Over the past week I have:

• learnt a new signature dessert
• seen a five-star play
• sung karaoke

Each of these activities is a tiny detail, all of which add up to the fabulousness that is my ideal life.

Every year I visualize what I want – in the long term, but also the short term, the every day. What’s amazing is that I’m actually quite close to making it happen – all that’s holding me back is me. My birthday list compiles some tiny tasks that are just for fun, tasks that wouldn’t get done if I didn’t prioritize them, but that make all the difference when I do.

Learn a new signature dessert

Monkey and I love to have guests over for dinner – it’s like eating out but cosier, with crayon art, and we get to choose the music (plus, it’s less expensive). I used to bake my signature cakes and cookies, but in our mixer-less, tiny-oven’ed kitchen, this kind of baking is tedious. So I discovered a healthy version of an apple crumble, à la my favourite, the Oh She Glows Cookbook. Just add ice cream.

See a five-star play

Despite doing a theatre degree this year, I’ve been in a theatre-going rut: the plays I’d seen were just okay. As a former theatre critic, I have a solid star system, with my 5-star rating reserved for the especially awesome. It’s Edinburgh festival season, which means literally thousands of shows to see. So I set myself the challenge of finding just one 5-star show, and I did! The Encounter, a technically groundbreaking one-man show about truth, stories, and existence is the top-rated show at the Festival this year for a reason. It’s headed to London next year, so if you’re in town, do go see for yourself!

And if you’re in Edinburgh this week, do catch my other favourites of the festival:

• Normally Abnormal (free)
• Jessie Cave: I Loved Her
• Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel
• Light Boxes
• Tomorrow

Sing karaoke

Singing and dancing around my room is one of my favourite solo activities, so why not share that joy with similarly enthused friends? When the topic of karaoke came up, I jumped on it: YES. Then a coupon for SuperCube landed in my inbox. Fate was calling. We snatched up a private room and belted out everything from Broadway to Beyoncé to old school Britney. The consensus was we should definitely return.

Keep a list of little activities you want to do, and schedule them into your diary alongside your long-term dream chasing. Remember that the little things are what make your day-to-day memorable!

P.S. Mini Adventure: Theatre for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner