(Fun) Weekend Goals

[ Christmastime in St. Pete. ]

Sightings of tinsel, twinkling lights and other festive holiday decor. Carols playing on repeat in my head. The fact that I've already begun my Christmas shopping. Attending St. Pete's tree lighting last Friday night. All of these things are making me feel like winter is here, and making me reflect on those fall bucket list items I have yet to complete. Luckily for me, the first official day of winter isn't for a few more weeks (Dec. 21, if you're wondering), not to mention it still feels like autumn here in Florida, so I still have some time to check those fun to-do's off my list.

A quick recap of what my fall bucket list entailed:

• Make a hearty soup from scratch. (Specifically, this chicken stew with butternut squash and quinoa.)

• Visit The Chihuly Collection. (I already have the tickets, just gotta go!)

• Explore the Tampa Bay area. Done, but we could definitely explore more! We attended Oktoberfest in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, visited Oxford Exchange not once but twice (and even another time just for the delicious coffee), walked around the University of Tampa campus, and even went to a Buccaneers game.

• Pick our own fall veggies. (Unfortunately, we missed our chance and the farm is closed. We'll have to wait until spring.)

• Browse the St. Pete Indie Market. Done! I'd like to check out the much larger Saturday Morning Market in the heart of St. Pete next. And we can get fresh-from-the-farm veggies at the market; a good second to the above item.

• Bake an apple pie/galette/crostata. (I did make a pie for Thanksgiving that had apple in it, but this apple fan still wants to cook up the real deal, with no pumpkin or pecans competing with the Granny Smiths for attention.)

If the hubs and I are super proactive, we could probably accomplish the soup, the galette, and the visits to the Chihuly exhibition and Saturday Morning Market this weekend. But maybe that's too ambitious? I'll let you know how I fare on Monday.

Because we also need to get our own holiday tinsel and twinkle... before Dec. 21.

Do you have any fun plans for this first December weekend?