Revisiting the 30 Before Thirty List

September
22 77
comments

Yesterday, I celebrated my thirtieth birthday. I’m truly looking forward to this next decade, and I think my thirties will be the best years yet! So now that my birthday has come and gone, it’s time to see how I did with my 30 Before Thirty list. I had given myself six and a half months to do everything.

I finished all of these…

  • 1. Visit the Modern Wing of The Art Institute of Chicago. (Done!)
  • 2. Dye my hair red. (Done!)
  • 5. Stop drinking soda. (Done!)
  • 6. Lose 20 pounds. (Not drinking soda should help.) (Done!)
  • 8. Sew a dress for Eleanor. (Done!)
  • 10. Donate some of our books to the library. (Done!)
  • 11. Cook Pad Thai from scratch. (Done!)
  • 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!)

I didn’t finish these…

  • 3. Finish redesigning my Smart & Lovely portfolio. (It’s in progress.)
  • 4. Launch my design service. (I need to finish the portfolio first.)
  • 7. Repaint my office. (I’m going to wait and see how the white trim looks first.)
    * 08.16.11: Done!)
  • 9. Clean out the basement. (It’s getting scary down there, but we’ll get it done.)
    * 11.02.10: Done!
  • 30. Paint all of the trim in our house. (I made progress, but the dining room took forever.)

But here are a few things that I did finish in addition to the items on my list…

Along the way, many of you made 30 Before Thirty lists of your own (and many variations thereof, including a 30 Before Seventy list by a 67 year old woman). That just makes me incredibly happy. After a weekend spent concentrating on achieving dreams and goals, it seems fitting to wrap things up today. Next, I’m going to have to get going on my life list!

Related Posts

link    Lists, My Life  •  77 Comments  •  September 22, 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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77 Responses to “Revisiting the 30 Before Thirty List”

  1. Katie*Belle September 24, 2010 at 1:15 pm #

    Happy birthday! Your list is so inspiring. Today is my thirtieth birthday and I totally agree — let’s make these the best years yet!

    Reply
  2. Mandy September 24, 2010 at 4:00 pm #

    Happy Birthday and congratulations! I linked to your list and the part about the Steve Ward diet on my blog. http://divaskychick.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/the-line-diet-or-steve-ward-diet-or-easiest-diet-ever/

    Thanks for the hook up!

    Reply
  3. Kim September 25, 2010 at 3:13 pm #

    Thanks for the inspiration! I’ve got my own list going now!
    http://smartypants-luckylisp.blogspot.com/
    Happy Birthday!
    :) Cheers

    Reply
  4. Shelley September 26, 2010 at 11:04 am #

    Happy Birthday, Nicole! I loved my thirties, and my forties are even better (a little something to look forward to for you!)

    Reply
  5. Kristin October 6, 2010 at 3:06 pm #

    I love your list! Look at all the things you accomplished! It gives me all kinds of motivation to do my own list. Maybe I’ll make a list today. :)

    Reply
  6. ChrysalisDC November 19, 2010 at 8:04 pm #

    Please please PLEASE Nichole, tell me how you do it. An amazing house, businesses, a baby & one on the way, a husband *and* this gorgeous web site! I am in awe.

    How do you keep track of your day and schedule your time? Please share your secrets for time management, etc! Do you use online planners / schedulers and do you have any assistants to help you with work?

    Love your site, so inspiring! :)

    Reply
  7. Erin Morris November 27, 2010 at 1:36 am #

    I just came across your site, and I too have been inspired to make a 30 before 30 list. I’ll be ‘stealing’ several of your list items too! I have exactly six months from Christmas Day….better get crackin!

    Reply
  8. Tara August 26, 2011 at 6:24 am #

    Thanks so much for the inspiration! i wrote my own 30 before thirty list after reading yours and have encouraged my friends to do the same. i have 6 months left to finish my list but here’s the update thus far: http://spotofteadesigns.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/30-before-thirty/

    Reply
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