blue jean baby.

if ever there was a "megan" outfit, this is it. it encompasses basically everything i love: long, straight, dark hair (if only my own long dark hair would look that perfect all the time); a cardigan; a ruffled shirt; perfect-fit dark denim jeans; a great heel and bag.

this is the exact style i'm aspiring to attain this fall, especially as some cooler weather (lows in the 40s!) finally heads florida's way this weekend.

what are you shopping for right now?

due north.

the internal compass is a funny thing, isn't it?

up until maybe a year and a half ago, mine was pointing due north. i had no question about where my life was going: i had a great job at a magazine, even greater friends, and my life seemed pretty much on track. sure, i had some credit card and school debt, and i occasionally wondered where i'd be in 10 or 15 years (here in florida? somewhere else?), but those questions were few and far between.

then i lost my job, and with it i lost a lot of my surety. the questions were less "where will i be in 10 years?" and more "where will i be in six months?" that old internal compass -- the one that had been so steadfast up until that point -- was in freefall, personally and professionally, and i feel like i've never quite been able to get it back to where it was, in spite of a new job and my wonderful, supportive family and friends.

with this off-kilter compass has come a particularly thin skin. i'm an emotional person who has always placed far too much trust in others; this is a well-known and self-admitted fact. even so, it's also one i value because i feel it lends me a great deal of empathy for others (your best quality is always your worst quality, too, right?). but i feel like my self-doubt has exacerbated these qualities, to the point where i've willfully ignored warning signs and insisted on placing a great deal of trust in people i really shouldn't -- and then felt completely crushed when that misplaced trust circled back around to gnaw at me and my feelings.

i know that sounds very dramatic, and the reality is that the things i'm talking about wouldn't even be a blip on many people's radars. but i don't think that makes them any less important, either. so my question to you, dear readers -- and it goes along with this week's commitment to stand up for myself -- is how do you grow a thicker skin without compromising the best parts of yourself, without becoming totally jaded?

xoxo

photo by erika svensson

putting it on the table.

my apartment is boxy in every way possible: square living room/kitchen, square bedroom, rectangular bathroom. three rooms and not a whole lot of extra space. i don't have a true workspace; in fact, i often fall into the not-so-great habit of laying down on the couch with my laptop instead of sitting up straight or working at my kitchen table.

so in looking for inspiration, i naturally turned to back issues of domino and blueprint -- yes, i have a whole archive of both. that's when i came across these photos of former blueprint editor sarah humphreys' drop leaf table -- isn't it a lovely, space-saving option? a place that's not the couch where i could eat dinner and type -- adding it to my "ideas" folder, for sure. (click on the link for some more drop-leaf options, if you'd like.)

p.s. i have a thing for dining-room tables. i'll write about it as thanksgiving -- the ultimate dining-room-table holiday -- gets closer. xoxo

images via blueprint magazine, which, yes, i still miss.

the (spooky) weekend + committing to...

first and foremost, i just need to acknowledge the fact that today is my grandmother's 95th birthday. ninety-five. talk about an accomplishment. especially since she's smart as a whip and is in almost-perfect physical health.

my mom -- her daughter -- is practically a replica of grandma in terms of smarts and strength, and they are both women i aspire to be like. so, happy birthday, grandma. thanks for setting the bar so high for our family. i love you.

secondly, how were your halloween weekends? mine was good (and it started thursday night, with pumpkin beer): i went to a party with friends on friday night that continued into the wee hours of the morning; spent most of saturday lazing around my house; and then started sunday -- halloween -- by doing breakfast and errands with my friend k. and then handing out candy to trick-or-treaters at my friend's house on siesta key. a good weekend, indeed, albeit one that was a little too filled with cake, fried food, candy corn, and pumpkin ice cream. which means i'm in detox mode this week, for sure.

detoxing is just one of commitments for the next seven days, though. here are the others:

+ work on a decorating plan for my house. i want to, eventually, swap out my current coffee table, get a great rug for the living room, paint my bedroom, and diy a fabric headboard for my bed. easy, right? ha.

+ in the spirit of detoxing, planning out my weekly dinner menu. i'm thinking shrimp with aspargus tonight, and a yummy-sounding parmesan-crusted chicken recipe i read about in women's health on tuesday night. i'll report back or tweet pics (or both!).

+ following up on some awesome potential (creatively gratifying! YAY!) projects i have in the works. continuing to think about next steps, some of which i'll share with you this week.

+ starting to plan my friend s.'s 30th birthday bash with my friend t. yay!

+ not feeling guilty about the dissipation of a friendship. this is hard, guys. i am a super emotional person who was raised catholic, so guilt flows through me like blood. and before this year -- before the last six months, even -- i would have felt ridiculously guilty about a situation like this. now i'm confident that i am not fully to blame for it, and that beating myself like i would have in the past serves no purpose and benefits no one -- not me, not my friend. i am far from perfect, but i know i deserve to feel good about myself and my relationships. so: operation feel-less-guilty, in combination with operation stand-up-for-myself, commences now. (if you're going through something similar, i highly recommend reading this post by jane and this post by dominique browning, both lovely and talented ladies who have articulated this feeling perfectly.)

in the works this week, as well: two of the giant coconut cakes that i've become kind of infamous for around these parts. a friend and colleague is having a family reunion, and she's asked if i would make a pair of these baked beasts. they're pretty labor intensive, but they are beautiful and delicious and, honestly, i kind of wish more people would hire me out as a baker.


so that's what i plan on doing over the next several days (what a varied list, huh?), in addition to being here more regularly, too. tell me your goals, and i'll see you back here tomorrow! xoxo


images from sarahseven's fantastic etsy shop. aren't these beautiful? you've got to check out her custom-made wedding dresses, too. lovely, lovely, lovely. sometimes you just need some pretty on a monday.

i got sunshine...

 

anna bond of rifle paper co. is one of my favorite stationery designers ever. i'm so sad that one of her wood recipe card boxes isn't in my budget, and if i ever get married, i totally want her to design my wedding invitations. even cooler? anna lives and works in the same town where i grew up: winter park! she's opening a store there soon, too. yay. 

anyway, yellow is my favorite color, hands-down, so it's no wonder that i love these custom wedding invitations anna designed. aren't they pretty? just a little sunshine for your thursday. 

p.s. i feel weird typing this when it's not even halloween yet, but anna's holiday cards are up in her shop now, too.

p.p.s. this post is taking a left turn now, but are you dressing up for halloween? i am sadly costumeless, have a party to go to on friday, and am in need of last-minute ideas that don't involve the black cat ears i've worn for the last three years.