I’ve seen several bloggers create a 19 in 2019: A list of 19 things to do in the year. I know I’m a few months late since we’re now in March, but I thought this ideas sounded like a fun way to help me tick off some of the items on my New Life Resolutions list, so I decided to do the same.

So, in no particular order, here are my 19 things to do in 2019:

1. DIY a big boy bed. Nick thinks we can put together a toddler bed for Sebastian pretty easily. We’ve found some detailed plans on Pinterest so we’re going to give it a try. Wish us luck!
2. Attend a wine tasting. I’ve done this before but I want to do it again! Taste all the wines!
3. Complete one big house project. I swear this one was on our list before the flooding mishap, so I’m leaving it on this list and will count our new floors toward this one.
4. Go camping. My family went camping a lot when I was kid and I have very fond memories of toasting marshmallows on campfires. I also love being outdoors, especially at night when you can hear the tree frogs and crickets playing their beautiful songs. I’d like to pass this love on to my own family.
5. Volunteer. I’d like to do more volunteer work in my community and include Sebastian, especially as he gets older.
6. Read a classic. There are a lot of classic novels out there that I’ve missed out on so I want to read at least one now that I’m an adult.
7. Complete a landscaping project. Namely, our back yard. We need to clean it up and put in better drainage. The back yard is one of the features that sold us on our house but a lot has happened over the years to destroy it so we need to take care of it. This is the year we do it.
8. Participate in a yoga challenge. I don’t know what kind of yoga challenge yet, but I figure this might help me get back into practicing yoga more regularly.
9. Host a small, fancy dinner party. I just think dinner parties are fun. And I want to host one where we can all dress up, because I feel like I never get to dress up anymore!
10. Paint/renovate the laundry room. We’ve wanted to do this since we moved in so it’s about time we do it.
11. Konmari my closet. If it sparks joy, I keep it. If it doesn’t, I thank it for its service and move on.
12. Bake a fancy cake. Maybe it’s all the cooking & baking shows we’ve been watching lately but I want to try my hand at baking a fancy cake with pretty icing, fondant, and decorations.
13. Do at least 3 new things. It’s time to get out of my comfort zone!
14. Create a new family tradition. Because we’re a family of three now and it just feels right.
15. Take a photography/Photoshop class. I’ve had a nice camera for a while but I need some guidance on taking (and editing) truly awesome photos.
16. Catch up on my scrapbooking. I love scrapbooking and have several of them, but after Sebastian came along, I didn’t have much time to devote to them. I have a ton of photos and things to put in my scrapbooks, so I’m going to intentionally carve out some time to spend with my glue sticks and books.
17. Plan a weekend away/staycation. How fun it is to be a tourist in your own town? Or even to visit the next town over that you hear good things about but you’ve never actually been. For example, I’ve heard lovely things about Hillsborough, NC but I’ve never been there. It’s only 20 minutes away, so a weekend get-away there is a perfect way to have a vacation on the cheap.
18. Send a hand-written letter/card to one person each month. There’s nothing better than receiving a hand-written letter or card in the mail, and I find writing and sending them to be just as fun.
19. Write a short story. I want to be a writer. I have lots of ideas. But I have a lot of confidence issues that keep me from writing. So this year, I want to write a short story. I don’t care if it’s good or bad, I just want to write one.

I’m looking forward to doing all of these things and make this the best year ever.

For some reason, March feels like a great month for me to participate in a photo-a-day challenge. I’m sure it’s because it’s the official month of Spring, and the weather is starting to warm up and everything just feels so nice.

I participated in a challenge last year and documented it in my personal Instagram account but I’m very new to this sort of thing so I didn’t share it to my blog or my blog’s Instagram account, and I probably didn’t even do it right to begin with, but anyway.

I like having the prompts to help nudge my creativity. Sometimes, the prompt is very literal so it’s easy to snap a picture and post it, but other times the prompts are more abstract so it takes a lot of thought, cleverness, and imagination to get the right shot. You can end up with some really great photos that way! So, I’m going to participate in a photo challenge this month and post photos both here and on the blog’s Insta, and I’ll try my best to also post last year’s photos here for reference!

Here’s the challenge prompt I’ll be following this year:

Be sure to follow along here, on Instagram, and my Facebook page!

It has rained every day this week in Durham and I’m over it. But I figured the rain + casual Friday at the office is a good chance to wear my favorite ankle boots and an army vest that hasn’t gotten much love lately. When I put this outfit on, I realized that it is extremely similar to one I wore four+ years ago, so I decided that this was a recreation/update of that outfit.

As I write this, I’m sitting in my kitchen listening to the loud, monotonous whir of several industrial-strength fans and dehumidifiers. For four days, the fans have been pointed at bare floors that have been stripped of laminate and carpet in an attempt to dry them completely before any mold or other water damage can occur. They’ve been running day and night since Saturday and I’m starting to get used to the sound, like giant white noise machines lulling you to sleep.

fans in the dining room