Musings & Miscellany

Spring 2020 Bucket List

And Winter Bucket List Debrief

Happy day, reader dear!

I hope and fervently pray that this post finds you and yours doing well. I, for one, am thankful that spring (in the Northern Hemisphere) has officially sprung, even if we are basically under orders to minimize contact and stay home as much as possible. Just knowing the new season is here makes it feel like we are past another hurdle. I know it’s all psychological, but our thoughts are powerful, so I’ll take all the positivity I can get!

A new season means it’s time for a new Bucket List! Come along with me as I look to see how Winter’s Bucket List went, and what I have learned from those successes and failures. My list items fell into three categories: Culture, Food, and Shopping.

Culture: See the Van Gogh exhibit at the Columbia Museum of Art. Visit a museum (Or two!) while in Asheville. Revisit the Morris Museum of Art to see what’s new.

Success all around until the last line item. That was on the plan for last week, when all went pear shaped due to Corona adventures. Or lack thereof. But we did get in another trip to the Columbia Museum of Art for the Kirk Hammett collection of Horror and Sci-Fi movie art and ephemera. It rocked! (Pun intended.)

Food: Whole 30? We did not. Try a new recipe each week. Much better! Processed foods ban at home. (Xmas day exception…) How does wine fit in here? Not well.

Once I remembered about the new recipe line item (Ooops!), we did beautifully. I have a clipboard full of recipes I’ve been wanting to try, so we’ve been looking at the grocery circulars and the reci-pile to see what culinary adventure to try next. And that bread recipe I mentioned in the midpoint check? I’m getting better at it! I think I’d like to make a loaf each week… (Maybe that’ll show up on Spring’s list?) Or at least my Irish Soda Bread. I like mine with caraway seeds and currants. How do you like yours?

Shopping: Take spring items to consign after 1st of year. Done. Explore two boutiques a month. Mostly. Buy pre-loved when possible. (Not underwear. Can’t go there. #sorrynotsorry) For the most part. Surprised at the progress I’m making with this!

I found some fun new places to shop, and am appreciating the financial savings that the extra effort of shopping pre-loved creates. I am simply buying less, and that’s good for my wallet, my wardrobe, and the environment. Wins all around. My last boutique adventure also fell by the wayside this past week. No loss. I’ll catch it up later!

Spring Bucket List

I was going to go with the same three categories, but now that mostly housebound seems to be the theme for the next few weeks or months, I’m adapting my list to make it more home focused. Overall it’s coming down to be about taking pride in our home and making it more welcoming and easy to live in. I think I’m transferring my hygge theme from winter to spring! Things I need to remember: Schedule items AND keep list on fridge and in my Control Journal.

Kitchen

  • Try a new recipe each week.
  • Make a baked good weekly. This could be bread or a treat.
  • Keep up the 8 hour eating window. (I’ve been trying Intermittent Fasting for the past few weeks. It’s another experiment…)

Garden

  • Spruce up our back patio.
  • Get planters sorted. Maybe some veggies and try the herbs again?
  • Spend time outside in our garden daily. Coffee/Tea/Wine?

Home

  • Declutter one item daily.
  • Reclaim my weekly home routines. (Control Journal refresh!)
  • Paint the hallway. This may not work if getting paint becomes a challenge. I’ll have to think about a replacement line item.

I’m looking forward to this! I need to thank Juhli and Leslie for introducing me to the Seasonal Bucket List concept. I can’t wait to see what they come up with for spring! How about you? Do you make a seasonal bucket list? If so, what are some of your line items for this coming season? (I can always use some inpiration…) Please let me know in the comments below. I do SOOO love to hear from you!

Stylishly yours,

8 Comments

  • Leslie Susan Clingan

    Really like the idea of spending time on the patio. I have wanted new patio furniture for several years. Was hopeful this would be the year when she perused the offerings at Lowe’s earlier in the month. But rethinking such unnecessary purchases right now.

    Decluttering speaks to me, too. I am currently in my loft which is the tiniest and most cluttered space in the house. I need to go through my scrapbooking supplies with a fine-toothed comb and get rid of a lot of stuff. I am still scrapping but could scrap for 100 years more and not use all of this stuff.

    I am hoping to host a recipe swap and blog hop toward the end of April and would love to have you join with pics and a post about one of your new recipes or baked goods. Let me know if you are interested. mommyhon333@hotmail.com

    • closetplayadmin

      We’re rethinking purchases, too, so I’m sprucing up the long overdue to be replaced and very faded chairs with spray paint. Even if it takes a can per chair, that will buy us another season for far less $$$ than the price of one new chair. Over the weekend, I rediscovered and decluttered a box of old cards and letters. I got rid of most, but kept the love letters to go through and clean out another time… I want to save some for our children but need to purge the more risque ones! I’m not sure what little corner to tackle today. There seems to be a never ending supply of corners!

  • Michael Ann

    Our lists have some overlap, especially kitchen-wise! I’m enjoying the extra time in my kitchen. I plan to tackle sourdough this week. We’ll see how it goes! I’ve been meaning to do it forever. Thanks for sharing your list via Leslie’s blog!

    • closetplayadmin

      Thank you for the visit, Michael Ann! I had a sourdough starter years ago, and was really tempted after listening to The Splendid Table again this weekend… I think her best tip was about keeping the starter in a glass jar! Mine was in a crock, and it was easy to forget about. Which gets SCARY!

  • Joanne

    I started creating seasonal lists about 6 years ago when I began homeschooling my boys. I focused my list on fun art projects, experiences, recipes, and places to check out. Now as they’re getting older and are more reluctant to do some of those things with me I’ve modified my list to include just family fun ideas.

    • closetplayadmin

      Thank you for the visit, Joanne! I hadn’t thought about all those lists I made when we were homeschooling our boys (When dinosaurs roamed!), but maybe I was making seasonal lists! I think I appreciate them now more, though. Then it was just more work for me; now I’m trying to keep the focus light and enjoyable. There’s enough work lists in everyday life, if the fun doesn’t go on a list, it won’t get done! Hope to see you again, soon! XO Stay safe, sound, sane, and at home!

    • closetplayadmin

      Cheering is exactly what we need. I really want an orange sherbet color, but all the ones I’ve seen so far are too bright, or too wishy-washy! The trials of being a color geek! How are you and yours doing, Juhli?

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