bits and pieces around my room

remember when i made it my goal on my 22 before 21 list (also-- i've accomplished so much of this list!) to buy every piece of furniture in my apartment used? well, it took a lot of time and there's still a long ways to go, but i was extremely happy with how everything came together for my own bedroom how i wanted it to. i still have things i want to find, but for the most part it's perfect in its simple and sparse way which is precisely how i wanted it. and on a college students' budget no less, i was pretty excited that things actually somewhat worked together. my room is my oasis.

goals (big ones!)

i told you in a post a few back that i'd started making some goals for myself. well, it's true. i think in light of the last six months, the best thing to come out of it was time alone to just think. about myself, about what i wanted, about my future, about things i wanted to accomplish, how i was spending my time, and was i happy? have i been happy? and in the end, i realized i wasn't happy with what i was doing and i wasn't feeling full-filled. i'm a person that's easy to make happy but there comes a point when you have to do things in your life to feel satisified and full. i'm a person that likes to work. and i haven't been working outside of school in two years. i was focused on just graduating and getting through school which truly, just isn't enough for me. i like projects. multiple ones. i like working for short term goals and reaching them. i like the big and the small challenges in life.

so that being said, here's what i've been working on/what's ahead for me:

• running a half marathon in may 2013
• getting into upper level creative writing workshops
• studying abroad in ireland next june on a scholarship
• minoring/double majoring in creative writing
• building my photography business
• becoming a CNA

i was holding out until i found out if i'd made it in our not, but i was accepted into the creative writing workshops i wanted that are competitive (!!!!!). i'm doing everything on my list. i'm running a half marathon to prove to myself that i can do something i don't think i can. i'm studying abroad because i crave adventure and i want to push myself to try new things, finally. i am taking more writing classes because it makes me happier than anything else. i'm shooting back-up at a wedding next summer and being paid for it. i've done fourteen senior shoots, three "couple" shoots, and four family shoots. i'm going to do CNA training because i have ideas of where i want it to take me after. and i'm doing it all just for me. what better way is there to do something?

and thank you, to all of you, yes, you, for being a part of the journey. this is all just really, really cool.

meeting my blog crush

if you didn't already know, tonya is my ultimate style blog crush. i mean, just look at her blog. and if you have a tumblr/pinterest, you've probably seen her. she's basically a celebrity, really. when kylee showed me her blog months and months ago, after the shock of finding an amazing blog that now felt like a gaping hole had been missing my whole life (okay, a slight exaggeration but still), i realized that she lived in spokane, washington. SPOKANE. if you didn't already know that idaho/eastern washington/the entire state of montana lacks all things cool (i.e. style bloggers), well i'm telling you, THEY DO. i have always felt isolated in this little blogging bubble so to learn there was a style blogger of such mass awesomeness, i freaked inside.

driving back to montana yesterday, i was able to somewhat spontaneously meet-up with tonya in coeur d' alene, idaho! i'll be honest, the first thought that went through my head when i met her was... holy crap. this girl is way too cool to hang out with me. i mean, you just have to look at her, really. the hair. the tights. the boots. i apparently have a tendency to burst out the 'holy crap you are so pretty/cute/gorgeous!' comments within two seconds of meeting a blogger as well. tonya is an absolute gem and i had a blast hanging out with her and her boyfriend. she is so so nice and genuinely adorable. also, to find out she is my age was pretty nifty, too. we had a lot to talk about and i just know we will find a way to meet up again. 

i'm kind of becoming obsessed with blog meetups. is there anything better than meeting your blog crushes and distant bff's (lookin at you, ky!) from the internet in person!? NO.

also, the fact that i got to take pictures of this girl!? photographer's dream. cloud 9. sorry, i'll stop now tonya before you think i'm too much of a big creep... 

p.s. blog meetups should consist of a mandatory "maggie talks A LOT" warning.

22 before 21

(one) get all A's for one semester.

(two) skinny dip.

(three) sew my own article of clothing/alter something from goodwill.

(four) go an entire year without facebook.

(five) train and complete a 5k.

(six) photograph a wedding.

(seven) finish a writing project.

(eight) buy every piece of furniture for my apartment used.

(nine) go on a road trip to seattle.

(ten) ask someone well dressed on the street or on campus if i can take a picture of what they're wearing.

(eleven) go on a road trip to portland.

(twelve) stick to a clothing budget.

(thirteen) make my own stationary and get back to regular letter writing.

(fourteen) pay off my car.

(fifteen) learn to take my own pictures with a tripod.

(sixteen) order something other than grilled cheese/chicken fingers at restaurants.

(seventeen) move forward in the future without looking backwards.

(eighteen) learn to use the public bus system.

(nineteen) rent a tandem bike with a date/friend and ride around missoula.

(twenty) keep a cleaning routine in my apartment.

(twenty one) network my photography in missoula.

(twenty two) meet some bloggers IN REAL LIFE!