17 Things I Want To Do In 2023 – Week 52 of 52

Go On A Solo Adventure. Total Success!

Last Christmas {2022} the HH and I decided to buy our own Christmas gifts. 

He bought himself a fancy espresso machine {which we now call the cocoa machine because he makes waaaay more hot chocolates for me and pupachinos for Lucy} than he does fancy coffee drinks for himself, and I bought a plane ticket. 

Or rather several tickets {for 1 big adventure} to visit Fair Isle Scotland in January of 2023. I was gone for 3 weeks and stayed at the Fair Isle Studio {by myself} for an artists residency and totally and completely enjoyed the experience.

Take An Adult Education Class. Total Success!

The Girl and I took the British Baking Classics 3 day course at the King Arthur Flour baking School in Norwich, Vermont. We had a good time. And most of the treats we made were really good {there were some overbaked ones too that were out of our control} and for the most part we felt like we got our money’s worth with the class. 

One class was enough for us though. 🙂

Revisit An Old Friend. Postponed

This particular goal was something I had been meaning to do for a while. Everything was all lined up to complete this goal, until it wasn’t. 

I still very much want to accomplish this goal {and for it to be a surprise} so for that reason I’ve decided to keep mum about it. {What a stinker, I know.} 

Maybe 2024? Maybe not. We’ll see.

Send 52 Cards To 52 Different People. Total Success!

I didn’t even think I even knew 52 people and really thought mailing out 52 cards was going to be a tough goal to reach, but I did it {thanks to some last minute Christmas cards I sent out}.  

Do I want to repeat this goal? Umm no. 😉 But I know I’ll be more spontaneous about buying special cards for people in the future and not look at them as something wasteful. Because seriously, who doesn’t love seeing something other than junk mail and bills in their mailbox?

Make 12 Totally British Recipes In The AGA.  Work in Progress

Getting the AGA was quite the ordeal, and while I’d say it took me a good solid month to figure out all its quirks, I did get a ton of baking done this year. I just didn’t {apparently} do a lot of British baking and in the end I only whipped up 9 British recipes. {Some of which I still need to write up/share}. 

The sticky toffee pudding was probably our favorite dessert. And the beef in horseradish cream our favorite main course. This is a goal I plan to carry over to next year {and finish up!}. 

British recipes I made in 2023

• Pear Frangipane Tart
• Mince Meat Pies
• Cauliflower, Broccoli and Squash Casserole
• English Muffins
• Currant Scones
• Sticky Toffee Pudding 
• Beef In Horseradish Cream
• Christmas Stollen {not exactly British, but I’m counting it!}
• Haddock Pie

Set Aside 200 Items For A Yard Sale Total Success!

This was a SUPER easy goal to accomplish thanks to The Duck Lady’s farmstand. I basically just dropped stuff off and it sold. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

Earn $1,493.04 {Last Year’s Grocery Expenses} Selling Totally Random Things Online FAIL

This was actually a carry over from my 2022 goals and let’s just say, it will not be on my 2024 list. While I think it is totally possible to earn $1,500 from selling beach treasures online… There were about 10 million other things that took priority. 

And I’m okay with that. Normally I don’t make goals unless I actually think they are do-able. This one though, I just lost my steam.

I did make a cool driftwood wreath though. And the T-Rex is still for sale. 😉

Go On a Staycation/Craftcation With The Girl

I really thought we’d end up in Quebec City for the Christmas lights. But it’s a long drive and there are no direct flights and coordinating time off just didn’t work out. 

So we went to the beach instead and had a really good time. Quebec City though, is still very much on our must see list.

Turn The Craft Room Into a Proper Studio Space Mission Accomplished {Sort of}

The original plan was to:

• Rip out the old gross carpet and replace it 
• Fresh paint
• A proper light fixture
• New serger I bought a JUKI
• New work table {I bought 3!}
• A sitting area with a spot to hook

And we did all those things. But here’s the funny thing. In order to paint and replace the carpet {I wanted pine floors but the HH vetoed me and we installed carpet instead} we had to take everything out of the room. 

And by everything I mean move 50,000 bolts of wool, furniture, all my rug hooking supplies etc. down to the basement so we could prep the space. 

The plan {obviously} was to put everything back in place when the new flooring was down. But I liked the set up I had created in the basement so much from a functional standpoint {not so much a visual standpoint HA} that I decided to keep everything down there.

It turns out that it was way easier to be organized in a smaller space than a big one. Who knew? 

The {old} craft room is now a bedroom again. Boring, I know. But hey… I’ve never been more organized, so it’s a win in my book.

Hook 100 Rugs Total Success!

I finished my 100th rug last night! Yee-Haw. talk about down to the wire. 

Create 15 New Rug Hooking Patterns Success!

I actually created 16 new patterns this year. That’s pretty darn good if you ask me! I love how this Valentine sampler tree turned out! It might be my favorite thing I hooked this year. 

New patterns I’ve added to my Etsy shop in 2023:

• Valentine Sampler Tree
• 15 Hearts
• LOVE
• Three Trees
• Pink Potted Tulip
• Betty’s Big Chickens with American Flag
• Fair Isle Sheep
• Olde Hares
• Antique Hearts and Flowers
• Fat Cat with Easter Eggs
• Fat Cat with Shamrocks
• Fat Cat with Hearts
• Horse and Hearts
• Valentine Kitties
• Little Chicken
• Hit and Miss Flower Basket
• Mable’s Kittens

Grow 1,000 Pounds of Vegetables In The Commune Sized Garden EPIC FAIL

It started raining in mid June. And it never stopped. At least not until the growing season was over anyways. If we were pilgrims living in the 1700’s we’d probably starve this winter {or be eating a lot of lobsters}.

Empty The Canning Cupboard / Fill The Canning Cupboard FAIL

While we did a pretty decent job trying to eat up everything that was in the canning cupboard this year, we failed at filling it back up. 

Without buckets of garden produce to harvest, I didn’t want to shell out big bucks to fill it up again. At least not when I felt like we still had plenty of provisions to use up first. 

I do slightly regret that I didn’t can any apple pie filling… But hey, hopefully we’ll have the energy to in 2024.

Make $500 Selling Plants, Flowers or Vegetables FAIL

It’s pretty hard to make $500 selling your extra garden produce when it RAINS ALL SUMMER and everything rots. I did end up making a little bit though. But just $95.

Buy 12 Handmade Items {From 12 Different Artists} Success!

This was an easy one!

• {2} Wooden wreath forms from DavesWoodStudio
• {3} Linen Aprons from BedCult
• {2} Charcuterie boards from FarmHillWoodShop
• {3} Fair Isle Hats Rachel of Barkland Croft
• {2} Quilts from ZoëDawn Shop
• {3} Bread Bowls from ZoëDawn Shop 
• {1} Handmade braclet from a little girl’s lemonade/craft stand
• {2} Watercolor Palettes 
• {1} Fair Isle scarf from Mati Ventrillon
• {4} Notecards from Etsy seller ColorBoxLetterpress
• {3} Rug hooking patterns from 
• {?} Stitchery patterns from Lori Brechlin
• {3} Cards from ColorBoxLetterPress

Update Every Single Recipe On The Blog To A Printable Format FAIL

This was BY FAR my least favorite goal of 2023 so it stands to reason that I didn’t MAKE the time to get it done because I didn’t want to do it in the first place. Even though I totally need to. I’m half tempted to carry it over to next year’s goals but I don’t know. 

I do think I was able to get something like 400 recipes updates though… So that’s something, right?

26 Official Date Days With My Handsome Husband A Great Success!

I think of all the dates we went on this year, my favorite was going out to lunch and seeing the movie The Quiet Girl. I’m not really one for movie theaters, but we both really liked this movie and the tiny theater it played in too.

• Date #1 Thomaston Cafe for lunch. It was lovely. 
• Date #2 Rising Tide Co-Op
• Date #3 Oysterhead Pizza
• Date #4 Oysterhead Pizza 
• Date #5 Schanz Family Maple
• Date #6 Camden, Maine for lunch and candy
• Date # 7 The Quiet Girl movie
• Date #8 Rockport Farmer’s Market
• Date #9 LL Bean & Solo Pane e Pasticceria
• Date #10 Jameson Point Lobster
• Date #11 Marshall Point Light, Hedegrow Market
• Date #12 Bet’s Fish Fry
• Date #13 Moody’s Diner
• Date #14 Beth’s Farm Market
• Date #15 The Beach
• Date #16 The Craft Store
• Date #17 Cat Video Fest
• Date #18 Kayaking
• Date #19 Lunch!
• Date #20 Donut date at The Port Clyde General Store
• Date #21 Apple Picking at Bailey’s Orchard
• Date #22 Waldoboro Historical Society Talk
• Date #23 Portsmouth, New Hampshire
• Date #24 Kennebunkport, Maine
• Date #25 Portland Art Museum
• Date #26 Solo Pane e Pasticceria
• Date #27 Alan Claude Gallery in Gardiner, Maine

So there you have it. My checklist of 17 things I wanted to make happen in 2023.  If this were high school, I’d say I scored a B. Maybe a B+. 

How about YOU? 

How did you do with YOUR goals this year? 

~Mavis