Am I crazy? Maybe. I've thought about doing one of these ever since Jamie S started one, but I didn't really have a lot going on in my life at the time. Now I'm planning this big event that's going to happen in two years, maybe you've heard of it, it's kind of going to be a pivotal moment in my life. I just thought that doing a 101 things in 1001 days challenge was such a cool thing to do - to challenge yourself to achieve your goals. Hopefully she won't mind me doing one too! I'm really excited about doing the things on my list over the next 1001 days.
You can check out my full list here.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Home Update #2
Still to do on my list is to finally paint the hallways (I keep putting that one off), finish painting the stair railings, decorate and organize the office and the guest bedroom, and to finish hanging up our artwork throughout the house. Our list of outside jobs is much longer - we have to do some things to our deck, seal up some bricks, clean out the eaves-troughs, plant some bulbs, and re-silicone the windows and doors. We did complete a major project in our side yard - we dug out a trench leading from the side of the house out through the garden in an attempt to drain water away from our house, since we had a small leak in our basement a few weeks ago. It was a LOT of work, and I want to say thanks to Jeff's dad and to Jeff's friend Jay for helping us dig!! We couldn't have done it without your help!
As usual, I'll provide before and after pictures of the progress made. The biggest thing we've really done besides paint is to re-drywall one of the walls in the bedroom, so I'll include a picture which should explain why we decided to do that. Jeff also built me a custom closet organizer, which I'm extremely happy with, so I will share a photo of that as well. I'm loving home ownership so far, even though it's a lot of work!
In other news, Jeff and I have set a wedding date. :) We have decided to 'make it official' on August 2, 2014! It's probably the most concrete wedding-planning type of thing we have done thus far, other than me nailing down my bridal party. A lot of people have asked me why we're waiting so long, and the answer to that question is both really simple and also a very long story to tell. We're taking two years to reduce stress, be ok financially (since we sort of made a really big purchase already this year haha), be sentimental, and to give ourselves lots of time to plan. The planning part sort of goes hand-in-hand with reducing stress. And so far it's true - the wedding hasn't stressed me out at all so far! Sentimentally, the date is really important to us. Because that day will mark exactly five years that Jeff and I have been together! We had our first date on August 2, 2009 and I'm super excited to marry him exactly five years from that amazing first date!
 |
| Bedroom - before |
 |
| Textured wall - this wall was to the right of the window, and it was the only one textured like this, so we fixed it |
.JPG) |
| During renovations |
 |
| After - my finished closet! I have two bars, and plenty of shelves to use! Good job Jeff! |
 |
| After - textured wall |
 |
| After - we painted, dry-walled, and decorated this space, and I still have a little decorating to do! |
 |
| Basement - before |
 |
| Basement - after: we painted the walls and window trim (it was wood-colored), put up new blinds, and decorated. |
 |
| My new wall collage :) |
 |
| I still have a little more decorating to do! |
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Wanderlust
I know I'm supposed to be taking pictures of the progress that Jeff and I have been making on our house, progress I believe I promised to capture a few weeks ago, but today I felt like posting something totally different. Something that encapsulates my desire to see everything. Does anyone else ever feel like this? Does anyone else feel like one day they might pick up and move to another country? Pack your most treasured belongings in a backpack and roam the world? Because I do. I'm not saying that it's something I'd do in reality; I mean, I've just spent the last few months putting down roots, but I definitely have that wanderlust inside me to just go places.
There are so many places I want to see in my lifetime, so many things I want to try. I joke around with Jeff when we're watching a show like House Hunters International and it's set someplace I want to go that it's now on 'the list'. Jeff is a little leery of the infamous 'list' because he knows it will mean spending some money getting there, he is ever the Dutchman in that regard. One of the things I love most about Jeff is that he's not afraid to let me dream - he doesn't mind (not too much anyways) that I have this pull deep down inside me that wants to see the world. He loves to travel. He makes for a rather excellent travelling companion for me, because when I start to drift off into a daydream he keeps me rooted on solid ground with words and phrases like; map, directions, and, my personal favorite, 'what did that last sign say?' I feel like travelling today, so I went on Pinterest and went a little overboard pinning places I want to see. It was so fun to travel around the world in my office for a little while today, it so enjoyable that I thought I'd write about it. I also thought that I would write down some of the places that I want to go here in my blog. For now, I'll just share my top five places on my list.
First up on my list is Ireland and Scotland. Yes, I'm aware that I've listed two places, but I want to see them both in one trip. Jeff and I recently decided that we want to honeymoon for one week in Ireland and one week in Scotland. It's always been a dream of mine to go to both places, one reason being my Irish heritage, and another being my obsession with anything Celtic. I know a lot of people opt to go to a beach for their honeymoon, and I totally see why, but after the trip Jeff and I had in Europe, I realized that we needed an adventure. I love exploring old towns, hiking through castles, and snapping pictures of beautiful and mystic landscapes. Just looking at that picture makes me want to hop on a plane, camera in hand, but I can wait two years... hopefully...
After Ireland and Scotland, my list of places to go is less defined, but I'm pretty sure next on my list would be New Zealand. There is something about the green mountains and beautiful beaches that is really intriguing. The diversity is incredible. It's a place I've always wanted to go after listening to my Dad tell me stories of adventures he and my grandfather had in Australia and New Zealand during the year they spent living there. And by the way, how cool would spending a year in Australia have been?
Not surprisingly, Australia is next on my list. I'm dying to see koala bears, kangaroos, the Outback, and the beaches of Australia, The Great Barrier Reef, as well as the Opera House, and the church that my parents were married in. They recently took a trip to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, and I have to admit I would have loved to go too!
Another place on my ever-expanding 'list' is Italy. The food, coastline, gelato, gondola rides, as well as the old towns and architecture place it high up on my list. You don't forget a trip like that. :) What could be more romantic?
It's really hard for me to pinpoint the last place I want to mention here today. I think about places like China, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Iceland, and Bora Bora, but I keep settling on British Columbia. It's a place Jeff's never been before, and a place that I've been before and loved. I happen to be a believer that there are many wonderful places in Canada to see, and British Columbia is, of course, at the top of the list. I think it's pretty clear that I have a thing for cliffs and mountains. :)
There are so many places I want to see in my lifetime, so many things I want to try. I joke around with Jeff when we're watching a show like House Hunters International and it's set someplace I want to go that it's now on 'the list'. Jeff is a little leery of the infamous 'list' because he knows it will mean spending some money getting there, he is ever the Dutchman in that regard. One of the things I love most about Jeff is that he's not afraid to let me dream - he doesn't mind (not too much anyways) that I have this pull deep down inside me that wants to see the world. He loves to travel. He makes for a rather excellent travelling companion for me, because when I start to drift off into a daydream he keeps me rooted on solid ground with words and phrases like; map, directions, and, my personal favorite, 'what did that last sign say?' I feel like travelling today, so I went on Pinterest and went a little overboard pinning places I want to see. It was so fun to travel around the world in my office for a little while today, it so enjoyable that I thought I'd write about it. I also thought that I would write down some of the places that I want to go here in my blog. For now, I'll just share my top five places on my list.
After Ireland and Scotland, my list of places to go is less defined, but I'm pretty sure next on my list would be New Zealand. There is something about the green mountains and beautiful beaches that is really intriguing. The diversity is incredible. It's a place I've always wanted to go after listening to my Dad tell me stories of adventures he and my grandfather had in Australia and New Zealand during the year they spent living there. And by the way, how cool would spending a year in Australia have been?
Not surprisingly, Australia is next on my list. I'm dying to see koala bears, kangaroos, the Outback, and the beaches of Australia, The Great Barrier Reef, as well as the Opera House, and the church that my parents were married in. They recently took a trip to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, and I have to admit I would have loved to go too!
Another place on my ever-expanding 'list' is Italy. The food, coastline, gelato, gondola rides, as well as the old towns and architecture place it high up on my list. You don't forget a trip like that. :) What could be more romantic?
It's really hard for me to pinpoint the last place I want to mention here today. I think about places like China, Spain, Greece, Croatia, Iceland, and Bora Bora, but I keep settling on British Columbia. It's a place Jeff's never been before, and a place that I've been before and loved. I happen to be a believer that there are many wonderful places in Canada to see, and British Columbia is, of course, at the top of the list. I think it's pretty clear that I have a thing for cliffs and mountains. :)
The world is a book,
and those who do not
travel read only a page.
- St. Augustine
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)