2014 & my 30before30 list

i know i'm a few days behind (9, to be exact), but i've decided on which 30before30 goals i'm going to focus on for 2014:

 

-learn to speak portuguese fluently.

i've mentioned this before, but my mom is brazilian and unfortunately i never learned portuguese from her. my brother & i both learned spanish first, then english...and it was probably going to be pretty overwhelming to throw in portuguese in there, but i'm still just a little bit bitter about it. i definitely understand 90% of it because it's so similar to spanish and because we've heard my mom speak it most of our lives here & there, but it is time. it's time to sit down & really learn it, so that next time i go to brasil, i can sound really fancy.

so, last night i started on rosetta stone! it was only 30 minutes, but it's something. and just for the record, i got a 96% on my pronunciation. just sayin'.

 

-own an original art piece.

this is not something that the husband & i expected to do for a few years, but on our recent trip to mexico we came across an artist that we became slightly obsessed with, and now we are working on getting one of her pieces. more on that later! but this is also in the works.

 

-decorate our forever home to reflect both my husband and i perfectly. okay, so this is actually pretty much done. it's just the pictures that haven't been taken, and the goal above - the original art piece - that we're waiting on.

 

-go on a road trip. planning for this goal is already underway, so i'm pretty sure this one will be a really fun one to cross off this year.

 

-plant a thriving vegetable garden. luckily, i got started on this last year and now have the perfect box garden for it. i'm hoping to get kale, watermelon, jalapenos, tomatoes, mint, green bell peppers, and carrots throughout the year.

 

 

okay, that's it. there are 2 or 3 more that i'm pretty certain i can accomplish in 2014, but those are the 5 major ones that i will get done, no matter what!

 

there are also a few things that are not on my 30before30 list that i'd love to do this year, like going to a fun cooking class with the husband, volunteering at urban roots again (any austin friends want to come with? it's really fun!), and reading more (in 2012 i crossed off a reading-related goal that i'd maybe like to try again).

 

 



closing out the year.

i'm very, very excited for 2013 to start as i know i've got a ton to look forward to and a lot to work towards. i've decided that as far as my 30before30 list goes, i'm going to focus on crossing off #15: visit spain, #2: start learning to speak portuguese fluently, #7: starting a movie night tradition, & #13: decorate our "forever home" to reflect both my husband & i perfectly.

i know i shouldn't play favorites, but...i'm most excited about #13.

but before i get too excited about 2013, i might as well do a photo recap of what happened around these parts in 2012 (aka: a photo dump).

a craft night at my house making sugar and salt scrubs, starting to get a yoga routine together, visiting new orleans with tucker for our one year anniversary and checking off a vineyard tour with the ladies.

redoing our backyard and making a promise to spend as much time as we can out there, went to lots of shows this year {picture is at the black keys concert}, started training for my half marathon {and learned how to enjoy running!}

had an amazing 25th birthday spent in the bahamas with some of the best people around

had a very mary poppins halloween, checked off my goal to read at least a book a month for one year, and crossed the finish line for that half marathon.

now to end the year juuuust right, we're staying in with a few friends, a big pot of chili, lots of ice cold shiners (and champagne too, don't worry), and a fire pit in the backyard. 

i really could not have asked for a better year and i'm so, so excited to get started on crossing off goals for 2013...in fact, one of them technically got crossed off last night, but i'll get in to that later this week.

happy new year!