Whoa — I can’t believe I’m already making my second 101 in 1001 days list. I feel like I just shared my first 101 in 1001 days list with the world! Time really does fly, especially when more than half of it is during a worldwide pandemic… .
What’s the 101 in 1001 list anyways? It’s essentially a bucket list of things I want to accomplish in the next 1001 days – roughly 2.75 years. This gives me lots of time to cross things off my list!
Start Date: December 12, 2021
End Date: September 8, 2024
On my last 101 in 1001 days list, I focused on a ton of different aspects of my life. It turned out to be more of a chore than pure enjoyment, so I’m taking a turn for round 2! Nothing on this list are things I feel like I should do (but deep down don’t want to) — just things that I feel would make me genuinely happy. Sure, I SHOULD work out multiple times a week, eat more greens, and all that other good stuff.
Read my last 101 in 1001 days list and find out what I managed to cross off!
- Last updated: May 17, 2022
- Goals completed: 9
- Partially completed/in progress: 14
Travel
Domestic (0/12)
1. Be a tourist in NYC: I grew up in NY and spent years living and working in the city. While I’m so glad we made the move to San Francisco, I still miss NYC! I do go back quite often, but whenever I visit it’s typically to see family, so I’d love to spend a few days exploring my beloved NYC again! I’m thinking things like Top of the Rock, taking a helicopter flight over the city, row boating in Central Park, going for a boozy brunch, etc.
2. Go to 5 new-to-me states: I’ve really prioritized exploring California these past few years, so I’d love to discover more of my home country. It’s wild to me that I’ve been to way more countries than states! I’m itching to get to Tennessee, New Mexico, Alaska, Idaho, Georgia, and South Carolina.
- Nashville, Tennessee: We recently spent a long weekend here (Noah wanted to sign up for a half marathon here and I obviously couldn’t say no). Spoiler alert — it so much fun! Tons of live music, hot chicken and biscuits, and murals/street art!
3. Visit 3 new-to-me National Parks: During the last year or so, I made it my mission to visit some parks, and always had the best time! Next I wanna make it to North Cascades, Yellowstone, and White Sands.
4. Go to the Skagit Tulip Festival in Washington: After visiting the Carlsbad Flower Fields, wild mustard field in Half Moon Bay, running through the lavender in Dixon, and sunflower farms at Andreotti’s this past year, you can tell I’ve got a thing for florals.
5. Go to the International Food and Wine Festival in Orlando: I just wanna eat all the things and it sounds like such a good (yet expensive) time.
6. Twirl around the Ice castles in Colorado or Utah: This has been on my winter bucket list for so long! Time to finally check it off!
7. Go to NYC for Christmas and do all the festive things
8. MARFA! This little quirky town in Texas has always caught my attention — time to finally go!
9. Take an epic Florida keys road trip: I’ve been wanting to do this FOREVER, and actually had an entire trip planned out (hotels booked and all), but we cancelled that due to the pandemic. Hopefully Florida will be safe to visit in the near future!
10. Visit Harry Potter World and drink butterbeer, because how could that NOT be just the best time ever?!
11. Go on a New England fall road trip: We get minimal fall foliage here in California, so I really wanna make it to the East Coast and play in the leaves and all that jazz!
12. Spend a weekend in Sedona hiking with friends and staying at an epic hotel! Plus, I wanna see what this whole vortex thing is really about.
International (2/13)
13. Go to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead: This has been on my bucket list for so long – time to finally cross it off!
14. Go back to Japan: I’d love to visit anytime (I miss the country so much), but during cherry blossom season or to see all the foliage would be extra special.
15. Visit 3 new-to-me countries: Only time will tell, but I’m really itching to get to Jordan, Egypt, and Colombia! I used to visit a handful of new countries every year, but it’s proven difficult lately.
- Colombia (March 2022): Happy to say we finally made it to Colombia, our first new country in almost 3 years! We spent a week galivanting around Medellin, Guatape, and Cartagena, and it was way better than we ever imagined! Gimme all the granadillas and fresh jugo!
16. Spend a day photographing Burano: I was SO close twice when I was in Venice, so time to head back to Italy with camera in hand!
17. Finally cross Jordan (Petra and Wadi Rum) off my bucket list: Had this epic trip all planned out with a travel bestie, but had to unfortunately cancel because of you know what.
18. Go on our long awaited African safari: We had to postpone this numerous times because of C-vid, so it’s about time we make this happen!
19. Go to the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam: After reading her diary in its entirety a few months ago, I feel compelled to learn even more.
20. Check out a Luis Barragan house in CDMX: I’m a sucker for color and fun architecture, so this is right up my alley. And plus, I’d love to eat my way through Mexico City again!
We headed back to Mexico City for my 35th birthday, and were lucky enough to visit both Luis Barragan’s house and studio as well as Casa Gilardi — which were both spectacular! Wanna go? Make sure to make a reservation/buy tickets way in advance. (January 2022) ✔️
21. Have Noah show me his fave spots around London: He’s always loved the city so much, so I’d love to see it through his eyes.
22. Finally have breakfast with Geoffrey the giraffe in Kenya: We’ve got this booked for summer of 2023 (after postponing it for 3 years), so fingers crossed we can pull this off!
23. Travel to Poland and Austria and learn a bit about where I’m from
24. Explore more of Canada (2 new spots): Ideas include — Montreal/Quebec in winter, Vancouver Island, Churchill to see the polar bears
25. Explore more of Mexico (2 new spots): ideas include — Mérida, Izamal, Valle de Guadalupe, Isla Mujeres, Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, Tulum. Yup, there’s lots of Mexico I still wanna see!
We just got home from Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, and San Pancho, so checked this one off the list super fast, but of course I wanna plan more trips to Mexico! (accomplished December 2021) ✔️
California Experiences (0/11)
26. Check 5 hikes off my Bay Area hike bucket list
27. Soak in a hot spring in California
28. Hit up 5 new spots in California (ideas include Catalina Island, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Bodie State Park, Mt Shasta, Channel Islands)
29. Check off the remaining CA National Parks (I’ve got the Channel Islands, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Park left)
30. Hike to the Hollywood Sign: It’s about time I get back to LA anyways!
31. Paddle in Lake Tahoe in a clear kayak: We love Lake Tahoe, and I’d love to cross kayaking in a clear kayak off my list next time, despite my inexperience paddling!
32. Take a scenic flight over San Francisco: Seeing the Golden Gate Bridge from above? Sign me up!
33. Finally visit DISNEYLAND! Can you believe after living in California for over 7 years I still haven’t made it there?!
34. Drive Route 66 in CA
35. Spend a night at the Madonna Inn in SLO: It looks incredibly quirky — why not sleep in a pink hotel room?! Plus, I’ve heard the iconic champagne cake is delicious.
36. Go to DesertX 2023! I was obsessed with finding all the pieces in DesertX 2021, so why not continue the tradition and go next time?
Personal Growth (1/11)
37. Photograph the Milky Way
38. Learn how to make Mochi donuts!
39. Learn how to make creme brûlée
40. Learn how to make homemade ravioli
41. Learn how to make pastel de nata
42. Learn how to replicate Levain cookies: By far the all-time best-ever chocolate chip cookie, and I always make sure to grab a few whenever I’m in NYC. They took me almost 3 hours to make (I’m not the greatest at blending sugar and butter…), but they turned out absolutely perfect and so, so delicious! (baked these scrumptious goodies in January 2022) ✔️
43. Learn how to make pierogi: Finally made them (when we were quarantining at home when Noah got C*vid), and they were absolutely amazing! So proud of myself! Besides the fact that they literally took 5 hours to make, making homemade pierogi from scratch is something I’d definitely wanna do again. I calculated each pierogi took my 9 minutes to make, so you know I savored each bite! (May 2022) ✔️
44. Bake fresh popovers! One of my all-time favorite breads!
45. Make homemade bagels: So, ya know, I can make pizza bagels whenever I damn well please. 🙂
46. Cook a piece of fish to perfection: Figured out the air fryer does all the work for so, I think we’ll be making fish a lot more at home! (February 2022) ✔️
47. Get to my goal weight: Kinda an oxymoron considering all the other things in this section are food related, haha
Friends and Family (0/11)
48. Visit my parents in North Carolina: They just moved a few months ago so would love to see their new home and area! Planning to go in early June, just gotta book the tickets!
49. Watch Noah cross the finish line at the Kona Marathon: He’s already finished marathons in Maui, Kauai, and Oahu, so time to finish it off! The race has been getting cancelled because of the pandemic, so hopefully he’s able to sign up in the next few years!
50. Go on a sister trip! We had hoped to cross this off the list last year, but then Covid happened. 🙁
51. Spend a night with Noah at Fairmont Lake Louise: It’s his dream and he’s obsessed with snowy weather, so we just gotta go! Plus, Banff is just gorgeous in winter, so I’d love to head back!
52. Show Ali and Kevin around SF: About time they finally come visit! 🙂
53. Make my grandma’s famous mandal bread on her birthday
54. Watch my sister get married! We’ve got the date already – cannot wait!
55. Plan a super fun bachelorette party for Ali: This is right up my alley and I can’t wait to do all the decorating and fun planning!
56. Celebrate Max’s 10th birthday! Whoa, can’t believe this little guy is turning 10 already so soon!
57. Plan 5 new date ideas with Noah: Loved crossing this off our list on my last 101 in 1001, so re-adding it! Here’s what we’ve gotten up to so far:
- Spent at afternoon at Urban Putt mini golf in San Francisco – so fun and quirky. Definitely a hidden gem in SF!
58. Be home for Noah’s bday AND our anniversary 3/3 years: Managed this 2/3 years last time, so let’s bump it up!
Just because (0/13)
59. Walk a marathon (26.2 miles) in a weekend (maybe the Routeburn Track in NZ if it’s open?!): I was SO close when I walked 25.8 miles in 2 days in Vegas, but I forgot about this goal before it was too late!
60. Sign up and run a 5k in a fun destination
61. Birthday trips for 35, 36, and 37: I make it my mission to plan a fun trip for my birthday every year, so let’s do it!
- 35: Mexico City — Spent a long weekend devouring 3 tasting menus, waking up at dawn for a hot air balloon ride over the pyramids, and learning about Luis Barragan and Frida Khalo!
62. Do a cookbook challenge and make everything in it in a year!
63. Read 50 books: I read almost 30 books in 2021 alone, so 50 books in almost 3 years shouldn’t be too difficult!
64. Decrease my screen time (on my phone) by at least 25%: My screen times gotten way out of control (about 5 hours a day, ahhh), so time to limit a bit.
65. Do 23andme!
66. Watch at least 10 sunrises: Some notable ones include sunrise over the pyramids of Mexico City in a hot air balloon and while en flight to NYC.
67. Enroll in an actual Spanish Class (besides Duolingo)
68. Spend a night at the TWA hotel
69. Find out my blood type
70. Get my inbox to Zero. ZERO.
71. Get up to my 150th ride on the peloton!
Blog and Business (1/10)
72. Write 100 blog posts (including 10 on NYC, 1 on Long Island)
73. Buy a new computer: Done! And it was about time! I’d been using the old one for over 7 years! And considering I basically run this entire blog from one machine, I needed something more reliable. (accomplished December 2021) ✔️
74. Do a complete blog audit (update formatting, check links, add affiliate links, internal link building of all posts, make master spreadsheet of all posts and info)
75. 5 $500 days on Mediavine: Had a few of these this past year in 2021, and would love to see more of them of course!
76. Out-earn my 9-5 salary again (as expected, income dropped significantly due to the pandemic)
77. Reach 300k page views in a month!
78. Start blogging full time!!!!
79. Start a niche site
80. Write 50 posts on said niche site
81. Go to a travel blogging conference: Kinda wild that I’ve been blogging over 10 years and still have never made it to a conference! I mainly wanna go to connect with other like-minded creators, and of course learning a thing or two would be awesome. I just bought a ticket to a conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico for May 2023, so making progress towards this goal!
Experiences (0/12)
82. See 3 broadway musicals: We saw the Harry Potter musical (March 2022) and despite it being over 3 hours long, it was fantastic!
83. See 5 concerts, including one at red rocks and one Sam Hunt or Thomas Rhett show: Again, have tickets to Thomas Rhett (!!!) and Dave Matthews Band so far! I’m totally counting the Lovers and Friends festival because we saw at least 10 artists!
84. Stay at 5 bucket list worthy hotels: 2/5 — Already stayed at Hotel Mousai in Puerto Vallarta, so that’s one crossed off! And the Sofitel in Mexico City was pretty cool too, especially the rooftop pool!
85. Have a bonfire on the beach
86. Stay in an airstream
87. Take a chocolate making class
88. Go snorkeling with dolphins in the wild
89. Go to an amusement park and ride all the rides
90. Stay in a cool a-frame Airbnb
91. See brightly colored starfish on the beach (go tide pooling): Unexpectedly went tide pooling in Half Moon Bay and can’t believe how much I saw! Tons of hermit crabs, green sea anemones, and even purple starfish! I can’t wait to go again! ✔️
92. Go wild at a music festival: Scored tickets to Lovers and Friends Fest in Vegas, and that was just as wild as we imagined it would be! All our favorite 90s/2000s throwback artists were there, and despite not seeing Usher due to the stampede (a story for another time) and absolutely melting in the heat, it was surreal seeing so many of my faves! Who wants to go next year?! ✔️
93. Go camping (Big Sur or Kirby Cove?!)
Seasonal activities (0/8)
94. Go strawberry picking and then make strawberry jam
95. Visit Europe in the winter: We unfortunately had to cancel our big Swiss Alps trip because of the pandemic, so fingers crossed we can replan for another year!
96. Go apple picking then bake an apple pie!
97. Soak in a hot tub in the snow
98. Spend a day in San Francisco doing all the Christmasy things: We spent a day in the city this year admiring the tree in Union Square, but I really wanna go all out and do everything!
99. Go ice skating on Lake Louise, because I was too chicken on my last visit to Banff in winter
100. Check out hidden Calla Lily Valley in Big Sur: Crossed this off the list after YEARS of wanting to go! Did it live up to my high expectations? Ehh… but it was still fun to find! Here’s my complete guide to Calla Lily Valley in Big Sur so you can see these gorgeous blooms yourself. ✔️
101. Make an epic gingerbread house
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