are you there world? it's me, meghan.

i'm alive. and well. and back home! huzzah! let's just quickly gloss over the fact that my little corner of the internet has been badly neglected for the past, oh, six weeks or so. it's for a good reason, i promise! here, let me prove it to you.

first, i was here, soaking in some knowledge and licking the wounds inflicted upon my high school senior-self when stanford was all like, yeah, thanks but not thanks. nope, definitely not still bitter about that.

next stop on the itinerary: revisiting my childhood home. well, by childhood, i mean when i was 5 until i was 8, we were stationed at fort ord, in monterey, california. i hadn't been back since i was about 10, so it was really cool to revisit my old stomping grounds. (oh yeah, my dad was in the army, and i kinda moved allll over the place - have we not covered that yet?) my work buds and i snuck in a quick weekend road trip in between meetings out in san francisco.

i definitely did not appreciate this gorgeous place as a first grader. i mean, swoon.

a few days later, i found myself on a plane heading towards tennetuckiana, to see my beautiful bff get married. ok, that's not a real place - you caught me. i flew into nashville, spent a few nights in her hometown in kentucky, and then headed up to new harmony, indiana for the nuptials. while in henderson, there may or may not have been a bachelorette party bus that picked us up in the parking lot of an office depot.

   

henderson, kentucky

the wedding was heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and bursting at the seams with love. you know those weddings, where everyone is just glowing with happiness because you know the bride and groom are meant to be? it was just lovely. and have you ever seen a more beautiful bride? i was so proud to stand by her side as she married the love of her life. yay weddings! oh also, i danced my face off. as i am wont to do.

   

where to next, you might be asking? well, meghan's magical tour of north america made a final stop in good ol' austin, texas, for a week of real vacation. as in, i deleted my work email off my phone and totally disconnected. now, don't get me wrong - this was not a laying-about, sleeping-in and lounging-around kind of vacation. quite the opposite, in fact. i was plenty busy. doing things like...

     

mastering the 'michael jackson experience' on my brother's wii (i rocked this)...

      

drinking, dancing, and diving on a party boat on lake austin for my sister's friend's birthday...

      
swimming, kissing justin bieber, and making glow-stick glasses with my bro...

      

drinking tiki drinks, hanging out with my sis and her bf, and did i mention swimming?

clearly, it was an extraordinarily busy week. and i didn't even take pictures of all the tacos i consumed!

but now, i'm home. *happy sigh* and there aren't any travel plans on the horizon for at least a month. i can go grocery shopping, and get back in my groove, and it feels great. speaking of feeling great, after a hot power yoga class tonight, i'm thinking it'll feel pretty great to climb into bed right about now. 

yay for being back!

going, going, back, back...

hello from san francisco, my first city love. back this weekend, for now, i'm trying to convince myself that it's of the utmost importance to have an in-n-out burger while i'm here. file under: things i'll probably regret later but oh well.

a little bit of sunshine.

not the greatest weekend ever, i have to admit. friday's news hit me much harder than i had anticipated, and i had a hard time getting out of bed. i was just a puddle all weekend, and took it really easy. it gets better each day, and there are some things that are making me smile.

monday afternoon drinking

since we worked for about 8 days straight last week, my office was closed on monday. random three day weekends? i could get used to that. i finally managed to drag my butt out of the apartment and did my usual yoga/whole foods routine (omg, could i be any yuppier? i swear...) before meeting up with two of my buds from work. it's funny how after spending 18 hours a day in a room together for a week, i actually missed them - that's a sign of true love. a lunch date turned into a crosstown adventure as we met another friend over on the west side. it was GORGEOUS yesterday in the city, and we actually sat outside! i enjoyed a few champagne cocktails, because my middle name is classy, and then we hit up one of my long-time fave haunts, calle ocho, which hosts MOJITO MADNESS on mondays - $5 mojitos?? madness indeed. and as a mojito connoisseur, i daresay these are some of the best in the city. after starting pretty early, i called it a night by 8pm and was hungover by 11. perfection! i even managed to wake up and make it to yoga this morning.

madness, i say!

what a view. i love the upper west side. 

new shoes

i'm obsessed with these bad boys. they've been stuck in my head for months, and i finally broke down and nabbed a pair. i can't handle the cuteness with a rolled-up pair of skinny jeans, and i'm counting down the days til i can wear them with an adorable little sundress.

my bro

seems like 18 years ago i was in austin for sxsw (wasn't i going to do a recap or something?) and i don't feel like i've bragged enough about my handsome little bro. so i'll just show you what i mean.

he's the man.

more street art (austin edition)

here's to a less-crazy april. and to spring finally showing up! happy tuesday :)

sad.

yesterday, a friend of mine took his own life. he was an iraq veteran. he was incredibly inspiring, and now he's gone. it's senseless, and it's heartbreaking, and i am at a loss. he is why i do what i do.

please take a moment to read about his life. and please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.

i have so much more to say about him and so many other things, but this is all i can muster right now. i'm finally home, feeling exhausted, drained, sad, but also proud and grateful for the opportunity to know and work with people like him every single day.

rip clay.

changing the world. brb.

after a whopping five nights back in my own bed, i'm hitting the road again tomorrow, this time heading to our nation's capitol for the next week or so. it's time for our annual lobbying trip on capitol hill, and it's all hands on deck down in dc.

*stand back! i'm about to let my nerd flag fly*

it's basically my favorite week of the year, as i get to play blogger-in-chief, documenting all the great things that happen when a couple dozen of our members roam the halls of the capitol, demanding that congress pay attention to some crucial issues. it's a crazy long week, full of 18 hour days and crappy hotel food, but it's also inspiring, exhilarating and satisfying like no other part of my job. 

i know, this post isn't quite as exciting as a instagramed photographic journey through austin for sxsw, but i daresay it's slightly more important. wonder if we'll encounter any surprise big boi concerts in dc?

so pardon the absence for the next week, as i'll be stormin' the hill with america's best and brightest. but for now, enjoy a small sample of my dozens of hipster iphone photos taken down in tejas.

fitz and the tantrums!

big boi concert at seaholm power plant

south by san jose at the hotel san jose. sigh. love.

p.s. care to make a difference in the lives of vets returning from iraq and afghanistan? check out www.stormthehill.org.

wooo spring break!!!

woooooo!!!!

(via)

yeah, no, that's actually not the spring break i'm talking about. i'm talking about...

(via)

nerd spring break!!!

yep, i'm heading down to austin tonight, hipster glasses and all, to converge with approximately seventy trillion other geeks, nerds, techies and other assorted cool people. it's my third year at the conference, and i can't wait to get there. it's inspiring, exhausting, exhilarating, and just downright fun. plus, i get to spend an extra 6 days at home afterwards to hang out with the fam. so you'll have to excuse my absence as i spend my days geeking at out panels and my nights tracking down the coolest parties in town. oh yeah. it's gonna be epic. 

austin, are you ready?!?!