Morning Glories,
Today my buddies and I are sharing updates on the progress we’ve made on our 2019 autumn bucket list. Hadn’t really looked at it since my bucket list reveal post, here. But I am pleased that we do have some progress to report!
2019 Autumn Bucket List
Off to a good start. But glad we still have 2 months of autumn to finish everything on my list. Fall weather is moving into El Paso in a big way this week, with back to back cold fronts. Lows will be in the forties and highs in the low 60s. Now I can wear those pullover sweaters and utility jackets without combusting.
Just a reminder: Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links. This means that if you click a link provided I may receive a very small commission. Thank you for your support!
ARTS AND CRAFTS
- Participate in a Dia de los Muertos craft or activity: ✔️ Attended a special event hosted by the El Paso Museum of History on Saturday with PC, my Princess Lauren and her Princess Lucia. We even made it onto the museum’s Facebook page!! Decorated a sugar skull – the last one they had – made marigolds for my altar and Cia and Buffy colored calaveras (skulls).
- Register for a Photography class at UTEP: Pending. Have registered for Basics of Digital Photography, starts on 10.22.2019 and meets on Tuesdays from 1:30 PM to 3:00 pm for 6 sessions, ending 12.04.2019. Looking forward to it.
- Sign Up for a Pottery class at Falcon Pottery & Art Studio: Pending. Forwarded from summer. This is a pottery studio in my neighborhood. Just hoping to try my hand at 3-dimensional art again. Haven’t done pottery since college.
DATE NIGHT
- Attend a UTEP football game: Pending. This is an activity chosen by PC. There’s a game on 11.02.2019 against my alma mater the University of North Texas. Poor UTEP (University of Texas, El Paso) simply cannot play football. Hoping at least the tickets are cheap, the weather is beautiful and the beer is cold if we can’t hope for a win.
- Enjoy a progressive date: Pending. We have done this a couple of times. Lots of fun and a great way to try new-to-us establishments.
- Get a couple’s massage: Pending. My Prince strikes again. Hope we return to Woodhouse Day Spa. It was a bit of heaven on earth when we visited it for the first time this summer.
- See a good movie: Pending. Another PC activity. With emphasis on good. “Midway” is coming out on Veteran’s Day. We both enjoy war movies, so we are hopeful about it.
FAMILY FUN
- Halloween adventures: ✔️ Last weekend we met up with the kids at the La Union, New Mexico corn maze and pumpkin patch. It was awfully hot for a day in October so we didn’t tarry too long. Meandered through a mini corn maze trying to ‘find’ Lucia, rode the hay wagon out to the pumpkin patch to select our pumpkins. There were so many beautiful ones: gourds, tiny pumpkins, white and blue and yellow and green and orange pumpkins. And a certain duo took a spill and fell on their gourds.
- Peruse AnnieMo’s Holiday Shop: ✔️ Delighted to be able to do this with Lauren this year. Much more fun going with my daughter over going alone. We both bought these artificial birch logs and picks to make our own winter centerpieces.
FITNESS
- Hike and complete nature scavenger hunt: ✔️ Carried forward from summer. We have gone on 2 hikes and I have forgotten to take the scavenger hunt sheets both times. Heaven help me! We did find a lot of what we were scavenging for but I want to take my cute sheets and cross things off as we find them. Dad gum my ditsy brain. Will try one more time to make this happen. If you would like to print a copy of the scavenger hunt sheet and do it with your family, please right click on this PDF file. I added some fall stickers to dress ours up a bit.
- Run…okay, jog a 5K: Pending. Registered for the YMCA Turkey Trot bright and early on Thanksgiving morn, 11.28.2019. Have started running at the gym in preparation.
[source]
FOOD FOR THE SOUL
- Donate items for animals at the shelter and food at church: ✔️ Partially complete. Brought forward from summer, at least the supplies for the animal shelter. We donated food to the church today. And I have given kitty food to my friend Lorena to help feed some strays her mom cares for. But will be making an official donation to the animal shelter.
- Paint rocks in Halloween/Dia de los Muertos theme and leave them around the community: ✔️ Another summer activity kicked forward into fall. I painted rocks like scarecrows and left them around the lake at the park where PC plays baseball. Coincidentally, that day there was a walk for ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. Hope some of the walkers found my rocks. Have more rocks to paint for the holidays.
STEPPING OUTSIDE MY COMFORT ZONE
- Share at least 6 outfits from GYPO fall challenge for My Fashion Haus posts: ✔️ Partially complete. I have styled 3 outfits from a recent Stitch Fix box. Check me out, here! Have been enjoying the great looks from the Get Your Pretty On fall 2019 capsule wardrobe challenge. Will open up my fashion haus again this week and get another post together soon. Remember, Mommies and Mimis/Gabbas/Grandmas can be fashionistas, too!!
- Try new chili recipes – at least one in my Instapot, share for Tasty Tuesday posts: ✔️ Partially complete. Tried this recipe for easy chili in my crock pot. Made corn fritters to go with it, which were less than stellar. Looking forward to my second annual soup-stew-chili recipe swap and blog hop on 11.12.2019. Mark your calendars, you will be sure to want to stop by for that. At least a dozen gals linking up to share their recipes. Hey, are we Pinterest pals, by the way? You can follow me here and leave your Pinterest URL in a comment below.
P.S.
There were a couple of things on my summer bucket list that I didn’t accomplish but didn’t bump forward onto my 2019 autumn bucket list. Happy to report we have worked on them even though they aren’t on this season’s list.
Swim at night or skinny dip. ✔️ No pictures to share but trust me, this activity can be marked as done. 😜
Begin changing kitchen theme. ✔️ Really can’t afford to start redecorating anything right now but I did buy new rugs for the kitchen. And I love them. Here I am posing with one of the rugs straight from my kitchen floor.
Your Turn
How are you coming on your 2019 autumn bucket list or list of activities? I really had no idea until I sat down to write this post what progress we had made. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. If you haven’t created your list, there’s still plenty of fall left, so come join us. Link up your related post below. Or have a look at the great ready-made fall bucket list shared by Maria at The Krafty Planner. You can print it off and get started now!
I want to add some of Maria’s activities to my list. Like an addendum. S’mores, bonfire, cocoa, pick a Halloween costume, collect pine cones, make pine cone bird feeders. Even if I don’t care for birds too much. They’ve got to eat, too!
Thanks for stopping in, sweet friends. Hope you will leave me a comment detailing your progress on any fall activities your gang has enjoyed. Have a quiet week.
Hugs and kisses,
I’ve just read your short story prompt about running over your own car – Leslie!!!!! I bet the person processing your insurance claim had to read it twice ‘She did what???’ My brother in law is an MG enthusiast and currently has two. My sister got him a wreck of an old MG when he was 50 and he dismantled and rebuilt it over several years – it looks like a brand new car now.
Anyhoo – onto bucket lists, that short video clip is hilarious! I also love how you decorate your homes through the seasons over there – trust me, that does not happen here – we save it all up for Christmas and it then looks like there’s been an explosion in a glitter factory!
What fun that your brother-in-law has totally rebuilt an MG. Mine probably needed that – even before two total wrecks. What color are his cars?
I think people decorate about as much for Halloween over here as they do for Christmas. I have seen a lot of great decorations in our neighborhood. But some of them border on creepy, which I guess is part of what Halloween is about! I like the other part, the costumes and the candy part!!
Well, you have been one busy lady! Your lists always inspire me. I don’y know how you do it but you manage to think of the best things to do that not only serve you but your community. You are so artistic too – your rock painting and your activity with Lucia – wow! So disappointing that we have no proof of the skinny dipping though – ha!!! I’m anxious to read your next update – keep up the great work!
xo,
Kellyann
Thank you, Kellyann. I am always on the look out for some new adventure to try. Thankful that PC is agreeable to jumping in with both feet right beside me. And now that Lauren and her family are here, we bring them along, too. Lucia is the biggest duck in the puddle.
You made me laugh at your comment about proof of the skinny dipping festivities! I am doing the world a favor by not sharing any evidence that this actually took place!!
You always have such interesting bucket lists and make great progress!
Your outfits have been top notch lately!! Not that they weren’t before! 🙂 I am SO excited to tell you that I’m going to be running a 5K on Thanksgiving! It goes through Six Flags amusement park, too. I haven’t ran a race in forever. I’m not even sure I can run an entire 3.1 miles anymore. I do FASTer Way to Fat Loss and they have a goal for each month, right now we’re doing a 3 week sugar detox and then next month we have to run a Turkey Trot. So fun, right? It has def. helped me stop getting too many #PSL’s and I feel good about that. I would love to do a couples spa again AND a progressive date!
Carrie
curlycraftymom.com
I’m hosting Thanksgiving so I’m debating if I can squeeze in a Turkey Trot. It would be so fun! You are doing a great job with your bucket list. That sugar skull is so cute!
Oy, I am not sure about hosting Thanksgiving and squeezing in a run beforehand. However, our 5K starts at 7:30 and we should be home before 10:00. I will probably host, too, but my hosting is pretty laid back!
I think you’re off to a great start, and that’s awesome you crossed off some summer items too that you didn’t move over to Fall (technically)! Fall is my favorite so it’s been fun making my way through my own bucket list.
That video clip has me 🤣🤣🤣. I’m sorry. I laughed out loud and almost spit my coffee out. I was anticipating you guys taking the kid climbing up out, but that was even better. Sometimes we just have to laugh at ourselves. You have lots of items started from the looks of it. And it looks like you are loving having Lucia and Lauren so close. Enjoy the fall like temperatures.
I had a bad feeling on the silly slide from the second we sat down. There was a baby off camera that was trying to climb on the slide and I was worried about her. And the side where we fell off had no dirt packed underneath so it just gave way. We had a great laugh and no broken bones or even bruises!!
It has been wonderful having my girls so close. Today Lauren called me and was on my side of town so we grabbed lunch real quick. It was sooo nice. And she gave me the best hug. Wish we could get Brennyn here, too. Am I being greedy??
Glad to hear your soup turned out well. I am going to try my chili recipe tomorrow. Hope it is edible. Ha! Thanks for the beautiful photos of Nash today. He is truly a pretty baby.
You have been making great progress on your list! Painting the sugar skulls sounds like fun and I love that you painted rocks and left them around the park! I’m saving your nature walk scavenger hunt list!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Hi, Leslie! You are doing such a great job accomplishing your bucket list goals. And it looks like you’re having lots of fun doing it, too! I’m glad you survived the tumping over on the slide! Thanks for hosting the link-up. 😃
Thank you, Gale, for joining me for the bucket list posts. I need to print my list off so I keep it front and center in my mind when we are trying to think of something to do each weekend.
Wow, you certainly completed a lot of things, especially without looking at the list! I agree, it’s always more fun to shop for things like holiday decorations with someone. I’m so glad you have a check-in linkup. I definitely needed a reminder to get moving on these items!
Thank you, my friend!! I need to print my bucket list and put it front and center on the frig. There are a few things I am beginning to worry about accomplishing but we still have a little time.
There’s so much to love in this (hello, skinny dipping… lol). You’ve completed heaps. I’ll tune in for the chilli swap and if I get my act together might just post a recipe too… I use chilli most nights. I’m looking forward to the movie Last Christmas. I think it comes out in the first week of November. Hubby won’t come with me, but I think my daughter might be persuaded…
I would love that big slide… except it didn’t exactly go as planned, huh? Would love to take a photography class too. That would be a lot of fun.
Thanks, Julie. That big slide at the pumpkin patch was kind of dangerous!! The ground underneath it on the right side and worn or eroded away. When we sat down I could tell we were in trouble but couldn’t get scooted over toward the middle where the slide was sturdier. We took quite a spill. But had a good laugh about it. And my daughter would expect nothing less!
Started my photography class yesterday. I was the youngest person in the class!! We’ll see how it goes.
Great job so far on your list!
Thank you, friend.
We keep wanting to take a photography course. We should challenge ourselves together girl. It’s so easy to put off. At least you’ve registered…
I love the idea of swimming at night. I know I haven’t been reading all your posts lately, but did you get the pool fixed??
XOXO
Jodie
No, Jodie, the pool is still a problem. We did finally get a settlement from the incompetent thief of a lawyer we hired. The Bar had to get involved. I haven’t completely given up on getting the pool fixed but we have had bigger fish to fry lately. PC’s job is going away in January and we are wringing our hands about that. Thank you for checking in with us! I took my first photography class yesterday. Was the youngest in the class!!
Wow! You’ve accomplished a lot already Leslie- so inspirational!!
You are so sweet, new friend!! Holly, come do a mini-Christmas bucket list with us. It just runs for a month…November 21-December 21. Would love to have you join us. Holler if you are interested.
Great job on your bucket list Leslie! Your beautiful daughter looks like YOU, I love her Tee with the pumpkin. Also, your cutie pie granddaughter is beaming with excitement in those pictures, beautiful!! I like the decorations, I only do it big for Christmas because my birthday is in that month too, so I do it big.
I haven’t sat down to see if my list is being completed yet, maybe in a couple of weeks I’ll look at it. You look so happy in these photos, beautiful lady!
Thank you, dear one, for your sweet words. I am always happy when I am with family. Thank you for saying Lauren looks like me. I know all mommies think their babies are beautiful but I was truly blessed with daughters who are beautiful inside and out. I am touched that you see a little of me in her.
Your ambition and active lifestyle never ceases to amaze me! Love your outfits.
Thank you, Amy!! We stay busy over here. I guess it keeps us young. Come do a mini Christmas bucket list with me!! Would love to have you join us.
Like you say, Leslie, “progress.” Sometimes I feel I have not accomplished much on my lists. Yet, when I look back, it was a fun-filled month.
Always great to spend time with your Princesses. Especially, fun, creative activities. I am definitely curious about your photography class.
Tons of fun on Halloween adventures!
And, Leslie, I am bookmarking the “Nature Scavenger Hunt.” We sometimes make up a version, although I really like this version.
My smile of the day…….”your swim at night or skinny dip.”
A great post of a great month! Love the photos! Thank you for sharing:)
Thank you so much, Erica! Glad you bookmarked the scavenger hunt. We have gone out 3 times now on the hunt for everything on the list but I have forgotten the list every time! I am going to put them in my car so I have them for sure next time we hike.
I have had one photography class. We didn’t do any photography but did learn a little about composition. Our homework is to take 3 photos concentrating on composition. I need to get busy tomorrow and do just that. Hope we will actually take photos with the instructor this week.
Seems like you are making great project! I’m slow to respond, but thank you so much for linking up with us! 🙂 XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
Great post, Leslie! My two favorite photos are the one of the beautiful, colored pumpkins, and the one of you with your kitchen rug! Both made me smile…for different reasons! I’m just catching up with you guys and posted my Autumn Adventures list today. You have some great goals! I’m eager to read all about them!
Oh, my! That slide looks like so much fun! Did you ever make it down? Good for you on the TT signup. I’m such an exercise misanthrope that I only do group events when forced. I think it’s because exercise (or running or yoga) is my quiet time, and doing it with a crowd stresses me out. I’m really going to have to get over it. My Bucket List is spotty. We still haven’t gotten to a single BBQ place, which means we really need to step it up this month!
I so enjoy your crafty adventures. Sigh.
Thank you, sweet friend.