53. Watch 10 movies from the AFI Top 100 list that I haven't seen yet
54. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy
55. Go to Graceland
56. Travel first class
57. Learn 10 new recipes from my grandma - I still want to do this.  And I want to collect them into a recipe book.
58. Make a homemade pizza
59. Learn to drive stick
60. Don't complain about anything for one week
61. Make a snowman
62. Save $10 for every task I complete
63. Go skinny dipping
64. Try 10 new restaurants
65. Make bread from scratch - still want to do this.
66. Stay off Facebook for one week
67. Make my list of 10 places to see before I die
68. Take a picture in a photo booth
69. Grow a veggie garden
70. Ride in a helicopter
71. Babysit Kayla for a weekend
72. Take my parents out to dinner - still want to do this.
73. See an opera - and this.  Plus, I have that great Opera cape to wear!
74. Go on a brewery tour
75. Go to a costume party - and this.
76. Read 10 books recommended by friends
77. See a Broadway play (in NYC)
78. Go to a black tie event
79. Make a playlist of my 100 favorite songs
80. Host a theme party
81. Bake a soufflé
82. Make my own pasta
83. Climb the Eiffel tower
84. Go to an outdoor movie
85. Get a professional certification - SO CLOSE
86. Get another tattoo
87. Go zip-lining
88. Start a holiday tradition
89. Design 10 new invitations for my business
90. Make a "piggy bank" for my task completed deposits
91. Buy a lottery ticket
92. Buy a new mattress
93. Reupholster a piece of furniture
94. Live by myself for a year
95. Find the perfect LBD - Still on this mission.  I'm not sure "perfect" exists.  I have a few black dresses that can apply for numerous situations.
96. Finish a coloring book
97. Create a cookbook with family recipes
98. Have my makeup done professionally
99. Take a pottery class
100. Own a real vintage dress
101. Go paintballing - Maybe this year for my bday!

#100 - Own a real vintage dress

So after my experiences vintage shopping, I realized that this may be harder than I thought.  Given my height and size, I have not been finding dresses with a waistband bigger than a size 2.  Seriously...

Anyways, I have found that my vintage sweet spot is accessories - HATS - and maybe coats.  Or furs.  Or all of those.

So I am revising this to "Own a real vintage - something" and counting my fabulous coat and cape from my most recent vintage shopping excursion.  DONE!

Photo repost from yesterday.  I love the swinginess (yep, that's a word) of the bottom of this coat more when I wore it around.

And the original photo of my cape, because I haven't worn it yet.  But man, I can't WAIT to wear it.

#35 - Make a new friend

I haven't really updated on this, but I guess I did this a while ago.

When I started this list, my goal was to meet some new people aside from my good friends from school.

I figured that I would make friends through work - which I guess is sort of true.  It's not that I haven't tried.  It's more that I don't really have much in common with people from work.  Most are older with teenage kids and the younger single people are, well, younger.  So maybe a little more like work acquaintances that occasionally hang out outside of work.

Recently, I have developed a friendship with Heather from Vavoom and a few of the other girls who have been working in our little group.

So, while I am really going to be sad when my two closest friends leave Chicago - yep, talking about you Brooke and Sprangers - I will do okay.  Better than what I think I will be.

On that note, making friends in your 30s is hard.  So I'm still working on this goal even though it's technically completed.

#71 - Babysit Kayla for a weekend

Back when I added this to my list, my thought was "It will be great.  I can take Kayla for a weekend so Melissa and Justin can be back to a one kid family for a night."

Well, this past weekend was Melissa and Justin's 4 year anniversary and months ago they had asked me if I would be willing to babysit both of the kids so they could go out of town for the weekend.

Knowing that I would most likely be overwhelmed with both kids and my own furry baby, I solicited my mom to help me.

And BOY was I right.  For the most part, they were really easy kids.  The difficultly mainly came at night when I was up lying on the floor of Kayla's room because she wouldn't release the death grip she had on my hand and then Brody woke up crying.

I honestly don't know how you single parents or parents who have to be single parents occasionally.

So even though my list said babysit Kayla, I'm counting it because we had a 1:1 kid/adult ratio. :)

They were good kids and I managed to snap a couple photos while eating dinner (sorry they are blurry) to send to Justin so they would stop texting me.  :)

Kayla loves to watch videos on the ipad.  Gigi was trying to find some good ones for her.

#77 - See a Broadway play (in NYC)

Wow, September has been shaping up to be the month I accomplish things from my 101 list. :)

I had to go to NYC on Thursday until Saturday for work and my boss was traveling with me.  I had originally planned to go on Thursday afternoon since I didn't start working until Friday morning, but my boss really likes NYC and said we should go earlier on Thursday.  Who I am to argue with the woman in charge?

So we arrived around lunch time and walked around a bit.  Our hotel was right around Times Square, so we had plenty of people watching to do.  We decided to see a play while we were there - First Date.

We picked it because it seemed cute and light hearted.

And I know have a crush on Zachary Levi.  It was really cute and funny - and a great first experience with Broadway in NYC.

#29 - Go to Paris

So yeah.  I went to Paris.

Done and Done. 

It was just as beautiful as I hoped it would be (even in the rain) and I loved it!

#83 - Climb the Eiffel Tower

Okay, so while I technically didn't climb it... I saw it, so that is counting.  I'm revising this goal to seeing it because I really didn't WANT to climb it.

I enjoyed just looking at it.

So pretty.

And a quick video...

#39 - Visit 5 new museums

While on vacation, we saw a bunch of museums, and missed plenty!

We saw four technical museums (meaning Museum was actually in the name) and I'm counting the 5th one to meet my goal because we had to pay to get in, there was an audio tour, and a gift shop.  All things that mean "museum" to me, right?

Well, it's my blog and my list, so I'm counting it.

#39 on the list is completed.

There's are the 5 museums we saw on vacation.  Updates on them can be found on travel adventure posts, here, here and here.

Picasso Museum - Barcelona
Miro Museum - Barcelona
Palace Guell - Barcelona
Louvre Museum - Paris
D'Orsay Museum - Paris

Venus De Milo - Louvre

The Michael Buble Concert - The Real Recap

I have to say - going to see Michael Buble again for the second time did NOT disappoint.

I was a little worried that I had over-exaggerated how much I enjoyed him last time... but I was wrong.

He was just as fun, had just of great performance aspects, and was spectacular as usual!

Here are a few photos and videos I snapped.

First, what I wore:

SISTERS!

Then, we had great seats (if I do say so myself)!

 He entered sliding down the ramp into the stage.  After some pyrotechnics that I missed on film.

He also had a second stage at the opposite end that he used for a while.  He did something similar last time with a box in the middle of the floor.

Encore sparkly blazer? CHECK!

Finally, a little video... a great sing-along song and some heart shaped confetti.  Because who doesn't love a confetti canon... or 10!

#33 - Go to a concert

While technically, I did attend the Barenaked Ladies concert in July, I am going to write about the Michael Buble concert.  Why?  Because it is a PERFORMANCE.  I loved the Barenaked Ladies and Ben Folds Five because it was relaxed (outside) and fun (to sing along to), but Michael Buble....  MB is a spectacle!  His staging and lighting are incredible (okay, that was the nerdy work-related side of me) and he does not disappoint in the presentation and fun of his concert.

Melissa and I saw him in DC a few years ago and his show became my all-time favorite.  So, I was stalking his website and getting email updates on when he would be on tour again.

Well, FINALLY, it is the night.  Melissa, Lauren and I heading out to the concert tonight (Saturday) and I couldn't be more excited.

I sent them a screen shot earlier of where our seats are:  (sorry for bad photo quality)

I'll have to post pictures when I get back from vacation.

#56 - Travel First Class

I can't believe I forgot to post this..... I did get to travel first class for the first time.

Thanks to my mom and her awesome miles program, I was able to fly first class out to my trip to NYC!

I tried to grab a picture, but what was I going to take a picture of?  Plus, it's not cool to exploit first class people... seriously.  :)

#94 - Live by Myself for a Year

I have lived alone before - quite a few times.  But at the time I wrote this list, getting back on my own feet and being okay alone was really important.

And it's been good.  

While I could have found a place in Chicago for less money with a roommate, I felt strongly about living on my own.

Talking about the time I've spent living on my own is really boring.  I mean, you guys read about all the stuff I do on a regular basis, so I'm not repeating it.  :)

So congrats to me on one full year of being in my place.

#78 - Go to a Black Tie Event

As I mentioned yesterday, I attended my second black tie "optional" awards gala.

The weather was sort of humid, so I went hair up with a dark smokey eye to make the whole outfit a little more rocker-ish.  I wish I had more time to mess with my hair, because I wanted to make it higher in the front.

Overall, I am pleased with my outfit and my nude dress stood out among the flurry of black.

Black Tie Optional

I think the dress code "Black tie optional" could be one of the most frustrating dress codes out there.  Do you go full out black tie, or do you just try to do something a little more fancy cocktail?

If you remember this time last year (I don't hold it against you if you don't), I attend an awards gala black tie optional event for my industry.

Well, it's that time of year again.

Thankfully, I had previously purchased a nice dress from BCBG that I plan to wear to the event - saving me 7 more hours of frustrating shopping.  Here's a screen shot of the dress from the Nordstrom website.  I bought it last year, so I haven't been able to find it available online.

Nordstrom's website

While the dress is gorgeous, it includes two difficult fashion challenges.

First - the sheer stripe that makes finding a good bra difficult.

Second - who knew a nude dress would be so hard to pair shoes with?!

I think I solved both of them, but we'll see.  I'll post a follow up after tonight to show you my full outfit.

*Also, last year I didn't consider this attending a black tie event from off my 101 list because it is "optional".  Well, I'm going to consider attending TWO black tie optional events as good as attending one black tie event.  Hey, it's my list.  I can do what I want to. :)

#8 - Define my decorating style

Defining a decorating style.  It was/is a lot harder than I thought.

When I moved into my apartment, I had all these big, grand ideas about what I wanted to do with the space.  We'll call it "pinterest-delusional".  After almost a year of living there, I have probably accomplished about 45% of what I wanted to do.  Reasons for that - distraction, not enough money, indecision.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who had dealt with any (or all) of those problems.

Anyways, in this process I have been reviewing all my pinspirations and what I find myself drawn to when window shopping.  I feel pretty confident that I've discovered what my decorating style.

There are a few things I know for sure:

• NO CLUTTER - tchotchkes need not apply
• Bright colors
• Neutrals (or in some cases progressive neutrals)
• Clean lines
• Nothing too modern

Is there a technical name for this type of decorating?  Traditional & breezy?  Vibrant and Casual?  No idea. 

So, I am feeling 95% confident that I have discovered my decorating style (though I know it changes a bit), I just don't know what to call it.

Funny enough, I stumbled across this style quiz today.  I took it and this was my decorating style.

Light & Timeless...  I guess that works.

#16 - Throw a party for someone

I have been really terrible at remembering what is on my list so when I accidentally, or not thinking about it, accomplish something, I actually realize that I did.

Maybe I should print out a copy and carry it around.  Though, truthfully, that would be as helpful as the little notebook I carry around that I haven't opened in like two months.

Details.

Anyway, my point.  Over the course of this list, I have thrown a few parties for people.  Most recently it has been a bridal shower for Lauren.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures from the event (maybe Melissa posted some on facebook).  In any case, it was a really nice shower (in my humble opinion) :)  and I think Lauren enjoyed it too.

So #16 - Done.  :)

#24 - Get a facial

I completely forgot that I accomplished this a couple weeks ago.

I had a silk peel (which really wasn't a peel) from Leah Chavie Skincare Boutique.  I saw an offer for them on Living Social, did a bit of research and found out there were really close to my house and had some really great reviews.  So I figured, why not?

The facial felt amazing.  I left the appointment feeling super moisturized and glowing.  Which was good since I had to go bridesmaid dress shopping downtown with no makeup on.  Awesome.

I really liked the silk peel and will probably go back there for something in the future.

#15 - Join a gym that offers classes

Almost a year after I moved.... I finally joined a gym.  And it offers classes.

With my membership I receive a training consultation and 4 free training sessions.  I have my first appointment on Saturday morning, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm pretty excited about it.

#88 - Start a Holiday Tradition

I know I wrote about my holiday Cookies & Champagne party, which was an absolute blast.

I was thinking about it over the last few weeks and I my goal is to make this a regular tradition.  I like baking cookies and I like hosting, so why not.

So it's totally happening.  My holiday tradition of the cookies & champagne party.  I can see it growing each year.

#58 - Make a Homemade Pizza

Chances of me making me own pizza dough are slim to none.  Who has time for that stuff???  It will be a miracle if I get around to making my own bread (which is also part of this list).

So I have made my own pizza twice in the last three weeks.  And each time was DELICIOUS.

The first attempt was tomato, basil, mushrooms and parmesan cheese.  It had no sauce so it was a little dry.

My second attempt was pesto sauce, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and a little bit of parm cheese.  DELICIOUS.