top 15 of 2011

top 15 of 2011 (in no particular order)

15. spending a weekend in hanover w/ erin
14. spending a weekend in DC w/ frannie
13. having kelley visit me in nashville for three weeks
12. celebrating mom and dad's 25th anniversary
11. getting to work with such an amazing team at lululemon
10. working at camp greystone all summer
9. finding the perfect little antique suitcase to sell my CDs from
8. chai w/ neelam
7. colleen o'connell's visit
6. vanessa and brett's wedding, molly and lee j's wedding, kristen and chris's wedding, nick and jane's wedding, and all the other friends' weddings i got to witness this year
(+ whit's and boo's engagements!)
5. taking my first official cross-country road trip w/ my friend carolyn!

4. baba's 80th birthday w/ all the cousins and fam on dad's side
3. annual Christmas tree hunt and Christmas eve celebration
2. post-Christmas trip to CO w/ cousins and fam on mom's side
1. releasing my first EP, playing my first full band show, and receiving my first check from itunes!
mom and dad busting a move at my ep release

thank you to everyone in my life who has supported and encouraged me
and helped make 2011 so wonderful.
so grateful for you all.

here's to a 2012 full of
love,
simplicity, and
joy.

joy cards :)

hello friends :)
hope your holiday season is off to a warm and wonderful start.
i've spent the past few weeks designing and packaging boxes and boxes of stationery and am so excited to announce that they are officially bundled, ribbon-tied, and ready for the ordering!
10 cards + 10 envelopes + cute box + cute bow + lots of love = perfect gift
for sisters/friends/cousins/co-workers/grandmas/moms/etc.

pricing:

(not boxed / boxed*)

single pack: $12 / $15*
5 packs: $55 ($11 per pack) / $65 ($13 per box)*
10 packs: $100 ($10 per pack) / $125 ($12.50 per box)*

*boxes will either say 'joy' OR whatever name you choose (first name, last name, nickname - you name it!)

*pricing does not include shipping, but if shipping is required, i'll choose the most cost-effective option and it should not cost much. also, if you're in nashville or cheyenne, i'll bring your order straight to your door.

*'we' on the little blue card refers to me and you. :)

interested in ordering? leave a comment on this blog with your name and email address and/or shoot an email to joycardproject@gmail.com and i will be in touch with you as soon as i can.

joy,
meg

t-givs.

(sisters kel and frannie with cousin, ned)

it's a gift to come home for the holidays,
and there are the obvious reasons like getting to spend time with family, sleep in the bed i slept in growing up, celebrate long-held traditions, etc.
but it's the little things i really love.

like

mama's banners.
mom, gem that she is, makes any of us who has been gone for an extended period of time and a welcome home banner. absolutely the thoughtfullest.

skype.
erin is nannying in italy right now. thanks to skype, though, the rest of us were able to skype with her for an hour and a half on thanksgiving afternoon.
distance averted, in sort.
snow!
having lived in nashville for six years now, i absolutely LOVE when it snows at home.
happy thanksgiving!

peace.

"come to Me, and rest in my peace. my face is shining upon you, in rays of peace transcending understanding. instead of trying to figure things out yourself, you can relax in the presence of the One who knows everything."
- Jesus Calling

life lately

...has been characterized by learning a lot about the

art of patience.
and patience isn't really my forte if you know what i mean.
but praise for the fact that we all undergo seasons in life characterized by things
that are hard and

seasons of all sorts hold beauty.

here's to finding joy in the midst.
xx.

pink radio cake.

1. on sunday, i was at fido and decided i wanted to try their pink radio cake. people have been telling me, 'meg. that cake. is. amazing.' so to my friend in line, i said, 'sydney, i'm gonna get a slice of this cake just to celebrate life... share it with me?' and the guy in front of me turned around and said, 'you know what? i'm buying your cake. if you're celebrating life, i'm buying that!' treat.
   

fido is one of my favorite coffee shops and the pink radio cake was divine. look at it:

2. i finally traded in my beat up (though beloved) flippy phone for an iphone. yowza. my favorite thing is having a camera with me wherever i go. i like to take pictures of leaves:
the skyline:
my set up at coffee shops: cute kitchens:
cute courtyards:
perfect chai-ness:
my friend caroline on sunshiney days:
quotes that inspire:
words that remind:
wigs on counters: criss-crossy sky lines:
brainstormy things:
fences and benches and ladders and trees:and any other thing my little heart desires.
'tis quite enchanting.

3. the other day at work, we had an abundance of magazines in the back.
thisss was a gift.

i got crafty.

and enjoy your day.
xx.

also:
no great thing is created suddenly. there must be time. give your best and always be kind.
-epictetus

magic.

today just calls for two posts, folks.

because for three. (i put that period there on purpose, btw. bc i'd like it to be known that these were some greeeat hours, and the fact that i had three of them was an absolute gift from the doler outer of babysitting hours).
...solid hours this afternoon, i got to tote around this 4-week
(as in i weigh 10 pounds and was born less than a monthhhh ago 4-week)-old little babe
in the sunshine,
in this sling (!),
in this city that i love
and it was just. magical.

(boys, you don't have keep reading if you're weirded out).
girls: we went on an entire downtown adventure,
including to the library (if you live in nashville and haven't been to the main branch on church street, go as soon as you can - it's absolutely beautiful), as well as to the men's bathroom at the hermitage hotel (still fully functioning/famous for its 1930s art-deco styling/gets visitors every day), and up and down many city blocks, just exploring and soaking in the sun.

twas divine.

early.

there's something delightful about starting the day before the sun comes up.
not that i make a habit of this.
but today, for example:
i rolled out of bed at 5:34,
threw on some yoga clothes,
drove 20 minutes in the dark to a heated class a friend was meeting me at,
(absoluteeely questioning my sanity and intentions here)

but then felt wonder.ful.

and after yoga, all before 8 am,
i took my car through the car wash, filled up with gas, treated myself to my a chai tea latte from the perch, came home and made some spinach/carrot/lemon/apple juice, packed a lunch (trying to be both economical and healthy these days), met a friend for coffee, watched coverage of amanda knox being brought back to the states (ah!*), received a phone call from my sister erin and her 3-year-old italian precioso, eduardo, started a new blog,
(and by started, i mean claimed the name. but it's a start. stay tuned for what it's about), and texted a few lovelies like my mom and baby sis francesca.

allll of that actually took me until 10, but you get the gist.
early mornings - much productivity.

i know myself better than to commit to this early to bed/rise business for any significant amount of time right now, but i'm curious to see what might happen if i keep it up for a week.

cheers to tuesday, chai, and the IPHONE 5,
(which was officially was announced five minutes ago. ...cnn.com is open in the next window and just flashed this news. i've been saving and waiting for this date for a longgg time.
i'm not complaining, and sometimes i actually appreciate the simplicity of my
call/text/mayyybe take a pixely picture if it decides its up for it phone,
but let's be honest. the iphone is just cool).

joy from the nash,
m

*ps. amanda knox is the american girl who was found guilty and sentenced to 26 years (in an italian prison) for murdering her italian roommate while she studied abroad in the tuscan city of perugia in 2007. i happened to be studying abroad in siena, just 40 minutes away, when all of this was going on, and it was quite terrifying.
when the initial verdict came out two years ago, (guilty), i was both shocked, sad, and just bummed bc i have always believed her to be innocent (several reasons).
i've been following this case since it opened and am SO relieved/excited for her and her family/thankful to hear that the verdict was overturned and amanda is on her flight back to america as we speak.
i can't imagine how she must feel.
something about the fact that we are the same age, studied in neighboring cities, etc. made me relate to this whole thing on a personal level.

xo.

quote for the day:
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more."
-Melody Beattie

what are you most grateful for today?

drying racks and fallidays

today i bought a drying rack.
yep.
the thing that

costs money i'd rather spend on coffee or gas or a scarf or this deliciousness,

stands awkwardly in the corner of my room, just...hangin out,
and renders clothes both card boardy and more uncomfortable
than is necessary at all, in my opinion, though mom -and she's a wise woman- would have me believe differently, which is partially why i bought d.r. to begin with.
i digress.

the thing is kinddd of a joy-bringer.

because for the past two years,
every time i've washed my 'hang dry' stuff,
it's ended up strewn across
the counter, my keyboard, the couch, the stools, the chairs, hanging off door handles
(anyone?),
and things are just a bit of a hassle this way.

so cheers to my drying rack.

and also cheers to
fall, fall candles, fall smells, fall leaves, fall parties, fall air, fall clothing,
fall running, fall walking, fall photos, fall yoga, fall dancing, fall napping,
fall driving, fall holidays (...fallidays*), fall candy, fall love.
tis thee. greatest. season of them all.

what are some of your fall joy-bringers?

xo.
*click on this link and listen to my friend becca's song, "Falliday." just swell. :)

ceiling fans and dollar yogurt.

a ceiling fan brought me joy today.
during a quick nap.
in a hot room.
when i was really wishing it could get cooler.
(and then it did).

who knew?

also, the pinkberry guy gave me a small cup of yogurt for a dollar (not $4) as i was leaving
live on the green and
my parking space was literally the first one across the street from the stage.
niceties all around.

what brought you joy today?
xoxo.

"Don't postpone joy until you have learned all of your lessons. Joy is your lesson."

roadtrippin'

mmm.
what. a treat.

i spent the last two nights in the mountains of colorado with my dear friend melissa.
highlights included
-an incredible hike
-finding fresh raspberry bushes and eating some right from the plant along our hike
sources assured us they were safe. :)
-a free & public s'mores pit (what? who invented this? these should be everywhere)
-napping on the face of a huge rock in the middle of our hike
-dinner at a cozy little Italian place to commemorate mel and i's study abroad experience in siena
-playing music for/meeting some of mel's friends
-the simple act of driving across the country. there's something really therapeutic about driving across beautiful country and having time to take everything in.

other thoughts:
i love nashville, but being both home in wyoming for a bit and now here in colorado for a few days has made me think about moving out west again... or at least want to visit a lot.
i love how outdoorsy and nature-y everything is.
i totally have a mountain girl in me.

currently in a super cute and cozy starbucks in edwards, CO enjoying my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. i normally opt for local coffee shops - actually, one of my favorite things ever is visiting non-franchised, funky, independent coffee shops- but this is perfect for this morning. welcome the fall. I LOVE. the fall.

i can't believe 10 years have passed since sept. 11. 2001.
i vividly remember sitting in a student council meeting in my science classroom at mccormick jr. high watching the initial news reports and videos pour in
on a tiny tv in the corner of the room.

about to trek out to las vegas, my stop for tonight, and then to california tomorrow. got some steve moakler, ben rector and andy grammer tunes to keep me company. all great picks - check them out.

joy to you,
m

home-ity home home.

hello my lovely blog followers!

these past few weeks have been a blur, but joyful nonetheless.
camp wrapped up mid-august and then I spent a week in Nashville, enjoying coffee dates galore, walking around my favorite neighborhoods, and just relishing in the fact that i was HOME!
my sister, erin, flew to Nashville at the end of that week and we road-tripped all the way back home (as in home-where-we-grew-up-home) to wyo, and that's where i am now.

days here have been full of those simple, only-at-home-in-WY moments that i have been craving for a long time. and by long, i mean prior-to-starting-college-long, as i have not been home for this many consecutive days since i graduated from high school.
it is so nice to wake up and share coffee with my mom, take lunch to frannie at high school, watch her tennis matches, visit my grandparents and sit on their porch swing and eat the cherries (and all the other miscellaneous foods that they feed me :)), etc.

yesterday was especially fun - it was my parents' 25th anniversary.
yowza!
i am so inspired by this.
all six of us were home, which was so special because this rarely happens now that my sisters and I are all (or relatively, at least) grown up. ernie made an incredible dinner of steaks (slash dad grilled the steaks - he does not pass up his grilling job), sweet potato fries, wedge salads (mom and dad love these), and a key lime pie and chocolate sheet cake for dessert. mmm.
i was in charge of the ambiance - thanks for that delegation, e ;) - and set the dining room table, made place cards, set out lots of pictures of mom and dad from different years of their marriage - definitely not necessary, but why not!? 25 years is means for celebration!

it was just the six of us and was absolutely perfect. we ended the night by all trying on my mom's wedding dress from 25 years ago! priceless!
The dress fit all of us and my mom, too. Twas sweet.

other recent bits of joy:
-coming home from the gym tonight and being greeted by 2 neighborhood girls asking for my autograph on their cds! So precious! I proceeded to play coffee shop boy and they sang every word with me. Melt. Laugh. JOY.

-visiting my grandma, baba. sitting in the same yard where all 8 of her children and all 28 of her grandchildren once played. the way the sun sparkled and dipped through the leaves into the area where we sat. seeing intermittent bits of memory flicker across her face, even in the midst of sharing the same conversation over and over again. filling her in on my hopes and dreams and asking her to share whatever wisdom she wished she'd known at my age.
spending time together.

-running. zumba. blue gatorade and a steak and avocado sandwich for dinner (weird, i know, but it was lovely). xo.

lake road

today i'm thankful for dry socks, hairdryers, coffee, raspberries, nutella, friends that run by your side the whole time, renewed perspective on a few things, and clarity about another few things.

corn roast

corn roast: ribs, turkey legs, potato salad, watermelon, root beer, cat williams,
dancing, enjoyment of a perfect midsummer night together.


skittle cart

before the rain

joy to you,
m

decade dance.

tonight was the decade dance.

i sported this little number:
everyone had lots of fun.
joy.

picky pics

a few camp pics for you to enjoy:

1. evening program last night, a concert on the pageant court.
tis tradition for everyone to wear 'whites.'
the girls look like little white bugs.

2. view from my run today

3. early morning on lake edith

joy to you.
m

fan mail!

i officially received my first piece of fan mail today.
how fun is this!?

echols, a precious girl from my guitar class in june, sent me this and a sweet note.
uh.dorable.
her drawing is my album cover.
totally made my day.

echols, thank you!
such a joy-bringer.
meg

rain dance

every (camp) day at 12:30,
i teach a dance class called Greystone Groove.
it's a series of dances that the one and only kelly carew made up about 15 years ago; fun, aerobic-y stuff to songs like Bye Bye Bye and Gotta Get Thru This that the older campers love because they are masters and have memorized the dances for years on end and can really get funky, and that the younger girls love because they want to be just like the older girls.
long sentence.

normally, i teach in the pavilion (see below), but today it started pourrring during this class, so what do we do?
blast the music, run outside and dance in the rain the entire time.
such. a blast.
p.s. there are NINETY FOUR girls who take this class.
All of us. on the road. torrential downpour. music blaring. puddles. every inch of clothing soaked.
joy.
also: maybe it's cliche to "take a picture a day," but i recently watched a TED talk (if you don't know what TED is, go to TED.com and have a look) about trying something for 30 days. i decided i'm going to take and post a picture on this blog for the next 30 days.
it'll be a good exercise in creativity and discipline, and just a fun way to recall specific details of my days in 40 years to come.

i wish I'd had my camera during the dance episode from this afternoon, but I did not.
thus, for today, a pic from my humble cabin abode:

plenty of color. :)

xo.
meg

one more thing - i'm writing a lot of new music here and can't wait to share it with you all come fall! camp is a welllll of inspiration and playing guitar daily slash continuing to be disciplined with my writing has evolved my style a lot in just a short amount of time. It's been fun to discover and hone in on this new sort of sound/style, and it's proven to me that if you're committed to growing as an artist or whatever, if you put in the time and are committed to it - the growth and development will inevitably come. exciting!!
stay tuned!

final thing:
below: the DHP. the DHP: the dining hall porch. you can't see from this picture, but there are about 20 rocking chairs on this porch, each of which provides the most perfect early morning journaling/sunrise-watching place. (also, there's coffee ready early in the mornings, so one of my favorite things to do if I'm not teaching 6:15 am zumba :) is grab some coffee and just read/write/sit for a while, before the rest of camp wakes up).

annnd. i had to include this shot from last night's evening program in the pavilion. twas "game show night" w/ a krispy kreme theme... thus, the hats.

cuz baby you're a fiiiirework.

camp is amazing.

4th of july means carnival means funnel cakes, cotton candy, snow cones, face painting, inflatable rides, a huge dance-off (i was working at the snow cone booth, otherwise, you know i would have been a part of that), and -seriously- the most amazing fireworks show i have ever seen.


i sat there with my mouth open the entire time and felt
4 years old; nothing could quell my wonder.
when my grandpa (we called him Grandad) used to pray, he always ended by saying,
"...and thank You for this great land of freedom in which we live."
grandad, I echo you so strongly tonight!
what a gift it is to have the freedoms that we do.
thank you to all who protect them.

happy summer. :)

on songwriting and songsharing

so, as a songwriter, one of the greatest gifts is to share a song and have other people
get excited about it, relate to it, sing it for you, or the best, in my opinion - sing it with you.

as the worship leader at camp greystone this summer, i wrote a song to go along with the theme verse of the summer,
walk in the light.
this morning, i taught my song to 600 girls and then we all sang it together - such magic!! Ah!
it is so beautiful to see how a tiny seed of an idea can bloom into a full-blown song, sung by 600 people all together, ... and to witness that first hand this morning was so, so amazing!
can i get an a.men.?!
here are some picky pics.

the pavilion, where i lead worship every morning :)

and bc you all know i love dancing so much...
a little dance partay action. single ladies, i assume.

xo.
meg

lent

i love lent.

if you are not familiar with it,
it's the 40-day season prior to Easter.
in it, you meditate upon the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert before he was crucified.
it's beautiful.
it's like a re-aligner with what is good,
what is necessary,
what is helpful,
and a clearing out of what is excessive,
life-numbing,
and not beneficial.
and in doing so, step into a place of humility, gratitude, self-awareness, and simplicity.
it's about shaving away the excess gunk in our lives so we may be more cognizant of and seek that which brings life,
and come Easter, we emerge as individuals more full of love, light and readiness to take on the world.

i'm ready.

clean house = clear mind.

i love nashville.

blue nails.

rites, naps & pico vs.

a. vandy has amazing artists for rites of spring this year.
so excited for that.
sara bareilles? matt and kim? yes please.
annnd it just happens to fall on my birthday.
that is swell.

b. today i came home from work and took a 4-hour nap. not sure i can legitimately call 4 hours a nap, but. i am.
it was magical.

c. i have friends doing really cool things and i'm gonna start celebrating them through this blog. check back soon for more, but for tonight,
check out these guys.
they're awesome.
listen to/watch ' the villa sessions' and then go to itunes and buy their record. joy.

ps - it just started thunderstorming and i looove falling asleep to rain and thunder.
this. is wonderful.

night night.

library stuff

today i took a little adventure to the library.
highlight of my day.
the nashville library is amazingly beautiful.

"hi, i'd like to get a library card please."
(me to front desk guy).

narrow, question eyes.
(front desk man to me).

i guess my enthusiasm surprised him.

also, i'd like to check out anne of green gables; can you direct me to that area?

that's in the chilllldren's section, he said.

"great, thanks."

i think he thought i was quite odd.

anyway.
now i have a library card, the library is beautiful, and i'm about to read anne of green gables
(somehow missed out on this one and a friend's been telling me i have. to. read. it. ...so i am) and there is joy in this situation.

and also:
tonight, i hosted a springtime spaghetti dinner.
spring and spaghetti don't fit entirely (or at all, really), but that's what i wanted to cook.
so i cooked it.
a few girlfriends came over and we all ate together and twas lovely.
we also watched a walk to remember and all agreed that the soundtrack from that movie is one of the best ever.
i am so excited for the spring.
and now i'm going to read my children's book.

in the words of a dear friend,
sleep with the angels.

xo.
meg

ps - check out my friend carolyn's blog.
it's beautiful.

spring :)

today,
the weather was b.e.a.YOOOOtiful.
totally gorge.

we swung the doors to the store open wide and that was all i needed to have a perfect afternoon.

it's so the little things.
xo.

so sometimes life gives you lemons...

and today was one of those days.

for those of you who don't know,
tonight was supposed to be the night of my ep release party.
--my first time playing with a full band, my first show at a bigger nashville venue, my first time publicly performing all that's on the ep (plus several other originals, plus some really fun covers), etc.

so naturally, i've been anticipating and getting excited for this night for months!

i knew what dress i was gonna wear,
had lined up a few opening bands,
hung posters,
put together and rehearsed with my own full band for the first time,
found a suitcase to arrange my cd's in on my merch table,
got a strand of little white lights to hang around the edges of my merch table...
you get the picture.

and then,
it snowed.
a ton.

for my hometown folk from wyo,
an inch or two of snow in january is no big.
it's like. SNOW.SHMO, yeah?

but here in nashville, this is not the case.
nashville shuts down after the tiniest bit of snow.
groceries sell out of bread. school gets canceled for days. work lets out early and/or starts extra late.
everything. shuts. down.

so.
today i get done working at lululemon at 3.
it's just starting to snow.

i drive home, where i'm about to curl my hair, run through a few songs with Christine, eat something, head to sound check, and then perform this baby of a show that i have been pumped for for so many months!

mom and dad and kelley surprise me with a big thing of roses, ernie (sister erin) had sent the sweeeetest thing of bamboo stalks (ernie - perfect!! you know me too well. :)), and my murray cousins had sent another precious thing of flowers - and in the excitement of all of this and trying to get ready pretty quickly before sound check, it never occurred to me that the weather might get bad enough to have to actually cancel the show.

but long story short,
it did.

dad and i kept watching all the snow come down and all the cars creeeeep along the streets, and in the end... it just got too bad out to have the kind of show i'd envisioned / for people to be able to travel there safely, and so we canceled it.

BUT.
all that to say...
i still had an amazing night. :)

it's funny how things always work out, but they really do.
i was disappointed at first.
and then I was really disappointed and even allowed myself to crylaughrealllllllyisthishappeningrightnowbutwhyyyy?! for a sec.
(hey. sometimes it's just the perfect thing).

but then,
i chose to invite a few friends over for pizza and just have a fun, cozy-in night with my family.
and it was perfect.
we sat around the kitchen table and talked and drank diet coke (and la croix!)
and ate homemade brownies and pizza and also some tortellini soup mom had made this afternoon,
and it was wonderful.

and then we all moved to the couches and played table topics and talked and laughed and told stories a bit more and it was just one of those quality time nights where i was like -
this is awesome.

so...yeah.
i'm super bummed the show didn't work out tonight
(esp. cuz my parents and kelley flew especially for it)
but
i am so, so grateful for the quality time i got to spend with my family and friends tonight.

i cannot wait for the night of the rescheduled release and will keep you all updated about the date and time.
would love for you to join me there. :)

from the very bottom of my (heart? ... too cliche... feet? ...that sounds weird... self? ...no. -literal thought process in my mind right now:) ), thank you all for your kind, kind words and messages and encouragement and excitement around my first ep. :)
i feel so loved.

joy to you,
meg


kelley girl.

my cd is on itunes!!!!

i am so full of joy right now because my very first cd was just released on itunes!!!
it is such an amazing feeling and i am just overjoyed bc of everyone's support and encouragement.

just type 'meg murray' in the itunes searchbox and you'll find the ep!

also, you can check out my website here:
www.megmurraymusic.com

THANK YOU GUYS!!!
love,
meg :)

i met my twin today!

today was such a blessing of a day!
a) it was my day off, and b) i got to spend it with friends who lifted my spirit the entire time.

here is are the specifics:
- lunch with the wonderful stephanie falcone.
(i know it's a burger place, but the she crab soup and the caesar salad at burger up are delish. also, fry-dipping into the honey dijon aioli / blue cheese dressing / homemade ketchup is amazing).
anyway, onto the friend part: i met steph a while ago, but today was our first time really hanging out, and oh my goodness, this girl is a BREATH!
a few fun facts: she's the 3rd of 7 kids, she on the vandy women's swim team, she's a studio art major slash singer-songwriter, she wants to get certified to teach pilates reformer classes, (wha?! who does that annnd all this other stuff!?), but above all, she is just so down to earth and authentic and refreshingly real.
i'm excited to be friends.

-meeting my twin.
i've been told by a few friends who lived in australia for the past few months that i have an australian twin. that is cool, but the supercoolness is that said twin, colleen, is visiting NASHVILLE this entire week and i got to meet her today!
she is a singer/songwriter as well, so we spent all afternoon sharing music and telling stories and laughing bc we really are a lot alike in a lot of ways.
we also made ginger tea in a tea kettle and listened to it whistle and when it was ready, i decided to add milk and lemon to mine for what i thought would create some unique sort of yumminess...
but do not do this, you guys.
it does not create some unique sort of yumminess and the milk does this weird separating business in the midst of all the lemony acids, and then the whole bunch of liquid inside the cup ends up looking really disturbing and has made me wonder if i ever want to drink milk again.
ew.

-tea with neelam.
finally... i have this really cool neighbor who invited me for homemade chai tea tonight.
i love chai from basically anywhere, but i LOVE chai like neelam makes it.
she makes it from a mixture of leaves off her parents' green tea plant, some loose black tea, several different spices that i cannot remember the names of, milk, cane sugar and fresh grated ginger. so, so delicious!
neelam is a self-described 'dunker,' so she also offered me some cinnamon little cookie things and together we dunked and drank for two and a half hours that absolutely flew!
joy.

we also busted out a list of neelam-meg activites that we want to accomplish before 11.11.11. (get it? today is 1.11.11 and we're gonna knock this list out by the next time the date is all 1s?!) and i'm pumped bc one of them includes making an authentic indian meal, and if the food is anything like the chai that neelam makes, it will be just amazin.

the end.
goodnight everyone!

v&b and veggies for lunch

1. hearing vanessa and brett's engagement story.
(oh. my. goodness. that man loves vanessa so, so much!)

2. cinnamon toast.

3. getting off work early and coming home for a low-key, catch-up-with-friends-and-on-laundry
kind of night.

4. making steamed veggies for lunch and feeling superbly energetic post-meal.
who knew veggies could bring ya joy.

cleanin.

today:

sleeping in
leftover mexican food
a massive cleaning/clearing out/reorganizing of my closet
running into a long-lost friend at the grocery
organizing lots of stuff on my computer
gearing up for a great month - cd release show is one month from today. ee!

joy.

did-ty times.

1. 100.1
2. "i luff did-ty."
3. smiling elephant (go eat there if you have not already).
4. the inside of the hood of my sweatshirt.
5. mom sending me picture messages of dad dressed up in his new Christmas clothes.

HAPPPPPPY NEW YEAR!

Happppppy new year, everyone!

Wishing you an amazing, blessing-filled year adorned with lots of little white lights,
even -and especially- in the face of darkness.

(ready to ring in the new year!)

joys from today:
-neily's croissant bread pudding.
-dinner with some of my besties at PM.
the waiter told us we were the happiest table he had ever waited on and i only mention this bc we really were such happy girls, getting to laugh and catch up and sit so snug after having been apart for so long. i think Heaven includes these kinds of meals.

(so happy at dindin!)

more joys:
-the coffee i drank after dinner. (somehow, that coffee was the most perfect tasting coffee i have ever had).
-an epic game of loaded questions and the laughter that ensued.
-staying up til 5 snuggling with my roomies and catching up.

Here's to finding joy in the small things.
xx.
meg

ps. these are my new years resolutions:
1. yoga 3x per week.
2. weekly letter to grams.
3. read more. (kickin off the new year w/ the happiness project by gretchen rubin).