I’m looking down the pipeline toward the end of 2018. What?!? I cannot believe we’ve come this far, can you? I’m flabbergast (if you didn’t gather from the over-abundance of exclamation points)! As we come in toward the finish line, I’ve paused to think about some of the things that I accomplished this past year and some of the my hopes and dreams for the year to come.

When I began Refined + Rugged I was a stay-at-home parent with two small boys. I wanted a way to push myself to write everyday, but I felt as though I didn’t want the writing to be too complicated or that I had time to devote to larger publishing projects. I wanted a way to document my style and to talk about fashion. I still love styling up wonderful outfits, though my daily wardrobe is decidedly more professional.

I also wanted a way to journal pieces of my life that would otherwise be lost! So here I am back at my computer because I want to dip my toe back into this thing called blogging. Really I view this as an online journal, a repository for the same stuff I wanted to capture the first time around– substance and some of my family goings on, style and some of my daily outfits, self and some of the stuff that floats around in my head.

As of late I’ve been inspired by some fantastic bloggers who continue to blog to their very own beat, and I’ve had a talk with myself that goes something like this: “You don’t have to do this the way that everyone else does this. You don’t have anything to prove by being part of the online community of lifestyle and tastemakers. You don’t have to be any brand but your own.”

Yes, here I am, thinking about how I can continue to create content for this site while I work at being the best partner and mom that I can, employed in my dream job as an English teacher which takes A LOT of my energy and time, and still living in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I hope that I’ll be able to take this a day at a time and continue to offer creative inspiration to others. Heaven knows I need encouragement, support, care, and voice. I consider this a tiny opportunity to be heard.

Thank you all who have followed my blog from day one, those who continue to follow me on this journey, or those who have begun to follow me at some point along the way. I treasure the chance to share on this platform and can’t wait to employ everything I’ve learned about the comma splice in the last year! LOL.

XX,

Megan