WEEKEND UPDATE

Late last week I took a very impromptu flight to Chicago to take two business meetings.  Little did I know at the time, some disgruntled airport employee was also TCB'n (taking care of business) - his being a more zesty career move than mine. He apparently started himself on fire? (ow!) and then ignited some integral airport wires as well. (I'm obviously not an engineer, or well read on the situation, so just reporting on this as I envision it in my head.) Upon hearing the news however I focused less on this man's demons and more on my weekend plans now that I'd be forced (and enabled!) to spend the weekend in the Chi!!! (All flights out of the city were grounded.) #PARTY

I quickly wiggled myself into a Chicago Bears ticket situation for Sunday. Although I've tailgated at Bears games before (you must see this) it was actually my first Bears game EVER. I was skeptical about how much I'd enjoy the football aspect of the day given I haven't had a strong interest in the sport since 2000 (Y2K, anyone?) when my Senior high school powder puff team won the championship. My family's seats are amazing though, the weather was beautiful, and the chicken finger/French fry basked I ordered was divine.

Here are some pics from the day. 

 Me and my sis.

The columns outside the Soldier Field Stadium club are so pretty. My cousin mentioned she wants to get married there and I decided it should be the venue for Macy's Quinceañera.

 Cousin Kim trying to zen out Cousin Chris because the Bears were sucking so bad.

Halpin woman. The paler, Irish, equally dramatic, version of the Kardashians.

Flash back to the tailgating portion of the day were Jules and I (posed with my brother) were sporting our obscenely spirited Bears outfits. I was soon encouraged to put a spare Bears jersey on. This is not typically my look but I styled it by rolling up the sleeves and applying extra coats of lip gloss.

More tailgating. Surprisingly I was sober for this one as I'm not quite up to resuming my normal #dranks lifestyle.

Left: Selllffieee  Right: Contemplating the best way to stage a run in with Kristin Cavallari who also at the game supporting her QB husband.

More Halpin family, this time including males. 

This weekend I found myself in a state of extreme exhaustion (still running slow from surgery) and just generally emo being back home. Obviously the only way to express such emotions, being a millennial and all, was through a melodramatic social media post. I comprised and published what I was convinced (at the time) was a poignant, deep, and incredibly moving sentence about the deep love & gratitude & utter reliance I have on my family. I garnished it with a "feeling emotional" emoji for some extra expressive flare.

I then turned on the Sarah Mclachlan/Humane Society song, showered and returned to a computer full of concerned responses and direct messages assuming I was suicidal, dying, or that, alternatively, one of these loved family members had died.

It immediately made me laugh at how melodramatic and ridiculous of a human being I unfortunately am. All this to say, while I do truly love the people in the above picture, its in a completely healthy, emotionally stable manner. And from now on when I'm sleep deprived and emo, I'll instead nap and spare the world from my every waking thought.

And look at this little cutie (left.). This is my buddy Dani, aka "Danimal" that I worked with for years back in my recruiter days. I randomly ran in to her at the game - just like I randomly ran into my ex-fiancé when I was en route on a solo bathroom venture. (This is why girls go to the bathroom in groups y'all.) It was actually great to see him after what I think has been 10-ish years and I hope he felt the same way about me???? Not to mention it was a productive run in. I obviously no longer needed to use the bathroom upon seeing him as the emotion of it all made me pee my pants. #twobirds #onestone


Such a long post today! It was a slow blog week last week so I'm feeling like I have so much to catch you up on. Like the fact that I had a Sincerely Jules sighting on Friday! How exciting right, fellow bloggers?

It's Monday and I have a lot of fun work stuff going on this week. Let's go get 'em!

 

XO, Megan

 

 

 

 P.S. Shout out to Jill Goudbout! =)

 

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Dream Believe Achieve

All is right with the world again as the coveted "Dream Believe Achieve" tees  a la Sincerely Jules are back in stock at Shopbop. 

I've celebrated this stirring development by wearing my shirt the four consecutive days its been in my possession. 

But what's not to love? Sincerely Jules - a mogul.  The sentiment behind the tee?  My mantra.  Laundry? Who needs it.

*Insightful Sizing Tip - They run big. I'm wearing a medium because they were out of smalls in black. I like that its oversized but I feel like I could easily wear a small or x-small too.

-DREAM BELIEVE ACHIEVE GUYS!!!!-

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BIRTHDAY GIRL

My precious, mischievous, loud, adorable little girl turns 2 this weekend. I feel like you're legally obligated as a mother to be all "it's gone so fast. Just yesterday she was a baby." But I don't feel that way. I feel like Macy's been with us forever.

 

Macy's strongest characteristic currently is her unwavering eagerness to try new things. Eating the wild mushrooms in our front yard, for example, comes to mind. (Shout out to Rhonda at Poison Control!)

She's not a shy child. #volume

 

Part of the fun of having a blog is getting to go back and read your "life archives." I recently read a bunch from Sept. 2012 - the month we got Macy - and I can't believe how unbelievably lucky to have this moment caught on film. (This one and this one are pretty great too.)

 

 

Macy you crazy lil shorty - I love you SO MUCH.

Just stop throwing every god forsaken thing in the toilet, okay honey?

Give it a twirl, girl!

 

-SHOP MACY'S BIRTHDAY LOOK-

 

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Moulton Jewelry Outfit Post

Jen Moulton, hailing from the weird city of Austin, Texas, is my sweet friend but also a sweet jewelry designer. She just launched a new collection, Essentials, and the mailman brought me a pair yesterday. (It was thrilling!!! I freaked out!!!! I need to get out of the house more!!!!!) The idea behind this collection is that the pieces are "for everyday wear, meant to put on, and leave on" which I read with Jen's note but didn't internalize because I was distracted by the pretty earrings! Yayyyyyyyy! But then guess what happened? I slept in them! Slept in earrnings! As if! And that's when I was like "i get it Jen. I frickin get it."

Moulton Horseshoe Hook earring.

Awake Photography

Fringe Mala Necklace by a Houston proud shop/designer, Stash Co.
(I interviewed Stash Co designer, Cheryl Schulke, for the Langford Market blog. Read it here.)

 

Target Cheetah Shoes

How cute is her packaging?

And how broke is my manicure? Shameful.

Here's what we call the "drive to finish" in the screenwriting world. Your very own discount code for Moulton. The code is HAPPY3RDBIRTHDAY (In honor of the line's 3rd year.) That's good for 25% off and ends this Friday, 9/19 at noon CST.

*Disclaimer This is not a sponsored post. Jen is a friend. Even if her jewelry blew (which it obviously doesn't) I would tell you that its fantastic which probably makes me a terrible blogger but an amazing friend. I can live with that.

*Thanks to Paige for the pics! Immediately preceding this uber professional shoot (in which we almost lost Booker to a squirrel/car/irresponsible owner type scenario) we watched Lifetime's Unauthorized Saved By the Bell Story. Extraordinary! So proud to share Milwaukee as a hometown with Screech Powers/Dustin Diamond! #cheeseheads #rememberwhenhemadeasextape

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Struggle with the Juggle Feature

A few months ago I did an interview with Sara Moore for her running series about balancing work & motherhood called "Struggle with the Juggle". Sara and I did this interview so long ago it was fun to read and remember how I answered her questions. I think I may have explained a few things slightly differently today, just months later, but I think that's symbolic of the "having it all" conundrum. It's always evolving - a perpetual work in progress. The whole thing can be difficult but we enjoy things infinitely more when we have to hustle for them. No?

XO,

Megan, self appointed philosopher

  

Click here to read the interview.

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WHAT I WANT FOR FALL

   Narcisco Rodriguez for her// Maroon Knee Socks// Black Knee Socks// Nars Lip Pencil, Dragon      Girl// Leopard Shoes// Patti Smith Tee// Joules Rain boots// Maroon Bralette & High Waist Brief//    Boys Club Sweater, Warby Parker Kimball Glasses

It's fall! I LOVE fall! The Return of Homeland. Pumpkin Farms. Burning leaves. Homecomings. Hot Apple Cider. Hot Apple Cider with rum. The Augustana Slough. MY BIRTHDAY! 

It's gonna be the best guys! - Let's make sure we look cute for it, k?

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The Business of Fashion Blogging

Reward Style's Amber Venz and Baxter Box (picture via Texas Monthly)

The number one question people ask me about my blog is how I earn money. Not only does this Texas Monthly article, The Click Clique, explain that in detail but it goes on to give a detailed expose of Amber Venz, the woman? girl? (she's only 26!) who invented the technology, Reward Style, that enables Greetings from Texas to be monetized.

I had the pleasure of meeting Amber last year at Texas Style Council. We were presenting in the same room and her presentation preceded mine. We sat next to one another and visited both there, and later that day at a happy hour, when I met her now hubby, and company co-founder, Baxter Box.

That weekend I instagrammed a picture of Amber's presentation and captioned it "the #markzuckerberg of the blogosphere. #buthotter #andnotawkward" . It was then I began meticously following her career and blog because, much like the author of the Texas Monthly article, I was captured with Amber's business aptitude and foresight, intellect, articulation, age (again, she's 26!) and runway looks.

Amber and I presenting at Texas Style Council 2013 (a well known, Austin based blogging conference)

  

The only concrete fact I know to be true about blogging is that its constantly evolving. (Which I wrote a piece about here.) I can't wait to watch how Amber and Reward Style adapt accordingly. I got money on something with drones.


P.S. Amber also invented the technology (called LiketoKnowIt) that  make instagram posts shoppable. Enter your email address here. Then every time you "like" one of my instagram posts - you'll be emailed the respective product links.

P.P.S. Reward Style isn't the only way I earn money blogging - but it's a part of the equation. I additionaly work with brands directly. Just thought I should disclose that since I'm apparently being overly candid about my modest W-2 today.

 

 

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HOSTING GIG - LETS TALK IT OVAR

 I'm excited to announce that in two weeks (from yesterday) I'll be one of 7 conversation hosts at Let's Talk It Ovar - a fun event benefiting ovarian cancer. The idea is that you can eat, drink, and mingle with "notable Houstonians" throughout the evening.

 

For example, I'm super excited to meet Leroy Chiao - a former astronaut and international space station commander. I'm gonna get the scoop on how realistic my favorite movie, Armeggedon, really is.

 

I know Danny and my friend Brad who I'm forcing to attend are eager to talk shop with John McClain, famed NFL writer.

 

Brock Wagner, founder of Saint Arnold Brewing Company, will be there too. Definitely want to become BFF with him - bracelets and all.

 

And then there's me. If you guys buy a ticket - I'll be happy to discuss anything about my career that interests you. Whether that's my meaningful post about dry heaving on Chicago's Lakeshore Drive or, equally compelling, my influential piece about mascara, we'll get into it.

 

The evening will also have a silent auction (my book being one of the items) and wine pull which warrant mentioning.

 

I hope to see you there!

 

 

P.S. Hooray for the weekend! Yesterday was the most emo day ever. Between poor Joan

=( and other extreme highs and lows that went down, I'm ready for a nap. Or, better yet a bender. But in my fragile state (speaking of which - today is national ovarian cancer awareness day! how timely!) I'll have to settle for a nap. #ambien 

XO, Megan

 

 

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Megan's Mix

I've been a cheating slore lately.

Jay, Bey, Ms. Perry - I've been receiving my musical inspiration elsewhere.

I feel guilty but it also feels invigorating to mix (as in mix tape) it up a bit.

It's hump day on a short week.

Go get 'em everybody! This will help!

 

P.S. More musical geniusness here from Adam Levine and Jimmy Fallon. And fellow Lena Dunham fan girls, she was published in the New Yorker yesterday!

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Life Status Update

Annnnnd I'm back!! Without boring you with copious details, my surgery was a success. It's not 100% until we get the pathology back but my doctor feels confident all will be well. So party time!

I got home from the the hospital this weekend. I've been trying to lay low, not walk, etc.  but my self diagnosed ADHD makes it difficult. Last night, however, my mother-in-law told me if I don't stay in bed, my stomach won't heal properly and will look fucked up for the rest of my life. (I'm paraphrasing in an extremely non verbatim way.) I don't know if she was lying or just knew I'd be most receptive to the vanity angle. Either way, I've been scared straight.

My experience at MD Anderson was great, per usual. A lot of my friends stopped by and my extensive nursing team was so sweet. Similarly, Danny was saintly throughout the week save one night when he and his friend, Brad, snuck a 6 pack of Coors Light into my room, as though I was in a college dorm and not our nations most prestigious cancer hospital. I forced Brad to take their empties with him upon his departure but I think the nurses heard him clink on out, as I was released the very next day. They were probably like we need to get this alcoholic slore out. (Which I can't blame them for. Coors Light? Please. If you're gonna smuggle beer into a hospital, at least buy something imported. Corona perhaps, with limes. Nothing else is worth the effort.)

 

So that's about it.

Cancer relapse number 3, that's a wrap.

 

 

Here a few more pics from the week; 

Me and Mace cavalierly sharing a chocolate milkshake in bed.

Incase you wanted to know what I looked like on morphine.
 

 Our sweet baby girl playing with my "spirometer" which is better described as a breathing bong.

Sweet Lucy Lou & Miriam.

Me organizing my pills. I'm on track to finish in early 2019.

All jokes aside: I'm so happy, so lucky, so grateful, and ready to live my beautiful life in full stride soon!

P.S. If for some reason you're interested in my cancer history, here is the thread to all my previous posts about the subject. And this video produced by MDA pretty much sums it up too.

P.P.S. Thank you for the overwhelming outpour of texts, emails, and social media love. It's extremely humbling. XO, Megan

 

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