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It feels like Summer! I’m just a few more work days away from a two month summer vacation and that has me thinking about all the things I want to do. Today, I’m sharing a list of 25 things I want to do this summer or my 2018 summer bucket list.

25 THINGS I WANT TO DO THIS SUMMER

1. Read at least three books a month. I love to read, but I am always working so much that I don’t get to as much as I’d like. I spent some time reading by the pool over Memorial weekend and LOVED it. I’ll probably end up reading much more than this, but better to keep the goal attainable. I’ve been compiling recommendations for a Summer reading list post, so please send yours! You can DM me on Instagram, e-mail me, or leave a comment.
2. Make home made popsicles. I did this a few summers ago with rosé (find the recipe here) and they were so good and refreshing! Since it’s already so hot, I figured this would be a perfect activity for the summer.
3. Clean out my closet & bathroom. I do my closet seasonally, but I really want to do a complete clean out and donate what I can and sell other items. If I don’t wear or use something, I don’t see the point in keeping it ‘just in case’ so I love purging!
4. Create & stick to a content calendar. I often like to write about what is inspiring me or on my mind in the moment, but I do want to get better about creating a blog content calendar and sticking to it. Erin Condren just sent me the cutest calendar and planner, so I’m going to use that to help me! I nerd out about school and office supplies, so this is a perfect way to keep me on track.
5. Cross another country off the list. I’ll definitely be doing this, as we have a trip to France planned for our anniversary. I have another fun trip planned to San Miguel in Mexico right when I finish work and am working on another fun one or two over the summer. Travel is one of my favorite things to do, so when I have the time off work, I like to maximize my travel so I don’t have to worry about days off or getting behind.
6. Date night at Klyde Warren Park. Dallas has a lot of cool parks, but this one down town is so fun! There are food trucks, live music sometimes, and so many fun things to do. I haven’t been in awhile, so I definitely want to make a point to go and enjoy it one night when it’s not too hot outside.
7. Eat fully plant based for at least another week (or hopefully two). I tried Sakara Life recently (read all about it here & use this code for a 15% off discount: REF_ALOPROFILE15) and I felt so amazing afterwards. Plus, I even discovered some new foods and felt inspired to try new recipes or food combinations. I definitely want to do this again this summer so I can look and feel my best!
8. Take a floral design class. I LOVE fresh flowers. Our home almost always has some in it because they make me oh so happy! Right now, I’m so glad that peony season is back but otherwise orchids, white or blush roses, and hydrangeas are my go to flowers. I always think it’s so fun to learn more about them and to learn to create pretty arrangements, so I’d love to take a class! It’d make for such a fun girls night. RLove Floral in Dallas does them and I’ve heard they are the best of the best! We so would have had her do our wedding flowers if we got married in Dallas.
9. Eat allll the watermelon. Few things represent summer as much as fresh, delicious watermelon. I love it on it’s own, in salads with feta, or even to drink. Last year I got addicted to WTRMLN WTR and drank one almost every other day. I also discovered watermelon mimosas and oh myy I’m i love.
10. Go to more yoga classes. I love yoga even though I’m not the best at it. I love that it forces me to center myself and slow down to just breathe. My sweet friend Katie teaches yoga in Dallas at a few different studios and she is such a phenomenal teacher. Every time I go I feel so much better– both mentally and physically!
11. Spend a day at a local museum. I am from Dallas, so I have been to so many growing up, but I want to go back as an adult! The Sixth Floor Museum is so cool and I need to go spend more time at Nasher Sculpture Center and The Dallas Museum of Art.
12. Go to group fitness classes at least four times a week. I LOVE how much harder I push myself when I’m working out in group classes & definitely want to go more.
13. Stick to my vitamin and supplement regimen. I started taking a probiotic from Tula (get 20% off all their products with code ALO20) a while ago and have noticed a big difference in my skin and just overall. I added in some HUM Nutrition vitamins lately (I do this one and this one) and have loved those as well. I want to keep adding in others I may need and really make sure I stick to taking them. I always feel better when I do and know it’s so important!
14. Try a new recipe at least once a week. It’s so easy to get into a food rut and when I find something I love I can eat it non stop. I want to try new recipes and keep discovering more good food and combos of foods! I love to cook and love trying new food, so this is a perfect one to keep me from settling in to the same old routine. I also want to share more recipes with you all!
15. Try at least five new Dallas restaurants. Just like it’s easy to get into a rut of what you make at home, its easy to go to the same old restaurants, too. Dallas always has new restaurants opening and I already have a list of ones I want to to try!
16. Refine my skincare routine. I’ve been reading a book on and off about cleaning up my skin care, which I’ve bee working on lately. I switched over all of our sunscreens to clean brands and as you may have seen me raving on Instagram, Supergoop is my new go to. I am so obsessed with everything they make! It’s not greasy and is free from all the junk you find in so many drug store brands of sun protection. I have gotten better about applying SPF and now I want to ensure that me and those I love are using clean brands! I’ve been using a lot of Tula products including their face wash and brightening cleanser for the past year or so and love those, but I often switch between a lot of other products. I LOVE trying new products, but I really want to prioritize the brands and products I use and get a go to routine down. I’ve heard amazing things about some Drunk Elephant products so I want to try those. I’ve loved everything I’ve tried from Kopari and I’ve used some Sunday Riley products that I loved like Good Genes and Luna Night Oil and swore by it, I just need to order more!
17. Learn more about SEO. I’m a nerd at heart and think we should never stop learning! SEO is one thing I realized I really need to learn more about to help my blog in the long term. I learned a lot at the RewardStyle Conference that I have been implementing since, but I want to learn even more!
18. Bike around my city. I want to spend a day biking around Dallas. We have so many great trails that make it easy to stop and grab lunch or a drink and just keep on biking. I think the only challenging part of this one will be to find a day when its not over 100 degrees outside!
19. Bake something from scratch. Weird and could totally fit in the try a new recipe category, but I want to either make a good ole’ fashion peach pie or cobbler or a good summer cake from scratch. I love to bake just like I love to cook but often either don’t have the time lately or don’t want to bake because then I’ll end up eating everything I make and I know better by now. I think it’d be fun to make one for a dinner party or an occasion when I can have some help eating it! Baking with my grandmother during the summer when I used to go spend weeks with her is one of my favorite memories of my summers growing up.
20. Keep my car clean. I am a total neat freak, but for some reason I’m really bad about washing my car and getting it detailed. I want to take my car in to get totally detailed like it’s new and then keep it clean. I don’t keep a lot in it, but it gets dusty. I want a new car in the next six months or so, but want to take better care of mine in the mean time!
21. Have a board game date night. My husband and I randomly play Monopoly or Scrabble at home and always have so much fun doing it! I want to do another night full of board games for a date night. It’d be so fun to do with another couple or two, also.
22. Pamper myself with a blowout. I’m so bad about booking blow outs because I can just do them myself and don’t always love the styling, but the process is so fun and relaxing, so I want to treat my self to one over the summer. Plus, I haven’t gotten one since I chopped my hair, so it’ll be good to try again. I like getting up dos and its so hot in the summer here that its nice to have your hair up, so getting a braid or something done might be a perfect solution.
23. Improve my photo editing skills. I want to keep working on my photo editing skills. I work with a photographer so I usually have lots of help with editing, but I want to get even better at doing them on my own and feeling more comfortable in Lightroom. Our time in France will provide a great opportunity for some cool photos to practice on! There are so many great presets out there and I’ve learned more and more that photography is mostly about editing (as long as you have a clear shot) so I want to improve in this area! Whether it’s by watching online tutorials, a one-on-one with my photographer, or good ole trial and error, I plan to work on that in my time off!
24. Do a Tech Detox. I often work fifteen hour days, some of which may be spent mostly in front of a computer, so this summer I want to tech detox. Outside of a pre-drafted Instagram post at night or a few stories, I want to put my computer and phone down in the evenings and just relax, read, or fully engage in a television show or movie. I’m so excited to focus on my blog during the day and get all of that work done, so that my evenings can be less stressful! Doing a tech detox with a few hours away from tech each day will be so rejuvenating!
25. Have a progressive dinner date night. There are so many amazing areas in Dallas and I love hopping around them, so I think that doing a progressive date night at a few different places for drinks, appetizers, salads, main course, and dessert would be so fun! Plus, it’d be a great way to try out a new place or two.

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I’d love to know what is on your summer bucket list! I’m always looking for fun ideas to fill my days off over the summer and to keep myself from getting into too much of a couch and Netflix rut. I’m working on lists for shows to binge on Netlfix and books to read this summer, so stay tuned for those, soon. Whether you get the summer off or not, filling the weekends and evenings with fun activities from a bucket list can be so fun! I want to start doing one of these for each season, as its a great way to think about what you’ve been wanting to do and writing it all down makes it more likely to happen.

Hope all of you are having an amazing week so far! In case you missed it, be sure to check out my summer essentials post I did featuring the cutest blazers and camis. Also, I rounded up the cutest high waisted swim suits last week and shared an adorable summer date night outfit + a ton of clothing and accessories for summer at great prices. XO