The Next Big Milestone

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Kelly Blue Book®. All opinions are 100% my own.

I’m not afraid of numbers so here we go. I turn 34 next month, that means I’m one year away from my next big milestone birthday. And then I’m officially mid-thirties! But the thing is, I’m not afraid or sad or upset that I’m getting older. In fact, so far my 30’s have been some of my favorite years and I’m only looking forward to what’s coming.

For me, my 20’s were filled with some of the biggest milestones of my life like graduating college, falling in love, getting married and starting a family. I had three kids before I turned 30! It was filled with those sweet tender moments of newborn snuggles, a lot of diapers changes, a lot more sleepless nights, navigating parenthood and experiencing a lot of firsts.

So far my 30’s are looking a lot different and they have been SO much fun. Who knew I would love getting older so much? I’m a big goal person, I make a lot of lists, lots of lists, and I’m the type of person who is always thinking of the next accomplishment and the next big milestone. I’m a big believer that if I don’t say something out loud or write it on paper, there is no proof. So here we go, I’m sharing my top 5 goals before turning 35!

Top 5 Goals Before Turning 35

Expand Taryn Whiteaker Designs!

I did the whole career thing a little backwards than a lot of people. It wasn’t until my 30’s that I REALLY started my career and growing my business. In fact, this past year has been HUGE for Taryn Whiteaker Designs. I have operated this business pretty much solo for the past 8 years and it has been crazy to see how much it has grown in just this past 12 months. I am so excited where things are going and with all three kids in school (at least part time), I am ready to take it to the next level. By the time I turn 35, I hope to start building a staff here so I can share even more with you and take on even bigger design projects. It won’t be something I talk about regularly, but it is definitely on my short term goal list.

Travel More

We have always made travel an important part of our family. We fly somewhere with the kids every spring break, take tons of road trips, and my husband and I even try and sneak away at least once a year. But when you have three little kids there are some limitations that come with that. Now that all the kids are getting older we are out of diapers and have no more nap times, traveling is getting SO much easier and I absolutely love exploring with them. I’m ready to upgrade our travel situation, take more risks and go on more adventures with our three crazy kiddos. I wouldn’t mind more relaxing vacations either :)

Upgrade The Mom Mobile

Speaking of travel, if we are going to be taking any more road trips I have GOT to upgrade the current vehicle situation. I got my Suburban almost exactly 6 years ago and it has been the best mom car ever. Hello three kids, a dog, plus all the sports gear. (Ok and the amount of home decor I cart around all the time.) This suburban has been so good to us but we are definitely nearing the end. I’ve been holding out for as long as we can because I don’t want our kids to dirty up a new car. But they are getting older and a (little) less messy soooo it’s time to get this momma a new car!

We’ve actually been looking to upgrade this one soon. We really need to! We have been looking at newer Suburbans with video players in them for the kids. Suburbans are so practical I don’t think I’m ready to part with them just yet. We’ve been looking into the Kelley Blue Book (SM) Instant Cash Offer right now, where they literally give you cash for your car or you can use it towards a trade in. You just type in all the info on your car into their online form and then they instantly email you an amount for your car. I got mine valued in under a minute! Then you take your offer to a participating dealer and they hook you up! You can read more about it here. This offer is motivating me to get going on this trade in, so this milestone might be checked off sooner than I think!

Upgrade My Home Cooked Meals

If I am being completely honest, cooking has never been a super strong suit of mine. I like it, I don’t hate it. My husband is actually a much better cook than me. I have always struggled with regular meal planning. I will go through spurts and then get back into my not so great routine. I feel like when you hit 30, you really enter adulthood and 35 means you are right in the thick of adulating. So my goal is to be a little more responsible in the kitchen, experiment with new recipes and plan out regular meals for my family. One would think now that the kids are older and independent I would have more time for grocery shopping and cooking, but it’s just the opposite. My time is being pulled in completely different directions with a larger workload and a million sports practices. I sure hope a lot of moms can relate with me on this, but if not it’s ok. I just know I could use some improvements in this area!

Get My Organization On

Ok, this bullet point will not get its own picture because I am NOT showing you guys my master closet at the moment or the other problem areas in our house. We have been in our house for 5 years now (holy cow), and our walk-in closet in our master bedroom is one of the biggest disasters you have ever seen. I’ve wanted to have it fully remodeled with hardwoods and new lighting for years. But at this point the need for organization is far beyond the need to be aesthetically pleasing. It just needs to actually be organized for everyone’s sanity. I would also carry this goal beyond the closet to the garage (aka my workshop), and every small closet in the house. I definitely need some more organization in my life. I actually really like it, but it has just been so low on my priority list over the years. I need to feel less like a college kid and more like an adult in this area for sure.

So that’s it! I’m going to hold myself to this list and bring it back out when I turn 35. I have just barely over a year.

What is something you are hoping to upgrade for yourself this year?