Hello there stranger!  It’s certainly been a long time between drinks.  Almost ten months.  I’ve clearly been so very slack, so sorry!  It started to get quite intense with travel planning, then the travel, then post travel, then well…life happens!

I thought the start of 2020 was high time to get on track and start to get up to date, and I thought the best way to start was with a little 40before40 update.  To answer the long awaited question since it has been eight months since I turned 40, no, I didn’t tick off everything on my 40before40 list, but this is where I’m at:

1. Reduce social media use – COMPLETE
2. Create sourdough starter and make sourdough
3. Eat a salad grown from my garden – COMPLETE
4. Try archery
5. Shoot a gun
6. Cook a BBQ on my own
7. Eat Cacio e Pepe 3 ways – 1/3 COMPLETE
8. Visit Werribee Open Range Zoo, Mansion and Park – 1/2 COMPLETE
9. Watch Schindler’s List
10. Southern Highlands food tour
11. Give back – volunteering
12. Learn to speak Spanish
13. Eat dessert for breakfast – COMPLETE
14. Truffle hunting in Canberra
15. Give blood – COMPLETE
16. Visit a self sufficient farm, milk an animal, do a cooking class
17. Write letters to the people who have most impacted my life
18. Watch Scandal – 2/3 COMPLETE
19. Pack a picnic, get in the car, and just drive (or just bus!) – COMPLETE
20. Paint a painting – 1/3 COMPLETE
21. Take a photography class or course
22. Afternoon/high tea in London – COMPLETE
23. Themed dinner parties – COMPLETE
24. Go fruit picking, make a tart from the fruit – COMPLETE
25. Complete the Yoga Burn 12 week challenge
26. Try new foodie places – COMPLETE
27. Write my will
28. Find my brick at Olympic Park
29. Design and complete my first interiors job – COMPLETE
30. Travel on the Eurostar – COMPLETE
31. Go dancing – COMPLETE
32. The Cooks Atelier Cooking Class – COMPLETE
33. The Miracle Morning 30 day challenge
34. Build and launch my interior design business website – COMPLETE
35. Own a pair of Louboutin heels – COMPLETE
36. Read two classics – 1/2 COMPLETE
37. Make bizcocho’s from scratch
38. Be conscious of three things I’m grateful for daily – COMPLETE
39. Visit a castle in Scotland, drink Cava in Spain, Prosecco in Italy and Champagne in France – 1/2 COMPLETE
40. Turn 40 in London and France – 1/2 COMPLETE

When I made my list, in theory it seemed eminently achievable to do it all in the year before turning 40.  In practice, because life happened, it wasn’t for so many reasons!  Do I think that I’ve failed?  No, not at all, in fact I consider it a complete success.  Whilst I didn’t do everything on the list, I did tick off some, ticked off parts of others and achieved so many many more things that weren’t on my list.

My list didn’t have that I should see the house where my mother was born in Scotland, it didn’t have walk down the main street of the town with her, see where my Grandpa had his chemist shop, it didn’t have see the Isle of Iona, somewhere I’ve longed to go for a long time.  Nor did it have to see a group of bagpipists in Oban, or feel the serenity and peace by Loch Ness, both of which I didn’t know would be so magical and would give me goosebumps.  It didn’t have meet our cousin Lisa in Glasgow, and have a fabulous night full of laughter.  But I did all of those, and so much more, with Mum. The times we had on our travels together are priceless and will be with me forever. 

40 things, actually, it was probably more like 80 things really, as quite a few tasks on the list were comprised of multiple items within one, was perhaps overly ambitious.  But I loved coming up with the list, planning to do things and enjoying them as I did.  I’ll continue to tick off items from the 40before40 list though I consider the project itself finished, and I’ll make, actually already have made, more lists with big and small things I want to see, do and achieve but give myself the rest of my life, however long it may be, to try to do them all, rather than just one year!

To finish 40before40, I really would like to say the biggest, most humungous thank you to my beautiful Mama, who helped to make some of my 40before40 dreams a reality, and my genius Papi – I love you both for always being there and making many other dreams come true, I really am a lucky daughter.

And to the rest of my family and my friends, I can’t name you all, but I thank you for being an amazing part of my life, couldn’t do it without your love and support xx