21st Birthday

 Hello everyone I must apologize for the long absence. I had been very busy with college and work and had little time to blog! I figured I'd start with a little update and then share with you what I did for my 21st Birthday Party!

So as some of you might have read in my previous posts I had moved to Portland Oregon for school and after having my first term there I can honestly say I made the right choice! Portland is everything I ever wanted in a city and I absolutely love my school. The people there are all super friendly and I had no problem making friends. Though I've returned home for the summer I'm very excited to to move into my new apartment in the city this September!

With that said I recently turned the big 2-1 on July 15th and instead of doing the typical trip to Vegas or drunken night out on the town, I decided to celebrate at my house with a few close friends and I must say it was one of the best decisions I made! I had fun setting it up too!

I wanted the party to be bold and bright to represent my whimsical personality. Also because I love taking photos I made sure to create cute props and a home made photo booth! 

For decorating I hung up homemade paper pom poms, and placed flowers with star confetti on the table and even made a "happy birthday" banner with gold paper. 

For food and drink I chose an all American back yard bbq theme. We made mini hamburger sliders, salad, watermelon,  and fruit cob-bobs. Instead of traditional birthday cake I thought it would be cute to have apple and cherrie pies! Of course since it was a 21st birthday I made sure to have lots of champagne and white wine for my guests and I. 

 In conclusion I had the most amazing time hanging out with my buddies for my 21st! It was hands down the best birthday I've had yet!

- Leah Montgomery 

Where I'm At and What Lies Ahead

  I figured that since this is my first blog post I would start by sharing a little bit about what is currently happening in my life and what is to come in the near future.
  I should start by saying that this past year I've learned a lot about myself and I feel so much wiser and confident in who I am than I ever have. These past 12 months have been a beneficial time for me now that I look back. The 19 year old girl I once was seems like a stranger to me. Someone who was trying hard to be something she wasn't and in the end became unhappy and lost.  I found that through this process of getting to know who "I" was I also discovered who my real friends were and I'm so grateful for all of them. I think the biggest thing I learned though was patience.  This has taught me to be okay with the "now" and not worry about what's to come. Living in the present is so important and really takes away from any anxiety that occurs when thinking too far into the future. I found things always seem to work themselves out and there really is no need to worry. Another important thing I learned is optimism. With this amazing skill life can hardly ever bring you down and it's something that I think everyone should learn. Though I'm not living a life that many people would be envious of I can honestly say I wouldn't want it any other way...because it's exactly the way I want to live.
  As of right now I'm living at my family home and going to community college. This is something I never thought I would ever do, but it's been nice to be surrounded by the people who know me best. Though I've really enjoyed this whole living at home thing I'm ready to go back to University. So I'm happy to say I'll be moving to Portland, OR in about two weeks to study business at Portland State University.  I'm excited but I have no clue what to expect. I feel like it will be a good place for me though. These next few days I need to whip out my final papers for the classes I'm currently taking, as well as pack for PSU, and get everything organized for my up and coming departure.
  I think I can finally say I'm ready to head out into this big bad world after this past year. I feel armed and ready to take on what ever life may throw at me.

- Leah Montgomery