I’m back – and it’s a new year! I welcomed in 2015 by glugging a glass of bubbly beneath fireworks in Florida. I have lots of non-New York related photos (like the ones I posted to my Instagram over the past week) to share with you, but before then I thought I’d pop up and wish you a happy new year.

Now, I know we all feel like we get to start again on January 1st, but the date is extra special for me – because it also happens to be my birthday. Last week, I celebrated my last ever birthday in my 20s. Yes, I turned 29. Please, please tell me I don’t look a day over 24. (Thankfully I was on the beach to help me deal with the stress of it all.)

Before my birthday, someone asked me how I felt about nearing 30 and I honestly replied that, although I definitely feel like there are many more things I should have achieved by now, I’m also fine with getting older because I like myself a lot more these days. I’m just less of an idiot than I was at 22, you know?

Still, it’s easy to think of this last year of my 20s as some sort of countdown. And because of that, I’m using it as an excuse to do 30 things here in NYC that I’ve not done before: My 30 Before 30.

I know I’ve covered most of the popular events in the city over the last couple of years, but I want this bucket list to help me finally do the things I’ve been planning to complete for months now.

So – here is My 30 Before 30 list:

1 :: Visit the United Nations

2 :: Play Shuffleboard at Royal Palms

3 :: Watch the filming of the Today show at Rockefeller Center

4 :: Buy a cupcake from Sprinkles’ cupcake ATM

5 :: Dance on the keyboard at FAO Schwarz (a la Tom Hanks in Big)

6 :: Bike along the West Side Highway

7 :: Eat pizza from Lucali’s (Beyonce’s favorite spot)

8 :: Take a rowboat in Central Park

9 :: Check out the Hester Street Fair

10 :: Go to a hockey game

11 :: Scoff sweets at Dylan’s Candy Bar

12 :: Track down an NYC secret supper club

13 :: Experience Sleep No More

14 :: Visit the Creative Little Garden on 6th Street

15 :: Run an NYC roadrace

16 :: Tour BLDG 92 at the Brooklyn Navy Yards

17 :: Visit NYC’s first cat cafe

18 :: Find the other sections of the Berlin Wall (I’ve only been to this one)

19 :: Queue for Dominique Ansel’s pastries

20 :: Visit the Brooklyn Museum

21 :: Eat in Flushing Food Court

22 :: Visit Grant’s Tomb

23 :: Have a drink on The Frying Pan (a bar on a boat)

24 :: See Fuerza Bruta

25 :: Plunge into the water with the Coney Island Polar Bear Club

26 :: Take the Water Taxi

27 :: Visit the New York Transit Museum

28 :: See the Cherry Blossoms at Brooklyn Botanic Gardens (I was too late last year)

29 :: Stargaze on the High Line

30 :: Have an NYC bloggers meet up (Who’s with me?)

It’s going to be a busy year! Wishing you best wishes for 2015 and here’s to lots more adventures in New York.

Images: Anthony Quintano, Steven Depolo, Robyn Lee, Rob Gross, Dave Pinter, Jeffrey Bary