What I’ve Accomplished in 138 Days

I started my “101 Things to do in 1001 Days” challenge on April 24, 2016, and I feel like I’ve not accomplished much in the past four months. So earlier this week, I decided to sit down with my list to see what, if anything, I’ve accomplished so far.

But first, who inspired me to do this list? It was two bloggers… first was Kate from Kate The Almost Great, and she pointed me in the direction of Mackenzie Horan at Design Darling, who put together her first list together in 2011.

This list, like Mackenzie says, is a cross between a “to-do list” and a “bucket list.” It’s everything I want and hope to accomplish in 1001 days.

So what’s on “My 101 things in 1001 days” list? Here we go… What I’ve accomplished or what I have done so far is highlighted in BOLD, with an explanation of my accomplishments in italics. It doesn’t seem like I’ve accomplished much, but I still have 862 days left! It seems like such a huge amount of time left, but days are just slipping right past me, so I better get a move on!

BEGINNING DATE: APRIL 24, 2016

ENDING DATE: JANUARY 19, 2019

1. Write 101 things to accomplish in 1001 days.
   DONE!! I completed this list and posted it on my blog on 4/24/2016.
2. Meet 5 blogging friends in person.
   Pamela Valentine, Dawn Hill Priebe, Julie Dellinger, Genavieve Rose, and Joann Crohn. Added bonus is the dozens of women bloggers I met at the BlogHer 16 Conference in L.A., like Tamara Smith, Kateri Wonzy, Leslie “Lez” Segar, Athena Fleming, Ashley Jorgenson, Alli Neiman, Julie Henning, Katrina Malaiba, Sandra Reyes, Edith J. Tapia, Christina Orlovsky Page, Jennifer Mass,  Tulip Penny, Kait Scalisi, Lauren C. James, Rupinder K. Kahlon, Amy Tangerine, and Doran Poma. I wish I had gotten more business cards, but my nerves got the best of me and I didn’t ask. One blogger who made me think about the direction of my blog was Chloe Spencer. She kind of issued a bit of an unspoken challenge to me, which was to start my own YouTube channel.
3. Go one month without frivolous spending.
4. Go to 5 concerts.
5. Go see 3 musicals (Broadway or Off-Broadway)
6. Make 10 recipes off Pinterest and blog about it.
7. Find out my blood type.
8. Try 5 new foods.
   For anyone who knows me, I’m not a fan of seafood, but my friend Tresa got me to try crab rangoon. Ate one, didn’t like it. Then my husband and I went to our local Chinese restaurant and I decided to try crab rangoon again. Nope, still not a fan, but at least I tried it. Secondly, I’m not a fan of coconut. It’s a texture thing. However, I tried some kind of yummy candied coconut strips that I think were from Whole Foods Market. OMG, they were tasty but without the texture!
9. See 5 Audrey Hepburn movies.
   So far, all I’ve watched was “Funny Face”, and it was a musical.
10. Watch Casablanca.
11. Visit 3 art museums.
    So far, I’ve been to two museums. First, my husband and I went to the American Museum of Science & Energy in Oak Ridge, Tenn., during the Secret City Festival, on Saturday, June 11, 2016. Then on August 4, 2016, while on the L.A. walking tour with Mixbook, I went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising Museum. It was so cool!)
12. Meet someone famous.
    I met Aisha Tyler at BlogHer 16 in Los Angeles, although it was so brief, I don’t know if you would count it, but I’m counting it because I have a photographic proof!
    

    

13. Have a picnic by a lake.
14. Visit 5 cities I’ve never been to before.
    I went to Los Angeles for the BlogHer 16 conference, August 3-7, 2016.
15. Invest in a pair of good riding boots.
16. Learn to ride a motorcycle.
17. Take my nieces out for a day of fun, paid entirely by me.
18. Increase traffic to my blog and Social Media accounts (Instagram, Twitter, Bloglovin)
19. Knit 5 scarves for my friends.
20. Run the Susan G. Komen Race in Knoxville.
21. Participate in a book club.
22. Start playing the piano again.
23. Visit a winery and blog about it.
24. Find a wine (red, white, whatever) that I like.
25. Send someone flowers just because.
26. Pay for someone’s Starbucks order.
27. Keep a zero balance on credit cards for 6 months.
28. Pay off all my doctor’s bills.
29. Save $5000 (or more) in the Vacation account.
30. Go out to dinner with friends once a month for 6 months (non-consecutive).
31. Blog every day for 3 months.
32. Redesign my blog to reflect my personal style.
33. Have a couple’s photo shoot for me & my husband.
34. Invest in blog business cards.
    I invested in business cards for the BlogHer 16 conference. I used Vista Print and was extremely pleased in how they turned out and by how quickly I received them after I ordered them. Thanks, Vista Print!
35. Attend a fashion show during New York Fashion Week and blog about it.
36. Drink 64-ounces of water a day.
37. Ditch my Diet Coke habit.
38. Travel abroad, hit one of the places on my bucket list, and blog about it.
39. Go a day without electronics (I.e., no phone, no iPad, no Mac).
40. Attend three blogging conferences and blog about it.
    My first blog conference was the BlogHer 16 conference in L.A.
41. Organize my dressing room and blog about it.
42. Finish the Howard Family Memory Book and give copies to my family.
43. Send out either Christmas or New Year’s cards.
44. See a Cirque de Soleil performance live.
45. Try acupuncture.
46. Land a freelance writing job.
47. Make and blog about 12 DIY projects from Pinterest.
48. Learn calligraphy.
49. Enjoy a day at the spa.
50. Try one “out of my comfort zone” exercise classes.
51. Join Fort Sanders Health & Fitness Center.
    Instead, my husband and I both joined Workout Anytime because it’s close to home and inexpensive. It has all the equipment we need to workout together, but no classes (which I would prefer, but it’s okay).
52. See Billy Joel in concert.
53. Turn Maw’s recipes into a book for our family.
54. Find my signature scent.
55. Go to the top of the Empire State Building.
56. Go zip-lining.
57. See 10 “classic” films.
    I’m going to count “Funny Face” in this category as well!
58. Establish a new series on my blog (i.e., His & Hers, Weekend Wardrobe, etc.).
    I have started seven new blog series: Dress Form Outfit; Links I Love; Dinner Party; Wish List Wednesday; Wanderlust Wednesday; Woman of Style; and Man of Style.
59. Go tandem skydiving.
60. Learn a new language.
61. Go one month without ordering takeout / fast food.
62. Read 5 biographies.
    Leah Remini, “Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology”
63. Learn to do the splits.
64. Donate to a Kickstarter campaign I believe in.
65. Organize my Yahoo and gmail accounts.
66. Host one blogger lunch or dinner twice a year.
67. Publish 12 “How-To” posts.
    How to be a Role Model and Build Self-Confidence (8/4/2016); How to Let Go… (7/31/2016); How to Create an Awesome Summer Bucket List (6/26/2016); How to Make Your July 4th Weekend Unforgettable (6/24/2016); How to Wear Pom-Poms (6/20/2016); How to Put Together Your Summer Essentials (6/13/2016); How to Get Your (Faux) Glow On (5/26/2016); How to Break the Fashion Rules this Summer (5/16/2016); How to use Beauty Oils in your Beauty Routine (5/2/2016); How to Celebrate Cinco de Mayo (4/30/2016)
68. See a TED Talk Live.
69. Mail a care package to my brother and sister-in-law.
70. Mail care packages to my nieces.
71. Take my husband to Ireland for our 20th anniversary – 10/17/2018.
72. Grow really good tomatoes and burpless cucumbers.
    My husband said that both my tomatoes and cucumbers were super yummy. Even my friend, Cindy A., liked my cucumbers. Even though I planted Goliath tomatoes, they turned out to be on the small side, like tangerine-size. My cucumbers were crispy-crunchy and tasted pretty darn yummy in our summer salads. I’d say I’ll still plant cucumbers next year, but may go with grape tomatoes next time.
73. Buy a Vespa or a cafe-style motorcycle.
74. Finish a screenplay and submit it to the Sundance Screenwriting Lab.
75. Walk 10K steps every day for a month.
76. Lose (and keep off) 10 lbs.
77. Get an article published in a magazine or an online news outlet.
78. Save up to $5 for every thing I cross off on this list.
79. Visit Washington, D.C.
80. Take a cruise.
81. Volunteer at Sundance Film Festival.
82. Complete a NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month).
83. Go stand-up paddleboarding.
84. Watch a movie from the year I was born.
85. Write a “One Line A Day” journal for a month, possibly a year.
86. Go parasailing.
87. Quit sugar for 30 days (or longer).
88. Buy something off Etsy and blog about it.
    I purchased something from Bare and Me at the BlogHer 16 conference, and yes, blogged about it!
89. Pull out my sewing machine and sew myself a dress.
90. Go geocaching.
91. Answer “50 Questions that will Free your Mind” and blog about it.
    I’ve been answering five questions a month. I’m not quite done, but here’s what I’ve answered so far: Questions 1-5, Questions 6-10, and Questions 11-15.
92. Collect 25 autographed photos of some of my favorite actors/actresses.
93. Read 101 books, and blog about the ones that were really fantastic.
    Leah Remini – Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology; James Patterson – Cross Justice; Elizabeth Lowell – Night Diver; Gillian Flynn – Dark Places; Michael Connelly – Nine Dragons; Andrew Morton – Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography; Maria Menounos – The Everygirl’s Guide to Life; James Patterson – The Murder House; Tom Wolfe – Back to Blood; David Baldacci – The Last Mile; Kate Hudson – Pretty Happy: Healthy Ways to Love Your Body; Joel C. Rosenberg – The Auschwitz Escape; Marc Cameron – National Security.
94. Do Beach Body Yoga twice a week for 30 days.
95. Take a day-trip just for fun and blog about it.
96. Write 50 handwritten notes to friends and loved ones.
97. Buy new eyeglasses.
98. Publish one outfit post a month for a year.
    The first year I started my blog, I put up one dress form outfit blog post a week. This time around, I’m posting one outfit a month on my dress form. Here are June, July, August, and September.
99. Write a guest post on someone else’s blog.
100. Give $5 to charity for every task on this list that I don’t complete.
101. Inspire someone to come up with their own “101 in 1001” list.

So many of these are actually achievable for me, while others are going to be a little harder (i.e., giving up Diet Coke and quitting sugar). But thankfully, I’m a determined woman of 43 and right now I feel I need a challenge like this. I’ve also written all of these tasks in my bullet journal so I can keep up with it on a daily basis. Of course, I’ll keep you all posted of what tasks I accomplish as these next 1001 days pass by!

If I’ve inspired you to come up with your own “101 things in 1001 days” list, comment below and leave me a link to find your list. Or you can give me a shoutout via Twitter. Good luck on compiling your list and achieving your goals!

Yours Truly,
Vanessa