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Fifty Before Fifty: A Fun List To Achieve Before I Turn 50

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I have decided that, as I approach the ripe old age of 50 at a rapid clip, I’m going to start doing all the things I have “always wanted to do.” Enough is enough, and I don’t have to earn my happiness, so I am heading full board towards accomplishing some bucket list items.

I got the idea from my friend Rai on Instagram to make a physical list of things to do before I turn 50, so I sat down and thought of some realistic things and some buckwild things to do in the next five years. It took a couple of days because coming up with fifty things is a LOT.

I asked my friends, I put a poll on Instagram, edited the list down multiple times, and came up with this list. Three days into this journey, and I’m close to checking two of them off already!

(Some things were reserved for a secret list, including those I wouldn’t make public, and some REALLY crazy things I may not accomplish but wanted to shoot for anyway. If I check the crazy things off the list, I’ll let y’all know on Instagram!)

My 50 Before 50 List

  1. Learn how to make pasta
  2. Enter a contest with flowers I grow myself
  3. Speak at a conference
  4. Visit Scotland
  5. Meet an A List celeb
  6. Eat a totally new type of cuisine
  7. Take myself on a date
  8. Visit the Netherlands
  9. Eat at a Michelin-star restaurant
  10. Attend a farm-to-table dinner 
  11. Eat a meal cooked by a James Beard Award-winner
  12. Eat at a chef’s table
  13. Go glamping 
  14. Bake a croquembouche 
  15. Go on a bioluminescence paddle
  16. Leave a random love letter for a stranger
  17. Knit bomb something
  18. Eat at the Pink Door
  19. Visit Asheville
  20. Eat at Archipelago
  21. Go out on a sailboat
  22. Make homemade donuts 
  23. Have an unbirthday party
  24. Renew my passport and use it (not in Canada)
  25. Finish my spinal tattoo
  26. Sew a dress for myself 
  27. Take a pottery class
  28. Visit a rage room
  29. Have dim sum in Vancouver BC
  30. Go to an NHL game
  31. Eat a meal prepared by an iron chef
  32. Ride the alpine coaster in Leavenworth WA
  33. Go on a whale-watching trip
  34. Create a signature cocktail
  35. Take a dance class
  36. Go to a concert (a big one)
  37. Visit a National Park
  38. Win an award
  39. Publish another book
  40. Have a luxurious spa day
  41. Catch a salmon
  42. Make a great macaron
  43. Cook over a campfire
  44. Take a train ride Done!
  45. Feed a giraffe
  46. Drive a vintage car 
  47. Go to a con in costume
  48. Visit a graveyard
  49. Learn to ride a motorcycle
  50. See the northern lights 

How To Handle Getting Sick While Traveling Alone

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I took a trip to Philadelphia last month, and it was pretty great, other than one small detail: I got the flu.

I spent the last two and a half days of a 5 day trip shaking, feverish and one day just sleeping on the bathroom floor (in between bouts of eliminating everything I had ever eaten ever from my body).

It’s terrible being sick, really. No matter where you are. Especially when you’re an adult and your mom doesn’t take care of you anymore.

Ahem.

Being sick can be even worse when you’re traveling, all by yourself. Nobody to go get 7-Up for you, and you don’t even know where they KEEP the 7-Up (or it’s $47 from the minibar).

So in the interest of saving you from an existence void of 7-Up if you get sick, I give you a list for “How to Handle Getting Sick While Traveling Alone”!

  1. Get familiar with your surroundings. When I travel, I make sure to map out my hotel and the nearest drugstore and the nearest minimart or supermarket to my hotel. Even if you are googling while wrapped in all the blankets, it’s good to know how much strength you might need to muster (or how long you’ll need to hang on in a Lyft or an Uber) to get to a Walgreens.
  2. Make friends with the hotel staff. This is something you should do anyway. Always get to know the people who are doing things for you – it’s just polite. If you know the front desk people by name, they will sometimes go out of their way to get what you need, or point you in the direction of how to get what you need.
  3. Sometimes there are delivery services that can bring supplies to your hotel. I live in a small(er) town, where we just got Uber like a year ago. We don’t have things like Postmates or Instacart, so being able to have groceries delivered to your hotel is pretty epic. (Tip #2 may assist you with which service is your best bet.)
  4. Above all, be honest with yourself. Only you know your body, truly. Listen to your body and stop going when your body tells you to stop. If you are getting nauseous in the middle of dinner, take a moment to reassess. Don’t eat more pasta.

When push comes to shove, you really have to take it easy. You may be traveling for work (as I was) or traveling for fun, but when you are struck down with something like the flu, you need to rest and take care of yourself….because FLYING while you’re sick is a whole other realm of Dante’s Inferno.

Let me know your tips or your story with how YOU dealt with being sick while far from home in the comments!

5 Things To Do in Seattle in 24 Hours

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Seattle is so close to where I live in Bellingham, yet just far away enough that we don’t worry about traffic. I grew up just outside of Seattle, my parents still live there, and I have a crew of friends who still live there…so we like to visit a lot.

Sometimes we are there for a couple of days, but most of the time, it’s a quick 24 hour or less trip that we have to cram all the “big city stuff” into.

So as a self-proclaimed Seattle “expert”, I know what’s up. As a visitor, I know how precious time is on a trip and as a single mom, I want to make my dollar go as far as possible.

So, from south (near the train depot, where the Bolt Bus drops off and where the sports stadiums are) to the north (where there are quite a few hotels to choose from), here are…

  1. Uwajimaya. This is my favorite grocery store in all the land, and yes that includes Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s (and y’all know how I feel about them). It’s just on the edge of the International District, surrounded by telephone poles with cool Chinese dragons wrapped around them.They have a produce section chock full of things you don’t normally see (ugli fruit? Check. Durian? Yuck, but check), a really extensive seafood section, a whole aisle of fun treats from Japan, China and beyond and a kitchenware section with really nice woks for a low price, and chopsticks and soup bowls that make great Seattle souvenirs.
  2. Cupcake Royale. Hit the location that’s right up the street from the Pike Place Market to minimize travel time (which eats into your 24 hours). This location also serves ice cream. With cupcakes IN IT. During the summer, that ice cream can seriously hit the spot. Also, they have cupcakes and some really unique cupcake merchandise.
  3. The Gum Wall. People think this is totally unsanitary and it might be – but it’s also one of the coolest and most unique landmarks you’ll visit in your travels. (Incidentally, they steam cleaned it a couple of summers ago, and here’s a pretty rad time lapse video of the cleaning!)
    Bring your own gum (though, the last four times we’ve visited, we went empty handed and others were more than happy to share theirs), and make sure you visit the Ghost Alley Espresso, it’s tucked in down there, right as the road turns to the right to lead up to the market.When you’re done at the Gum Wall, head down the cobblestone path and to the right to head down to the water!
  4. On the waterfront, head to Ye Olde Curiosity Shop. This place has been around for 100+ years, and has the crazy treasures to prove it.
    A four-legged taxidermied chicken. A “mermaid” (that might not be for the faint of heart – it’s pretty creepy!). A mummy. An antique “one armed bandit”.  And so many funky souvenirs to take home to family and friends, all at a pretty reasonable price.
    Hit up the Ivars next door for EXCELLENT fish & chips, and sometimes you can watch them dock or launch the fire boat from the waterfront fire station right next door!
  5. Seattle Center is just up the street from the north end of the waterfront, and if you’re not faint of heart, you could hike that hill (past the Olympic Sculpture Park, which is worth a stop) on foot. Or call a cab or a ride-share, I don’t judge.Seattle Center holds a lot of stuff to look at, take photos of, and do.
    If it’s hot outside, hit up the enormous fountain. If it’s cold outside, visit the Pacific Science Center, the Armory for lunch and then MoPop for your dose of pop culture and sci-fi history. Or catch a play at the Seattle Rep, or Shakespeare at the Center Theater! (Or a movie at the IMAX theatre!)
    There on a summer weekend? Check out the Movies at the Mural, where you can lay out on the grass and watch the sun go down near the Space Needle and then watch a movie.

There’s NEVER a shortage of things to do in Seattle, especially during the summer. Stay tuned – I’ll be sharing a lot more of my favorite places in Seattle in future blog posts!

Side note: I LOVE using my Google Maps to keep track of where we have gone and help others with our suggestions! <3

The purple markers are the 5 spots from this post, the green are restaurants or coffee shops, and the red are clubs and bars (or places that are more adult-appropriate).

It’s a work in progress, so I will have more colors and more markers soon! <3

What’s YOUR favorite place to eat, drink or just hang out in Seattle?