Everyone has a life list right?

So I ran across A Lovely Life List and Mighty Life List the other day and got inspired. Here is what I’ve come up with 100 things to do in my lifetime:

EXPLORE THE WORLD

• Backpack Europe
• See Mount Everest in Nepal
• Toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain in Rome
• Spend an evening in an Irish pub in Ireland
• See the Eiffel Tower in Paris
• Go on an African safari
• Admire “The Mosa Lisa”
• Put a lock on the Pont de l’Archevêché (a bridge in Paris)
• Take a gondola ride in Venice
• Sky lantern festival in Thailand
• Look for Nessie in Loch Ness, UK
• Eat a croissant at a real French cafe
• See the Northern Lights

EXPLORE THE STATES

• Alaska: Go on an Alaskan cruise
• Arizona: Visit the Grand Canyon
• California: See the Golden Gate Bridge in San Franciso
• Colorado: Snowboard in Denver
• Florida: Visit Disney World for the first time
• Hawaii: See an active volcano erupt
• Louisiana: Try gumbo in New Orleans
• Nevada: See a show in Las Vegas
• New York: Climb up the statue of liberty
• New York: Stand in front of Times Square
• Oregon: Visit a waterfall in Portland
• Washington: Go to Pike’s Place Market in Seattle

IN THE WILD

• Touch a whale
• See a live panda bear
• Take a picture with an owl
• Go whale watching
• See an octopus in the ocean
• Ride on an elephant
• Swim with sharks
• See a giraffe in the wild
• Hold a monkey

LET’S HAVE SOME ADVENTURE

• Scuba dive
• Whitewater rafting
• Go sightseeing on a scooter
• Zip line through mountains
• Surfing
• Hot air balloon
• See an underwater shipwreck
• Conquer my fear of sky diving (or bungee jumping)
• Parasailing
• Go in a submarine
• Explore a cave
• Hike a mountain
• Go on a road trip through a random state
• Kayak on the ocean
• Hang gliding
• Dog-sledding
• Fish in the wild
• Ride in a helicopter

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

• See Paramore in concert
• Be a member in the audience of a TV show
• Take a picture with an A-List celebrity
• Get a backstage pass at a concert
• Meet the President

SPORTING EVENTS

• Attend an NHL game | NFL game | MLB game | NBA game
• See an Olympic event live
• Go to the Super Bowl
• Attend a World Cup soccer match
• Go to a Formala 1 race

CAREER & DESIGN

• Create a great online portfolio for myself
• Win an award that’s design related
• Get to 100 sales on Etsy | 500 sales on Etsy | 1000 sales on Etsy
• Design for someone famous
• Make a piece of art for my wall
• Design & mail out Christmas cards one year

THE DOMESTIC LIFE

• Get my first pet
• Buy my first car
• Host a dinner party
• Pay off all my student loans
• Grow my own garden
• Cook an entire Thanksgiving meal by myself
• Start a tradition
• Re-do a piece of old furniture

DO GOOD IN THE WORLD

• Give a large sum of money to charity
• Spend a day going random acts of kindness
• Donate blood

IT’S FUN TO DO BAD THINGS SOMETIMES

• Get a tattoo
• Shoot a gun

OTHER RANDOM THINGS

• Decorate a cake like a professional
• See a broadway show
• Run a marathon
• Stay a night in a log cabin
• Own over 100 books
• Witness a rare celestial event
• Learn how to use my camera on manual
• Put a message in a bottle and toss it in the ocean
• Vote for the first time (I just became American 3 months ago!)
• Learn another language
• Be part of a flash mob
• Grow a collection of something
• Go to a paint your own pottery studio
• Fly a kite

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Documentation:

(Above) - Multnomah Falls in Portland, Oregon on September 30, 2011

(Above) - Pike’s Place Market in Seattle, Washington on October 1, 2011

(Above) - Sightseeing on a scooter in Victoria, B.C. on October 2, 2011

(Above) - Whale watching in Victoria, B.C. on October 3, 2011

(Above) – Attended a live taping of the The X Factor in Austin, Texas on May 25, 2012

(Above) – My Etsy store “Owl You Need Is Love” reached 100 sales on July 9, 2012

(Above) – Trying my first gumbo (ever) in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 14, 2012

(Above) – Visiting the Grand Canyon for the first time in Arizona on August 21, 2012

(Above) – Took a road trip through Phoenix, Mesa, Prescott, Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon in Arizona from August 20 & 21, 2012

(Above) – I finally bought my first car! A 2010 Hyundai Tucson on September 15, 2012

(Above) – Because I just became American, I was finally able to vote for the first time on October 25, 2013

(Above) – Went to my first MLB game (Texas Rangers vs. Houston Astros) on March 31, 2013

10 Things I Loved About 2011

(in no particular order)

1. Planking (One thing that never fails to make me laugh)

2. My awesome job at American Campus Communities. (We are a fun group for sure)

3. Whale watching in Canada (my all-time favorite animal)

4. Roommate bonding (I have the best roommate ever)

5. Seeing my favorite rapper, Kanye West, at ACL. (It was epic)

6. Bringing my amazing boyfriend to Canada for the first time & having him meet some of my family up there. (He got to see how awesome Canadians are, not like he doesn’t already know). From left to right is my boyfriend, my stepmom, me, my dad, and my brother.

7. Buying my very first house! (Even though I don’t live in it)

8. Seeing my favorite comedian, Demetri Martin, in Seattle. (And I get to see him AGAIN in Austin on February 4! So excited!)

9. Traveling (I was able to go to Portland, Seattle & Victoria and it was so much fun!)

10. Having my cousin Jenna come visit me from Canada. (It was so good to see her all grown up. I remember when she was a baby!)

Battle Of The Cookies

So there’s been a battle of which has the better cookie dessert: BJ’s famous Pizookie (top photo) or Cheddar’s Cookie Monster (bottom photo). So me and Jeremy put the two cookies to the test. Our own Man v. Food challenge, wait scratch that, Couple v. Food.

On Saturday night, we went to BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse to try the chocolate chunk, original Pizookie. The cookie was fresh out of the oven, and definitely had a cookie dough taste to it. It was very gooey and was served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top.

Today, we tried out the cookie monster at Cheddars. A chocolate chip cookie topped with two scoops of vanilla bean ice cream, chocolate fudge, nuts, whipped cream and a cherry on top. This one definitely had more spunk to it. The fudge was good, but a little much. They went to town with the fudge on this dessert lol. But the nuts, whipped cream and cherry were a nice touch to it. And the actual cookie in this Cookie Monster had a little more crunch to it then the Pizookie, like a fresh out of the oven taste, instead of a gooey taste.

Overall, both desserts were delicious and a close race. The results? Jeremy liked the Pizookie better with the gooey taste. But I liked the Cookie Monster a little bit more with all the toppings. Maybe a little less fudge on the Cookie Monster would have convinced us over a little more though.

Victoria

Our last leg of the trip was to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Such a beautiful place. After taking a ferry from Seattle to Victoria, we met up with some of my immediate family there, including my brother, dad and stepmother.

One of the coolest things we did on the trip was rent out electric scooters and rode them around the island. Starting in downtown, we rode the scooters past a local park where peacocks walk around freely and past a few lookout points where you could see the Pacific ocean and Victoria coastline. We also got to see the ridiculously nice, multi-million dollar houses along on the island and tall, green, rain forest-like trees all around. One of the first things I said when entering the west coast was, “I miss trees!” haha. Tall, green, beautiful trees. With the drought in Texas, you can’t even keep your grass green.

Another of the coolest experiences from my whole trip was going on a whale watching tour. The tours are given on a zodiac boat along the Pacific Ocean. So the next morning we were in Victoria, we went in search of whales. We were lucky to find a humpback whale traveling along the water. Getting super close to him, we could even smell his “breath” that comes through his blowhole when he comes up for air. Me and Jeremy decided to call him Herbert the Humpback.

Finally, one of the best things I’ve eaten on my trip is the awesome, Canadian-created poutine. A combination of thick fries, brown gravy and cheese curds (which sound gross, but taste similar to mozzarella cheese) is amazingness in your mouth. Originating in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, poutines are a canadian food that is a must-try.

Seattle

So the second leg of my recent trip was to Seattle. It had pretty gloomy weather, which I hear is common for Seattle, but still a good time.

Our first stop was to see Pike’s Place Market (where they throw the fish). We were lucky to have the chance to go on a Saturday because the market was packed with locals looking to buy fresh fruit, vegetables, seafood and flowers (yes, flowers). Definitely a very lively experience there. And it’s all enclosed so if there’s a little rain out, no worries.

Then, we got to visit the famous Seattle “gum wall.” In a hidden alley, Post Alley, there’s a long brick wall where people visit to add their own gum onto the colorful sea of dried gum. Gross, but neat. There were many people visiting the wall and taking pictures in front of it.

So as mentioned earlier, I’m a huge fan of Man v. Food (a TV show on the Food network featuring Adam Richman as the host. If you’ve never seen this show, you need to asap. It is fantastic). On one of the episodes where Adam Richman went to Seattle, he visited the Crab Pot. A seafood lover’s dream. Located right on the pier, The Crab Pot is a little pricey, but makes up for the abundance of food dumped onto the table. And I’m not exaggerating, they dump the seafood right onto the table in front of you. No plates, no silverware, just mallets. We got to try the shrimp & crab legs. And this was my first experience eating whole, head-on shrimp. It took me a little bit to be able to rip off the head lol.

When looking up events going on in Seattle the day I was going to be there, I was very lucky to see that one of my favorite comedians, Demetri Martin, was holding a stand-up comedy show at a small venue called “Neptune.” Only a couple blocks from the University of Washington, Neptune was a nice little theater, very similar to the Paramount theater in Austin.

Portland

So I’ve recently done a bit of travel. I haven’t traveled in a few years so it was nice to get out of this Texas heat and explore the good ol’ Northwest.

My first stop: Portland, Oregon.

I spent 3 days here (2 days was for work, and the other day for play). This first picture was taken at the docks along the waterfront. One of the best places we ate here was at Rock Bottom Brewery. It had a good night scene, tasty food, and from what I hear, good drinks.

Another interesting place that is a must is Voodoo donuts. It’s famous for their Maple & Bacon donut, along with being featured on Man vs. Food (one of my fav shows). So it was definitely on my list of things to try in Portland. The famous Voodoo donut itself was tasty. A chocolate-glazed donut with strawberry filling on the inside. The donut was actually a lot bigger than it looks too.

On my day off in Portland, I got to experience up close one of the most beautiful things nature has given us, Multnomah Falls! Visiting Multnomah Falls, a 611-foot-tall roaring waterfall, is a must when visiting Oregon. While it’s a good 20-30 minutes out of Portland, the scenic highway definitely makes it worth while as you’re able to visit plenty of smaller waterfalls and great lookout spots.