Autumn Bucket List

Yep, I made this one. Please do not take.

Oh, lovely Octobers... I do love you so. This morning's cool, rainy weather inspired me to make an autumn "bucket" list. Autumn is my second favorite season (after Spring) so why not do things to make the season even better by coming up with a list of things for me to do?

I didn't get to do a lot of things during the summer. As most of you know, I spent most of it in and out of the hospital and doctor's appointments (as well as recovering from surgeries). However, I liked the idea of having a warm weather bucket list. Before sharing the autumn list, here are the results as of September 30th (which was my cut-off date):

- Get involved in my parish's new garden (vegetables and fruits, I believe). (Only happened one weekend.)
- Celebrate my 30th birthday.
- Learn to knit a beret for myself.
- Learn at least 2 new breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes that I can do without turning on the stove.
- Go for a walk early mornings, before the heat begins.
- Have one weekend on which I play tourist around L.A. I might've been born and raised in the city but there's a lot of touristy things I have yet to experience.
- Spend an entire morning/afternoon just browsing records at Amoeba Records.
- Find a decent local bookstore that isn't part of a large chain and spend at least two hours exploring it. (None found within a couple of miles.)
- Have a picnic by a lake.
- Hike one of the trails in the Santa Monica mountains before it gets too hot to enjoy them.
- Visit my alma mater if only because I miss the campus location.
- Have a mini road trip, preferably away from L.A.
- Finish my third novel. (I didn't get a chance to finish it.)
- Give my wardrobe a much needed overhaul... and do it on a budget. (I did find new items but my savings went to bills and necessary expenses. Have been Pinterested for future reference.)
- Finish all the books I've started on my Goodreads list before starting new ones.
- Have lunch or dinner with friends I haven't seen in ages.
- Watch FIFA's Women's World Cup.
- Clean out all the random bookmarks on my browser. (Got through only part of this... but an important part.)
- Learn to play a couple of songs by the Good Lovelies on the guitar.
- Attend at least one concert.
- Go to at least one museum.
- Go to the beach at least twice before the triple digits begin.
- Find a good place to go swing dancing.
- Go to the Cicada Club.
- Visit the Griffith Observatory.

As you can see, it seemed like an "unproductive" summer on paper because I had to take it easy and stay indoors a lot (I didn't leave the house for two weeks post surgery recovery) but I think that was okay. I had a lot of time to grow spiritually despite the temptations and other obstacles thrown my way. His plans are always greater than our own... and everything I experienced was much better (though harder) than anything on my list. I almost crossed off the last thing on my list -- to visit the Griffith Observatory -- but what we wanted to see was closed down all of last week (which is when we had it planned) so it didn't work out for us. I'll just save the rest of the bucket list for next summer. ;)

And now for my new autumn bucket list:

- Give my bestie and her sister a mini-tour of L.A. on their latest visit.
- Decorate my "office space" with autumn decorations.
- Reach my new Goodreads goal of reading 40 books before the beginning of winter. I'm currently at 32 books.
- Visit the Griffith Observatory.
- Change the songs on my iPod song from mostly classical to mostly jazz (as is my tradition every autumn and spring).
- Learn 3 new baking recipes that are dairy and egg-free.
- Keep working on my third novel in my free time.
- Re-read the entire Anne of Green Gables series, replacing my autumn/winter Jane Austen tradition. Well, Anne IS my literary heroine.
- Stay on top of my coursework. Minimal deadlines = temptation to procrastinate.
- Stay on top of my snail mail correspondences.
- Celebrate my godson's first birthday.
- Have a classic MGM musical movie marathon with at least 5 films.
- Go back to Disneyland and California Adventure at least once.
- Avoid getting sucked into doing NaNoWriMo this year.
- Go watch The Peanuts Movie opening weekend.
- Get Advent candles and materials early this year.
- Celebrate St. Cecilia's feast day / my confirmation anniversary (same day) in a special way.
- Go to a concert.
- Visit a museum.
- Begin the Consecration to Mama Mary for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
- Take an "autumn drive" down one of the L.A. streets that makes you feel like we get actual seasons in the city. The trees look amazing down one particular street.
- Survive my first quarter of grad school. lol.

There you go. A bit shorter than my warm weather bucket list but things that I think are do-able. Most of them are fairly easily (i.e. changing the songs on my iPod) but, trust me, if it's not on a "to-do" list, it's not going to happen because my mind will wander off instead of doing things. lol. I am prone to daydreaming in the autumn and spring. I like my lists because it's the only way I can stay productive. ;)

Anyway, that's it for now. Just wanted something quick and fun to share because I have no idea when I'll have the chance to blog again. I am hoping sometime this coming week, if I can finish all my coursework early enough / need the break. :D

I hope y'all have a great rest of weekend!

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D