Project 52 Update

I’m going to check in once a month to show you how I’m doing on my Project 52 list. You can see the list in its entirety by clicking the tab above.  

COMPLETED

13. Find a good Twitter app. I’m using TweetDeck on my phone and computer and I love it.

32. Clean out my closet. I got rid of so much stuff! I gave a bag full of clothes to a friend and donated all this:

Here's our clean, organized closet.  

36. Play in the snow with the kids. Our snow storm really helped me out with that one. I think 8 inches qualifies! Now we don't have to drive up to the mountains.

39. Clean out my bathroom. Jacob and I are both pretty clean, but it's so nice to have our own sinks! I just really needed to purge. I had products from five years ago that I haven't touched since then. Remember? That's where I found these:

I purged and organized under the sink and bought this at Target to keep my countertop clutter free.

It doesn't stay very organized though. Milo learned how to open cupboards and drawers, so this happens just about every day:

IN PROGRESS

1. Lose 30 pounds. I’ve lost 5! I joined Weight Watchers online a few weeks ago. It's really helping me with portion control and snacking. I love that I can enter my usual recipes and figure out how many points our meals are. The iPhone apps are awesome too. I LOVE the barcode scanner. I use it all the time while shopping and it's prevented me from buying junk food more than once.

2. Go on one date each month. I'm counting my birthday as a date even though friends were there. It was a night out with drinks and without kids. That’s what matters!

5. Enroll Nolan in preschool. I started taking him to a drop off program. He goes from 9:30 to 11:30 one day a week. They do a craft, have circle time, eat a snack and then free play. I think it’s a good way to get my his feet wet.

8. Donate blood four times. I did this yesterday. If you follow me on Instagram (christinareads) you probably saw this gross picture. I thought making it black and white would make it less creepy. I don't know if that worked.

10. Read 24 books. I read FIVE this month. The Jungle, Roseannearchy, Of Mice And Men, Everything I Needed To Know About Being A Girl I Learned From Judy Blume, and It Gets Better. And I just started reading 11/22/63.

 11. Read at least four classics. Two so far! The Jungle and Of Mice And Men.

 

18. Try one new recipe a month. I made chicken gyros. Our pitas were pretty dry and wouldn't fold without ripping so we had to eat them open. They weren't terrible, but they weren't awesome either. I don't think I'll make them again.

 

40. Get more involved with my neighbors. I had another stay at home mom and her two boys over for a play date last week. She’s the only neighbor that has really reached out to me. I guess I need to make the effort with some other neighbors.

FAILING

15. Use our elliptical three times a week. Um. I haven't been on it once this entire month.

43. Make a new friend. I'm kinda sad about this one. I reconnected with a middle school friend on Facebook. We realized we have a ton in common and over the past two months we hung out about once a week, usually going to movies. But her husband got a job in Nevada and she up and left me last week. Bummer! Back to square one.

Wish List

Once again Jacob and I are forgoing Christmas presents to buy stuff for the house. Last year we bought a generator. Our power went out for two days right before Thanksgiving and I wasn't having any more of that. This year we’re installing central air. Being a grownup/homeowner is so boring. But I will be thankful next summer when we won’t have wheel out the portable AC units. (For those of you living in other parts of the country, central air in a house is not very common in western Washington). We also bought a Sony Google TV on Black Friday for our bedroom. Which I love. Finally, Netflix Instant in bed! So we aren’t going without this year, that’s for sure. Plus, getting the kids new toys is more fun for me anyway. But since this is the season to make a wish list, I've compiled a few things I'd like. My birthday is mid-January, so it doubles! (I'll direct my husband to this blog post tonight).

Urban Decay Naked Palette. So many bloggers have raved about this palette. I don’t stray from my few shades of brown eye shadow, but maybe it’s time I try. This would be the perfect place to start. And now they have Naked2 Palette? I need both!

Lighted Wall Mirror. I have a cheap Ikea magnified mirror hanging in my bathroom right now, but this one is bigger and lighted. Which is good and bad. You can see EVERYTHING.

Charity: Water Hoodie. Charity: Water is my favorite organization. I donate and buy from their website a few times I year. I really want this comfy hoodie next!

iPhone Projector. This is totally unnecessary, but wouldn’t it be fun?

Tiffany Octet Key Pendant. I have always wanted a Tiffany key. This new one is so pretty!

The Travel Book and The Cities Book. I love reading about travel and places I'd never think about visiting and then planning my next (dream) vacations.

Kitchen Aid Mixer. I don’t really bake enough to use this, but if I had it I would! I’ve always wanted the red one.

Silver Houndstooth TOMS. I love my ash gray and black glitter pairs of TOMS, but these would be so cute in the winter. I cannot wait for this spring when the flats are available though. I'll be snatching up a few pairs of those instantly!

30 Rock Season 5. This is my favorite show on television right now. I need this season to refresh before it comes back in January!

Falling Whistle. I learned about this organization from Carissa Explains It All. (Do you read her blog? If not, go follow her now!) These whistles bring awareness to the world’s longest war, the conflict in the Republic of the Congo. To learn more about it, watch this video.

GHD Hair Dryer. I really want a new hair dryer. I’ve had a $30 Target one for five years. I think it’s time to upgrade. I have the GHD Styler and Mini Styler (flat irons) and LOVE them so I’m so excited that GHD finally came out with a hairdryer. BUT! It’s only available in the UK. I’m keeping it on my list so Jacob I can buy it as soon as it becomes available.

What do you want this year?

Halloween Spirit

When I was little, my friend’s home turned into a haunted house over Halloween weekend. She and her mom were both very crafty and worked on the transformation all month. When trick or treaters came to the door, we got to go inside and take a tour. I was always so jealous because the only thing we had decorating our house was our poorly carved jack-o’-lanterns on the porch and possibly some window clings.

I haven’t been able to convince Jacob to create a haunted house with me. In reality, I don’t think I want to. It’s a lot of work and money and I’m not sure how excited I am about kids trampling through, dirtying my hardwood floors. I guess I’m just not that into it. I do love to decorate for a holiday though, so for the past three years I’ve started collecting a few things. Here’s what we’ve got going on right now.

Yankee Candle Boney Bunch and haunted house

Yankee Candle tea light holder

I think I got these pumpkin people from the floral department at our grocery store a few years ago.

Jack and Sally carved pumpkins that my friend made for us a few years ago.

Spider candy dish

Our trick or treater candy dish that we named Norman. It’s hard to tell, but he’s two feet tall!

I got these prints from Etsy. I took profile pictures of Nolan and Milo, sent them in,

chose devil and witch accessories, my background colors and patterns and voilà...personalized Halloween art!

Other things that decorate the buffet are tombstones, Halloween trees and a witch tea light holder.

My newest Halloween item is this Scentsy warmer. I’m warming their Sentimental Cider bar right now. Mmmm.

Doesn't it look great between the knife block and cooking utensils?

Nolan put up a skeleton on the play room window.

Our front porch is a sad, sad story. We live in a new community, filled with families and they all decorate like crazy for Halloween and Christmas. Not us. It’s just a mismatch of stuff right now. There isn’t a theme and it’s not scary because our kids are too little.

Pumpkins light the way

Jack-o'-lantern people. Don’t mind the cords. I’ve been nagging at Jacob to make them look nicer.

Our pumpkins that have yet to be carved.

Pumpkin lanterns and a skeleton wind chime

Spiders on the front door

And some glittery signage

So yeah. It’s not much, but it’s a start. As my boys get older and have more input, I’m sure our house will look awesome this time of year.