50 x 50 Bucket List

If you’ve been a reader of the blog since back in the day, you may recall my past attempts at bucket lists by the decade. I shared my 40 x 40 list HERE, where I also discussed my prior attempt at a 30 x 30 (then a 30 while 30) list too. It should come as no surprise that I created a 50 x 50 list once I turned 40 last year!

Since I was offline at the time, I thought I’d share my list here now (a couple of items are more personal and have been omitted because I don’t want to share with the internet, so the list below is a little less than 50 items), and if I’ve started (or completed) any of them, I’ll leave some commentary along the way.

These are broken down by my current areas of life (as introduced in my 2025 goals post HERE). Let’s jump in!

Me // Self

1. Build a capsule wardrobe – IN PROCESS: well, in all honesty this was in process and then I just started buying more clothes that I felt like I needed to fill in gaps and the idea of a small capsule just flew out the window lol… is a big capsule wardrobe a thing? I would like to refine what I have and attempt this again. I still have 8+ years to get there.
2. Complete B School
3. Cook my way through a cookbook
4. Get a spray tan
5. Grow my hair long – IN PROCESS..? Currently it is long, for me, and I do like the idea of it long. Practicality is another thing though, especially with curly hair that I air dry and cold winters in the northeast. I see people like Joanna Gaines and I think, I wonder what it would be like to have hair that long, I’m going to do it! Right now I’m thinking of getting a proper hair cut in the fall (I have been cutting my hair myself for a few years now) and then letting it grow for at least one year. So TBD on this one!
6. Human design / birth chart – COMPLETED! Technically, but do I understand it? No… will revisit!
7. Learn how to bake sourdough bread – IN PROCESS: I kind of did this, but it was an EPIC FAIL! I tried it with gluten free flour, making a starter from scratch and, no, just no. Not good. I’m on the fence if I want to try again (with regular flour).
8. Learn how to make escarole soup – COMPLETED! I have not made it from scratch myself but I did help mom last Thanksgiving I think… I didn’t make the croutons though, but the soup—check!
9. Learn to say “Hello” in 50 languages
10. Learn to speak Italian
11. Participate in NaNoWriMo (or something similar)
12. Perfect my signature
13. Study geography
14. Study Latin
15. Take an evening adult education class
16. Write my will

Me // Health

17. Complete Couch 2 5K program – COMPLETED! I don’t remember exactly when I finished this but I know that I did! I have not actually completed a 5K race (at least not since doing the program, I did one—walking mostly—once before, years ago) but I would like to at some point.
18. Do a yoga handstand
19. Donate blood
20. Get life insurance
21. Have sculpted arms
22. Hit (and maintain) 130lbs…
23. Practice Pilates – IN PROCESS: I marked this as in process but I’ve only done a few short YouTube videos here and there in the last year and a half. So “in process” is very loose. I do want to get into it more regularly, ideally once or twice a week. Stay tuned!
24. Practice yoga
25. Take up hiking

Me // Wealth

26. Invest 10% of my monthly income – IN PROCESS: right now I’m at about 8.5% of my take home pay, so on my way!
27. Save for all my BIG savings goals – IN PROCESS: slowly making progress on this. I’m sure my goals will change before I’m 50 but in the meantime, working on the current ones!

Spaces // Home & Auto

28. Buy a hybrid car
29. Grow a rose garden
30. Have cat friendly plants in every room – IN PROCESS: I would love to have some furry friends living with me, and I also want more plants (that aren’t artificial) for my low-light home, so I thought let me investigate cat friendly, i.e. not poisonous, plants that do well in low light. I got two recently and still have three rooms to go (five if you count the bathrooms, which I wasn’t originally, but maybe…)
31. Have flower bouquets in the house regularly
32. Make significant progress/complete 9C Project Punch List – IN PROCESS: this is an ever changing list. I check one thing off and two or three more get added. But I am making progress slowly but surely. And by the time I finish, I’ll probably be ready to move.
33. Renovate bathroom

Play // Hobbies

34. Complete The Artist’s Way – IN PROCESS: I am struggling with this, though I am technically in process with it. I am up to week 5 and I stalled (I actually stalled in the week it said to not read, WHAT??? NO). Recommitting to myself to complete by end of 2025.
35. Create art more regularly
36. Crochet a blanket
37. Go on a solo art date
38. Participate in Art/Ink/Peachtober
39. Read 500 books – IN PROCESS: I am currently ahead with this goal, if we figure 50 books per year. Last year I read 84! And this year I’m already at 57. Can’t stop, won’t stop!

Play // Experience

40. Become a member of an art museum
41. Decorate for and give out Halloween candy
42. Take a food tour of my town
43. Travel to the Bahamas

Work // LAF Lines

44. Build an online art community
45. Go on a design retreat
46. Submit house tour to Apartment Therapy
47. Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

I’m currently about 16% into my fifth decade, and have 26% of the items on my 50 x 50 Bucket List either started or completed (only 6% actually completed though). All things considered, I think that’s a pretty good progress rate and I still have time to check off what’s in progress and start (and complete) some of the other things that I haven’t attempted yet. Wish me luck!

Do you have some sort of bucket list? Have you checked anything off?

Photo by Nik on Unsplash