happiest anniversary

it’s the 30th in turkey right now, so i’m posting my congratulations and best wishes to a+k now:

 

dear abby and kyle,

i can’t believe it’s already been a year since we celebrated your most important day. i can honestly say your wedding was the most enjoyable i’ve ever been to–amy and pete’s was a close second :).  it was beachy, FUN, intimate and all the most important people in our lives were there.  you truly can not ask for more than that.  though we had a couple unfortunate events (one of them being me smashing the top layer of your cake), we all went home with smiles on our faces from the pure satisfaction of being fortunate enough to have shared such a special weekend with not only the two you, but with each other.  

as i said in my MOH toast, ‘i wish you loads of new memories and oceans of happiness.’ 

love always,

meg

 

a+k wedding montage

 

 

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new braid

i’m getting a hair cut tomorrow (cue angels singing) just in time, bc my bangs are starting to make me look like this. so in an effort to tame the beast, i tried a new braid this morning.  after reading about it here, i decided to try it out.  result? love it. super easy.  obsessed with it.  i love it so much, i’m now reconsidering cutting my bangs tomorrow.

 

braid this

 

 

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npr forever

when i was working at capitalsource, i listened to NPR all day, every day.  i love it, can’t get enough of it (ooh baby, ooh baby…). now, thanks to the amazing, convenient and not to mention (temporarily) FREE satellite radio on my brand-spanking new jetta, i can enjoy not only one, but two, TWO NPR stations all day, every day.  that’s more mo rocca than this girl can handle.  just kidding, i can always handle more mo (and the rest of his friends on wait wait!).

nothing gets my blood running like some good, hard statistics:

NPR listeners are:

12% less likely to watch “American Idol.” Does that mean NPR shouldn’t cover it? Is it too culturally relevant to ignore?

64% more likely than average to have traveled abroad in the last 3 years.

2.5 times more likely than average to be Mac users at home. 

28% less likely than average to say celebrity endorsements influence their purchase decisions. 

45% more likely than average to drink Pabst Blue Ribbon.

70% of NPR listeners say they voted in the most recent election, as opposed to 44% of U.S. adults. 

More NPR listeners drive pickups than Volvos.

NPR’s audience has increased 104% in the last decade, compared to a 29%, 24%, and 29% decreases in newspaper, network news, and radio news audiences, respectively.

(via one of NPR’s multiple Twitter feeds, @nprconnect)

added to and reblogged from love puppy

birthday weekend recap

i had such a great weekend in chicago with my bests.  friday was my birthday dinner at chaise lounge, followed by drinks at aberdeen.  i had to deal with movers and packing for more hours than i had wished, but it had to be done.  and, i got to do all the girly, stupid things i missed: sushi, girl-time, nails and shopping.  oh and we made a pit-stop for a souvenir that will not be discussed on here until all necessary parties have been informed.  yes, it.is.that.awesome. good times were had by all, and i can’t wait to come back up next month for another round of birthday celebrations.   below is a quick photo recap:

 

happy 26th, old lady.

and i think this is absolutely hilarious. sweet server who can’t even remember whose birthday it is.

 

not me, idiot, her.

thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes of all types, near and far, it really does mean so much to me. 

 

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quote

“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.”

–Leo Burnett

 

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I’m Bart Simpson, who the Hell are you?

useless meghan fact: i’m obsessed with stamps, especially the limited edition ones.  when these came out, i had the release date marked on my calendar. yes, i’m a dork. i’ve got books and books of them i’ve purchased and never used.  i don’t own them with the intention of being a collector, it’s just that when i buy them and i think they’re awesome, i don’t want to waste them on my monthly com-ed bill.  i’m sure joe shmoe in accounting doesn’t appreciate my extraordinary taste in stamps. i would like to point out that my energy bill is the only one i still receive by mail, step up to 2009, comed! oh and go green, people.  this also brings me to the point that no one ever writes letters anymore.  i would like to say that i love writing (and receiving) them and also that one of my best and longest friendships started as pen pals.  holler, markie!  

 

d'oh! simpsons stamps

 

usps released these recently and i think they’re totally awesome, dude.  i just bought some last week and i think they’re definitely at the top my of ‘favorite stamps’ list. can you believe the simpsons started 20 years ago?!  holy crap that makes me feel old, as if i didn’t feel older after this weekend. don’t eat my shorts man, pick up your own.  

 

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obsessed with up and up

this song randomly came on my pandora (jack’s mannequin station) and i’m obsessed. 

RELIENT K, up and up:

Yesterday Is not quite what it could’ve been
As were most of all the days before
But I swear today
With every breath I’m breathing in
I’ll be trying to make it so much more

Cause it seems I get so hung up on
The history of what’s gone wrong
And the hope of a new day Is sometimes hard to see (what you see)
And though I’m finally catching onto it
And now the past is just a conduit
And the light there at the end is Where I’ll be

Cause I’m on the up and up
I’m on the up and up
And I haven’t given up
Given up on what I know I’m capable of
And I’m on the up and up
I’m on the up and up
Yeah there’s nothing left to prove
Cause I’m just trying to be
A better version of me
For you

To be prosperous Would not require much of me
You see contentment is the one thing It entails
To be content with where I am
And getting where I need to be
I’m moving past the past
Where I have failed

i don’t really feel i need to comment or say anything too profound here.  this year has been rough for everyone, some more than others, and i think in such environments, you have a personal choice to make: play victim or move on, up and up, if you will.  i love music, of all kinds, i always have.  part of it comes from my babbo, who instilled in us how important it is to be able to express yourself, especially musically (he played the organ/piano his entire life).  i know he didn’t like the fact that i stopped playing my instrument, but music remains something very important to me.  i love that moment when you hear a song for the first time and a snippet of the lyrics just click with you at that very moment and is so perfect for that exact second in your life.  it’s magic.  

 

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current fav pic/meet ben

 

picasso of the sidewalk chalk genre

sometime “accidents” happen when taking photos and they’re almost always a good thing. i actually didn’t really even realize until andrew pointed it out to me, but you can see his drawing reflected in the lens of his glasses.  oh so cool.  his expression and the fact that i was in his face with a camera and he didn’t even respond is so ben: totally in the zone. definitely a fav pic of mine and needs to be blown up and printed asap.  

and speaking of, let’s meet ben:

age: 7; will be 8 on october 11, which coincidentally is the same day SNL first premiered in 1975 with the late george carlin as the guest host.

hair color: clear

nicknames: benny-butt, little buddy diapers, little buddy, ben jamin’

favorite movie: star wars, all of them

favorite song: eye of the tiger, survivor

favorite activity: playing guitar hero while singing along.  at all times.

favorite phrase: “isn’t it weird……”

future career aspirations: to be a rock star (quoted from ben, verbatim) 

and as seen in the below photo, he has a layer of dirt on him, not matter how ‘clean’, at all times. it’s just the way it is.

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Everyone needs a ben-like person in their lives to keep them on their toes.

 

photo credits: meghan hochgesang

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it’s today

this is how i felt when i woke up this morning…for more than one reason.

i hope everyone has a great and safe weekend.  i’m looking forward to a wonderful weekend with my lovely ladies. chicago, here i come. 

oh and in the spirit of sharing videos, i saw this the other day and it made me grin from ear to ear.  mainly because it’s incredibly heartwarming that after so many years a couple can still have that much spark and chemistry.  but it also reminds me of my grandpa and grandma. love, puddlejumper.

 

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quote from coco

“Fashion is at once both caterpillar and butterfly. Be a caterpillar by day and a butterfly by night.”

-Coco Chanel

 

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