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