I know people often do these 30 before 30 posts but next year I turn 25 which quite frankly I find quite horrifying. More so because 25 always used to seem really old to me, and bearing in mind I still feel mentally 19. It’s a strange feeling.

Since turning 24 I keep thinking about all these things I need to do and things I haven’t done yet.

What happened to that 3 month trip to Thailand I’ve been mentally planning since year 10?

Why haven’t I lived the life of a carefree beachy mermaid yet?

~So little time so much to do~

It’s easy to see how those magical plans you once had soon get pushed aside what with adult life taking over. Bills to pay, a house to save for (which is incredibly boring and eats into my clothing spenditure far too much for my liking) and general sensible forward planning. Meh.

Sometime I think let me just blow my savings on a year long trip around the world.

Tempting.

So anyway, to save myself from descending into mid twenties depression, I’ve organised my (somewhat irrational) thoughts and conjured up a list of everything I’d like to do before I turn 25, and given that’s a year away I better get my skates on.

1. Buy a house. Ergh I know totally contradicting my plans to become a lifelong mermaid but we’ve been saving for a while now and we’re pretty much there with our deposit it’s now a case of saving to actually be able to furnish our future house. It’s a hard time trying to save for a house when you have clothing on the brain all.the.time.

2. Go to NYC. So cliche but I can’t believe at 24 I STILL haven’t visited the place that I’ve been lustfully watching for the past however long in almost every film and TV series. Woe is me.

3. Sort My Finances. I would really love to be free of any credit card debt by time I turn 25. I’m working on it but sometimes COS is too damn good.

4. Explore more of Italy. I love this country and so far I’ve been to Sorrento and Rome, and have a trip to Sicily booked for July – so I guess this is in the works. Verona, Venice and Bologna are next on my list though.

5. Learn To Cook. Now I can cook to a certain extent but my meals literally rotate themselves, I have about 7-8 that I generally stick to which is pretty bad. I’m a vegetarian (have been pretty much all my life) so it’s definitely time I get experimenting with some new recipes.

6. Refine my wardrobe. I don’t know if it’s getting older but my style has definitely evolved over the years and I feel now I have quite a strong sense of personal style. I know what I like, what works for me and I stick to it. I’m halfway through a major wardrobe clear-out so almost there with this one.

7. Invest In Quality. I’ve probably gone on about this before so apologies for any deja vu but investing in quality pieces is becoming more and more important to me. I’d rather save for one special piece that will be a timeless classic than buy a load of Toppers tops that I’ll wear for a month or so and get bored of. That’s not to say I don’t shop in TS anymore, but I lean more towards their Boutique range.

8. Minimise My Dairy Intake. Ok this list has taken a boring turn so I’ll make this quick. I’ve been trying to cut out dairy as much as possible recently. Soya butter, almond milk and vegan cheese are now heavily stocked in my kitchen but I can’t go as far to say I will necessarily become vegan. I still wear leather and being veggie is hard enough when abroad but I will continue to cut it out as much as possible as it’s not great for health anyway. Sorry that was longer than expected.

9. A US Road Trip. Yeah I’m not sure how this will all be possible with buying a house too but we’ll see. Me and Charlie both love America and there are so many places we would love to go so even if it’s just a 2-3 week thing it’s something I feel I need to do.

10. Film a Video. I’m not sure I was really made for Youtube but having said that I’ve never really given it a go so maybe 24 will be the age I have a go at my first YT vid.

11. Go on a Staycation. I’ve been quite into long weekend trips right here in the UK recently. Trying to make the most of the weekends and time off. Last summer we headed to Bath but I’d like to try something different and head to the coast or stay in a tree house in a forest, y’know something like that.

12. Plan a Trip to South East Asia. I say plan because it’s highly unlikely this will happen between now and next March but hey I can plan.

13. Own some Celine. Really important one obvs.

14. Go to the Theatre. I’ve been quite a few times but I really want to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and the Lion King (again).

15. Stockholm with Rosie. After we successfully navigated our way around Berlin we’ve got our eyes on Stockholm hopefully by the end of the year.

16. Head to Barcelona. I’m going to Madrid in May but Charlie and I are also keen to spend a few days in Barcelona before the year ends. Any tips – be sure to leave them in the comments!

17. Buy a Bike. I never think I’m really one for cycling but something in me changes when I get my feet on those pedals and suddenly I feel like Bradley Wiggins (is that the guy?). I love cycling and had a blast biking around Berlin, who knew.

18. Upgrade my Car. Speaking of transport, whilst my VW polo has done no harm I do feel like in a years time I will probably be ready to upgrade. I’ve wanted a convertible VW beetle since the days of One Tree Hill (so jealous of Brooke) and despite Charlie rattling on about it being a basic bitch car, I still want one. Basic bitch or not.

19. Improve mon Francais. I spoke about this in this post here but it’s still something I need to make more time for.

20. Take a New Class. Whilst in Berlin, Rosie and I had a wave of inspiration to do something different, spend our time more wisely and take up a new hobby. We thought about a pottery class but we’re yet to book in.

21. Continue this Blog. And improve my content, I think the summer is definitely going to give me back some lost motivation.

22. Adopt a Pooch. I’ve wanted a dog for ages, we had a family greyhound but he passed away a few years back and since then it’s just been the house bunnies. I’d love to adopt a dog, one that would have to accept bunnies of course.

23. Buy a KitchenAid. because if there’s one thing my future house will need, it’s an overpriced yet beautiful KitchenAid for all those cupcakes I won’t bake.

24. Feel like a real adult. Anyone else feel like they’re just pretending? When do you actually start feeling like a competent adult?

25. Turn 25 somewhere hot, sunny and exotic. To ease my mental breakdown.

So basically, to sum up, I need to become super rich before I hit 25. But seriously if I manage to tick off half of this list in the next year I’ll be happy. And tanned, hopefully.