Lists My Life

A Lovely Life List

This isn’t a bucket list. These aren’t things I need to cross off before I die. Will I ever accomplish everything here? Probably not, but that’s not the goal. This list exists simply as a collection of things I would like to do in my lifetime. If writing them down helps me focus, and in turn helps me achieve some of them, the list has served its purpose.

A life list should never make you feel guilty for not accomplishing something! It should serve as a compass, opening you up to experiences that you may have discounted otherwise. I started this list in 2010, inspired by Maggie. My hope is that by sharing this publicly, I will hold myself accountable and achieve more than I would otherwise. I tend to do well with public lists.

I come back and edit this post as I cross things off, and I fully expect this list to change as time goes on.

Experiences

Sights

Just Plain Fun

  • Make a dollhouse for Eleanor
  • Finish a paint-by-numbers painting
  • Wear a ridiculous hat to an event
  • Dress up with friends for a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
  • Experience weightlessness
  • Beat the classic Super Mario Bros. game
  • Learn how to solve a Rubik’s cube
  • Wear a sequined dress to a party
  • Have the Thriller dance in my repertoire

Family

Home

Style

  • Only wear lovely undergarments
  • Ruthlessly edit my closet down to only my favorite things
  • Find my perfect shade of lipstick
  • Sew a dress for myself that I would actually wear
  • Wear perfume regularly again

Skills

Professional / Career

  • Publish a book
  • Be a keynote speaker
  • Have a monthly column in a magazine
  • Start a charitable creative movement (like a chain letter but more fulfilling)
  • Do/create something worthy of being nominated as a MacArthur Fellow
  • Meet Martha Stewart
  • Meet Jonathan Adler
  • Redesign Making it Lovely
  • Sell my designs through a nationwide store
  • Art direct a photo shoot
  • Name paint colors
  • Design wallpaper
  • Judge a design competition
  • Create a proper portfolio for myself
  • Decorate someone else’s home from top to bottom
  • Make enough money to support my family
  • Make an appearance in five forms of media (book, magazine, television, radio, internet)
  • Have my home featured in a Domino-like magazine or book

Projects

  • Take a photo every day for a year
  • Start a family tradition
  • Choose a good cookbook and cook every recipe in it
  • Give only handmade gifts for a year
Sources & Paint ColorsNeed design help? Let's work together.

You Might Also Like...

  • Jenni (Museum Diary)
    October 12, 2012 at 2:28 pm

    What a great list, so many inspiring ideas. Since I blog about museums, it made me smile to see the Art Institute of Chicago up there. I noticed you also had it on your ’30 before 30′ list (though I’ve not been to that particular museum yet myself, as I have never been to Chicago). My little boy is not quite 2 and he has already been to over 20 museums in 4 different countries :-)
    Best wishes & #museumlove, Jenni (via BYW)

  • Meeting Martha | Making it Lovely
    October 15, 2012 at 1:03 pm

    […] because that is something I’ve been wanting to say for a long time. Meeting Martha was on my Lovely Life List. I admire her business acumen, her signature look and brand, and I’m grateful to her for […]

  • Has It Been Three Years Already? « Sunshine Press
    October 16, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    […] to share my life list. I’m a list maker naturally, but I was directly inspired by Nicole at Making it Lovely [her blog is dope, read it]. Anything major I’ve ever accomplished has come from a list that […]

  • My life list | A Few Blocks East
    October 29, 2012 at 9:37 am

    […] fun since they’re different kinds of experiences. (I have to admit, I stole this idea from Nicole of Making it Lovely. Her list breakdown is […]

  • My Ultimate To-Do List | Savor and See
    November 28, 2012 at 5:57 pm

    […] Balch at Making it Lovely came up with a great idea to solve this dilemma – a Lovely Life List.  It’s a list of things […]

  • On Wearing Sequins | Making it Lovely
    December 4, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    […] Bookmark or Share 29 comments Under the “Just Plain Fun” section of my Lovely Life List is this item: Wear a sequined dress to a party. (Because doesn’t it sound like just plain […]

  • Melissa Corre
    December 30, 2012 at 2:27 am

    Hi Nicole, this list is truly inspirational, I am definitely going to start my own. I like how you talk about the guilt sometimes associated with not completing a list, I’ve definitely been there before and it’s not a good feeling to have nothing to cross out! I will definitely create my new list with an open mind and gentle understanding that I may not meet every goal. The fun is in dreaming, right? :) Thanks for being lovely.

  • A Look Back at 2012 | Making it Lovely
    December 31, 2012 at 2:32 pm

    […] the business aspect of my life, but I also actively sought opportunities to cross off a few of my Lovely Life List items. I put aside my fear of water and took the Chicago architecture tour by boat. I’ve […]

  • Misty Dawn
    December 31, 2012 at 8:28 pm

    I just posted my Life List today (in honor of the new year). Believe it, I’ve had it as a draft on my blog for months… I was afraid people my laugh at some of my items. Guess maybe I should add “get over my insecurities” to my list, huh? haha

  • Raul
    January 2, 2013 at 2:57 am

    I really like it whenever people come together and share
    thoughts. Great blog, continue the good work!

  • Who doesn’t enjoy a good list? | DBW Makes Things
    January 26, 2013 at 3:51 pm

    […] I don’t know where the idea originated (in terms of it being a blog feature), but I saw it on Making It Lovely. Let’s do […]

  • Craft Night at Anthropologie | Making it Lovely
    January 29, 2013 at 10:00 am

    […] be hosting a Valentine craft night at Anthropologie in Chicago next week! Come help me check off a Lovely Life List item (“teach a craft project to a group”), and go home with something cute that […]

  • A Colorful Door, Colorful Appliances | Making it Lovely
    March 6, 2013 at 8:02 am

    […] big life list goal for this year is to land a book deal. It’s a little scary putting that out there because […]

  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home and Studio in Oak Park | Making it Lovely
    March 18, 2013 at 9:58 am

    […] Wright home and studio, and we were invited on short notice to tag along. Revisiting it was on my Lovely Life List, so I said yes. I took Eleanor with while Brandon stayed home with a napping […]

  • Photo Archives: Roma
    April 7, 2013 at 9:59 pm

    […] weekend I started writing a Lovely Life List inspired by this list (from Nicole at Making It Lovely). You can bet a trip back to Rome is at the top! It is hard to […]

  • Holly
    April 29, 2013 at 9:12 am

    Just re-reading your list as I start thinking about how to have a non-celebration celebration for my 50th. Lots of great ideas, and I’m thrilled to realize there are a bunch I’ve already done (Rocky Horror Picture Show, renovate an old house top to bottom, have a house with an exterior as cute as the interior, see Paris from the Eiffel Tower.) But there is still so much more!

  • The Travelling Teacup: Life List
    May 16, 2013 at 6:16 pm

    […] (unless you want to do any of that of course.) As I continued researching the idea, I also found Nicole’s Lovely Life List, which actually inspired some of the items on my list. (I couldn’t help it – she has […]

  • Viva! Life List | Doodles & Doodads
    December 13, 2013 at 8:17 am

    […] got my inspiration to make a life list from Nicole at the cute blog Making It Lovely. Basically this is a list of things I’d like to do in my lifetime but without the pressure of […]

  • Honor Roll | Making it Lovely
    January 17, 2014 at 1:24 pm

    […] OK to change your life list. I’m certain there are some things on my list I can […]

  • Lorinda
    April 19, 2014 at 6:45 am

    this is so inspiring and I am motivated to do my own life list! I just hope I’m brave enough to make public because I think it really puts things into perspective and helps you achieve more of the goals. Thanks for sharing :) x

  • Treetopia Design Council 2013: Nicole Balch from Making It Lovely | Treetopia Blog
    May 22, 2014 at 4:38 am

    […] talented wife and mother of two continues to pursue the many hopes and dreams she inscribed in her Lovely Life List. Get to know more of this charming designer with this […]

  • free instrumental downloads
    May 29, 2014 at 6:09 pm

    Apart from Soundclick, there are many good websites out
    there that serve as tools to get to where you want to be.

    Owning leasing rights simply means that you own the right to sell
    a few thousand units to the instrumentals which you bought.
    Home recording studio software should offer you powerful tools for recording, editing
    and mixing audio tracks in the comfort of your own home.

  • My Life List – Updated
    June 27, 2016 at 4:44 am

    […] and decided to update my own life list, or bucket list, that I had created months ago. I saw one at Making It Lovely that had been sorted into categories and the Type A in me loves an organized list. So here it […]

  • 228 Bucket Lists. 10,000 Things To Do Before You Die.
    May 30, 2020 at 5:52 pm

    […] A Lovely Life List | Making it Lovely […]

  • 1 2