My List Of Tiny Adventures For When Life Feels Boring

For much of this last year I have been pondering what it means to be adventurous. 

Mostly, I don't care whether I am considered adventurous so long as I can have adventures on a regular basis. 

That ambition has proved difficult in the last couple years. 

Everything is more expensive. Everything! 

Also, I had my third baby last year. 

And I love my little family. There was a time when my husband and three kids were only a dream. 

But I have missed doing exciting and spontaneous things. Not to say that adventure always has to be spontaneous. 

I want to go on big adventures! But realistically, I understand that can't be done all the time. 

And even for those who don't have children, our responsibilities often make it increasingly difficult to find, or even seek, excitement. 

So, I have wondered: is it possible to be adventurous even when you are not currently pursuing adventures?

I certainly think so. 

For one thing, there are many types of adventure. 

Maybe you don't have the funds to travel the world but you make an effort to try foods from as many cultures as possible.  

Maybe having kids and no babysitter makes it difficult to hike like you used to. 

Well, I have felt as great a sense of accomplishment taking my little kids on a 2.5 mile waterfall hike as I have a 10 mile summit hike without kids.

Take them hiking with you! Yeah, it's hard, but isn't that what makes it an adventure? It's a different kind of challenge but it strengthens you all the same. 

Related Post: 

14 Things That Helped Us Do The 1000 Hours Outside Challenge

Lately, I have been trying out something totally unfamiliar to me. It's something I can more reasonably do with three young kids, and yet it makes me a little nervous. 

Isn't that the point of an adventure? To feel daunted but then you do it anyway? 

This may sound tame to some, but even though I like an adrenaline rush I have mostly felt too nervous to wear a bold shade of lipstick. 

So, I have been trying a few out from terracotta to bright red. 

Wearing a vibrant lip color may not be the type of adventure one would expect, but the unexpected is what adventure is all about, right?

Sometimes, when life feels dull it's nice to experience something new allbeit small. 

I used to never wear lipstick, but now I try to wear my NARS Morocco as often as I can

Of course, this isn't what I want all my adventures to look like going forward, but I feel more alive when I try something that unsettles me. 

So for now, I'm embracing my adventurous spirit however I can. 

Here's to the little adventures that carry us to the next big one.

Below, you'll find a list of mini new-to-me experiences I have embraced lately as well as a few I want to try in the near future.

I hope you find inspiration in this list of tiny, unexpected adventures to try when the big ones are currently out of reach. 

I went alone to a Franz Ferdinand concert one week before I had my third baby

1. Hold a snake  ✓ (it was an orange albino corn snake, and a large ball python)

2. Go to a concert alone ✓

3. Try chicha morada: a delicious Peruvian sweet beverage made with red corn ✓

4. Go to a float spa 

5. Eat lengua tacos ✓

6. Try a new to you fruit like cherimoya, star fruit, dragon fruit, or Korean melon

7. Attend an aerial yoga class 

8. Go out wearing a vibrant lipstick (NARS Morocco) ✓

9. Bake something challenging like choux pastry or Italian macarons (I made both!) ✓✓ 

10. Try acupuncture 

11. Try contrast therapy at a sauna & cold plunge spa ✓✓✓✓✓

12. Wear a wig as part of a costume (Morticia) ✓

13. Plan my own color festival with holi powder 

14. Host a themed party with a small group such as chocolate tasting or making sushi.✓

15. Go horseback riding on a trail

16. Finally read Pet Sematary

17. Make and taste fire cider 

18. Eat delicious Haitian food ✓

Griyo platter and passionfruit juice from a Haitian food truck called Makaya Caters

What are some small, but meaningful adventures you hope to chase in 2026?

And what recommendations do you have for me? 

Leave a comment and let me know!