A few offline friends have asked me how my "Thirty Before Thirty" challenge has been going as I have not updated here much, life seems to get in the way of blogging and that is something I plan to rectify this year. The last update I posted about my challenge was back in August when I turned the big 3-0. I decided that turning thirty was a time for reflection but also a time to take some pressure off and so my challenge became a "within my 30th year" challenge.

For those new to my blog, you can read about my original Thirty before Thirty challenge on this blog

But here we go for an update.....

1. Own a sewing machine - DONE!!!!! I treat myself to a beautiful Janome DC3050 as you can see here, I love it and sewed a few Christmas presents with it. 
2. Learn to knit socks - um, not yet.
3. Visit Buckingham Palace - DONE!
4. Swim in a lake or stand under a waterfall - I am off to Scotland over Easter, maybe then!
5. Own a home (the BIG challenge) - well, I havent bought a home yet, but I have moved my life to Cambridge and in with my amazing boyfriend in to his lovely flat. I love my "home 2" and we are slowly beginning to talk of plans for buying a house in the Cambridge area next year.
6. Be debt free except from a mortgage if Num 5 happens - working on it.
7. Visit Dickens House - DONE!
8. Go to a soap making workshop - DONE! and we you may know, I now also sell my lovely handmade soap.
9. Learn to hang wall paper - DONE! When I moved, we built a craft storage zone and I wanted a pretty backing paper so I wallpapered some wood, ok so its not exactly hanging wallpaper but it was a start.
10. Spend a night on the Norfolk Broads - DONE! (sort of) Two holidays to Norfolk and not spent the night on a boat, but have been in the Broads.
11. Learn to make pastry - DONE! - When I had the flu in January I was off work and forced myself to do this so I made some homemade pasties and pies.
12. Learn the succession of kings and queens from William the Conqueror in 1066 - not yet.
13. Make and wear my own dress - not yet, but I am improving my sewing skills a lot.
14. Read 5 books from my bookshelf - I currently own 40 books that I have not yet read - Um......
15. Have a make up lesson - DONE! and I have fallen in love with Bobbi Brown make up.
16. Do something every day to make me smile - DONE - I just have to look at my boyfriend and I smile inside and out at how lucky I am.  
17. Learn to change a car tyre - hmmmm.
18. Be able to jog a mile with out stopping - with my leg issues this is a BIG thing - I have now quit the gym because I could not justify the money I was spending. Fitness improvement is a big aim for me this year.
19. Go to Rome or Sorrento - DONE! - a trip to Rome back in 2011.
20. Sleep for 6.5+ hours sleep a night consistently - I'm getting about 6hrs on average now, this still needs to improve.
21. Visit Giant's Causeway - Hoping to go in August this year.
22. Have a dinner party - DONE!!! Not only dinner parties but my 30th birthday party was quite a challenge, '50s themed and making all of the food.
23. Have Butterfly-Crafts mentioned in a newspaper or magazine - DONE!!! I am so pleased to have been in our local paper and also Craft Seller magazine a few times.
24. Sleep under the stars - not yet, but in the hope there will be a nice hot summer, I can sleep out on my decking.
25. Live as much of a handmade/homemade/economical life as possible - I made a lot of my Christmas gifts for 2012 and this year have a challenge to make as many of my gifts as I need as possible and I will blog about them too.
26. Begin to have the stamina, strength & body shape from pre-leg issues - this isn't really tangible is it now, but see #18.
27. Watch: Goodfellas, Casablanca, Dr Zhivago, Gone With the Wind, The Philadephia Story, A Street Car Named Desire, Ferri Beulers Day Off, Schindler's List, The Godfather and Citizen Cane - I still have Goodfellas and Schindler's List to go. I have borrowed the latter from a friend to watch soon.
28. Go to a comedy club - we had hoped to do this in NYC but it didn't happen, hopefully will soon though.
29. Finish my knitted patchwork blanket - I haven't knitted in a while but our trip to Scotland is for rest and relaxation and so my blanket will come with me to work on. I think I have 8 squares out of 91 knitted!
30. Visit 15 exhibitions at museums and galleries - I have lost count the number of exhibitions I have been too but I should really see more whilst I am working in London to make the most of having them on my doorstep.

 Although I may not blog too frequently, I have created a Flickr Album for my "Thirtieth Year" in which I have been taking a photo a day for this year and have been writing a little about it. in which I have been taking a photo a day for this year and have been writing a little about it. Check out my Flickr profile to see the album.