6.24.2015

Summer Bucket List

Happy Hump Day friends!

I hope you are having a great week! I am super excited because tomorrow is the day I head to NYC! Thanks for all the great recommendations! I don't get into the city until kind of late tomorrow night, so our plan is to just have an easy takeout dinner, catch up, and plan my solo day on Friday! I will definitely be using your comments when making the plan!

Now that I've had some time to decompress from the school year, I decided it would be good to make a summer bucket list. The Cuties are all grown up and don't need me this summer, so I am just a tad heartbroken and nervous that I may go a little stir crazy. I am hoping having a list of goals for the summer will help.

ONE
Buy & Wear Hot Pink Lipstick
This bucket list item has actually already been checked off the list. On a trip to Nordstrom last week, I couldn't resist stopping at the Chanel counter to look at lipsticks. I really like Chanel's Rouge Allure lipstick and it's a fun way to experience luxury at a small price point. I ended up with Shade 94 "Extatique" and am ecstatic (pun intended) about the purchase! I also have Shade 49: La Petillante, which is a fabulous red I bought at Christmastime. 


TWO
Makeover the Guest Room
I've mentioned a few times (see here) that our guest room has been more a storage space/black hole than a relaxing place to host guests. If a friend called me today and said she needed a place to stay tonight, I honestly don't know what I would do. That being said, I really want to get the room in working order this summer. Bryce spent A LOT of time working in there last week, and I've hinted that it would be a great surprise if he finished cleaning out this weekend while I'm in NYC. The plan for the room is to use much of the furniture and decor from my last bedroom. I may shake it up a little bit, though. I have absconded the down comforter and added it as an extra layer in our bedroom, and certain other pieces from the space have found new homes, so a slightly new look may be in the cards. We'll see...


And I can't wait to hang my gallery wall again...


THREE
Use Our Cookbooks
We have tons of amazing cookbooks that get used as decor more than for recipes. With Pinterest and blogs it is so easy to just go online when looking for mealtime inspiration. I want to take a day to go through all (...or most) of our cookbooks and sticky recipes I want to try, and then actually try them. Maybe make a goal to cook at least one cookbook recipe a week?

These are just a few of the many we have: I think I'll start with these!

FOUR
Practice Flower Arranging
Many of you probably saw the picture below on Instagram. Isn't that arrangement ah-mazing! Bryce's mom put it together with flowers and plants from her own yard. I love having fresh flowers in the house and want to read up on and practice my flower arranging some this summer.


FIVE
Go Canoeing
Those of you that have been reading for a really long time will remember this post and the checklist below that Bryce and I made on one of our very first dates. 4 years later we have checked everything off the list, except canoeing....and Bryce owns a canoe! That being said, we are going to have to make it happen this year! It is so fun to look back on this list and reminisce. For example, neither of us had been to Edo's Squid when we first met and so we added it to the list. It is now our very favorite Richmond restaurant and has kind of become "our" place for romantic date nights. Charlottesville was also on the list, and in our 4 years of dating we have visited C'ville at least 5 or 6 times together. Cook dinner together makes me laugh because what at the time seemed so exciting and new is now a normal occurrence and sometimes even chore!


SIX
Find a New Job
I debated whether or not to add this to the list I shared on the blog, because it makes me vulnerable. If I share that I'm job searching and then don't get a new job, I am admitting failure on my blog. But then, as I thought about it more, I realized that the blog community has always been a supportive one and I also believe that what's meant to be will happen. If a new job doesn't come along this summer, that might be a sign that I need to teach another year. I am in the application process for a few jobs right now and will keep you posted. In the meantime, the thought of a new work wardrobe makes me excited and I've decided if I do find a new job I am rewarding myself with a smart pair of work heels...preferably the pair below!

Being that they're Kate Middleton's signature shoes and that I share their name (Alexandra BENNETT) I think it's meant to be...

What's on your summer bucket list?

Have a great day!