WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND?

Happy Friday, friends! I'm playing hooky (with permission) from work today, and after three days of heavy rain, I want to get outside and enjoy the sunshine with ACS, who's here this week. So it's going to be short and sweet today, but I promise I've got some good reads for you:

This profile of writer Elizabeth Gilbert (you know: Eat, Pray, Love) is pretty great.

The habits of supremely happy people.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Stephen Merchant and Jimmy Fallon have a lip sync-off, and it is amazing. (Be sure to John Krasinski's turn at it, too--you'll see the video at the bottom of the post.)

Oh, and speaking of Jimmy Fallon, if you haven't seen his hashtag video with Justin Timberlake, you are doing yourself a disservice.

What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope you have a fantastic few days. See you back here on Monday. xoxo

Photo (of Sarasota!) by Tim Gilbreath

WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND?

Happy Friday, friends! I don't know about you, but I am so incredibly happy the weekend is here. Not sure if it was the full moon or what, but this week felt kind of insane, and I'm looking forward to two days that are 100 percent wide open and unplanned (well, with the exception of an apartment deep-clean, but I've been preparing for that for a little while).

In the meantime, there was a lot of good stuff on the Internet this week, so here are three four links for your reading pleasure:

Surviving Whole Foods. This made me laugh so hard.

Louis C.K. is my favorite.

Read this piece about Gen Y and then read this response to it.

Have an excellent weekend, everyone, and I'll see you here next week. xoxo

Photo credit

On staying organized (help!).

Friends, I need your advice: What are your favorite ways to stay organized? I've got a couple of new projects going on and I'm wondering if I'm working as efficiently as I could be. So far, Google Docs, phone reminders, Dropbox and my trusty (and beautiful) Rifle Paper Co. notebooks have been my saving graces, but I'm wondering: What are your favorite organizational apps, tips and tricks? I'd really, really love to know.

P.S. Remember this article, about how productive people get up insanely early? I am wondering if there's something to that. Can any of you who do freelance projects while also working a full-time job chime in?

Photo by Victoria

Rifle Paper Co. iPhone cases

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a total Rifle Paper Co. fangirl—I can't get enough of Anna Bond's whimsical, vintage-inspired designs, and it just so happens that her bricks-and-mortar storefront is located in the town where I grew up (and where my parents still live—it's about two hours north of Sarasota). So of course, when Anna announced Rifle would be producing iPhone cases, I knew I would be buying one.

It just so happened that the Winter Park shop began selling the iPhone cases last Thursday—they'll be for sale online this week—so my lovely mother went and picked one up; it was waiting for me when I arrived at my parents' house on Friday night. And I have to say, in addition to the design being totally charming, the quality is also really great (let's be honest, I would have bought one even if it wasn't, but sturdiness is a nice surprise. Take notes, Kate Spade). The one my mom got me has a hard outer shell, but there's also a rubber inlay that wraps around the phone to offer it even more protection if it's dropped, which—again, let's be honest—mine will be. We'll see how the whole thing wears over time, but for now consider me sufficiently impressed—and happy that my phone, which has been naked since I upgraded it in December, has a pretty case again.

Update: The iPhone cases are now available on Rifle's website right here!

Photo by me.

What are you doing this weekend?

Happy Friday, friends! What are your plans for the weekend? I'm playing hooky today (eee!) and--as mentioned in yesterday's post—I plan on trying to unplug as much as possible for the next few days. Also on the docket: Making my last car payment (!!!!), quick stop at the Rifle Paper Co. storefront (yay!), lots of walks, cozy sweaters (thank you, cooler weather!), a delicious dinner out and hopefully some sleeping in.

I'll see you back here on Monday, and if you're looking for some reading material this weekend, here are three links just for you:

I interviewed Anne-Marie Slaughter for work this week, and in doing the prep for it I reread her Atlantic article, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." If you haven't read it—or even if you have—do it. It will make you think. (The Atlantic)

I know Lena Dunham can be a polarizing figure, but I am firmly in the "love her" camp. So I thought this piece, by Miranda July, in Interview was a great read. (Interview) 

And finally, here's a fluffy one: You've Got Mail vs. Sleepless in Seattle. For me, it's You've Got Mail, hands down. (Nora Ephron was so wonderful.) (Vulture)

Have a beautiful weekend! xoxo

Photo by Olivia. I still miss you, Charleston. 

You're gonna make it after all.

How funny does next fall's The Mindy Project look? I've loved Mindy Kaling for a long time -- she's great on The Office, and her book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns, made me laugh out loud -- so I'm excited to see that she's getting her own show. Plus: yay for the sparkly clothes.

what are you doing this weekend?

it was a week of small victories.

i executed (that sounds so formal) a work project that's been on my mind for a long time, and got a lot of other work stuff done, too. i (finally, finally) got my broken windshield wiper fixed. i exercised. i did laundry. i gave myself an at-home pedicure (the color? essie's "bachelorette bash," a hot pink). and most importantly, i did pretty well with my commitment to not complain and even learned some other lessons while doing so.

so yes. it was a good week.

this weekend i'm heading to orlando again and am looking forward to one of those weekends that feels long. movies, long walks (the weather's supposed to be a balmy 80 degrees for the next few days) and relaxation are on the agenda, and i'm so looking forward to all of them.

what are your plans? tell me, and i'll see you back here on monday. have a wonderful few days!

photo of sarasota bay by me

a little update.

remember my goal to not complain this week?

that was a really good bullet point to add to the weekly list. while i know i haven't managed to stop entirely (a few complaints have definitely slipped out), i have really been thinking about what i'm going to say before i actually say it, and that in and of itself is kind of amazing.

case in point: yesterday i was driving home from work and an elderly man with a thatch of white hair in a huge buick was trying to make a left-hand turn from the middle lane of the road (not the designated left-hand-turn lane). i'll be the first to admit that i tend to have a wee bit of road rage, and normally i would have been sighing up a storm and making faces and and wondering why i had to get stuck behind this other driver. but instead i just kind of cocked my head and thought, "you're not supposed to be complaining!"

so i didn't.

and i arrived home in such a sunny mood. removing the option to complain totally kept closed the window of negativity that could easily have opened had i done it. i realize that it sounds cheesy and new age-y and silly (and my friend kate, who might be reading this, is probably saying something about how i live on a marshmallow -- hi, kate!), but i think it kind of set the tone for the rest of the evening. i didn't vary my routine -- i worked out, i cooked dinner, i watched this week's episode of new girl, i talked on the phone -- but again, i think i removed some potential negativity. and i feel good about that, especially in the wake of what's been a really busy week.

how about you? how have your weeks been so far? tell me, i'd love to hear.

p.s. happy february!

photo by weloveunicorns

what are you doing this weekend?

happy friday, friends!

can you believe we're officially more than halfway through january? i can't. i am notorious for commenting on how quickly time speeds by, but really: this month will be gone before we know it.

and what are your plans for this, the second-to-last weekend of the month? i'm heading north for a quick trip to see an old friend (north being, like, north of sarasota, not the northeast), which i'm very excited about, and when i get back i am allotting several hours to housecleaning, because others will be seeing it come monday and tuesday and things are in need of a scrub-down. hopefully a bike ride or a long walk are somewhere in the mix, too, because the weather has been incredibly mild lately and it just feels good to be outside.

let me know what you're up to and i'll see you back here soon.

photo: installation by jeppe hein at the museum of fine art

who's that girl?

i admit it: i am totally charmed by zooey deschanel's new girl. i have a girl-crush on zooey to begin with, but i think even those of you who don't will probably agree that new girl is sweet and funny. also: in my constant and admittedly self-absorbed musings about my personal style, i have decided to take a page from zooey's character's book and begin embracing ruffles, polkadots and bright colors. (it's time to resign myself to the fact that i'm much more girly-anthropologie than streamlined-j.crew. not that that's a bad thing.)

above is a clip from new girl's thanksgiving episode -- i hope you enjoy it. have you been watching, too? do you love it like i do?

p.s. i am also adopting the term "fancy fix" after last night's episode.
p.p.s. i also have an actual crush on the nick character on the show. he's so cute.

in repair.

friends, i have to admit: i am still working on trying to get it together. posting may be light this week, as i'm looking at a super-busy work week and then a long weekend out of town, but i'll try to drop in as much as possible, even if it's just to share a favorite photograph -- like this one, by olivia.

hope you all are having lovely tuesdays so far.

"stay hungry. stay foolish."

my family has always been a family of mac users; we've had apple computers in our house since the mid-80s, back when it wasn't nearly as cool to have them as it is now, which is also probably why i always equate "apple" with "home." my first computer that was truly my own, the one i took with me to college, was my aunt's hand-me-down apple laptop; i then progressed to a cobalt-blue imac, then a snow-white ibook, and finally -- after a brief interlude with a dell -- i'm back to a macbook. we all use other apple products, too, as does almost everyone i know. to say that steve jobs' death yesterday is a loss for us, for our generation, for the world as a whole, is an understatement. he is one of those people who truly changed the world. he was a genius.

my name is megan, and i will always be a mac.

video: from jobs' 2005 commencement speech at stanford university. it's worth watching all the way through, i promise.

pink moments.

i can't remember where i first read about ojai, calif., and its "pink moments"--the time of day when the setting sun creates a brilliant shade of pink for several minutes over ojai valley and its adjacent mountains--but i love everything about the idea of them, and i wish we had them here.

pink moment captured by kit_ingui

what are you doing this weekend?

happy friday, friends! how have your weeks been?

mine was...eventful. for some reason, i felt like, between work and personal commitments, i was exceptionally busy this week, and it looks like next week will be more of the same. yesterday was kind of a strange day, too -- everything felt a tad "off" to me, and then last night's paddleboarding trip, which i was so excited about, got cancelled due to bad weather. plus i did an inordinate amount of late-night cleaning, which, while necessary, is not my favorite -- so i'm really glad it's friday.

tonight i have dinner and movie plans, but the rest of my weekend is pretty open, and i'm glad for that. we're supposed to get a "heat wave" today and tomorrow (um, how much hotter can it possibly get? it's like 95 degrees every day here..eek), so i'd love to squeeze in a little swimming action, and time with friends is definitely on the agenda, too. it should be a good few days.

what are your plans? tell me, and i'll see you back here monday!

photo by hamjolou

on guilt + chickens.

my poor blog has really been neglected lately, and although i try not to feel guilty about it (when i'm not here, i'm living my life, you know?), i still do, because i love you guys. so here is a pretty picture and the promise that i will be back tomorrow (and maybe even later today) with something more substantial.

(a note on the photo: this is the back yard of author flannery o'connor's childhood home in savannah, where she famously taught a chicken to walk backwards. i love it.)

until later: xoxo!

deep breaths.

sorry i've been so quiet this week -- it's been insanely busy around here. i was in naples all day yesterday for work, played catch-up on everything i missed today, have a work lunch and dinner tomorrow, a schedule for the weekend already...and in the midst of it all, my car decided to break down, so a large chunk of change flew out the window this afternoon.

see? busy! (although admittedly mostly good busy. minus the car thing.)

i probably won't be posting again until friday, so until then, i hope your weeks have been ridiculously good and are flying by. and i hope you enjoy this images -- it looks like a breath of fresh air feels, yes?

photo: valerie chiang

what are you doing this weekend?

the week that was was kind of surreal.

i got a schoolgirl crush on someone brilliant, and those flutters of innocent, undiluted admiration are making me feel giddy--and also like there's a possibility he might not be completely unattainable, even if, in truth, he is. i looked up at the full moon. i planned a trip to see some mermaids with old friends. i scratched out the first paragraphs of something i'm hoping will become a viable piece of writing. i went to an art exhibit about hip-hop. i watched some cute second-graders dance and sing. i put on a pair of pants in a smaller size.

so it was a good surreal week.

and i'm not sure what this weekend will hold, other than tomorrow night's book club (um, i didn't read the book, although i am reading the imperfectionists right now, soon to be followed by the frog king). some outdoor time, i think. maybe a walk through the farmer's market or brunch with friends. we'll see; i'm not making plans. the way things are going, i'm nothing but content right now.

what about you? tell me what you're up to over the next few days, and i'll see you back here on monday.

photo by victoria

bike love.

i mentioned that when i was at my parents' house a few weeks ago, i borrowed my mom's bicycle and took a long ride around my hometown, which is beautiful all the time but especially in the spring. (see some photos here.) i really love bike riding in general, as evidenced by my love of spin class and how happy i felt after the aforementioned bike ride, so it's pretty shocking that i don't own my own bike here in sarasota -- i mean, what would be better than biking by the bay or the gulf? so that's my project for the summer: find a bike.

do you own a bike? do you love riding it, too?

photo via

what are you doing this weekend? + a quote i love.

happy friday and happy weekend!

i don't know about you, but the past several weeks have been super busy, and the next few weeks (including this weekend) are likely to be more of the same. it's all good busy, though: tons of projects and events and fun commitments that i'm glad to be part of. it's just...well, busy. 

but you know, i've been feeling happier as a result of it -- like i have more of a sense of purpose. i've actually been feeling this way since the end of january, but i think the springtime and everything that comes with it heightens those emotions. so i'm going to leave you today with this quote by virginia woolf -- one of my top three favorite writers and thinkers of all time -- because it sums up exactly how i feel. it's from the years.

"we're only just beginning, she thought, to understand, here and there. she hollowed her hands in her lap, just as rose had hollowed hers around her ears. she held her hands hollowed; she felt that she wanted to enclose the present moment; to make it stay; to fill it fuller and fuller, with the past, the present, and the future, until it shone, whole, bright, deep with understanding." 

have a happy weekend and a happy mother's day, and i'll see you  back here on monday.

photo by stefanyalves

little letters.

dear new-old job,
you are awesome. you have not only made me happier than i've been in months, but also decreased my anxiety level and literally cleared up a stress-induced rash on my hand. you're like a built-in dermatologist and mental health counselor, and you rock.

dear house,
i would really love it if you cleaned yourself. how did i make such a big mess this week?

dear self,
you need to do better at the whole going-to-bed-earlier thing.

dear oscar,
i include you in every batch of these little letters, and i just realized i've had you for almost five years. this may sound silly, but you are one of the brightest spots in my life. i love my little fluffernutter.

dear spring,
i can tell you're getting closer -- the days are getting longer, the temperatures a bit warmer.

dear girlfriends,
i'm so excited for a night of catch-up this weekend.

dear hair,
i'm fighting the urge to cut you into a bob, but it took so long to grow you out this much, so i'll keep fighting. maybe some more layers will help.

dear thursday,
hi. it's nice to see you again.

dear readers,
you rock.

xoxo

love these unabashedly bright blooms by candace rose photography.