Hi everyone! Thank you so much for joining me over here on my blog. I am so glad you found your way over to my website and looking forward to diving deeper into our conversations! As you know, I have my weekly Podcast, Manifest with Tori DeSimone, but sometimes you just want the need to know information, and that’s exactly what this blog is, the summary of my podcast episodes! All of my podcasts come from scripts I write each week, and rather than have them sit in my Notes App, I may as well turn them into Blog Posts. I also plan on sending the need to know information via a newsletter, so if social media isn’t your thing but you want to stay connected to the Manifest with Tori DeSimone community, you can! Newsletter coming soon.

Today, I want to chat about my summer bucket list. Am I too old for have a bucket list? I hope not, I’m only 25. Today marks the unofficial, official start of Summer with it being Memorial Day. I spent this past MDW at the Jersey Shore in Sea Isle City, NJ opening my Spin Studio, Stride Sea Isle for it’s 4th summer down the shore! It is so crazy that I am on year 4, I feel like I just opened my studio in 2020 (I know, crazy timing). So I had a lovely weekend and can’t wait to spend the next 3 months in paradise at the Jersey Shore. 

This bucket list is simple, yet mature, and rooted in wellness. I quit drinking in August of 2022, so this year’s list looks a bit different than lasts’. There’s a bar down in Sea Isle called Dead Dog Saloon and at 2 am (I think??) they throw Napkins in the air to Fix You by Coldplay, or so I’m told. I’ve never made it to Napkins because I go to bed at 9 pm every night, but last year my goal was to make it to Napkins. Didn’t happen, and I’m okay with that. This year, there’s nothing on my list that has to do with drinking so Napkins is not on my bucket list this year.

You can watch my Podcast Episode here:

Or listen to it here!

I’m excited to share what’s on my list, so let’s dive in!

1. Picnic on the beach at dusk / more sunset nights on the beach

Picture this: You wake up on the beach after a nap, it’s 7 pm, it’s ever so slightly chilly out, the lifeguards have left the beach, your speaker is playing The Lumineers, you throw on a hoodie, sit in your chair, and watch the ocean. Life is good. I want MORE of that. Since turning 21, I found myself leaving the beach around 4-5 pm for happy hour at my favorite beach bars, but this year I want more enjoying beach time. More presence. More listening to music with my chosen family. A little chilly on the beach, skin is a little toasty from the sun, and my water bottle is sweating with fresh lemon water. Life is good! 

2. Get in a good, early morning running routine

This morning, I woke up at 5 am, ran at 5:45 am, and have been on a high ever since. There is something so magical about waking up early and getting a run in before the rest of the island wakes up. I also want to run early so I can be at my studio early enough to enjoy my classes, clients, and staff for the short 16 weeks I get with them every year. Getting in a good running routine early in the morning will allow me to win my mornings, win my runs, and win my studio. 

3. Jump in the ocean after running

This is a fantasy I’ve been thinking of since the winter. I think this would be such a fun way to end a sweaty run come mid-to-end of summer since it gets sooo hot, even at 6 am! I also saw Chandler Parr post on Instagram that she jumped in the ocean everyday for a year and it changed her life. I wonder if jumping in the ocean everyday would change my life? This is my small take on her cool challenge.

4. Meditate on the beach non-running mornings

I have this dream of waking up early, walking to the beach with a meditation in my headphones, sitting on the beach to journal and meditate. My mornings are a bit tight with running, and unless I want to wake up at 4 am to make all this happen (I’ll pass), I need to meditate on the beach on non-running mornings. So Fridays & Saturdays this can be a reality. I’m really looking forward to it! I remember in 2020, I came to the beach, sat in the sand and listened to Sense of Home by Harrison Storm and cried. It was during covid times, uncertain about my businesses, but so blessed to be at the beach. I will never forget that and while that was an incredibly humbling time of life, the ocean remained strong and powerful. The ocean is so cleansing. It’s such a sense of renewal.

5. Date night once a week

My boyfriend and I do not date each other enough!! He’s my best friend and we spend every possible minute we can together, but it’s not always a date! So I’d love to date him more. Whether it be dinner dates, going to the zoo, maybe a dusk picnic on the beach, or even just doing a puzzle together, I’d love to date him more. 

6. Purchase fresh flowers & fruit from the farmers market

There are farmers markets all summer and I do not take advantage of them! One of my employees would always purchase flowers at every farmer’s market and I always said to myself that I needed to do that more. So this summer, I’m going to make an effort to have fresh flowers. They make me happy! And peaches, I want to purchase and eat more fresh peaches from the farmer’s market. I love peaches!

7. Host a dinner party 

Both at my house on our deck and at the beach! Maybe I’ll have the center piece be fresh flowers with peaches as an appetizer. I fell in love with cooking over the winter and want to cook for my friends this summer. I love hosting and I love cooking dinner, so why not do both?

8. Read 10 books

My goal for 2023 was to read 25 books and I’m behind in my goal, so I’m relying on the summer to up my reading game. I’m currently reading Andy Cohen’s new book Daddy Diaries and loving it. Maybe next will be Meet Me at the Lake, is that what it’s called? What’s a similar book to One Italian Summer? I liked that one a lot…

9. Jump waves in the ocean & swim in the bay

Last summer, I’m embarrassed to say, I didn’t get in the ocean or bay ONCE. It’s mostly because my dad and boyfriend decided to take up fishing as a hobby. Once I saw what they were catching in the bay, I stopped swimming in it. I just need to pretend like I’m the only thing in the bay. They’ve caught SHARKS in the BAY!!!! Nerd sharks, but SHARKS NONETHELESS!!!! I’ll be fine, I just need to get over it. But I do need to just like jump in and swim around and channel my inner 25 year of Vanderpump Rules Stassi who skinny dips in Cabo on her 25th birthday. I won’t skinny dip, but I will bring the energy. I want to swim in the ocean, partly to be cool like Chandler but also because I developed a slight fear of going out in the ocean! I think it’s because I’m older and realize how dangerous the waves can be, but I also used to love swimming in the ocean, so I want to get over this new found fear. I love the ocean, but fear swimming in it, that has to mean something. This summer, I don’t want to fear the beautiful ocean. 

10. Document my summer (vlogs, videos, photos)

I look back on my summer content a LOT through the winter and I want to really document this summer with a digital camera. This one specifically. I use this converter to immediately get the photos. Taking photos on a digital camera helps you stay in the moment and stay off your phone!! I also found I like the photos more on this digital camera. I will look back and treasure these photos a lot, so take them and be cringe. It’s my life, who cares anyway!!!

11. Island hop

Last but not least, and it’s niche. There’s so much to explore at the Jersey Shore and I tend to stay on my island of Sea Isle City, but I want to go off the island more! Eat at new restaurants, shop at new local small businesses more, get out of my Sea Isle bubble and really explore all the cool parts of the Jersey Shore. Maybe I can even document it on my digital camera 🙂 

That’s my summer bucket list! I would love to know yours. I can make a blog post at the end of the summer too reviewing how my summer went and if I completed anything on this list.

My THAT GIRL Summer Products

If you listened to the podcast episode, then you know I also mentioned products that I was going to use this summer. You can catch those products in my Amazon Shop, Revolve List, or Like to Know It.

Thank you for reading my first blog post, with many more to come. I hope you enjoyed!