I would be rather astonished if any of you noticed, but two weeks ago my first 101 in 1001 project came to an end. I started it on January 1, 2008, and now, almost three years later, it has drawn to a close. It’s cliche, but time really does fly! Though I didn’t complete all 101 goals, I am proud of what I’ve done — and that I had a great time doing it. Since I didn’t get to share a lot of my escapades along the way, I thought I’d do a little recap for the next few days. First, I’ll share my results, and then I’ll do a post about my favorite completed goals and some insight for anyone who’s thinking of doing something similar. Let’s begin!

Spiritual (4/6 completed — 67%)

What I completed:
–Buy a version of the Bible that I actually enjoy reading
–Start and keep a Bible verse journal
–Read two faith-related books a year
–Pledge to home church once a year

What I partially completed:
–Read the entire Bible (I got through 19 of 65 books, but I’m still plugging away and will finish!)

What I did not complete:
–Lead another service at the Island

Kindness (4/5 completed — 80%)

What I completed:
–Pay the toll/bill/tip for someone behind me
–Stay in good contact with A, W, & C (my bestest friends)
–Send one handwritten letter a month for six months
–Offer my expertise in some substantial way and receive nothing (monetary) in return

What I did not complete:
–Go a whole day without complaining, on five different occasions

Good Stewardship (7/12 completed — 58%)

What I completed:
–Switch to using only reusable bags at the grocery store
—Ride a bike or scooter as a means of transportation five times
–Buy a Brita water purifier and use it instead of plastic water bottles
–Choose a project on Donors Choose or Kiva and fund it
–Write three letters complimenting excellent service
–Buy handmade or make at least 50% of all gifts for Christmases 2008 and 2009 (For 2008, I did 8/19. For 2009, I did 16/31.)
–Encourage someone to vote in the Presidential Election

What I partially completed:
–Vote in all elections for which I am eligible (moving complicated this, though is not a legitimate excuse).
–Write three letters pointing out poor service

What I did not complete:
–Plant tulips on campus sometime before I graduate
–Work on a Habitat build
–Volunteer at a farm event (my dad’s family owns a 300-year-old working farm)

Edification (5/15 completed — 33%)

What I completed:
–Improve grammar
–Read twelve classics I haven’t read before
–Attend every poetry reading on campus in the spring 2008 semester
–Read all of Emily Post’s Etiquette (17th Edition)
–Take a cooking or cake decorating course

What I partially completed:
–Do a New York Times crossword once a week for six months (I did 20.)
–Memorize twelve poems (I only memorized one… but it was in Middle English, so perhaps I should get bonus points?!)

What I did not complete:
–Learn a skill that was useful 100 years ago and is useful today
–Learn to play, and memorize, a song on the piano
–Take ballroom dancing lessons
–Learn (or re-learn) basic conversational phrases in French, Spanish, and Italian
–Take a book-making course
–Take a flower arranging course
–Learn calligraphy
–Learn to cross-stitch or quilt and complete a project

Any questions? Feel free to leave them in the comment section! If you’d like to see the list in its original form, you can click right here. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more results!

{Click to enlarge!}

We had a little hint of fall going there for awhile, but now (at least in NC!) it’s back to the mid-80’s for the rest of the week. Oh well… true apple cider and pumpkin picking weather will come soon enough, I suppose. Until then, a fall inspiration board to tide you over!

The Details
First row, left to right: photos by Duston Todd via Style Me Pretty

Second row: pie bar via The Knot, apples photo by Sylvie Gil via Style Me Pretty, hay wagon photo by Martha Stewart Weddings

Third row: dahlia cake by Martha Stewart Weddings, candy apples photo from Martha Stewart Weddings, heart drink stirrers photo by Jill Thomas via Style Me Pretty

For no apparent reason, I woke up on Saturday morning with an intense urge to clean out our linen closet. Well actually, here’s the “before” — you decide if I had no reason, apparent or otherwise, to have an urge to clean:

Yeah. It was bad. And pretty uncharacteristic for me, but it was definitely one of those spots I just kept shoving things, you know? But on Saturday morning, I had had enough. I started by pulling everything out and piling it on the bathroom floor. This was about the time that J woke up — poor timing on his part, as I think he thought I had turned cuckoo overnight. No matter — I forged ahead.

It’s really a decent-sized closet with nice built-in shelving, so all I had to do was find a spot for everything. I’m proud to say I didn’t buy anything new for this project — it was simply a matter of organizing, sorting, and repurposing supplies from other parts of the apartment.

Want to see what I came up with? Okay! Ta-da!

Muuuuuch better, wouldn’t you say? Let’s go shelf by shelf.

Before on the top, we had a nasty snarl of ribbons, jumbled extra boxes, wads of tissue paper, and random do-dads I was saving to decorate a someday present.

Now? A nice, neat bin o’ ribbon, and neatly stacked boxes (the smaller ones are inside the larger ones).

Before one step down we had some more boxes, a few beach towels, and a tangle of sheets.

And after, neatly folded beach towels and pillowcases!

Before, towels, placemats, and napkins, oh my!

And after, neatly folded sheets on the left and table accessories on the right.

Next we had a mess of toiletries.

And after, neatly folded towels and toiletries in cute berry baskets.

On the second to last (seriously underutilized) shelf, we had a few random cleaning supplies.

In the after, the toiletries, now neatly organized, took their place.

And finally, on the floor, we had bulk storage.

And now? Well, it looks pretty much the same. :)

Did you tackle any projects this weekend?

…makes neat home goods. Want to see some of my favorites?

I’m seriously considering the last slipper sofa. The only furniture you can sit on in our living room at the moment is this little love seat, so I’ve been on the hunt for something chic, comfortable, and relatively inexpensive for awhile. At $500, I think this lovely fits the bill, but am worried a bit about the wheels — the reviews on HSN are throwing me off. Do any of you have experience with this sofa? I’d love to hear what you think if you do!

P.S. I am comforted by the fact that Jordan has this piece and seems to like it. See her’s here!