On those 27 things.

As this is my last day at 26, I thought it'd be a good time to check up on my list of 27 things. Last year on my birthday I put together a list of 27 things I'd like to accomplish before I turned 27.  Here's a little update on how I did.

1. Take one (at least!) picture each day.

Not bad, not perfect.  My Instagram phase has helped a little.  I've taken a break, but need to get back on this!

2. Watch a movie my husband loves that I've never seen.  i.e. Star Wars, Harry Potter... 

Still haven't seen Star Wars or Harry Potter. Oops.

3. Declutter my email inbox.

DONE!

4. More date nights.

Yes! We've had fun getting together with friends and on our own.  Being in a new (bigger) city and closer to family has made this easy. We like to frequent "First Friday's" Downtown Art Walk and have tried numerous new restaurants.  

5. Write a letter. or two.

Kinda... will hope to do much more of this this year.

6. Make something from scratch for a week.

Nope.  Not quite the same in someone else's kitchen.

7. Clean out the garage.

Hehe.  If I had only known...

8. Keep up the blog.

Not bad.  Hoping to keep this up.

9. Go on a road trip with J.

All the way to Texas, baby!

10. Read 5 books.

I can't believe it, but yes.

11. Bake a layered cake.

Need to do this ASAP.

12. Eat from my garden.

A couple tomatoes, but that was a FAIL.

13. Deep clean the entire house.

haha, again, if I only knew.

14. Run a 1/2 marathon.

TIMES 2!

15. Run a marathon.  (dream big, right?)

Not so much.

16. Write and follow a more specific budget.

Budget written.

17. Random acts of kindness.

Need more.

18. Reunion with my college sorority friends.

YES! Love those peeps.  They all keep moving away, but we still pick back up right where we've left off.  That's the best.

19. Cook at home for two weeks straight.

HA!

20. Drink 10 or less Diet Coke's.

ZERO! Still in shock.

21. Write in a journal.

Just started one this month, actually.

22. Give compliments each day.

To students, yes.

23. Make my bed for 2 weeks straight. 

Again, HA!

24. Run 500 miles.

689 logged on mapmyrun.

25. Go computer free for 5 days. (that sounds impossible!)

Spring Break- does that count?

26. Give more charity.

Need more.

27. Say thank you more often.

Again, never enough.

I'm still working on my list of 28 things, but I'll hopefully get that up by the weekend. 2012-2013 has been a crazy roller coaster.  I've learned more, loved more and experienced more that I could have ever imagined. I've loved having this "to do" list to look back at throughout the year, even if it didn't all get accomplished.

Hope you're having a great week!
-m

At the Moment.

:: Obsessing over...

spring accessories. 

Scarf and Sandals: Gap.

Essie Spring 2013.

:: Working on... 

I need to get back into taking daily Instagram pictures.  I got out of it when we went on vacation and have dropped the ball since then.  The pictures aren't always exciting, but I don't take ANY pictures without that motivation.  I really do enjoy having some photos to look back on. Goal this week- participate in FMSPhotoaDay.  

via

:: Thinking about...

what colors to paint our new place. I'm thinking soft airy whites, grays and maybe that silver sage in the bathroom.  

Restoration Hardware Silver Sage. via

Restoration Hardware White Collection. via

Martha Stewart Fossil.

If only I could copy and paste my "For the Home" Pinterest Board into my new place!

:: Anticipating...

my birthday! Not that I have any plans, but still. And, MOVING!

:: Listening to...

silence.  It's amazing.  I'm hoping it starts raining soon so I have an excuse to spend this a good part of this day locked up reading some good books too.

:: Munching on... 

Planning to make these blueberry muffins today.  They're made with greek yogurt.  Crossing my fingers they hit the spot!

:: Thankful for...

oh gee, just everything. And, I love spring.

A bad run.

I should know better by now than to think that each time I head out the door for a run it will be faster, longer and more gratifying than the one before.  Welp, not true.

This weekend I planned to do an 8 mile run on Saturday.  As soon as I woke up, I knew it wasn't going to be a good "running day".  I was still exhausted from the week, and I flat out just wasn't feeling it.  Still, I dressed up, and decided I better do SOMETHING or else I'd really be screwed for the 10-mile race I have planned next weekend, and the 1/2 planned for the weekend following.

After running some errands (to Ulta- woot! woot!), I just parked at a Walgreens and decided to get my butt out there and start going.  Goal: 4 miles.  It was a route I knew, but hadn't run in about 4 years.  After one mile, I was dead, but for some reason was maintaining a 9:45 pace.  I managed the second mile because it was down hill, about died on the 3rd mile, and decided to walk for a few minutes.  I ran the final mile back to my car and felt so defeated.  I know 4 miles is good... but it wasn't good for me, especially at this point in training.

In an attempt to make myself feel better, I came up with a million excuses as to why it wasn't a good run. I even googled "bad run during 1/2 marathon training" in hopes that the Internet would tell me I could still run a good distance.  haha.

So, why do I write about this? Well, for one, I'm hoping that it will help ME remember that it's not always easy peasy.  And for two, maybe some of you (hi the 5 of you who read this! :) have experienced the same thing, and have also thought about giving up at this point.

For good measure, I woke up Sunday and decided to give it another whirl.  I didn't go 8 miles, but I did go 6 with little to no problems (other than dying of thirst).  So, I'm sure I'll be fine for the next two weekends.  And really, what's the wost that can happen? Maybe I walk? Maybe I don't get a PR? I'll still finish.

Whew.  Didn't know I had so much to say about this.  If you're still reading, thanks :) I'm going to attempt to catch up on some blogging this week.

Hope your week is great!

Spring Work-Casual Style.

With the end of the school year in sight and the weather getting (a little) nicer, I figured the time has come to break out some spring colors and sandals.  Plus, there's lots of new cute clothes in stores! Here are a few things I've had my eye on lately.

1. Shoes- Payless.

2. Blouse- Mossimo (Target).

3. Crops- Old Navy.

4. Peplum Top- Mossimo (Target).

5. Mint Leather Tote- Gap.

6. Jewels- J.Crew Factory.

1. Eyelet Dress- Old Navy.

2. Jewels- J.Crew Factory.

3. Sweater- J.Crew Factory.

4. Scarf- Old Navy.

5. Tank- J.Crew Factory.

6. Crops- J.Crew Factory.

1. Jewels- J.Crew Factory.

2. Sweater- J.Crew Factory.

3. Pants- Old Navy.

4. Sandals- Gap.

5. Skirt-J.Crew Factory.

6. Belt- J.Crew Factory.

Can you guess what my favorite store is? :) They just have such great, quality pieces for great prices.  I can't resist. Happy shopping!

-m