28 at 28 Bucket List: The Year in Review

I say this often, but especially around birthdays: the days are long, but the years are short. This little saying has never felt more true to me than this year, as I approach my 29th birthday. 28 was a rollercoaster kind of year, marked with huge achievements and difficult losses, and I know I will leave age 28 in a much different place than where I started.

If 28 taught me one thing, it was that you can’t just wait until the right timing for your life to take shape. There is always going to be a reason that the timing isn’t right. When there’s something you want, you just have to take action. This philosophy has not only helped me pursue my goals in life, but it has also helped me to turn my health around at a time when my autoimmune issues made things feel impossible. (I’m happy to share that I’m slowly feeling better and better!)

This philosophy also lends itself to my annual birthday bucket lists! For those who are newer to Wellness & Wanderlust (welcome! 🙋🏻‍♀️), each year I create a mini bucket list of things I’d like to accomplish by my next birthday. A lot of these are local attractions I’d like to visit, but the list can include literally anything. You can check out my earlier posts recapping ages 25, 26, and 27, along with a more extended post on why I create mini bucket lists each year.

As in previous years, I didn’t check off everything on my list, but I accomplished other things along the way. I won my university’s 30 Under 30 Award. I had a crystal ball reading in Cassadaga. I attended a concert by the National Symphony Orchestra at the Capitol. I reconnected with old friends at my high school reunion. I went to my first blogger retreat at the beautiful Chinsegut Manor. I took on solo trips, threw a Derby Party, made a lot of new friends, and discovered so many new hidden gems in Central Florida and beyond.

Below is my recap of my 28 at 28 bucket list. Stay tuned for 29 at 29, and share your own suggestions in the comments below!

28 at 28 Bucket List Recap

1. Visit the Casa Feliz in Winter Park. Visited Casa Feliz on 9/30/18 for live music and a historic home tour – so beautiful! You can learn more about my experience at the Casa Feliz here.
2. Do a tasting at the Oak Haven Winery in Sorrento and go strawberry picking. Picked about 5 pounds of strawberries on 3/9/19 and did a wine tasting – yum! I will definitely be back next season. Their wines were a total crowd pleaser every time I brought them out at parties! 
3. Take our annual mother/daughter trip. Visited Montreal and Quebec City from 6/20 to 6/24/19. What an amazing trip! Check out the recap.
4. Go to TopGolf. Played two rounds at TopGolf with friends on 6/7/19 and had a blast!
5. Take a coding class. I had trouble prioritizing this one. I may revisit in the future.
6. See a movie at the Enzian. Adding this to next year’s list! I made an attempt to see a movie here a while back, but didn’t realize how insane the parking could get. This will happen with better planning!
7. Tour the Howey Mansion. Stay tuned for my 29 at 29!
8. Tailgate at a UCF football game. Tailgated at (and attended–without having to work!) the UCF games against Pittsburgh and Temple. I even had field cabana seats at the Temple game on 11/1/18!
9. Take a class at Total Wine. It was difficult to find a class I wanted on a date that really fit my schedule. I also cut back on drinking, so this wasn’t high on my list. 
10. Visit the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland. Made some sweet raptor friends on 4/14/19! You can read more about my experience here.
11. Travel out of state. Visited Montreal, Quebec, from 6/20 to 6/24/19. Check out the recap!
12. Attend a performing arts show. Went to Orlando Shakespeare Theater to see The Jungle Book on 10/20/18.
13. Take the Mr. Rogers Walking Tour at Rollins. This is going on next year’s list! Unfortunately, the tour is not available on weekends, so this was something I needed to do more planning to schedule!
14. Get my writing published somewhere new. Contributed to Orlando’s Favorite Travel Instagrammers to Follow at CityWhit on 1/30/19. Guest blogged as part of Instagram Worthy Locations in Orlando at Jazmin’s Voyage on 5/6/19.
15. Complete another round of Whole30. Completed the January Whole30 on 1/30/19.
16. Take a Christmas tour of the Pinewood Estate at Bok Towers. Visited Bok Tower Gardens on 12/16/18 and loved the Holiday Home Tour! Learn more here.
17. Attend a non-UCF sporting event. Went to the inaugural Orlando Apollos game on 2/9/19 and had such a great time that I went back on 3/16. Attended the Orlando City Soccer game from a VIP suite on 3/31 and had a blast.
18. Finish an old writing project. This ended up being less of a priority as I began focusing more on my blog in 2018-2019. I hope to accomplish this at 29! 
19. Hike the Shingle Creek Trail to Pioneer Village. Hiked the Shingle Creek Trail for the first time and visited the Osceola County History Museum on 6/16/19. What a fun afternoon!
20. Take a Downtown Sanford Ghost Tour. Went on a Sanford Ghost Tour on 8/17/19 and had a blast! Check out the recap here.
21. Celebrate Smithsonian Museum Day. Celebrated on 9/22 with a trip to the Henry B. Plant Museum in Tampa, followed by visits to the Chihuly Collection and the Morean Art Center in St. Pete. Check out my article on Smithsonian Museum Day here!
22. Visit the Bronze Kingdom art gallery. Explored the gallery on 11/4/18. Learn more about my experience here!
23. Take a weekend trip to St. Petersburg. Traveled to St. Pete from 9/22 to 9/23/18. Check out the recap here!
24. Visit the Back to Nature wildlife refuge. It’s on my 29 at 29 list!
25. Take an Art Deco tour in Miami. Enjoyed an Art Deco tour in Miami Beach on 12/23/18. Check out the recap here!
26. Visit one of the local springs. Went for a hike around Green Springs Park on 11/12/18.
27. Go out for Magical Dining Month. Visited Capital Grille for some delicious Magical Dining on 9/9/19. Yum!
28. Do the annual grape stomp at Lakeridge Winery. Stomped some grapes at Lakeridge on 8/18/19 — such a blast!

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What suggestions do you have for age 29? Sound off in the comments below!