Goodbye Summer 2013…You Will be Missed

summer 2013
{I went through hundreds of photos and these are the ones that I felt really represent our summer: lots of play time, family time, blue toe nails, and connecting over new foods!}

At the beginning of summer I wrote a bucket list….a summer bucket list. My intention wasn’t really to check off every item (although that would have been cool) but rather to remind myself to enjoy summer. Every year I make grand plans to do epic stuff with the kids and then somehow I blink and it’s back to school time. Well I’m happy to report, that #summer2013 was epic! It didn’t exactly go ‘as planned’ but it took some pretty interesting turns and became the summer of discovery, reconnecting with my kids, and lots of personal growth. As for the actual list, I would of got maybe four check marks?
Things I did do:

Take a road trip – it wasn’t the kind of road trip I had imagined, but driving through Alberta with Anjum and experiencing the Calgary Stampede was pretty cool!

Read outside – I actually spent a few afternoons in the backyard with a book while the kids played.

Visit local attractions – We only made it to one, but our day at the Aquarium was amazing. We got to hang out with Amber & Shadi from Fatekeep, and have since developed a great friendship with them. Seriously it is so hard to find couples to be friends with, but both Mr. T and I love those guys.

As an added bonus – when Vancouver Mom published my post on our visit A got his first byline too! He was thrilled:)

Eat healthy fresh meals – This is an area that we really made progress in. We ate out less, took weekly trips to the fruit & vegetable shop as a family (we even tried going to the farm market). We also started a weekly kids cooking day (teach the kids how to cook something was also on my bucket list), and they are loving it. 

Update the blog – Made some good progress on this one. I managed to work with an amazing graphic designer and update the logo, tagline, and even start doing some work on new categories. The project got a little derailed though because I was busy cuddling my kids (check) and I’ve got to finish off the revamp next month. 

Learn to style my hair curly – I figured it out! You will have to wait for a tutorial in the next few weeks but I have found the easiest, no heat, very little hairspray way to curl my hair while I sleep! This is possibly the most epic thing I did this summer.

Take better care of my skin – I am so amazed at how good my skin is looking thanks to some new products I’ve been using form Kiehl’s and simply making sure I remove all my make-up at night. I have had some breakouts when I’ve overindulged in lattes, or drank pop a few times this summer, but other than that, this is the best my skin has looked in years.

Practice taking pictures in manual – So excited about how much I learned, and how much I enjoyed manual photography. It was so  fun that I actually bought a second lens to take softer images. Part of the inspiration for morphing from a daily outfit blog to a lifestyle blog was my desire to spend more time behind the camera.

Wow I was really selling myself short, I actually got 10 check marks! I’m not really broken up about not getting 100% marks, but two things I really wish I had done were; go swimming, and spend time in solitude. Looks like I might have to make a fall bucket list and make sure these get added in.

How was your summer, did you check off all the items on your bucket list?

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4 Comments

  1. September 23, 2013 / 4:07 pm

    Good achievements for sure:-)..Like the way you balance work and family..your blog posts are fresh and inspiring!
    K
    klassystylefiles.blogspot.com.au

  2. September 23, 2013 / 9:47 pm

    You got so much accomplished! Making a life bucket list is ironically on my list of things to do. I do like the idea of making seasonal bucket lists, especially when it involves the kids.

  3. September 29, 2013 / 12:35 pm

    I love lists and you definitely checked off enough this summer. Glad you had a great and productive one!

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