Getting Stuff Done!

where the magic happens: I sit in that chair by the window and work on my laptop; 

as you'll see below, I need to get a sofa and rug and hang some artwork...

How was everyone's weekend!? Friday night was especially fun for me because I grabbed drinks with some close friends at Clyde Common in downtown Portland and then on Saturday I went on a spontaneous shopping spree at Tar-jay and found all kinds of irresistibly cute Valentine's Day decor at really good prices.  I can't wait to show you the couple of items that practically jumped into my shopping cart!

I also worked on a giant list of things I want to do in the relatively near future. I'm the kind of person who needs lists to survive. I can't get my house organized and cleaned unless I break it down into tiny spaces and list them out: kitchen counters, area by the window, bed (anyone else use theirs as a table?), bathroom sink, floors, etc. It may sound kind of ridiculous but it helps me to focus and not get overwhelmed by all there is to do. Plus, it's really fun to cross things off the list.

I was inspired to start another sort of list by blogger Jackie Jade, a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. The original idea comes from Mackenzie of Design Darling who describes the 101 in 1001 as the "happy medium" between a to-do list and a bucket list. I thought it sounded like a cool idea and am hoping it will help me concentrate on the things that are important to me and make better use of my free time.

So I have a little less than three years to get the following accomplished:

1. Make a 101 things in 1001 days list
2. Take a sewing class
3. Buy a piece of furniture at an estate sale
4. Paint my bathroom and kitchen white (early Feb 2013)
5. Put drapes/shades up in all of the windows in my apartment
6. Go to an estate auction
7. Save up for a large, flat screen TV; I have never owned a TV and just watch movies from my laptop... but I'm kind of over that and I'm pretty sure my friends are too
8. Create five pieces of artwork for my home
9. Visit my sister in Washington D.C.
10. Make my own stationery
11. Barbecue a Texas-style beef brisket
12. Go skiing on Mt. Hood and graduate from being a total beginner
13. Host a winter cocktail party
14. Host a Cinco de Mayo party every year 
15. Go cross-country skiing (mid Feb 2013)
16. Go deep sea fishing
17. Learn how to really work my camera
18. Learn how to use photoshop to do the things I want to do
19. Learn how to make a collage of things for my blog (I am so clueless!)
20. Help three friends (including blog friends) decorate their homes
21. Learn how to reupholster a piece of furniture, and do it
22. Make my front porch really inviting with potted and hanging plants, a pretty mat and a welcome sign
23. Replace/repair the crown molding that has detached from the ceiling in my apartment
24. Get to an intermediate level in yoga (I have a loooong way to go!)
25. Get better at telling jokes :)
26. Host a game night at my apartment
27. Participate in Apartment Therapy's "January Cure" - I'm currently doing the "February Cure" instead!
28. Make a really good homemade salsa 
29. Learn how to make queso without using any Velveeta
30. Go through my clothes and take 1/3 to Good Will or swap with friends
31. Knit a hat
32. Add some houseplants around my apartment
33. Transfer my beloved Staghorn fern to a larger base, so he can grow!
34. Update my blog layout
35. Figure out a way to incorporate The Lucky Find Vintage (my Etsy shop) into this blog
36. Read three biographies and three autobiographies
37. Ween myself off of The Bachelor (2 hours/week is just soooo much time) (Feb 2013)
38. Create a floor cloth for my kitchen
39. Complete my bar table (Valentine's Day 2013)
40. Find a great vintage Persian rug for my living room
41. Get glasses
42. Begin a "vintage recipes" series on the blog
43. Make sushi
44. Create Instagram magnets for the fridge
45. Get an iPad
46. Read Lonesome Dove
47. Get a better URL for my blog (I really really really don't like it as is)
48. Be able to better define my design aesthetic
49. Watch three classic musicals that I haven't seen before
50. Spend a Saturday having a Disney movie marathon
51. Camp along the Eagle Creek trail in the Columbia River Gorge (it's the most beautiful trail I've ever been on)
52. Attend some kind of Interior Design or Antiques event/seminar
53. Connect with at least 5 blogging friends in person
54. Make 10 recipes off Pinterest, first up being this
55. Make 20 recipes out of cookbooks handed down from my grandmother
56. Try Zumba
57. Watch Star Wars (I never have)
58. Refinish a piece of vintage furniture

I took this photo a couple of summers ago while hiking the Eagle Creek trail. Summer and #51 on my list can't come soon enough!

59. Make a fancy cake with my vintage mixer
60. Do a cleanse (NOT the Master Cleanse)
61. Find out my blood type
62. Send letters and cards to out-of-state family members and friends on a regular basis
63. Send birthday cards to family members and friends
64. Visit Santa Barbara
65. Stay at a bed & breakfast
66. Go to a national park in Utah
67. Go tubing in the river
68. Draw a floor plan of my apartment
69. Organize my storage space in the basement
70. Brew my own beer
71. Go on a Distillery Row tour in Portland, OR
72. Cook a nice dinner with meat/seafood purchased at the farmers' market
73. Have a friend over at least once a month for dinner (started Feb 2013)
74. Make a tie-dye picnic blanket
75. Paint my kitchen table a fun color
76. Get a sofa
77. Frame and hang all of the artwork I own
78. Get new tires for my car (and maybe get a new car??)
79. Learn how to make a martini and have them regularly (Valentine's Day 2013)
80. Become flexible (physically)
81. Learn how to make flower arrangements
82. Get a cute light fixture for my front porch
83. Get a new piece of furniture to store books (Ikea bookshelf be gone!)
84. Babysit some kids for free
85. Start volunteering again
86. Go to Yosemite National Park with my family
87. Go to Disneyland
88. Go on a brewery tour in Bend, Oregon (for my 29th birthday in Feb 2013!)
89. Go crabbing on the Oregon Coast
90. Go clam digging on the Oregon Coast
91. Find some new chairs for my kitchen table at a thrift shop or secondhand store 
92. Learn how to play a new lawn game
93. Have a barbecue with friends in the backyard
94. Replace the battery in my Macbook
95. Go bike riding at least 20 times
96. Watch 10 movies made before 1960
97. Add at least a dozen framed photos to my home decor
98. Go gold panning in Southern Oregon
99. Take a trip to Seattle and go to the top of the Space Needle
100. Clean out the trunk of my car and keep it that way
101. Take more of my own photos, and share more of my own projects on this blog

yesterday's project

I'm thisclose to being able to cross "paint my bathroom and kitchen white" off the list - it's what I spent all of yesterday doing (made bearable because of this playlist)! I even skipped a Super Bowl party so I could get it done, and now I just need to do one final coat in the bathroom. Sometimes it feels good to just do it, ya know? Now I can really move forward with decorating my bathroom and kitchen, which is exciting because I desperately need to get some ideas out of my head. :)

How was your weekend??


- Stay connected and "LIKE" The Good Life on Facebook HERE -