I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it’s been over a year now since I first shared my 101 in 1001. So ya, it’s safe to say it’s time for an update. I came back to my original list and the first thing I thought was a lot can happen in a year. Priorities shift, goals evolve, and what might have been important to me then isn’t even on my radar now. That’s what’s so great about life though, it’s ever-changing, keeping us on our toes and challenging us not to become complacent. This little self-imposed exercise was a good reminder that it’s okay to shift away from things that aren’t going to fill me up in the way I once thought they might.

I’ve updated the list below to reflect where I’m at right now and included what I’ve accomplished since I first put this whole thing together!

Start date: 1/30/18
End date: 10/27/20

Experiences:

1. Go skydiving again, but this time, from 18,000ft! Doing this the first week of June (along with a few other things you’ll see below) and I can hardly wait.
2. Watch the Cubs play from the Wrigley Rooftops
3. Ride the ferris wheel at Navy Pier. My mom came to visit over Memorial Day Weekend last year and we went on a dinner boat cruise and then I convinced her we needed to ride the ferris wheel after we docked. Not going to lie, it was an incredibly underwhelming experience haha. I guess I hadn’t really taken a good look at the ferris wheel and assumed it was one of the old school wind in your hair types (with the open top and lap bar to make sure you don’t fall out).
4. Bike along the lakefront
5. Rent a boat and spend a day in the playpen for my 32nd birthday
6. Take a sunset boat cruise
7. Staycation in the city
8. Take an indoor rock climbing class
9. Take a hip hop dance class
10. See a Blackhawks game at United Center
11. Set up my hammock by the lake for an afternoon of reading (my sister and her boyfriend got me this one for my birthday and I know just the spot to hang it!)
12. Visit the Lincoln Park Farmers Market
13. Go hiking at Starved Rock State Park
14. Spend an afternoon at Shedd Aquarium
15. Have tea at the Drake (I’d also like to have tea with Drake, if anyone knows how to make that happen)
16. Play a round of golf. I played a little par 3 course out in the burbs last summer and forgot just how much I love golfing! Hoping to do more of this in the coming months. 🙂
17. Ride on the back of a motorcycle. Check!
18. Take a tennis lesson
19. Take a cooking class (or better yet, a Drake on Cake workshop) with Joy the Baker. I took a pasta making class with the team at Eataly last summer and it was every bit of informative as it was fun! Still dying to attend a Drake on Cake workshop though.
20. Go horseback riding
21. Go kayaking on the river
22. Run in a Turkey Trot
23. Take a tour at the Koval Distillery
24. Lollapalooza, round two
25. Watch KU play at Allen Fieldhouse
26. Go to Junior Council’s Snowball event. One of the best nights with a great group of my friends (and party animals).
27. Run a 10K with Tyler (my step brother!) in Chicago
28. Take (another) outdoor trapeze class. Planning to get a group together for this!
29. Plan weekends with my siblings in the city!

Travel:

1. Buy new carry-on luggage (preferably one with a USB charger because I am that girl who is always frantically looking for an outlet)
2. Germany for Oktoberfest
3. London in the fall or in the spring for all the flowers
4. Banff, Canada
5. Diablo Lake (2 hours outside of Seattle)
6. Yacht Week with my girlfriends
7. Charleston
8. Tampa to visit my baby Erin (preferably in the dead of winter when I can’t take another minute of Chiberia)
9. New York City at Christmastime. My good friend Tori just moved there last week so all the more reason to visit!
10. Austin
11. Rent a cabin in Colorado and spend the weekend skiing and hot tubbing
12. Spend a night in a tree house
13. Take another trip to St. Simons Island, Georgia (Hi, Jetter 👋🏻)
14. Oak Valley Plantation in Louisiana
15. Savannah, GA
16. Visit the Michigan wineries
17. Go on a wellness retreat
18. Take a trip somewhere with just my Mom (thinking skydiving in Hawaii which might be considered cheating since it’s listed above, but I’m going with it 🙃)
19. Girls weekend in Chicago with my Mom

Personal/Wellness:

1. Get abs (haha I wasn’t sure how else to say this), but seriously, I want to strengthen my core and as superficial as it sounds, I want to see the definition!
2. Try acupuncture
3. Try cupping
4. Try dermaplaning. I’m obsessed with how this makes my skin look and feel!
5. Try an infrared sauna
6. Get a cryo toning facial
7. Take a floating meditation class
8. Try a flotation therapy tank
9. Get a deep tissue massage
10. Commit to taking a daily vitamin. Talked more about this here!
11. Go see a movie solo. Thinking of taking myself out to see this!
12. Go to the eye doctor and get a prescription for the glasses I so desperately need. Okay, so I went to the eye doctor, but I’m embarrassed to report that I still haven’t gotten glasses. I tried on what felt like a million different styles and I didn’t like the way any of them looked on me! I realize it’s not about looks and more about being able to see and I just need to get over myself (and my insecurities).
13. Find a dermatologist in Chicago I trust
14. Find a new dentist in Chicago
15. Continue going to therapy
16. Find a flattering pair of white jeans I feel confident in. This is never, ever going to happen. And you know what’s funny? I don’t know why I even want white jeans. I don’t really think they’re “me” or a good reflection of my style. I think they look great on others, but I’m okay with not making them a part my wardrobe. I do have a pair of white jeans shorts I love and wear non-stop in the summer, though!
17. Set a new PR for the half marathon.
18. Be able to do a handstand in yoga (little by little!)
19. Be able to get into a headstand in yoga using only my core
20. Negotiate a raise

Around my apartment (HUGE work in progress): 

1. Invest in new bedding. I invested in new sheets and a new comforter and crawling into bed each night proves it’s truly the little things.
2. Have my apartment repainted
3.  Give my bedroom a refresh and share on the blog
4. Same goes for my bathroom
5. …and my living room, too!
6. Create a breakfast nook in my apartment
7. Organize my front hall closet
8. Overhaul my closet
9. Get a real Christmas tree

For shits and giggles (and good deeds):

1. Throw an ice shot glass at the bell at Federales
2. Start a ladies who lunch club
3. Go skinny dipping
4. Play blackjack at the casino. Let’s just say, this was one late night Uber ride to Indiana last summer. And I won $200.
5. Leave a 100% tip for great service
6. Send my Grandma flowers just because
7. Donate blood. I donated blood for the first time last year and really wanted to make it a regular thing and was so bummed to find out that my trip to Punta Cana would prevent me from donating for a full year (because of the risk for malaria). As soon as the year was up this April I scheduled my next appointment and donated for the second time last month! It’s such an easy way for me to give back and I’m going to keep going as often as they’ll let me.
8. Pay for the person behind me at the coffee shop
9. Bake cookies and hand them out around the city

Blogging:

1. Rebrand my blog
2. Host an Instagram takeover for one of my favorite brands
3. Create a Chicago travel guide. I created a Chicago Guide tab on my blog, but ideally, I’d like to break out this into full blog posts!
4. Moderate a panel. I had to opportunity to moderate a small panel in front of an intimate group at Athleta back in March and was so grateful for the opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone. Public speaking is hands down my biggest fear. Like, I almost failed classes in college because of it. It was a great way to ease into it and I’d even go so far to say that I enjoyed it and would do it again!
5. Share my round-up favorite workouts in Chicago
6. Share my round-up of the best places to get pampered in Chicago
7. Plan a blogger brunch. My friends and I have been planning little get togethers when we can and it’s been the best!
8. Master the art of taking outfit photos (hello, awkward hands)
9. Shoot in a swimsuit and share it on the blog
10. Grow my total reach to XX (this is a number I’ve got written down for myself!)

For my eyes only:

There are five things on my list that are just a little too personal, but rest assured, I will be chipping away at them and who knows, I might have a change of heart about sharing in a few years. Only time will tell!

I’d love to hear what’s on your bucket list down in the comments! Anything goes. 🙂