News from Morganland

Hey y'all! Man...I'm really getting bad at this. Obviously I've been slacking. Per usual, there's MUCHO to report, so I'll keep it short-ish.

It's December. So first of all...WHAT? Second of all, Greg juts finished his 3rd semester of Grad school, which we're all super proud of! It was definitely a challenging semester (which I can attest to since I intentionally AVOIDED the combination of the classes he took this semester), but he made it & with great success! I am winding up a short consulting role I took on with Beta Theta Pi fraternity, which thankfully has evolved into a full time job! I will officially be the Assistant Director of Leadership & Education as of January 1, 2013 & I have committed to staying with the fraternity through their convention in 2014. Greg & I are obviously thrilled & so looking forward to a long, healthy relationship with Beta Theta Pi. I'll be working from home most of the time, but will travel to Oxford, OH (among other places) to do my face-to-face work a few times a month. This working from home has its benefits...not the least of which is flexibility in our geographic location. I hear Florida is nice this time (& every time) of year.

In other news, Lilah & Sadie are brilliant & amazing & we're (still) totally smitten. Frances Bee, my not-so-small business dream is really picking up steam. We've got some exciting plans for Frances Bee that will likely unfold in the next 18-ish months, but for now, we are grateful for our clients & looking forward to many more!

We hosted our 3rd annual (although it was our 2nd hosting gig) Gypsgiving this year. We had a full house, adding some new faces, Rich, Charlene, Ashley & Chris, and enjoying some old favorites, Justin & Coop. Per usual, we all made our best dishes, and there was an overabundance of wine and desserts. Two days later we did the Ugly Sweater 5K. It was a little less 5K run & a little more 5K stroll...

We're headed home to Florida to celebrate Christmas with my parents and the rest of our sweet family of friends, especially our favorite little elf, Ella Mae. She's celebrating her very 1st little lady Christmas. Uncle Greg & I could NOT be more thrilled to be with her & all the rest of our St. Pete loves this holiday season. After all, it is our very first Christmas in Florida together. Hard to believe there's any more firsts! Speaking of what's hard to believe...this Friday, December 14th marks our 5th year together. Yes, we've only been married 9 months, but this thing has been a work in progress for 5 years. FIVE! It has been a blast and I can't wait to see what the next 5 years will bring!

That's all for me for now! Greg, Lilah, Sadie & I wish you & your family the very happiest holidays!

Merrily,
Meggo

Frances Bee

Only a few of you have been in on the story of Frances Bee from the beginning. Mostly because I'm a "fraidy cat", but also because the idea was (& still is) in development. But, last week, I had to take the leap.

More of you probably know that my Grandma's last day with us was October 17, 2011. She was brave, kind, gracious and hospitable, all the things I want to be, and values I want reflected in my business. So I thought, in honor of the original Frances B.I should take the risk & share the news of Frances Bee. 

If I haven't reached out to you personally or through one of the social media outlets that Frances Bee is now on, then you won't know what Frances Bee is about. Don't worry...I'll tell you. 

Frances Bee is a company that was born out of a hobby. I have always said that I'll never be rich because if I've got it, I spend it, & most of the time, I spend it on others. I truly LOVE gift giving. I can remember the year that this first took off for me. The day after Thanksgiving, from my brother's kitchen table, I sat down to make the first of many gift lists & set out to strategize how to do it all within my budget. Since then, I've been helping friends, family members, colleagues & co-workers as they search for gifts for the people in their lives. After many years of gift shopping for others purely for the love of it all, someone (now a special Frances Bee client) finally said to me "you know...you should charge a fee for this". And the idea was born.

Thanks to my sweet Grandma, I was finally able to put a name to an idea. I knew it had to be her namesake; what better name to give a company that is dedicated to celebrating others? She was the most accomplished hostess & helper. 

So now, Frances Bee is officially open for business. An idea born out of the things I love, revealed to me by the women I treasure most, dedicated to the service of others for the love of the act of giving.

I hope you'll share the news, join my client list & tell the story of Frances Bee. 

Happy Giving,

Megan 

(& Frances Bee)

Oops...It's Fall

Lilah & Sadie en route to PA!

Welp...the last time I posted I had big plans, and I was hopelessly ineffective at doing most of those things. Still no headboard, no curtains (yet), & no furniture changes have been made. But I'm ok with that. I did finish my books,  & I still want to take Sewing classes. More on that later.

 In the mean time, things have been dynamic as ever around here. We did lots of summer travelling, some for fun, some for family & some for work. We made a particularly bitter sweet trip back to Pennsylvania this summer to say goodbye to Greg's incredible Aunt Gail. She was funny, wise & bright & we're both better for having been loved and counseled by her.

C & T on their 2nd Chicago visit

There have been some other transitions in Morgan-land. I am now working for Beta Theta Pi Fraternity as an Instructional Design Consultant (writing curriculum) for an educational initiative they have. It's my favorite job & I'm so looking forward to the future with Beta. Greg's back to school, which isn't exactly fun, but it's already Fall break so that means he's approaching the half way point of the semester. It'll be Christmas break before we know it!

Backyard Baseball  with Bella & Jas

Speaking of Christmas, my favorite time of year has arrived so we're busy breaking out all of the Holiday decorations. It's hard to believe it'll be Halloween in just a few short weeks! We're planning on heading back over to our neighborhood's gathering to celebrate with the local kiddos. It's hard to believe that was one of our first "dates" with Rich & Charlene. We spend so much time with them now it's hard to remember a time before they were in our lives. In fact they'll be joining in on our 3rd annual Gypsy Thanksgiving here in Chicago. Coop's coming back for a visit & we're trying to recruit some more of our loves to join in the fun too. Fingers crossed! After that we'll head back to the sunshine state for a very Florida Christmas with the home team & the puppies Morgan! Can't wait!

Can't wait to celebrate this
nugget's first Christmas!

Obviously this update is totally lacking 'cause it's been MONTHS since I posted, but we've had a great summer & we're easing into an even better Fall.

Happy Sunday,
Meggo

PS - I missed all the farmers markets. Shoot.

Get Busy

Now that I got my homesickness off of my chest last night & the Chicago sun is shining & plans have been made to leave my house & enjoy this day, I'm ready to be optimistic & day dream a little about all of the projects & adventures I would L.O.V.E. to make time for! 

• DIY Headboard is the first thing I'd like to do...however, I'm pretty content (for now) with the situation we're working with (primarily, the gallery wall above our bed). Even though we've extended our lease until June 2013, my heart is already beginning to construct an exit strategy for this apartment & this city...I know it's a little premature, but I'm not sure constructing a custom headboard is such a good idea in an apartment we'll only be in for 1 more year. We'll see...
• The few little items on the To Do 2.0 list
• starting with no sew curtains for our bedroom. Greg recently put up the mini blinds that we bought for our room shortly after we moved in so now it's my turn to finish the window treatments. I already have the curtain rod & rings, so now i just need to pick out some fabric. I'm thinking maybe mustard yellow as an accent color? Greg's rooting for Navy. 
• Re-staining the dining room table was on the list...although I think our energies will be better spent staining the 2 extra chairs & the bench we bought to finish up our dining room. Refinishing the armoir was also on the list...although I'm feeling like I'll probably start looking for a replacement. The truth is, the one we've got "works", but it's not good quality. I think it's time for a re-purposed upgrade. 
• We also have a few pieces of furniture in our bedroom from my childhood bedroom that need an update. It's time to borrow the old electric sander & get to work. 
• Finally, we I'm going to start looking for a dresser for our bedroom. I'd like to get something like this & paint it a complimentary accent color. That'll depend on what happens with the curtains. I'd really like to organize our closet, & getting a great dresser would help. 
• Wedding "Art" & Photos Framed: Our marriage certificate created by brilliant blogger Design Editor & signed by all of our wedding guests is sitting in a shady spot in our living room & it breaks my heart every time I look at it. It needs a frame & a prominent spot in this house & every one after this one. That's gotta get done pronto! I'm guessing it'll take a custom framing job as will the large family photo we had printed for our hall way. We both REALLY love that photo & want it up immediamente. We also ordered a few prints that I'd like to incorporate into our gallery walls, which'll probably take a trip out to Ikea. Once that traveling husband of mine gets home we'll get on it! 
• Sewing lessons: I love to craft, create & do things myself. I bought myself a sewing machine a few years ago, and haven't used it once since we moved to Chicago. I am SUPER impatient, which is why I'm not a great seamstress. SO I think it's time for some sewing lessons to learn the right way to do it so I don't get frustrated & give up. I'd love to learn to quilt, & be able to sew some linens like crib sheets, bed skirts, duvet covers & pillow cases.  
• Tennis lessons: I have ALWAYS wanted to learn how to play tennis & they are being offered right in my very own neighborhood for beginnings. This is a SUMMER MUST. 
• I would REALLY love to take a Letterpress class, but they seem kind of pricey, so this line item might need to get held over to a future life. Or until somebody wants to do a more affordable clinic (hint hint: Paper Source). 
• Of course, I need to get BACK to the reading list. Sometimes I can't get enough, and sometimes my brain is just not in the mood. I'm almost done with 30 things every woman should have & should know by the time she's 30, which I have thoroughly enjoyed. I also started the Hunger Games, which is also great, but I've been distracted. 
• There's a couple other random crafties I want to try...
• Decorate some inexpensive dinner plates for serving. (Lyrics to wedding song? Some favorite quotes? Perhaps some holiday-specific quotables? We shall see...)
• A sunbathing towel for Ash Matty.
• Summer & Fall ribbon wreaths.

Is it weird that this list seems short to me? Now all I have to do is choose which one to start with...more on that later.

#ilovelists,

Meggo

Oh my...May!

I can hardly believe that the last time I blogged was before my parents arrived for my graduation. It can't have already been almost a month...right? WEIRD. Since then I've done some reflecting on what's happened, but I just didn't make time to sit down & jot down the details. For now, here's the readers digest  version (warning: it's still long).

After about a year and a half as a Sigma Chi Headquarters staffer, Greg & I decided it was time for me to move on.  Working at Sigma Chi was an incredible experience, one that I look forward to telling our children & grandchildren about.  I try to always publicly give thanks for the privilege that our lives have been, and having worked together for an organization that we both love is definitely something to be thankful for.  I've been drafting a post about my time at Sigma Chi, & I'm looking forward to finishing it up & sharing it...soon!

Of course, my parents arrived early last month to celebrate my graduation form Grad school. My departure from Sigma Chi coincided with my parents visit which allowed me to spend a great deal of time with them, which made us all really happy.  We got to take in a cubs game, take an architectural tour, and spend some good old fashioned family time together.  It was a great visit. As for the reason for their visit, my graduation, I still can't believe I did that.  My experiences in the masters program at Loyola University Chicago is one that I've also been reflecting on pretty regularly, and I really owe it to myself to commit those reflections to writing too. Again...soon!

What I can reflect on right now is the amazing graduation party that my family, friends & neighbors threw for me.  In typical Latch Morgan style, I had a "vision" for what that party would be like, which I'm sure felt overwhelming for Meghan, Greg, Charlene & Rich, but true to form, they created a day for me that was beyond my wildest dreams. It was so much fun & I felt truly celebrated. My graduation party was the punctuation on a long year-and-a-half-ish of celebrations in my honor, all of which I was incredibly grateful for. And I'll be even MORE grateful when I get to through the same number of celebrations for all of them...soon!

My parents 8 day visit ended up feeling like an 8 hour visit...always too short...but we had a great time. Naturally two days after they left, Greg hit the road for a work trip, but I had my trusty sidekick & best lady Coop by my side...for a little while.  As I'm sure you know Meghan had been planning to return to our hometown to begin a new chapter of her life, and the weekend after my parents left, Greg & I threw her a going away party.  I for surely do NOT mind 2 weekend bbq's in a row. A good time was definitely had by all! Of course, the celebration was bittersweet. Just a few days later Meghan & I hit the road at 4:30 AM to officially move her "back home". That road trip & the experience of sitting (physically & metaphorically) by my best lady's side as she headed off in her very own direction is also something I should spend some time thinking over. In contrast to my feelings on Sigma Chi & Loyola, my heart hasn't allowed my head to do a lot of reflecting on that transition...soon!

B

A

Since then I've been getting into the swing of things with my #newlife. After I left Sigma Chi I officially took over for Coop in her Nanny role with an incredibly kind family that she'd been working with for 2 years. They have 2 brilliant & hilarious children, Brendan who's almost 5 & Annika who just turned 2.  I already had a relationship with Kerri, Peter & their two nuggets by way of "Miss Meghan" but I've really enjoyed developing my own relationships with all of them and their super friendly dog Edson.  This new work is definitely a departure from my work at Sigma Chi & from the training I was getting at Loyola, but I'm getting lots more hugs & really enjoying the new work/life balance I'm beginning to strike.  I'm also especially excited about the flexibility that my new role offers...I'm getting to volunteer & do all of the leadership programs my little nerdy heart desires, which is EXACTLY what I need in my student-loving life. My first program of the summer is coming up just a little over a month from now.  I'll be helping facilitate Beta's Wooden Institute in Oxford & I can hardly wait! More to come on that...soon-ish!

Lady Baby E

Best Lady Pups

In the mean time I'm struggling with a pretty rockin' case of homesickness. As it turns out, even though we've spent the last year and a half celebrating our engagement, showers, school accomplishments, our wedding, the birth of sweet Ella Frederick, graduation, Coop's big move home, etc....immediately after we were done with all of that, I returned home to a city I'm kind of on the outs with, to a house that is empty (Greg's on the road...again) with almost all of my best friends back home.  I know "this too shall pass", and there'll be many-a-post on this blog about how incredible our Chicago lives will be this year, followed (I hope) by a post about how much I'll miss this city when we leave it, but for now, I miss my family, my friends & my husband. The bright side? The two cutest puppies in the world are here with me, happily cuddled on the couch & they like Law & Order reruns too. I'll be back on top, into some other DIY project, getting into some kind of trouble, bragging about what a lucky lady I am...soon!

Optomistically,
Meggo

Sunday Funday: Patio Edition

We've been pretty busy at the Morgan house lately...getting ready for my parents visit to Chicago. They'll be arriving on Tuesday (Yay!) so of course I've taken this as an opportunity to get motivated to clean, organize & tidy.  Of course it all started with the laundry (that I never put away) & spread to the living room closet (that is a complete disaster ALL of the time. It's where an unpredictable collection of things often goes to die) & because the seasons are turning, it ended in my closet, with my (prematurely) hanging up all of my sundresses & making a pile of things to return to the "winter clothes" box in our basement storage unit. Well you know the basement storage unit is ALSO a fiasco. Once we arrived at this disasterous intersection of unseasonal clothes & a mountain of nonsense in our storage closet, we decided that some time on Sunday we'd take on the task of re-organizing our storage. No small task.

On our way down to storage with a basket full of sweaters & an empty garden gnome box I remarked to Greg..."You know we could totally bring that craigs list table up here & dress it up a little & use it for deck dining & outdoor living"...& the rest as they say, was history.

Table Before

Like many craigslist finds tend to do, this little craigslist table came into our lives as a direct result of another craigslist table taking up residence in our new dining room. We hadn't had a dining room in any other apartment in Chicago, so when we moved into our new (back then) place, we wanted to add a formal dining room table, but of course you know I didn't want to spend a lot of money. So we got a good sized wood dining room table that came with two chairs that we found on craigslist & bought from a nice couple who were moving.  The chairs needed recovering, which we tackled back in September. But our little dining room table just wasn't complete without the addition of two more dining chairs. Afterall, what good is a dining room table if you can't ever invite people over for dinner? So in addition to a number of other things (that we have ACCOMPLISHED!) we added the acquisition of two more dining chairs to our to do list (which reminds me...I need to update that thing!)...I jumped back on Craigslist & found a table & 2 chairs for $20. TWENTY dollars. For 2 wood chairs & a seriously used but VERY cool little table. The chairs made their way up to our dining room right away (& later had to be repaired by our super handy, super nice neighbor because they were falling apart) but the table was banished to the basement until I had time to take on that project, "this summer" or "after school". Honestly, I completely forgot about it. Which is why I posted on freecycle YESTERDAY that I was in the market for a free, used, functional patio table that we could use for outdoor dining if anybody had one they were willing to give away for free. I forgot all about our little $10 nugget waiting patiently in the basement for it's big debut. So...we brought it upstairs & into the light this afternoon.

The people who actually own the apartment we are renting are pretty crafty & it seems they're also do-it-yourselfers because while we were reorganizing the storage closet we found primer, grey paint (which is EXACTLY the color I had I mind), paintbrushes, paint pans, drop clothes & sandpaper. So we brought all of those goodies upstairs too, excited to take on our new project. But first, Greg had to put up the security netting that I bought for our deck. Lilah & Sadie are small & SUPER rascally, so I was concerned they'd get excited & try to squeeze through the railing on our 3rd floor balcony. So while Greg was putting up the netting, our neighbors came home & saw that we were busy working again, so they came up to visit us & the puppies. Rich had an electric sander (YES!) so Greg borrowed that & it really expedited the sanding process for the craigslist table.

While Greg was busy sanding the table, I was inside working on a little kitchen project...homemade cream sauce for some left over pasta that I had lingering from last week.  It was nice-ish out in Chicago today, so it seemed like a seafood & baked potato kind of day.  The longer I thought about what would really make for a yummy seafood dinner, the more I wished I had a jar of cream sauce to put on that couple-day-old pasta. So...I just made up some cream sauce from what I had in the fridge & Greg says it's his "second favorite dinner" that I've ever made...the first being chicken parm, which I could feed him every day & he'd never complain. So 2nd place to chicken parm is a pretty serious honor for my left-overs experiment. In case you're into cream sauce & all you've got is a bunch of nonsense in your fridge like I did...here's what I did:

• 3/4 cup of skim milk, 
• table spoon of cream cheese
• table spoon of sour cream, butter (3/4 cup maybe? I can't remember...I'll probably do less next time) 
• salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, italian seasoning & parmesan cheese (& whatever else you feel like)
• Left over onions & tomatoes that were formerly used for taco toppings
• 2 splashes of cheap white wine

Start with the butter, add the garlic, then the creams (milk, sour cream & cream cheese) then add in the seasonings, your left overs, veggies & wine. Once it boils, stir it up for a while, then put it on simmer till the rest of your food (in my case, scallops & baked potatoes) are done cooking, then mix in the pasta & whatever else with the sauce & impress the pants off of your dinner guests. Voila! I had already told Greg I was going to blog about the table make-over & while we were eating our dinner tonight he said "You should blog about this". His wish is (usually) my command. Enjoy!

After dinner we cleaned up & headed outside to put the primer on the table. Honestly, even after just primer on it, she's lookin' like a brand new girl. I'm really impressed with her! There's this one detail about the table that I particularly enjoy & it's these small little round dots that adorn each corner. Maybe in it's next life (perhaps in a future office of mine?) I'll paint those little nobs a different color to make them stand out. I just love them.

Even though the tables not even half way done yet I am SO excited about drinking coffee & eating dinner at our new (to us) patio table.  Greg said he could hear the fans at Wrigley tonight singing the Cubs victory song while he was sanding earlier...I mean, who doesn't love a little MLB action on their very own deck? Of course one of the big reasons we plan to spend so much time out on the patio is because of our sweet puppies, who simply must be outside as often as possible. I'm already scheming to add an outdoor friendly dog bed to the patio...MollyMutt is #mahfave. I can't wait!

Today was a super Sunday. I had SO much fun organizing & projecting & I can NOT wait to finish up that little table & drink my coffee outside on Wednesday morning.

Craftily,
Meggo

And many moooooooooore

Two Married People At The Fish Bar

The cherry on top of all of the great stuff that's been happening lately is that I had a birthday! Of course, much like its been throughout my entire academic life, my birthday fell right at the end of the semester. This was pretty unfortunate for my 21st birthday, because we all had finals & nobody wanted to celebrate, but in Grad school life, it turned out jussssst fine.  I had my last multicultural counseling class, which ended an hour early.  Greg had his last student development class, which didn't end early...So I went across the street to a little downtown bar, got a draft beer & cracked open my 1st fun read: The Hunger Games.  Once Greg was done, we headed back up to our neck of the woods & picked up our neighbors, Rich & Charlene to celebrate over dinner.  I could seriously eat seafood every day, & there was a place in our old neighborhood that I'd been really wanting to try, the Fish Bar.  It was DELISH! We had lobster bisque, crab cakes, fish tacos & some REAALLL yummy libations...Sweet Tea Vodka & a "Bourbon on Belmont" served in mason jars. And of course you know we had some key lime pie. It was all delicious. We've already decided that we'll be going back there to celebrate my parent's anniversary next month. They'll love it too.

Even though Greg's last day of his first year of Grad School (Go Babe!) was my birthday, I still had 1 last little class to go to before the end of my grad school life, and of naturally I had 2 meetings, a conference call & a "pre-graduation school friends party" last week too, so we were plenty busy even though things were winding down.  In spite of all the activity we were able to get a group together to go to my FAVORITE Sushi place ever for a little belated birthday celebration. This place is called Fresh & is literally across the street from the Fish Bar. They have the best Miso soup that was ever made by human hands & I could honestly eat there a few times a week & be totally content. Aaaaaand it's BYOB, which is always a hit here in Chicagoland. After everybody parted ways Greg & I stopped in a neighborhood bar for a night cap & I have to say, even though 27 is one of those years that's kind of inconsequential, this year's birthday celebration was perfect just getting together with some friends & keeping it low key.  I used to wonder about "grown ups" who didn't make a big deal about their birthday & think surely they were just saying how little they cared about their birthday because others would think they were silly for caring too much, but now I see why keylime pie & a table for 10 can be just as fun as a big birthday bash. It was truly the perfect 27th birthday celebration!

The Gang at Fresh

In my last post I speculated about what I'd do with all of this free time I have on my hands now that I don't have a wedding to plan or homework to do, and in light of my recent celebration I've been thinking maybe another project I can take on is actually getting a list of everyone's birthdays, anniversaries & the like together so that I can be better about sending celebratory wishes to the people we love. I always want to just sit down, once & for all, & "get organized" but then something inevitably gets in the way, so I'm going to add this to the list of things "to do" this summer (soon). I've seen a couple of helpful ideas to accomplish this goal, some more labor intensive than others. I saw this super cute family birthday board that could come in handy...although that feels more like a thing I'd buy if I owned my home...not sure my "all-in-one-room" Chicago home is cut out for this kind of display.  I do, however, appreciate that Treat (online greeting cards. YES!) has a feature where you can import your facebook friend's birthdays...which really does take care of most of the bunch.  And the best part about Treat is, once you important the birthdays, they send you a reminder & you can order a birthday card RIGHT. THERE. Don't even have to leave the office...I love it.  A little pricey, but SUPER convenient. They also send reminders for other card-worthy holidays like Mother's day, Valentine's day & the like.  I've also been using Google calendar LOTS lately, & I think that might also be a great way to keep track of everyone's big days, since I can just type it all in online & it automatically syncs with my iCal on my phone. Sometimes...I really do love technology. SOMEtimes.

Ok, I'm done talking about cards & birthdays. But I would like to make one final triumphant comment...because even I appreciate when I have my own act together...I have completed my special occasion greeting card & gift shopping for mother's day & a couple of other "special occasions" that are upcoming...& I'm 2 weeks ahead of the game. Don't mind if I do...

Last thing, I promise...I'm just thinking there are lots of things coming up that I don't want to forget to blog about (mostly for posterity's sake, but also for the 3 people that actually read this blog to keep up with our happenings), so I'm going to make a list (I LOVE LISTS!):
- Saying goodbye to Sigma Chi
- Cinco de Chicago
- My parents visit
- GRADUATION
I'm going to stop the list here because right after Graduation comes "Coop's going away party" & "The road back home" & I'm not ready to spend a lot of time thinking about what that experience will be like...but I am pretty pumped about thinking about our road trip to Florida. So...I'll stick with that for now.

All good things,
Meggo

Now what?

It's April 25th, 2012.  Yesterday I celebrated my 27th birthday. In Chicago. With my husband. 21 year old me would NEVER have believed that.  But what 27 year old me cannot believe is that I don't have any homework to do. In fact, today I turned in my very last homework assignment.  Now I won't go so far as to say "ever", because I'm not ruling out the possibility that I'll get the desire to go back to school again sometime...but it's going to be a REAL long time from now.  Either way, I turned in my last homework assignment today. I'm finished.  Of course, I have class tonight at 7, and we'll have "stuff" to do there, but after that, I don't have anything else I HAVE to do.  When I turned in my assignment earlier today I e-mailed it to my professor & said "Attached please find my final reflective essay. Is it weird that I'm kind of sad it's over?"...I am a little sad. I don't know that I can say WHY, because in reality I'm thrilled beyond measure that I can do some of the things I've been missing so much since devoting much of my extra time to grad school.  But it does feel a little sad. So...now what?

First of all, last night while I was waiting for that husband of mine to get out of class so we could go celebrate my birthday, I got into the hunger games. I'll be reading that from now on I'm sure.  Although I bet it won't take me long to finish it. I've got another reading list in the works, which I need to consolidate with the other reading list I blogged over winter break. The moral of that silly rant is that I'll be reading. Lots. Ironically, since now I don't have to read...I'll be reading all the time.

bye bye old bed

Hellloooooooooo new bed!

And of course you know I've got one hundred projects that I want to take on. I'm thinking the first one should really be building our new headboard. We treated ourselves to a new mattress after the wedding, so we bid a fond farewell to my headboard & foot board from my single lady life. I loved that set, and honestly if it hadn't been assembled & disassembled so many times that it became structurally unsound, I would have kept it for future Morgan nugget rooms...but it was past its prime, so we freecycled it. Well now, the new mattress is awesome but we both agree the room would look nicer with a headboard (at least). SO, we've agreed that rather than spend several hundred dollars on a headboard, we're going to try to make an upholstered headboard ourselves! Besides the obvious budget benefits of building our own headboard, this also means that when our design tastes change (& mine do pretty frequently) we can re-cover our headboard & go with a new look. That's why I chose super neutral bedding for our new mattress...so we could update as we please without having to do a complete overhaul. 

We've still got a few things to do on the To Do 2.0 list that I created this past fall, & I've got a LOOOONG list on my DIY Pinterest Board, including a few little crafties for my favorite old lady, Ash Matty & my favorite little lady, Ella Mae. Naturally, I can already think of a list of about 30 more things that I wanna DO now that I have all this spare time, so I'm looking forward to those projects.  

last day in my Chicago garden

Since leaving our little lakeview loveshack last summer, I've really missed the garden that Greg & I started there.  So I've been talking about doing some potted plants & hanging planters for our deck out back. Now that I have ALLLLL of this time on my hands, I can really do some research on flowers & plants that'll last a good long time, look nice, & be low-ish maintenance. I think we'll skip the produce for now, but any future Morgan homes will need to have veggie garden potential...a girl needs her garden.

taken by our sweet neighbor

Of course I'll still be advising the Zeta chapter at Northwestern, and I'm planning on getting more active in the Zeta alumnae group.  As for the rest of my "free time" I'm going to get back into my cookbooks, bake up a storm, keep up with the laundry,  actually be home for dinner, explore Chicagoland & all of its sights & flavors, & best of all...walk my sweet puppies!

Graduately (I know...it's a stretch),
Meggo

Wedding Magic

This is likely my last wedding post (I'm sure at least Ash Mat is happy about that...and so am I), but I've had a lot of e-mails these past few weeks asking who we worked with for this thing or that, so I figured I'd just publicly share the brilliant people behind the Latchford Morgan Wedding.

The Basics:
Heather Stewart of Stylish Traditions was our super helpful wedding planner. She was SUPER patient with me, which is hard to do.Love her.
Darla Stafford & Julie Robbins were our FANTASTIC hair & makeup duo & all of us were so so happy with everything they did. They were so much fun to be around for the whole day. & they put up with us...which is a plus.

Theresa NeSmith of Theresa NeSmith Photographer was our amazing photographer. She came all the way to Chicago to do an engagement shoot for us & is seriously one of the most talented people I've ever met in my life. And one of the kindest.

Celebrations of Tampa Bay was who we booked our videographer with. I have to admit I was against videography at first, but my sweet Mama insisted & she reports that the video is super fun. We can't wait to see it!

Jana from Events in Bloom did our beautiful flowers & very kindly used my Grandma's lace, flower vases, & tokens in so many special ways.

Melissa from Elite Events catered the wedding. I know Shrimp & Grits aren't for everybody, but we asked for a Southern Seafood Fusion menu & that is EXACTLY what we got. She also managed to work up our twisted Arnold Palmers in some great glass jars, which of course Greg loved. Publix Greenwise did all 5 of our wedding cakes.

Jeff Staples was our DJ. Lots of people told me "you'll never notice the music"...but I noticed & I heard lots of songs that I had specifically asked for, which was much appreciated.

One of my favorites parts, the invitations, programs, menu cards, table assignments & favor cards were all created by Greetings Oscar & it was a totally personal & custom experience that I LOVED! We had them printed locally (of course) at Bates Printing in St. Pete.

Accouterments:
The bridesmaid's dresses were J.Crew Cotton Cady (except for Lauren's...we had to improvise to make room for Ella).  The bridesmaid's bracelets were created by Made By Sam & she even allowed me to change the stone color & the charm to be each of the bridesmaid's initials. I also got them some Knockarounds, a monogrammed koozie (necessity) & tote bags. Shopping for them was so fun. Well...shopping for everybody was so fun.

The Jr. Bridesmaids Dresses & Flower Girl Dresses were David's Bridal with some help from another Etsy retailer, Prose Boutique who made the hair pieces & belts for the girls.
I got the Mother's hankies from another Etsy retailer, Designs by Gloria. She made some really beautiful & sentimental hankies for us that she embroidered with a message from me to my mom & mother-in-law. & I she sent me a bonus one with my  name & our wedding date on it, which was a nice touch.

Of course no day in my life is complete unless I do something totally unnecessary to include my dogs in my life as if they were human, so they got new wedding collars, made by Pecan Pie Puppies. They wear them every day now. We L.O.V.E. them & can't wait to see pictures from the morning of the wedding with them wearing their wedding "necklaces".

Greg & the boys were wearing suits we bought from Macy's, custom monogrammed dress shirts from Paul Frederick, a necktie from The Tie Bar & a pair of Knockarounds! We picked out the cufflinks that we gave his Dad & mine from an amazing shop on Etsy Asgard Designs. We tried to match the little man to the big guys for his suit (which was trickier than we thought) & ended up getting him an adult size necktie, which was adorably big on him. He looked dashing. His ring barer's pillow came from Me and Matilda & they get one of the customer service awards. When we got to Florida we realized that the ring barer pillow wasn't there & then promptly moved on to worrying about something else expecting it to turn up. It never did. I e-mailed Me & Matilda on Friday & she overnighted us a replacement that we received early the morning of the wedding.

The big pillow covers were made by two different Etsy sellers, The Burds Nest who did the ones with the felt flowers & the navy ones were made by Thread Pairs. The Burds Nest created custom covers for us & I had a great experience with them. I can't give Thread Pairs as glowing of a review, but the product worked for what we wanted.

The Cornhole Boards was made by the father of the bride & we bought the monogram from Love Monograms & the bags were custom made with fabrics & colors we specifically requested by Two Florida Girls (which are obviously the best kind of girls).

Our little Mr. & Mrs signs were made by Little Retreats & our marriage certificate was designed by myself & one of my favorite bloggers, the Design Editor. It's going to make for an amazing piece of art for our home. I can't wait to get it framed!

One last thing...for you brides out there looking for the perfect wedding gift for your groom...I'm giving away some free personal shopping advice here: your husbands can thank me later. Ha!

I'm sure I'm forgetting at least a few things, but Greg & I are really proud about what a personal experience we crafted for our family & friends, & we're happy that everyone liked it so much that they'd ask who helped us create such a great experience. These are the people, artists, retailers & friends that we have to thank for making our day so special & unique. We'll never be able to thank them enough, but I bet getting some more business from our friends & family is a start.

Happy Shopping/Planning/Browsing/Decorating,
Meggo

Unsubscribe

In my migration from my various single lady e-mail addresses I am having to go through each e-mail account & decide which retailers, blogs, & news outlets I want to continue to receive e-mail from.  Anybody who's ever picked up my cell phone or opened my laptop knows that this is no small task because I am subscribed to EVERYTHING. This can be good, or bad. Good because I always know what's on sale. Bad because I always know what's on sale. And REALLY bad because I have the exact opposite of a methodical process by which I process each of my e-mails.  The reality is that I don't process, read, or weed out any e-mails. I basically read the ones that require action (Zeta e-mail, personal e-mail from family or friends) & I read the ones that interest me (Rue La La, LTD Commodities, Etsy, etc.). So all of the subscribing I've done over the years as I've shopped for gifts or taken advantage of a really great deal...I never read those e-mails. I have subscribed to blogs that I literally NEVER read. I read all of my friends' blogs, but Alicia Silverstone's "The Kind Life" Blog...totally sweet, and I'm at least 80% on board with the message, but I just don't have an interest in reading her thoughts every day. Maybe you're thinking the same thing about me...that's cool.

Anyway, in migrating over to my new e-mail address I'm trying to simplify my life. Only be registered to receive e-mails from companies, bloggers, news outlets that I'm actually interested in.  To that point (& this one's a biggy) I have kindly let Pinterest & Facebook know that they don't need to alert me every time somebody likes my status or re-pins one of my pins. As we all know, the nature of Pinterest is that others will repin. I don't need to be alerted.

little me...demonstrating
my feelings about simplicity
& summer!

Some other liberating unsubscribing I have been doing is the e-mail blasts of a couple of bars here in Chicago that I haphazardly signed up for with the promise of "a free party" or "awesome deals". This turned out to be Uncle Fatty's Rum Resort e-mailing me a few times a week to let me know that they're having $1 beers on a night that I could NEVER go out or a Playstation contest I would NEVER participate in or spectate. So those e-mails are history. Perhaps my favorite e-mail subscription to discontinue has been to The Knot, The Wedding Wire, Martha Stewart Weddings, The Aisle New York, Kleinfeld, David's Bridal & anything else BRIDAL. I am SO HAPPY to never read any of those articles or blogs or websites EVER. AGAIN....until one of my best girls gets married, then I bet I'll have ever more fun reading them on their behalf than I did on my own. Soon enough.

I am so looking forward to eliminating my old e-mail addresses from my phone & my laptop. I can't wait to open my inbox & actually be able to sort through the communication in there.

Here are some other things I can't wait for:
Graduation
To read for fun
Evanston Farmer's Market
To sleep on our new mattress
My birthday (hence the latest blog "theme")
My parents to get here
Ash Mat's Visit
Festival Season
Oh...did I mention Graduation?

Happy Thursday Y'all!
Simply,
Meggo

The Name Change

Sadie Morgan & I 

The time has come to change my name, and the name of my blog.  These name changes are happening for two different respective reasons. Obviously I'm changing my legal name (eventually) to add Morgan. So my legal name will be Megan Latchford Morgan, but in normal interactions I'll just be Megan Morgan. I imagine this will mainly be my name to the people I meet from here on out, and the future parents of my future children's future friends. WEIRD.

The name change for the blog is happening because I got my spot blown up by one of my sorority sisters in a fit of hypocrisy...so rather than have a blog that's title is an excerpt from a pop song, I've changed it to my very own name. The real one. The one that the people who know me best have probably already changed me to in their iPhone contacts.

So, consider my name(s) changed. More to come on the process of legally changing my name...before graduation...which is in 4 weeks and 1 day...YIKES! 

Transitionally,

Meggo

The Best Thing

I seriously can not believe that we got married 3 weeks ago & this time last month I was just getting ready to go home for a 2 week vacation. But that two week vacation & the wedding that happened half way through was seriously the most genuinely "us" thing we've ever done together. I'm going to just share a couple of the highlights from our time back in the sunshine state, because the entirety of the experience was just too glorious to put in words.

First of all, in a comparatively less thrilling turn of events, Sadie Mae Morgan, our littlest puppy lady, successfully staged a jail break toward the end of our flight down to Florida. She was NOT pleased about being on an airplane & so she put the mesh of the dog carrier in her mouth, started tugging somethin' fierce & then just gave that thing a head but & out she popped! So I had to hold her...shaking & losing her entire mind...for the last 20-ish minutes of the flight. Of course Lilah was silently miserable in her carrier under the seat in front of Greg. And as soon as we got off the plane, the two of them were just as pleasant as puppies can be. Naturally. 

The next day we went to the dog park with Lauren & Paul who were, at the time, patiently & anxiously waiting for baby Ella to arrive...more on that later.  We got up early, got coffee & drove to downtown St. Pete with our puppies & our friends & just sat outside in the breeze feeling like life was a dream. And it kinda was. Later that day we headed off to Paisley, Fl to watch two dear friends get married in a completely authentic way at the most perfect location. Their wedding was so "them" & we had an incredible time. 

The following week was just a blur. My brother & his family arrived in the wee hours of Sunday morning. We moved into the raddest vacation home. EVER. on Monday. Once we moved in to that place my productivity declined severely.  The pool & the back yard & the room to run for the puppies, & the giant kitchen & dining room, & the fact that so many of the people that I love were almost always under the same roof...it was seriously like heaven on earth.  The pool was almost always full of a mixed bag of kids. They'd wander their way to our house as soon as they could wake up & put bathing suits on & usually stayed for the day. BLISS! 

That same week we went on an amazing sailing trip in Tampa Bay, my all time favorite body of water. We packed up sandwiches, fruit, wine & beer & headed for the "high" seas. There was swimming, libating, laughing & singing & again...I was in heaven. The weather was phenomenal. That Tampa Bay breeze is one of a kind & St. Pete just looks & feels like home. It felt good to be back where I come from. 

The-day-before-the-day was a mixed bag for me. #1: If I haven't seen you in person in a while you probably haven't been able to witness the anxiety that I have contracted sometime over the course of the last 3 years...but I had a ROCKIN' case of anxiety that kicked in sometime around Wednesday of the week before our wedding. By Friday it was in full effect & threatened to hijack my day with the girls. I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for 3 things I would have completely spun out & called the whole thing off....#1 I was riding with Lauren Frederick who is the most calm human on the planet. #2 Nobody judged me for having anxiety (read: they already know I'm high maintenance) & #3 Kristin Carey dropped off champagne at the salon. The manicures & pedicures went smoothly & looking back on that day is one of my very fondest memories of all. I wish I could do that with those 4 girls every weekend. They're the loves of my life. 

Brother showing off his leggo watch

The-night-before-the-day: Our rehearsal dinner was fantastic. My mother in law (I just love to write that) threw such a fun dinner! I had been looking SO forward to the rehearsal dinner because that's when we were planning on giving everyone their gifts. I had been shopping for personal gifts FOR A YEAR & the WORST part of giving the perfect gift is waiting to give it. I could hardly wait. I had such a great time at the rehearsal dinner. Everybody was so natural & it just felt like a big family dinner. We even had Syracuse hoops on for Ram. Everything was perfect & I'll always remember how special I felt when Mary Grace gave her toast.  

Mom getting made up

THE day:  I woke up feeling SUPER sick & trying real hard to maintain low tones & not move too fast. Sadie woke up SUPER early & I slinked out of bed so that Coop & Ash Mat wouldn't know that I was up.  Naturally the three of us slept in the same bed the night before. With Lilah & Sadie. Anyway, I felt sick & anxious the minute I woke up, so Sadie & I quietly went outside & then settled down on the couch hoping to go unnoticed for long enough that I could feel normal again.  Of course it didn't take long for my best girls to realize I had defected from our bedroom. They came down to sit with me, and while they weren't looking I slinked back upstairs to get cleaned up, after which I finally got real with my self for a second and decided that if I wanted to feel better I needed to put my wedding dress on. So while Coop was in the shower, I called Ash Mat up to my room, we put my wedding dress on & I instantly felt better.  I went dancing out into the hall way to show Coop, and then promptly took it off, put my pajamas back on, went down stairs and had some dry toast & a glass of water, followed by a glass of champagne, and I was back in the game. I will say I had this image of me sitting on the couch, lounging around while everybody was getting ready, drinking coffee, dancing in the kitchen & singing songs into wooden spoons...and while it wasn't quite as fun & fancy free as I had expected, it was a completely amazing morning.  It was so nice watching my best friends, my mom, my mother in law, and the rest of the women I love get all gussied up & fuss over each other. Gosh I just love those girls. All of them.

Some how the whole morning went by in like 15 minutes, and it was time for me to get into my dress for good.  The next thing I know, we were all dressed up & getting into the limo.  From then on I was on some kind of auto pilot, which worked for me until we got off at Davis Island...then I was on a crash course with some more rockin' nerves.  About 30 seconds after we showed up at the Garden Club , it was time to walk down the aisle, and I'm honestly surprised that I didn't break all of my father's fingers.  Poor thing. He was trying so hard to make me laugh, and lighten the mood, but I couldn't even look at him, because I knew if I did I would burst into tears, so I just faced forward, did my best to put one foot in front of the other, and before I knew it I was face to face with Greg, exactly where I belonged.

The ceremony was beautiful. The readings, by my brother & my sister in law and then by our friend, Megan, were just perfect.  Our officiate, Greg, is a dream come true. The things he said, and the things he helped us say were incredible. I'll always love him for that. I'm remembering now as I write this that I leaned in to kiss Greg WAYYYY before I was "supposed to" & the look in his eyes as I was getting close to him said "WAIT! NO!" & that's when I snapped back into the situation, re-directed & whispered in his ear...that was CLOSE! Before we knew it, Greg was inviting my husband to kiss me & we were ready to celebrate! 

The reception was a blast. For the sake of full disclosure (& because I am impossible & I know it) there are a few little baby things that I would go back & do different if I could...but all in all I had a great time, and I'm of the mind that those little baby things don't really matter anyway. Greg & I matter. Our family & friends matter. Our future matters. The rest is just icing & roses. I need to say that the things that were said by Rob, Meghan, My Dad & David Wilbanks will live in my memory as some of the most significant words that have ever been said about me, or to me in my lifetime. And I'm so grateful. 

Today & Forever

Once all of the formalities were done, we had the very. best. time. I barely saw Greg, because both of us were busy frolicking with our friends & family, but we managed to pass by each other a few times. The performance of the Sigma Chi Sweetheart Song was amazing. The Zetas did an incredible job serenading Greg & I. I got to dance with some people who helped make me who I am, see some of my friends that I haven't seen in years, & just celebrated the fact that this life & the people in it are seriously way too good for me. That was the best party ever. I can't wait to see the pictures. 

The next day we had....ANOTHER PARTY! Back at the "Big House", we had wedding cake, hot dogs & hamburgers, left overs from the week & lots of fun playing in the pool & telling stories. I wouldn't have had it any other way. 

Ella Mae

Monday we had to move out of the big house & pack up for the honeymoon. We were pretty sad to close chapter 1 of our vacation, especially since all of the family & friends were going their separate ways, but we were really happy on Monday. Ella Mae was born Monday, March 12th & she is the most amazing thing that happened that week. For sure. Also, we went on our honeymoon. The honeymoon was just perfect. We went to Little Harbor Resort in Ruskin, FL & I can not wait to go back there. In fact we're planning a trip for our 1st anniversary with the couple that got married the weekend before us. I can't wait! 

Little Harbor

Sadly, our time in Florida finally came to a close. We packed everything up, saw baby Ella one more time & headed back to the Windy City for 1 last weekend of freedom as newlyweds. We celebrated St. Patty's day with our neighbors, Coop & the rest of the city of Chicago & got settled back in for the last leg of the semester.

Since then it has been a WHIRLWIND. We've been in a steady state of unpacking, doing laundry, budgeting & planning. I've got 4 weeks left till GRADUATION & it's going to be a SPRINT to the finish. Greg's back on the road this weekend playing in the DC Burn Foundation's annual hockey tournament. I'm a little sad that I couldn't go to be with Jimmy & his parents. And I just LOVE to watch my husband play hockey (who wouldn't?). But I've got a date with my best girl tonight & a graduation portfolio to finish this weekend, so I've got my hands full anyway. 

The truth is, whether our wedding was the most magical day of our lifetime or not, what we know is that even though our life isn't a fairy tale, & conflict & challenge happen...we are seriously living the dream. On a more personal & totally gag-worthy note: my husband is a dream come true. 

Gratefully,

Mrs. Morgan

PS...here's what was trending: #baycation #Madon #wizzardstaffing #loveconnesh #codependent #AmyBeaverhausen #cray #Tyrone #pound <3

We're BAAAAAAAAAAAACK!

Phew! The last 2-ish weeks were a whirlwind!! We had the MOST amazing time in Florida, had a blast at our wedding, enjoyed the perfect honeymoon, and welcomed baby Ella to the world!

We're happy to be back in Chicago, but it's definitely bitter sweet...but the SWEET part is we are back JUST in time for our favorite Chicago holiday - St. Patty's!!

We're busy this weekend getting back to reality & prepping for the sprint to Graduation. Once we get all settled, I'll update on the wedding weeks & all of the fun we had.

Happy St. Patty's Lovers & Friends!

Cheers,
Meggo

The Bride & Groom Are On The Move!

Today is the day! We're finally headed to Florida! It only took me 15 months, and countless hours of organizing, e-mailing, number crunching, packing, re-packing, shopping, returning, planning & calculating to get to this point, but we are FINALLY headed to Florida! I've got all of my nerd planning documents uploaded to google docs, all of our "necessities" shipped home in a series of about 15 boxes (yikes), our puppies harnessed, and our "you're getting married" courtesy cocktail tickets (Thank you Southwest!) in hand. I'm going to have to take notes over the course of the next two weeks to keep it all straight, but I'm looking forward to every minute of it all.

If you're in the mood, send out some positive energy for some calm, mellow energy for me & patience for everybody around me. Oh, & I'll take some calm energy for our puppy ladies too. That'd be a nice bonus. Please & thank you. Happy FRIDAY!

Bridally Yours (for one of the very last times),
Meggo

Sunshine State

I'm going to Florida 2 Weeks from TOMORROW! I can hardly stand it! And while I'm there I get to visit with some of my very favorite people, have both "sides" of my family together at once, get a good strong over dose of girl time, go sailing, meet baby Ella & marry Greg Morgan. This blog is going to sport these palm trees until we leave...I have never been this excited in my LIFE!

Round Up

I literally had to get my calendar out to even remember what's happened since our wedding invitations  went out. First thing we did was go to Canada for the annual Sigma Chi hockey tournament just outside of Toronto. We flew in to Detroit late on Friday night & a friend of ours drove us straight through to our final destination, which was a beautiful Marriott hotel. THANK GOD! On our way of course we stopped by the Windsor Sigma Chi house, which looked something like the staff lounge at a highway gas station to me, but the residents seemed happy enough. The tournament started early the next morning so Greg & one of the Windsor guys headed out early & our friend Will & I came along later. Greg played 3 games, and scored 2 goals. He played center for quite a while which made for good photo opportunities. After Greg was finished playing he came up to sit with me & my new friend, a fellow Sigma Chi Sweetheart, Cathy who's engaged to be married to a Windsor Sigma Chi this summer. We had fun with our girl talk but we were excited for the boys to join. Her mister went on to win the MVP award for their team, and we were all very proud! The next day we took our 4 hour drive back to Windsor & then crossed back over to the state side. I just have one thing to say about the border agents: RUDE! Even though we had a super time in Canada we were ready to head back home, get the puppies & get ready for the week. Unfortunately our flight from Detroit to St. Louis had different plans...so long story short we ended up staying the night at the Detroit Metro Marriott. Maybe it wasn't the most luxurious detour, but I just love getting lost with Greg Morgan.

The following week I got to go visit my very own wedding dress for the very first time! My Mom & I picked it out online long before a sample even came in, and then Meghan & I "sampled the sample" in September & in late January the dress I'll wear the day I marry my Mister arrived in Chicagoland. I visited that sweet frock a couple weeks ago & I'm going back TONIGHT for my final fitting, & this time Coop's coming along. I can hardly wait.

We also celebrated the Superbowl two weeks ago with our favorite neighbors, Rich & Charlene...(I need to stop calling them Neighbors & come up with something more appropriate for how vital they are to us). Charlene graciously said we'd "co-host" but per usual she did all of the work & it was so fun! Rich & Greg organized some games & we had plenty of snacks & libations to go around. Many of our neighbors from the complex came & so did some of our other non-neighbor friends. We had a great time, per usual, & we were excited that the Giants won!

This week should be as low key as a week can be for two people who are 3 weeks away from their wedding, going to school & work full time. This weekend we'll be travelling to join one of our favorite mentors & friends at the Beta Theta Pi North Central Keystone Conference. It'll be my first time facilitating a track & both of our second time acting as chapter mentors. We just love Keystone! We're also bringing a "new" friend from school with us, who's going to be a great addition to the Friends of Beta family.

For now I'm off to get my wedding dress. No pics for now...so this is as bridal as it gets for 26 more days. Weeee!!!

Pre-Nuptually,
Meggo