mélange - a mixture of often incongruous elements. Pretty pictures, yummy-looking recipes, money-saving tips, going green, noteworthy news, and stuff going on in my life. In no particular order.
Sometimes snarky. Oftentimes serious. Usually thoughtful. Never dull.

30 Before 30

30 Before 30 [in no particular order]*:

  1. Plant a flower garden
  2. Ride in a hot-air balloon
  3. Have breakfast in bed
  4. Spontaneous/surprise trip with my husband - we went camping in Santa Barbara the last week of summer 2011!
  5. Get all dressed up and go to a diner
  6. Run an 8-minute mile Physical therapist says I'm not allowed to run anymore, so this goal is being changed to 'Swim one mile' - something I haven't done since high school
  7. Go away for a girls-only weekend Chicago for the first weekend in December 2011 and looking forward to another in June2012!
  8. Do nice surprise things for friends
  9. Find the perfect perfume
  10. Make my mom’s cheesecake
  11. Order room service in a fancy hotel
  12. Cook a multi-course meal for guests
  13. Volunteer with my husband, abroad would be awesome
  14. A second vacation with my sister
  15. Create an art project and display it in my home I created a dozen cute snowflakes and hung them around our door with the holiday cards we received in 2011
  16. Make good cookies from scratch - I made chocolate chip butterscotch pretzel cookies for my husband's first day at his new job in September 2011!
  17. Get a pedicure
  18. Fun photography session
  19. Increase the 'house' fund and the 'retirement' fund
  20. Actually have a hairstyle Broke down and got sideswept bangs, a deep side part, and highlights and lowlights in December 2011!
  21. Tropical vacation
  22. Make a $1,000 donation to a single charity
  23. Throw a wedding anniversary party for us
  24. Look good in a bikini
  25. Buy/send myself flowers
  26. Keep a potted plant alive for longer than a month Despite the cat trying to kill it, I kept a bamboo alive for fall 2011 and have a heather plant coming up on a months soon in February 2012
  27. Read a book and take a nap in a hammock
  28. Try 10 new foods [To date: quinoa, asparagus, yam, cauliflower, beet, fried chicken, mushroom, scallop, ordered a chicken entree at a restaurant for the first time, rainbow trout (that I caught!)]
  29. Build something
  30. Take myself on a mini-vacation
 *list created June 9, 2011 - 34 months until I turn 30 years old.