Spring Bucket List 2019

Hey there, friends!  I don't know about you, but I'm so glad that spring is in the air.  Winter is my favorite season, but this one really wreaked havoc on so many of us.  But the rising temperatures, the sound of the birds in the morning and the sunshine are giving me a new pep in my step!

This re-found energy has me ready to tackle another seasonal bucket list!  But before we get to my spring list, let's take a look at what I accomplished this fall (because I never got around to writing or completing a winter list this year).

1.  Go wedding dress shopping.  I did!  And I bought a wedding dress!  For my first wedding gown try-on, my mom and I went to BHLDN in Chicago.  It was the perfect first experience.  My consultant made me feel like a princess, the private try-on suite was beautiful, the rosé was delicious and I loved trying-on so many beautiful dresses.  Ultimately, though, I didn't find the one.  In January I went shopping with my mom and my best friend, Nicole.  We had a marathon dress day spanning three different stores in two different cities.  But I found it!  The dress of my dreams!  I can't wait to show it to you...but not until the wedding.

2.  Send-in some clothes to ThredUp.  Nope, I flat-out didn't do this and only out of laziness.  I still have an empty ThredUp bag to fill!

3.  Go for one outdoor run (I usually run at the gym).  Check!  Justin and I trained for our Turkey Trot 8k (photographic evidence above) at our local White Pine Trail.  I've been loving this spot more and more this spring as I can start training outside again.

4.  Watch all of the Halloween movie franchise in preparation for the new movie coming-out.  Yes!  This was actually kind of hard to accomplish.  Taking time out of weekday evenings to squeeze eight-or-so movies into one month had us scrambling.  But we did it and we enjoyed the new movie at the theater!

5.  Purchase some gear to wear to a local high school's football game.  Just call me a Northview Wildcat!  Is it weird that I'm already looking forward to football season again?  I love a good hometown game as well as my Spartans!

6.  Do 30 days of at-home yoga.  Want to know how many days of at-home yoga I did?  One.  Yep, only one.  Major fail!

7.  Attend Art Prize (a big-time art festival in Grand Rapids).  Justin and I had a really fun date night at Art Prize and a new-to-us Grand Rapids restaurant.  It's always exciting to see what these creative artists come-up with every year.  The piece above features clothing pinned to lines, each item has a snippet of conversation the artist has overheard.  Really interesting!

8.  Make something pumpkin flavored.  Another nope.  But I did cook a lot this fall so I'm not too upset about it.

9.  Try a new top ten Grand Rapids restaurant each month (a continuation).  Justin and I completed our top ten Grand Rapids restaurant list in 2018.  You can read about our experience here.

10.  Taste each of Sweetland's (a local coffee joint) special fall drinks.  You know, I don't think I completed this.  But I did try all of the ones I was interested in.  So I think I'm going to count this as a win.

7ish outta 10 ain't bad!  And here's what I plan to do this season:

1.  Pick a wedding rehearsal dinner venue.
2.  Run (and I mean run -- no walking) my first 1/2 marathon.
3.  Continue trying one new Michigan breakfast place each month.
4.  Clear-out our house clutter with a garage sale.
5.  Use only gift cards and store credit for spring clothes shopping.
6.  Frame a few engagement photos to hang.
7.  Take an inaugural 2019 bike ride.
8.  Stock-up on produce at the Rockford Farmer's Market.
9.  Buy fresh flowers for the house.
10.  Have an old-school rental movie night complete with candy and pizza.

What exciting things do you have on the docket for the next few months?  And thanks, Leslie, for hosting this seasonal link-up, even though I'm late to the party.

Bucket List: Winter to Spring 2018

Wow!  Today marks one year since I began recording my seasonal bucket lists here at Whitney à la mode.  My how time flies and this quarterly post has turned into one of my favorites to write.  Having a list of things I want to do helps me to live each seasonally more intentionally and allows me to enjoy the special activities that mark each time of the year.  Thanks, Leslie, for organizing these posts and for getting me started with my bucket lists!

Before I decide what I want to accomplish this spring, let's see how I did this winter!

1.  Make the perfect beer cheese soup.  Okay, so I wanted to try a bunch of recipes for beer cheese soup and then pick the perfect one.  And then I only made the soup once.  But you know what, it was quite tasty, so I'm considering this accomplished!

2.  Have a Christmas Movie Marathon.  Yep!  My boyfriend and I spent an afternoon watching The Santa Clause, Miracle on 24th Street (the newer version), and Elf.  We also squeezed in Home Alone on a different night.

3.  Learn How to Ski.  My boyfriend loves to snowboard so, in order to be able to hit the slopes with him, I decided to try my hand at skiing this year.  Justin turned 30 on New Year's Day so to celebrate, we went to Boyne Mountain in northern Michigan for a long weekend.  It was relaxing, romantic, and guess what?!  I learned to ski and I actually like it!

4.  Go to an MSU Basketball Game.  Sadly, I failed at this one.  Tickets were pricey and time got away from me.  But I did watch plenty of games on TV (including that painful match against Syracuse on Sunday).  #marchsadness

5.  Mix Some Warm Winter Cocktails.  This is another semi-win.  I did not make it myself but I did enjoy an Irish Coffee at our local watering hole.

6.  Find a church in my new hometown.  This one isn't quite accomplished yet as my boyfriend and I haven't settled on a home church.  But we have been looking and visiting a few.  We will find the right one eventually!

7.  Try a Top 10 Grand Rapids Restaurant Each Month:  Yes!  This has been one of my favorite ways to explore my new hometown (that is known for its awesome restaurant scene).  In December, we hit up Marie Catrib's, January took us to The Green Well and then my boyfriend and I went to Leo's for Valentine's Day in February.  Up next: San Chez!

8.  Go to Taco Tuesday at Cannonsburg (Our Local Skiing Spot).  Nope.  We didn't do this once.  But my boyfriend and I enjoy our homemade breakfast burritos every Tuesday night!

9.  Watch All of the Star Wars Movies:  Fail fail fail!  We went to see the newest film in theaters in December which inspired this bucket list item.  And then I never watched another Star Wars movie.

10.  Try Another Round of Stitch Fix:  I actually decided to try Trunk Club, Nordstrom's version of Stitch Fix instead!  For a $25 styling fee (as opposed to $20 with SF), you get lots more items in your TC box!  I loved mine and will be sharing a full review and all of my goodies soon!

Seven outta ten ain't bad, right?!  And with that, I'm so ready for spring!  Bring on the sunshine:

1.  Plant something.
2.  Go for one walk a week.
3.  Try a new Top 10 Grand Rapids restaurant each month (a continuation from my winter bucket list).
4.  Visit to the zoo.
5.  Spontaneously get donuts some weekend morning.
6.  Run a 10k.
7.  Make or buy a spring wreath.
8.  Go-out for ice cream.
9.  Read something outside of the box.
10.  Start the Star Wars series (I'm being a bit more realistic this time).

What are you planning to do this spring?  Don't forget to link-up your post below on Wednesday (I'm posting one day early)!

An InLinkz Link-up

Spring Bucket List Update (And My New Summer Bucket List)

As of today, summer is officially in full swing!  Around the world, people are celebrating the solstice and I'm enjoying my first week of freedom from school.  What a perfect day to take a look back at my Spring Bucket List to see what I accomplished!

1.  Buy fresh flowers for my apartment.  Okay, so I didn't actually buy fresh flowers but I updated the faux bouquet that brightens my desk.  That totally counts, right?!

2.  Watch a Lansing Lugnuts (the local baseball team) game.  Check!  A bunch of teachers from the high school where I work enjoyed a Friday night at the ballpark complete with spring weather, beer and hot dogs (of course)!

3.  Drink a cup of coffee or a glass of wine on a patio.  Technically this is beer, but again, who is paying attention to the details?!  In any case, the patio at The Peanut Barrel is my favorite place to have an outdoor beverage.

4.  Go on a weekend getaway.  This really handsome guy and I went to Traverse City, Michigan and the surrounding areas for my birthday weekend.  He ran a marathon and we sampled lots of delicious wine.  It was the perfect weekend!

5.  Read a book in the courtyard of my apartment complex.  I actually enjoyed a book outside on three separate occasions this spring.  It might just be the best way to relax.

6.  Try a meal ingredients delivery service.  We cooked three awesome meals from Blue Apron and will definitely be trying some more.  The one pictured is a Smoked Trout Salad with Asparagus!

7.  Find a new hiking destination for #ourmonthlyhike with my best friend, Nicole.  We tried a couple new hiking trails this spring, Woldumar Nature Center being my new favorite!

8.  Purge my closet of clothes I no longer love.  Nope, I did not accomplish this one.  I've been weeding things out here and there but I didn't do the the full closet purge that I intended.

9.  Buy a pair of fun sneakers for the warmer weather.  Yes!  I'm loving my new Adidas sneakers (and twinning with my boyfriend).

10.  Experiment with a more advanced yoga class.  I twisted this one a little bit, too.  So I didn't actually try another yoga class but I did take up running again and feel great about my progress.  I'd say that's an even swap!

Nine out of ten ain't bad, huh?!  Plus I really enjoyed checking these items off my list and the enjoyment each activity brought to my life.  Now I'm excited to tackle my Summer Bucket List:

1.  Run a 5k.
2.  Go camping.
3.  Take a boat ride.
4.  Try a new grill recipe.
5.  Spend a day at the beach.
6.  Get a pedicure.
7.  Try a new hiking trail (a repeat from my Spring List but you can never explore too many trails!)
8.  Buy fresh fruit at a farmer's market.
9.  Watch a sunset.
10.  Explore a new-to-me city.

If you have a bucket list you would like to share, please link-up with us below!  And a big thank you to Leslie for organizing our bucket list posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

Spring Bucket List

Happy Monday, loves!  I have a different kind of post for you today.  There are no outfit photos involved! You see, my sweet blogging friend, Leslie, proposed the idea of writing a Spring Bucket List and, because I'm to-do list obsessed and so ready for spring, I knew that I had to join her!

Here are the things I'm set on doing to make springtime a little bit sweeter:

1.  Buy fresh flowers for my apartment.
2.  Watch a Lansing Lugnuts (the local baseball team) game.
3.  Read a cup of coffee or a glass of wine on an outdoor patio.
4.  Go on a weekend getaway.
5.  Read a book in the courtyard of my apartment complex.
6.  Try a meal ingredients delivery service.
7.  Find a new hiking destination for #ourmonthlyhike with my best friend, Nicole.
8.  Purge my closet of clothes I no longer love.
9.  Buy a pair of fun sneakers for the warmer weather.
10.  Experiment with a more advanced yoga class.

What's on your to-do list for the new season?  Do any of ours match?

If you are looking for more springtime inspiration, check-out the Spring Bucket Lists from several amazing bloggers:
Leslie of Once Upon A Time and Happily Ever After
Michael of Out and Back
Danielle of Family.Love.Inspiration
Tamara of My Retirement Project
Ashley of Perks and Ponder
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