The Life I’m Curating

I’m not counting years. I’m collecting moments that matter.

This list is not a race against time, or a checklist. It’s a quiet commitment I’m making to live with intention, softness, and depth in the years leading up to forty.

 

Last updated: January 2026

 

 

How to Read This List

 

This is a living list.

 

Some things may happen quickly. Some may take years. Some may change as I do.

 

Each item links to the moments, reflections, or lessons learned along the way. Not as proof, but as memory.

 

My List:

 

01  Begin and tend to a blog that feels like a living archive of my life.

02  Become confident in giving myself beautiful at-home manicures.

03  Renovate an old house and slowly turn it into a true home.

04  Become a mother and begin a family of my own.

05  Share my art openly, even when it feels vulnerable.

06  Grow a cut flower garden and harvest from it often.

07  Take a honeymoon retreat designed entirely around connection and relaxation.

08  Learn to bake and decorate delicious sweets with icing and intention.

09  Host a large, joyful summer BBQ event for friends and family.

10  Build a savings cushion to feel financially secure about the future.

11  Cultivate a healthier life -in how I eat, move, rest, and care for myself.

12  Feel more at home in my physical appearance, from head to toe.

13  Give back regularly through quiet, meaningful acts of service.

14  Curate seasonal home decor and mark the passing of the year gracefully.

15  Create a wardrobe where every piece feels like me.

16  Discover and commit to a personal scent.

17  Make home-cooked meals the rhythm of everyday life.

18  Take a Disney trip purely for joy and nostalgia.

19  Go to Las Vegas and experience it fully and playfully.

20  Make homemade ice cream from scratch.

21  Learn to make my own soap.

22  Learn to pour and scent homemade candles.

23  Maintain a clean, calm, and organized home.

24  Grow food that helps feed my family.

25  Continue dating my husband and choosing our relationship.

26  Grow and keep a thriving herb garden.

27  Create a backyard spa, complete with a hot tub.

28  Make regular spa treatments part of my self-care rhythm.

29  Hand-make a patchwork quilt.

30  Create floral arrangements with confidence and creativity.

31  Learn photography well enough to document my life beautifully.

32  See a movie at a drive-in theatre.

33  Try my hand at pottery.

34  Bake homemade bread that becomes part of our routine.

35  Flip a piece of furniture and give it new life.

36  Stay in a dome while camping under the stars.

37  Visit a ski resort, and take in the atmosphere.

38  Go kayaking somewhere peaceful.

39  Hike in British Columbia and take in the scenery slowly.

40  Pack a picnic and wander a little longer than planned.

This list is simply a marker of intention. A reminder to live gently, choose deliberately, and notice the beauty in the becoming. If it resonates, I hope it inspires you to pause and consider what you’re curating in your own life – and to begin, quietly, wherever you are.

 

xo, Hayley