I’m 24. And, 25 things to do before I’m 25.

I turn 24 today.

It’s weird, I feel like there is no way I’m already 24. When I was a little kid, 24 seemed so old, so mature. An age where things had fallen into place. An age where you had a great job, you had your own house, where you were dating the Ken doll. Where everything was glamorous. Not to say my life isn’t those things, but it’s weird to feel nothing like I dreamed I would.

This past year has literally flown by. I know things speed up as we age, but holy freaking cow. I  just remember being in elementary school praying for Christmas and all my presents to come faster, in contrast to now when I wish we could skip it all together because I don’t have time to shop. That’s been my life this year.

This past year I started commuting an hour each way to work, I met an amazing guy, I moved in with one of my best friends, I live near downtown, I traveled (North Carolina, Iowa, San Francisco, Louisville, Philadelphia, Indiana, Chicago, Los Angeles, and up to the mountains of CO), I climbed a fourteener and I got back to my roots and figured out what I believe. It was busy to say the least.

With that said, here are a 25 things I want to accomplish before I turn 25… before I’m a quarter of a century.

1. Spend a week on a beach. Any beach. Unplugged.
2. Re-work the design of this site.
3. Read 12 books, one per month.
4. Post 100 times… 30 will, hopefully, be cranked out in November.
5. Be healthy. Get back to working out and eating well.
6. Try yoga.
7. Take cooking classes.
8. Schedule time for myself each week.
9. Find a classy purse that suits me. And buy it.
10. Be able to do 10 push ups.
11. Attend Canvas and Cocktails.
12. Smile more often — especially at strangers.
13. Fix Charles. Surgery and all.
14. Be happy. So much of it is in my control.
15. Pick a cookbook and make all the recipes – except the ones with mushrooms or other inedible objects.
16. Tell everyone I love, why I love them.
17. Send more mail. Cards, packages, random gifts.
18. Stay up late drinking wine and talking, even though I have to work the next day.
19. Buy a pair of *perfect* boots for winter.
20. Spend a weekend in the mountains with friends.
21. Buy something from Etsy for someone and for my house.
22. Develop my favorite pictures and hang them up.
23. Be a positive impact. Be aware of what I do, what I listen to and how I behave. You never know who you’re impacting.
24. Eat locally and naturally. Try to buy local and eat out at local restaurants.
25. Stop to smell the flowers. This year flew by and I was constantly caught up in the day-to-day. I want to remember to take it one step at a time and pause to enjoy it!

Here’s to a great year ahead and a great year behind! Pizza, cake and vino tonight. The only way to celebrate!