30 Before Thirty

March
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I will turn thirty on September 22, 2010.

That gives me a little more than six months to do all of the things on this list…

  1. Visit the Modern Wing of The Art Institute of Chicago. (Done!)

  2. Dye my hair red. (Done!)

  3. Finish redesigning my Smart & Lovely portfolio.

  4. Launch my design service.

  5. Stop drinking soda. (Done!)

  6. Lose 20 pounds. (Not drinking soda should help.) (Done!)

  7. Repaint my office. (Done!)

  8. Sew a dress for Eleanor. (Done!)

  9. Clean out the basement. (It’s getting scary down there.) (Late, but done!)

  10. Donate some of our books to the library. (Done!)

  11. Cook Pad Thai from scratch.

  12. Organize the catch-all closet in my office. (Done!)

  13. Get good at applying liquid eyeliner. (Done!)

  14. Print the bajillion photos I have stored on my computer and put them in albums. (Done!)

  15. Alphabetize our CDs and finish putting them into sleeves. (Done!)

  16. Landscape the front of the house. (Done!)

  17. Make an origami paper crane. (Done!)

  18. Visit the Farnsworth House by Mies van der Rohe. (Done!)

  19. Learn how to use my camera in manual mode. (Done!)

  20. Find my perfect shade of lipstick. (Done!)

  21. Decide for good whether I want a tattoo or not. (Done!)

  22. Pay off my credit card. (Done!)

  23. Make a video montage of Eleanor’s first year. (Done!)

  24. Have a date night with Brandon at least twice a month. (Done!)

  25. Grow tomatoes. (Done!)

  26. Have an adorable family photo taken. (Done!)

  27. Sing along perfectly to “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”. (Done!)

  28. Take Eleanor to the Shedd Aquarium. (Done!)

  29. Reduce (or eliminate) my reliance on paper towels. (Done!)

  30. Paint all of the trim in our house.

(I’m crossing them off the list as I complete them.)

Related Posts

link    Lists, My Life  •  286 Comments  •  March 1, 2010

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Making it Lovely is a design blog, founded by Nicole Balch, about living a stylish life and transforming the so-so. Subscribe, learn more, or connect with Nicole on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

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286 Responses to “30 Before Thirty”

  1. JacquiBee September 21, 2010 at 6:13 pm #

    Happy Birthday (im a day ahead in NZ so it is really still your birthday)
    OMG you only have five left, One house project(the trim) the other four are all work related. Well done. I can imagine the basement as a great space thought I know you have limited funds. Maybe one approach is to think about the layout of the room where will you be looking at most while you work and make that really nice and finished. Refinish one wall at a time for example as you can afford it starting with the wall your desk or work space faced. I have carried a pair of enormous ( big enough to cover a wall) 1960′s heavy shot gold and tangerine curtins from house to house for many years and I have hung them to hide many and eye sore area. May be some inexpensive curtins on walls you can’t get to yet. Cant wait to see what you come up with.

    Reply
  2. Rebecca Mellor September 22, 2010 at 8:35 am #

    Happy 30th Birthday Nicole! Isn’t it weird that I don’t even know you, but have been thinking about the fact that it’s your birthday all morning – have been following your blog for a couple of months now – it’s really inspiring! Well done for achieving so many of the things on your list! Hope you have a lovely day! Rebecca

    Reply
  3. Circa1972 September 22, 2010 at 2:22 pm #

    Happy Birthday! If you start your “40 Before 40″ list now, think of all the time you’ll have to complete it! :)

    Reply
  4. Mandy September 22, 2010 at 7:36 pm #

    Happy Birthday!! : )

    Reply
  5. PriscilaPetersDecor October 31, 2010 at 4:28 pm #

    This is wonderful! It made me smile! I’m 29, I should do something like this too. Inspiring…
    Congrats!

    Reply
  6. Laura December 11, 2010 at 9:47 pm #

    I love your list! I’m currently working on my 30 before 30 list (I turn 30 Jan. 4, 2012). I used one of your ideas – to organize all of the photos I have printed. So needs to be done!

    Reply
  7. Jessica @ Jess and the Elm City January 14, 2011 at 7:34 pm #

    I just made my own list and mentioned you on my site! Thanks, Nicole! Quite inspirational :)

    Reply
  8. Mary January 22, 2011 at 9:45 am #

    I am only 19 but you inspire me!! <3

    Reply
  9. Erikka February 17, 2011 at 11:45 am #

    I loved your list…and really most things about your site! The thirties are a WONDERFUL decade for us modern ladies, businesswomen, boundary-pushers and/or do-it-all mommies. I know this because I turned the page to a new decade on 09-22-2010. Enjoy!

    Bonne chance!
    ~Erikka

    Reply
  10. Wenchy April 27, 2011 at 2:47 am #

    Sjoe…. my list may be longer!

    Reply
  11. fuzzytop June 23, 2011 at 6:45 pm #

    I love your list! It cought my eye because Sept 22 is my birthday also!

    Adrienne

    Reply
  12. christina July 14, 2011 at 10:18 am #

    Almost there, Nicole!

    Reply
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