You See The Hat?

I am Miss Nesbit. The following are my musings on life, liberty, and my pursuit of happiness, and anything else I might find interesting. But at least tell me the hat looked good. var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-26122816-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[missnesbit]

30 Things

So I meant to post about this a long time ago, but then my life got kind of crazy (not all of it good but some of it was). Anyway, I figured since it’s the start of a new year and what I’m doing is sort of resolution-related, I should post it.

In July I will be 30 years old. It’s kind of crazy to think about, and I’m not really scared about it because TBH I’ve felt like I was 30 since I was like 10 (I’m an old soul). But as of my birthday last year when I turned 29 I decided to make a list of 30 things I wanted to do in the next year before I turned 30.

Some of them I’ve done already (which I will post about later), and some I’ll probably have to switch out for alternates as I’m not sure I can make them work. But, I’m doing pretty well, and I’m excited to get them all done before July. I’ll tag them as #30things once I’ve done it and cross them off this list in case you’re curious. Really this is for my benefit anyway, but you’re welcome to suggest things or if you see something on my list you could help with/or give me a tip on, I’m all ears! :D Without further adieu (not in any particular order):

Go to London (POST)

Go on a roadtrip (POST)

Dye hair (POST)

Visit a wonder of the world (POST)

Write a novel (or at least 50,000 words) (POST)

Drive an exotic car (POST)

Buy new furniture like an adult (POST)

Try a new food (POST)

Stay in a 5 star hotel (POST)

Ride a train (POST)

Make a mark on the world (POST)

Take a flying lesson/be in a cockpit (POST)

Go to Washington D.C. (POST)

Get a Henna tattoo (POST)

Get a massage (POST)

Go to a masquerade (POST)

Learn from a Le Cordon Bleu chef (POST)

Watch a sunrise (POST)

Go on a picnic (POST)

Watch 30 classic movies (see this post for list) (POST)

Read a book (POST)

Make creme brulee (POST)

Visit a castle (POST)

Take a bubble bath (POST)

Ride a motorcycle (POST)

Build a pillow/blanket fort (POST)

Go to a 5-star restaurant (POST)

Host a dinner party (POST)

Go on a date/makeout with someone (POST)

Guitar lessons (POST)

[missnesbit]

AND I AM DONE. I finished all of them with 10 days to spare, and as of yesterday I am now 30 years old. I’m very proud of myself for what I accomplished and what I did, some of which I wasn’t sure I could get done in time or at all. I’m very grateful for the people that helped me get some of these things done because without them I might not have been able to cross them off.

I’m thinking about doing another list (maybe a 40 before 40?) because there were things I had on this one originally that I had to switch out for others. I still want to do them, so maybe I can figure out some way to do it.

And with that, I’m 30, flirty, and thriving and I’m excited for the future!

[missnesbit]

Take guitar lessons

I apologize I don’t have any visuals with this one. I meant to record myself playing, but I keep forgetting and I wanted to get this posted, so it will have to go without for now. I decided to save a bit of money (since most of the other things on my list were pretty expensive), and I’ve been teaching myself how to play guitar via YouTube.

I borrowed a guitar from a friend, and after several YouTube videos, I came across this lovely Scottish guy that did a very good job of explaining things and making things simple. Turns out his has a whole Beginners course that is free and available online and he also includes familiar songs you know that you can play with the chords he teaches you.

I still need to do more practicing, and I would love to at least finish out his entire beginners course. But as of right now I know 3 chords (E, A, D) and I can play Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol fairly well if I have the lyrics in front of me. I performed it for my family and did okay, so I consider that goal accomplished!

[missnesbit]

Host a dinner party

I went all out for this one, I had to go buy napkin rings even. It was fun and I felt cool and fancy and all the food (which I had never made before this night) turned out delicious! Not sure I can do it all the time because it definitely stressed me out and I am not good at timing things so they all come out at the same time. But I made it work this time, and I know I can do it. So there’s that.

[missnesbit]

Go to a 5-star restaurant

While researching for this one, I realized that star ratings are pretty arbitrary. I picked a few places in Dallas that I wanted to look into and try and my boss told me I should go to Fearings, which is in the Ritz Carlton. Well my Aunt and Uncle just so happened to be staying in the Ritz Carlton when they came down for my little sister’s graduation, and let’s just say it didn’t take much to convince my uncle to take me to the restaurant for breakfast before he left.

It was very nice and fancy. I will say however that I think I got the wrong thing. I was trying to be healthy and didn’t get what I really wanted (French toast), so I got an egg white fritatta which was just okay. My parents got something super delicious too. I just wish I would have gotten something else. Oh well.

[missnesbit]

Ride a motorcycle

This was one of the last ones I finished on my list, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to do it, but I did! An old family friend we knew used to ride motorcycles, so I messaged him and asked if he could help me out. Turns out he sold his bike a few years ago, but he agreed to rent one for the day to take me around. We got a pretty fancy nice one that was very comfortable for me to sit in. We went up to Princeton around Lake Lavon, and we drove for about 2 hours or so. I wouldn’t mind riding again, but it didn’t make me immediately feel like I want to ride more and get a motorcycle license or anything. But, it was fun, which was the point. :)

[missnesbit]

Visit a castle

You definitely can’t say I didn’t accomplish this one because I went to like 4 castles when I was in the UK. The first one I went to was Sterling castle in Scotland, and it was pretty awesome and the view out into the country from the wall/parapets was amazing. The second was Doune Castle (still in Scotland), and I wasn’t able to go in but got pics outside of it. If you think it looks familiar, it is! It’s the same castle used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and in Outlander and Game of Thrones.

The third castle I went to was Windsor Castle, and it was very cool to walk around the state rooms in that one. That is the Queen’s home and where she spends the most time, and she just so happened to be home when we stopped by. We had tea; it was lovely. (That is a total lie).

The last castle I went to was Cardiff Castle (in Cardiff Wales), and it was fun too. They are all very similar to be honest, but it was fun to see them still.

[missnesbit]

Take a bubble bath

I decided to take advantage of that bath robe, slippers, and big bath tub in the fancy 5-star hotel I stayed in while in London, and take a bubble bath. Although, I guess technically it wasn’t a true “bubble” bath, it was with a bath bomb, BUT STILL. It was relaxing and delightful and that bath bomb stuff made my skin soft. Not sure it’s something I’ll do on the regular, but every once in a while I might treat myself, you know

[missnesbit]

Make creme brulee

I’ve always wanted to make creme brulee because it just seems so fancy and yet so simple. A while back my family had bought me little ramekins and a friend of mine bought me a kitchen torch, and I just still had never gotten around to actually making it. SO I put it on my list and finally did it! It wasn’t perfect, being my first time and all but it did taste delicious! I kind of want to try other flavors and things, but it came out pretty good for my first try IMHO.

[missnesbit]

Write a novel/at least 50,000 words

I will admit, I didn’t actually write one continuous novel. Maybe someday, but I realize I don’t outline/plan well and I don’t have very much patience and lose interest quickly. So instead, I wrote several shorter stories, and since my birthday last year the grand total of words I’ve written for the year is....

79,122

Which is pretty dang good if I do say so myself. And no you can’t read what I wrote and I’m not telling you when any of those stories are about. Just know that I wrote words that formed sentences, which formed paragraphs, which formed a story about people, places, and things, and I wrote more than 50,000 of those words. :)

[missnesbit]

Read a Book

Soooo I’ll be real. I put this on my list because umm it’s been a while since I’ve read an actual printed book. I’ve listened to audiobooks, read a few eBooks, and read TONS of free online stories (aka fanfiction, don’t judge me). But it’s been several years since I’ve read an actual printed paper book, and I felt like I should remedy that. A friend of mine wrote this YA novel called Seven Tears at High Tide, and I thought hers would be a perfect book for me to read the old-fashioned way (it also was conveniently short and an easy read shhhh). It was SUPER cute, and I loved every bit of it. I’m also feeling like I should try to read more actual books more often. I’ve got a whole bookshelf of books I still haven’t read, so I should probably start with those. :)

[missnesbit]

Watch 30 Classic Movies

If you want to know which movies I watched, HERE’S the list. Most of them I know the basic plot or the twists or I’d seen parts of but had never watched the full thing. After watching the list, I can say that most of them I feel are kind of overrated? Several of them I was like... why is this movie considered a must see? There were only a few that I genuinely liked that I felt lived up to the hype. Others I felt were kind of dumb and have not aged well.

Of the ones on my list, the ones I really liked were: The Big Lebowski, Die Hard, The Shawshank Redemption, Some Like It Hot, Rocky, Thelma & Louise, and Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.

[missnesbit]

Go on a picnic

While my mother told me multiple times I’ve already been on a picnic, I say pics or it didn’t happen. Also, I really wanted like a picnic basket and everything. So I borrowed a basket from a friend and had a picnic with my friends. It was fun and the weather wasn’t too bad. Yay picnicing!

[missnesbit]

Watch the sunrise

My family (well minus my sister who didn’t want to get up that early) decided to join me for this one. We went to a park/lake area that was nearby and waited for an hour as the sun came up lol. Aside from my family complaining about how early it was and having to stand and wait, it was fun.

The coolest pics were when we drove down to the lake though and all the people setting out to go fishing against the sunrise. Very cool.

[missnesbit]

Take a flying lesson

Thanks to a family friend having an expired Groupon, I was able to take a discovery flight for half the price than it would have been normally. This was SO much fun, and I’m glad I was able to make this one work because I was worried I wouldn’t.

The instructor was great and he let me do a lot of things on my own with only a little guidance while I was up in the air. I was able to do a landing, a take off, some turns and circles, a fly-by, and a touch and go. I will say that I did get a little nauseous, but I also hadn’t really eaten before I went so that might have contributed. While this was fun, I don’t think I’m itching to get a pilot’s license or anything cause I don’t have that kind of time or money. I’ll just leave that to my cousins (three of which who have them, and I have 1 uncle that teaches flying and another who owns a plane).

[missnesbit]

Ride a train

When I went to Scotland, I decided to go all out and get first class train tickets up there. Like, seriously, y’all, I get why first class is so nice. I just wish I had the kind of money to afford it all the time. But I digress.

So, because of my first class train ticket, I was able to feel cool and special and go to the first class lounge at the train station and get a cookie and some hot chocolate. Then when I got on the train, they fed us like 2 meals and gave us snacks and plenty of beverages. I, however, made the mistake of not specifying what kind of seat I was given, and I had a rear-facing seat that made me nauseous. Luckily, the car was not very full, so I switched seats and felt better after that.

But yeah it was fun riding first class on the train. I did not have the money to do that on the way back or any other time I rode the train while I was abroad, but that’s alright. It was good to do the once.

[missnesbit]

Stay in a 5-star hotel

The first couple nights I was in London (before I went to Scotland), I stayed in the Conrad St. James and let me tell y’all, it was FANCY. Like, my hotel room wasn’t even really that big, like it wasn’t a suite, but it was bigger than any single hotel room I’d ever been in. The bathroom was roomy, and yes that is a telephone by the toilet. My room had a doorbell, it had turn-down service, so like they would come in and set slippers by my bed and pull down my covers and set a water bottle out and turn on smooth jazz. It was amazing.

When I reserved the room, I put in a special request, just to see if they would actually follow through with it, and boy did they. I requested that they had one of their kids draw me a picture of their favorite spot in London and then asked if they would write a compliment on the mirror for me. As you can tell, they delivered. I wish I could afford something like this every time I travel, but yeah not going to happen, but I’m glad I had this experience.

[missnesbit]

Try a new food

I tried lots of new foods while I was abroad, actually, but these were the ones that were the most... unconventional I guess I should say?

The first picture is duck/chicken liver pate aka foie gras. I’d never had it before and I was in a fancy restaurant and decided what the heck and got it. It was... interesting. It came with a sweet onion marmalade that was delicious with it. But, once I ran out of the marmalade, I didn’t have any more pate haha. It was super salty on it’s own and I couldn’t eat it by itself. Not sure I’ll ever get it again, but hey I tried it!

The last two pictures are fried haggis, which I had in Scotland (because if you’re in Scotland, you gotta have some!). I actually really liked the haggis. It was SUPER spicy, which I loved since everything else I ate over there was pretty bland. If I just didn’t focus on what I was actually eating, it wasn’t that bad. I’m glad I had it.