101 in 1001

This is it ! After an entire week of reflexion, I have finally finished my 101 things to do in 1001 days. This idea came from Victoria's blog and originally from Design Darling. I use to make lists all the time. On Sunday afternoon, I start thinking of what I will have to do during the week. Sometimes it is really exciting, sometimes it is more compulsory. But writing this 101 in 1001 list was a real challenge ! I am only 21 (and still surprised by this number !) and so many things can change in 1001 days, so many things are vague and most of the time, I feel unsecure about the future (especially these days while struggling with my studies). So we can say that this is the list of what a college girl in her twenties must accomplish ! Here we go !!! :)

Start Date: Saturday, October 5th 2013

End Date: Saturday, July 2nd 2016

Personal 
1. Find my first real job
2. Write a novel
3. Learn to love myself
4. Be more confident
5. Find faith
6. Get involved in a charity
7. Do a professional photo shoot
8. Spend a week-end with no technology
9. Keep a journal of possibilities and dreams
10. Write myself a letter once a month   1/33
11. Achieve all these goals

Fun & Entertainment
12. Celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time  (see here)
13. Attend Oxygen festival, Dublin
14. See a band I've liked for a long time performing
15. See a rugby game
16. Try 10 new restaurants in our area
17. Watch the Lord of the Ring movies
18. Sing in a pub
19. Have a Disney movies marathon
20. Get up to watch the sunrise

Beauty and Health
21. Let my hair grow
22. Drink 8 glass of water a day for a month
23. Eat five fruits and veggies a day for a week
24. Work out everyday for a week
25. Achieve my target weight
26. Learn 5 new hairstyles
27. Find the perfect lipstick color
28. Go to bed before 11pm for a week

Blog
29. Write 101 goals
30. Inspire someone to write this list
31. Re-design my blog
32. Meet a friend blogger
33. Have 5 blog sponsors
34. Post everyday on the blog for a week
35. Contribute to someone else's blog
36. Leave comments on 5 blog everyday for two weeks
37. Have five friends reading my blog
38. Hit 50 followers on my blog

Travel
39. Visit New York City
40. Move to a foreign country
41. Visit the Châteaux de la Loire
42. Spend a romantic week-end in Paris
43. Go geocatching
44. Visit 5 new cities 1/5 (Belfast)

Friends & Family
45. Adopt a pet

46. Celebrate our third anniversary (see here)
47. Get Engaged
48. Buy our first house

49. Send out Christmas Cards
50. Send ten handwritten notes
51. Throw a surprise party for a friend
52. Be my cousin's sponsor
53. Go on a trip with my friends
54. Compliment someone everyday for a week
55. Tell one friend per week that I am thinking about them
56. Take family pictures every year
57. Reconnect with a childhood friend
58. Buy my parents' a big gift
59. Hang out with my brother for a whole day
60. Take my Granny to the casino
61. Call or Email my family every week
62. Spend a whole week-end at Granny's
63. Go on a day trip with my cousin
64. Support a friend on something important to him/her

Do & Make
65. Own a Christmas Cookie's Yankee Candle
66. Start a collection of Christmas decorations  (see here)
67. Make homemade bread
68. Make homemade ice cream
69. Learn to sew a button
70. Do five DIY projects
71. Have breakfast in bed
72. Take a wine testing class
73. Buy fresh flowers once a month  1/33
74. Plant something and have it grow
75. Try a new recipe each month  3/33
76. Ask for a new passport
77. Acquire a new cookbook every year
78. Put back a rim on my car's wheel
79. Take a baking class
80. Learn how to make pastries
81. Try two recipes from the Bible of Pastry each month  0/33
82. Buy a frame and put a picture of Guillaume and I inside
83. Buy a hard drive and save all my files and pictures
84. Go to a farmer market every month   4/33
85. Go on a day spa with my boyfriend

Organise
86. Turn my Granny's and family recipes into a book
87. Get rid of my old class books
88. Write my favorite recipes on a book
89. Donate my old clothes and shoes
90. Print out our trips pictures and organize it in a book

Education
91. Graduate from college
92. Learn how to play the piano
93. Read 20 new books   6/20
94. Find my two internships  2/2
95. Learn a few German sentences

Investments
96. Own a pair of Repetto flats
97. Find the perfect little black dress
98. Spend an entire month not eating out
99. Find a good financial plan
100. Save a minimum of 30€ each month  1/33
101. Put 5€ into savings for every goal accomplished  30/505

Meet the B. Family

Telling my relatives I loved them had never been an easy thing to me. Actually, I do not even remember saying it out of loud or even writing it on a card. I do not know if this is how we deal with our emotions in my family or if it is cultural, but we never say “I love you” … I doubt they will ever read this – or understand it as they do not speak English. But just writing about them is a way to show how I feel, because they really mean a lot to me.

My parents and my brother, Spain, October 2009

I was born in September, in the early 90's, in an hospital in front of the ocean. I have always been close to my parents, traveling around Europe, singing and acting all the time. Two years and a half after my birth, I got a little brother. I was really jealous and I tried several times to push his buggy in the stairs ! Nevertheless, we get closer through the years, especially during secondary school. I have always been the protective big sister, and still is. We spent our childhood between two loving parents and grand-parents who have been looking after us during the holidays. My best memories as a kid are those meals our grandmas used to cook or bake for us. They are the best :) We have been lucky to grow up on the Atlantic Coast and spent our summer holidays on the beach surrounded by plenty of friends. I am feeling blessed for having such a loving family … Especially now that I am (nearly) an adult and that I realize all the sacrifices our parents have done for us, for our studies, our happiness. They never stopped us from being who we really wanted to be and always encouraged us to fulfill our dreams ...

The B Family in Jordan, April 2010

If I had to chose someone who is inspirational, despite my parents, I would chose my Granny. When I was a heartbroken teenager, she told me to follow my heart, no matter what people said. She told me that when she was my age, she was in love with a young man from her village. He wanted to invite her to a dance, but some friends of our family told her mother that he was already engaged. So she went to the dance with my grand-father and found out that the man she loved was actually waiting for her and had not any fiancée. Then she got engaged with my grand-father, got married, had a restaurant, opened a bakery (while she dreamed of being a hairdresser), had two daughters and two grand-children. She does not regret the life she had and I know she loves us more than anything else in the world, but she taught me to follow my instinct and fight for my dreams and the people I love. We both are really close to each other, as she is a second mother to me. When she had a heart attack, two years ago, my world fell apart. To me, my Gran was immortal. She would dance with me during my wedding, would carry my first child and would always be by my side. She survived it, she fought and after a month of reeducation, she was able to walk and speak again. My best Christmas gift ever was to have her at home with us. We often fight, because she is a strong woman and I have to say, she has a terrible temper, but I guess I look a lot like her. While writing this, my eyes are full of tears. I never told her, but I love her …

Granny ♥

There are also three other important people in my life: my uncle, my aunt and my little cousin. My uncle is my father's youngest brother and also my Godfather. Zoe, my ten years old cousin, is half Irish, half French. Her parents moved to Ireland about fourteen years ago and received me for holidays since I was twelve. I have spent my best holidays as a teenager under their roof. I have been out for the first time, having beer at the pub, going to amazing concerts, going shopping in a super big mall … I experienced many things there and I felt free and wild (ah ah). Every time I came to visit, I felt like home and that this place could cure all my pains. Family and Ireland are definitely the best cures ever when it comes to broken hearts and teen issues ! Last January, I studied in Ireland for a semester, and I stayed with them for four months. I do not know how I would have managed to financially survive without them ! They are generous, kind and I really miss them right now !

Finally, the last “person” I would like to introduce is my lovely dog, Benji. He is one of my (other) best Christmas present as we welcomed him in the family on December 24^th 2006 ! He is a black Labrador and I am crazy about him ! He has this look when he stares at me … It makes me feel like hugging him for hours ! Ben is the nicest dog I have ever met ! He loves kids, playing and cuddling … Sometimes, I like to think we have a special connection and that he loves me more than the rest of the family. But it's only because I feed him from time to time, ah ah. But honestly, when I am away from home, I miss him a lot. Once, when I was in Ireland, I talked to him over the phone (he never answered – of course) and I nearly cried ! Oh my … ! He is the best !

Benji, January 2007 & Easter 2013

So here we are, welcome here, this is my family and the people I love. I am about to leave my parent's house in two days now … You know what they say … Home is where the heart is ...