The 30 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 30

On Tuesday I rang in my 29th year, stuck inside for the second year in a row, alone with my toddler. While it wasn’t originally the birthday I was envisioning, I realized how special these simple moments can actually be. But since this is the final year of my twenties, I figured I couldn’t let the defining decade pass without doing some sort of bucket list. So, here’s the 30 things I want to do before I turn 30!

1. Fly first-class somewhere (without kids)

I’ve only ever flown first class once and that was with Jasper on a very short flight. While I enjoyed it, there’s just something about the idea of taking a first-class flight somewhere sans kids that feels extra special. Maybe it’s the possibility of actually being able to travel this next year now that I’m vaccinated.

2. Take an international vacation

Y’all, I’m almost 30 years old and I’ve never even had my passport. Maybe I should just switch the title of this item to “get a passport” since I have a similar wish towards the end of my list. But as more things open up I’m hoping to travel a lot more in the last year of my twenties, even if that means attempting to do it solo with two kids.

3. Finish watching The Vampire Diaries (and all the other shows I started and never finished)

This wasn’t on my original list but I had to change some things around due to the deployment news we got last week. So I’m foreseeing a lot of binge-watching in my future. I am notorious for starting a show, getting really into it, and then burning out and never going back. I’d like to change this with at least one show. Can I make it through Vampire Diaries without wanting to rip my hair out? Who knows. But I’m gonna try and find out. I should also do this with Grey’s Anatomy but baby steps.

4. Purchase a designer bag

If you caught my Vision Board for 2021 video on YouTube then you already know that I’ve been eyeing a designer bag this year. I’m really hoping to dig into work once I get adjusting to parenting two babies and have set some pretty big goals for myself to hit before I turn 30. There are a few other things on this list that will go hand in hand with this one. TBD on if I can actually make it happen with a toddler, new baby, and our second deployment on the books but military spouses are magic, am I right?

5. Take a flower arranging class (in person or online)

Since I started buying myself flowers as part of our weekly grocery shopping, I’ve gotten really into the art of flower arranging. When you’re a content creator, it can be hard to find things you love to do that you don’t immediately want to turn into content so I think diving into flower arranging as a hobby would be something fun to explore over the next year, especially if I can take some classes in person!

6.Celebrate something with an expensive bottle of champagne

It’s been a while since I felt like celebrating anything (thanks to the pandemic) and the idea of popping open an expensive bottle of champagne to celebrate something and really go all out for the celebrations this next year has my heart. Obviously, I would love to be doing this today, on my actual birthday, but since I’m pregnant I figured I might as well just wait since there are only 3 weeks left, give or take. Maybe I’ll treat myself to a bottle after delivering this baby.

7. Take a girls trip

I don’t remember the last time I went on a good, old-fashioned, girls’ trip. Actually, if I remember correctly, I’m pretty sure the last time I did this was my bachelorette party back in 2018. Now that my friends and I are vaccinated and things are starting to look more normal travel-wise, I think it’s time to plan something!

8. Go to an ice bar

We haven’t done much to take advantage of all of the fun things available to us during the winter months here in Alaska between my pregnancy and the pandemic so I have a lot on this list that involves local experiences. Like going to an ice bar! I think that’s something so cool and unique that not a lot of people can say they’ve done and there’s one basically in my backyard! I tried not to make this a “Fort Wainwright bucket list” in addition to the 30 before 30 lists but sometimes you have to get creative.

9. Make yearly recap videos with old vlog footage

I started doing YouTube all the way back in 2016 and I’ve largely saved most of the raw footage on hard drives throughout those years. I think it would be so much fun to go back and put together yearly compilation videos with clips from each year. I love editing videos and putting together especially sentimental pieces so I think this is something that will be right up my alley and easy to do. I’m thinking this could be a cool way to add more long-form content to my YouTube channel as well if I can figure out a way to story-tell throughout the videos as well. I also think this would be a fun project for me to work on while Justin is on this next deployment that way we can watch them together when he gets back or as they premier.

10. Figure out style and create a functional wardrobe with pieces I love

I’ve already laid some groundwork to check this item off of the list by cleaning out my closet and really limiting purchases until I’m in the postpartum period but I am so looking forward to exploring my style and investing in key pieces I love over the next couple of months. The goal is to have a capsule wardrobe of solid, timeless pieces that I can then add seasonal and trendy pieces to at a lower cost and I’m not buying new jeans every month or that sort of thing.

11. Cook through an entire cookbook

I am really excited about this one. While I have a few cookbooks I have cooked a lot of the recipes in I’ve never fully cooked through an entire cookbook before. I haven’t decided which cookbook to get so I need to research and find the perfect one so I can start the process of checking this off my list!

12. Finish the first draft of a book or novel

Lol. I told you there were some big goals on this list. This is probably one of the more achievable ones if we’re being honest. I have about 20,000 words written of a draft I started last year during quarantine so maybe I’ll pick that one back up or start completely fresh. Who knows, I’ll be sure to keep you posted!

13. Run in a race (5k or half marathon)

I’ve run my fair share of 5ks on a personal note like on the treadmill or on the trail but I haven’t actually run in a real event since I was in high school doing track. I was hoping to be able to do the Midnight Sun Run here in Fairbanks but they’ve canceled it again this year which is sad because I’m not sure we’ll be here for the one in 2022. Hopefully, they’ll start doing some on post ones soon!

14. Get a psychic reading

I remember my aunt getting a reading done when we went on a trip with my mom to Las Vegas and I just think this would be something fun to do at some point in my life. Maybe I’ll be able to tack it onto a trip if I actually end up traveling this year.

15. Actually work on learning a second language

Every time I make a list of goals of any sort, learning another language is always on it. I’ve taken both French and Spanish in school settings but didn’t really do the work to make sure I was actually learning the languages. During quarantine, I picked French back up and I really enjoy the language so I’ll probably work on trying that again.

16. Make more photo albums

I love having our photos printed but I haven’t been the best about actually getting our photos printed, especially during the pandemic. Becoming a Chatbooks ambassador has definitely already helped me out in that department a little bit but over the next year, I would like to get our photos around the house updated. We haven’t had professional photos of our family done since Jasper was a newborn!

17. Buy a skateboard and learn to use it

Everyone who knows me personally and is reading this is currently having a good laugh. The only bone I’ve ever broken was due to buying a pair of rollerblades (even though I was pretty good at the rink) but I’ve always wanted to learn how to skateboard. Last year, I became obsessed with the Penny Boards brand and really wanted to get one but Justin talked me out of it. This year though, I figured I might as well try it out. Plus it’ll help me work on balance for snowboarding season, right? I wanted to skateboard growing up but always cared too much about what other people would think about a little girl skateboarding. I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to care less and do more of what she loved.

18.Make $1000 a month with blogging/yt/social media

I told you that I had some pretty big (and scary) goals on this list! I have never set a specific monetary goal when it comes to the business side of my platforms but I’ve reached a point where I’m ready to go big or go home. I’ve definitely hit a crossroads where I either need to start treating this like a real business or just let it go. SO here’s to working on manifesting generating this kind of income.

19. Go to Disneyland

Disneyland has never really been on my radar but since planning Jasper’s Cars-themed birthday, I’ve been dying to take him there to visit the Radiator Springs part of the park. I’m not a huge Disney person but there’s something about having kids to take to Disney that has me really excited to go. They just recently opened the park up to California residents so I’m hoping they’ll be opening it up for out-of-state visitors soon too!

20. Take a spontaneous trip

This one is pretty self-explanatory but I am a notorious planner and need a little more spontaneity in my life. I feel like a spontaneous trip somewhere is the perfect mix of planning and spontaneity for this last year of my 20s.

21. Travel somewhere solo

I haven’t intentionally traveled solo unless you count flying back home for a wedding. I would love to just pick a weekend and a destination and go see what I can get myself into, kind of like a work retreat or something. We’ll see if I’m actually ever brave enough to do this (in my head it’s a grand trip that includes flying but I guess a casual road trip to my favorite place in Alaska could work too).

22. Read one classic a month

I love reading classic novels but it has been a hot minute since I actually took the time to read one. I’ve also been in one heck of a reading slump since 2021 started so I’m looking for literally any excuse to get out of that rut. I’ve had Steinbeck’s East of Eden on my bookshelf for literally years so I think that’ll be the first one I start to tackle, maybe even starting tonight!

23. Solo photoshoot

I’ve been blogging for 4 years this June and I have never had a branding photoshoot done for my platforms. That’s definitely something I’m looking to change this year and I think it’s a great way to kick off the final year of my twenties or even to celebrate ringing in 30 next April.

24. Adopt the 5-minute rule

The 5-minute rule is basically this: don’t put off anything that can be done in 5 minutes. I’ve realized over the last few months that our house looks like a disaster 90% of the time because we don’t actually take the time to pick up small messes throughout the day. Instead of waiting until the mess gets overwhelming, take the 5 minutes to pick up the cars all over the living room, to load or unload the dishwasher, to vacuum the living room, etc.

25. Go to a concert

Gosh, do I miss concerts. I missed them even before they ceased to exist because of the pandemic. When I was in college, my friends and I were always heading off to some concert or another. Some of my favorite memories from my twenties involve concerts. I’ve actually heard of two potentially happening this summer here in Alaska that I’m really excited about so fingers crossed I can make one of them! Or, you know, that Taylor Swift will start touring again.

26. Learn to bake a cake from scratch

I’ve never tried to make a cake that didn’t come from a box and there’s really no reason why I can’t make a cake from scratch but it’s something simple that I think would be fun to start doing for everyone’s birthdays going forward or just fun to have randomly on the weekends. If you have any favorite cake recipes, let me know!

27. Go snowboarding (buy season passes!)

I am not great at snowboarding. I spend most of my time falling and that was when we were going semi consistently while Justin was at West Point. This winter though I’m hoping that we can get season passes somewhere and actually make it a regular thing so I can hopefully work on falling less.

28. Take a bikini photo outside at -40

Yes, this is a thing people do in Fairbanks. I feel like I can’t leave here without doing it. I would have done it this year but didn’t think my 6-month pregnant self would appreciate the photo as much as I know my almost thirty self will.

29. Reach 5k on Instagram

This is another one of those big scary goals that I’m nervous about putting out there. My growth on Instagram has been pretty much stagnant for the last two years. It’s been disheartening and a lot of the time it makes me want to quit posting there altogether. But I love the community I’ve built there and I anytime I take a break from the app, that’s what I miss most. I don’t normally worry too much about numbers but hitting this goal on Instagram would be a huge step in the right direction as far as my ability to provide a stable income for my family. So I guess this goal is twofold, continue to pour into and celebrate the community I already have on Instagram and try to welcome in more people over the next year.

30. Celebrate turning 30 in a big way!

And last but not least, I want to celebrate turning 30 by doing something big! I have literally no idea what this means, I would love to go on an international trip for my birthday but if you’re a military spouse then you know how hard it is to plan for something like that with the military. So if you have suggestions for fun ways to celebrate a big birthday, let me know!

And that’s my list! Do you have a 30 before 30 bucket list? I’d love to know what you would put on your own bucket list. I’ll be sharing periodic updates on how I’m doing with this list as well so stay tuned! Cheers to 29!

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