Underbite

Although I think Juvenile and I are speaking of two different aspects of what mothers give to their daughters, I couldn't get this song off repeat in my head, so I decided to post it as a segue into today's post for my mother.

To the woman whose soft, warm hands I will miss so much, but with closed eyes, I will always feel -

Thank you for hoarding countless empty bottles of what used to be random assortments of various products... who knew that empty tide, dial, aspirin, hell, I can't even remember which other bottles, could equal hours, excuse me, years, of entertainment to us.
Thank you for teaching us that kitchen utensils, when used properly, are not really used for stirring vegetables into the proper temperature or scraping the last remnants of recipe into the pan, but are instead intended for digging for treasure or for architectural digs in the sand; of course!
Thank you for all of the magical buttons and putt putt tokens (or wherever they came from) that bought me a world beyond the real.
Thank you for making time without objects feel so exciting... counting toes, patty-cake, learning how the farmer rides his horse, and other games that would otherwise seem so childish and silly where never so thrilling as when you performed them.
I freeze my old bread like you did... for the ducks... even if I don't have any actual plans to go feed any ducks, I know that it'll be good for feeding ducks when and if the moment presents itself.
Thank you for giving the world so many giggles, showing everyone around you how a proper giggle should be giggled.
For demonstrating the importance of using both sun-tan lotion as well as washing your face and using lotion afterwards every night.  Your good looks were a testament to this.  I still haven't quite latched on to that habit because of laziness, but it's a habit I know that I would benefit from.
At the moment I can't remember the name of the lotion you used, but I know that, in the future, whenever I suddenly stumble upon it, happiness is guaranteed to wash over me like a tidal wave.  I look forward to that instant when my nose is reunited with that scent.
For your love of Bloody Mary's, a taste that you didn't directly hand down to me, but that I can definitely link as a trait I received from you - thank you, a million times, because for those that don't understand, they have no idea what they're missing!
And for Hoppin' John, and many other meals that were entirely too spicy for any human to ingest...
For all of these things and all that they meant to me - thank you.
My heart celebrates you and your love.
For these gifts and so many more, thank you, and I love you.

For now and for always,
Meg

Check it out!  My sister Lindsey, who has always had an aesthetically able eye, has gotten little Gus man's nursery in a color challenge on Ohdeedoh!!!  She has done a fabulous job decorating his room and not only with color choices and accent pieces, but in the arrangement of the room as well.  It's a really small room, so it could easily become crowded and feel claustrophobic, however, Lindsey has flawlessly selected the furniture and decor that give the room a rich personality and filtered out (yes, my sister is a hardcore organizer/cleaner which is awesome, because I'm not) the everyday clutter that threatens to steal the room's aesthetic and character from those living in it.  On top of all of this... it is functional, AND cute as hell for a nursery.  I know the littlest Hill approves.  Gus's Jalapeno Jelly room is so much fun, but it's not Gus's room completely until the little Gusbuster man is in it.

So, go to the link and vote for Gus's room!  It's fun and it'll make you smile!


There are so many awesome house tours and kids rooms tours on apartmenttherapy.com you should definitely check it out.  Lots of visual inspiration for your home, nursery/kids room, kitchen, the technology in your home, and how you can become more environmentally conscious in your own home.

In fact, I've been putting to good use this helpful list (found on Apartment therapy) to easily keeping your home clean and organized each month.  So far, so good as the place is actually looking clean on a consistent basis.

And, for your weekendly browsing pleasures, here are some fun links from around the web:

First off, wh-wh-wh-where DO you find one of THESE!!!

I just can't get enough of recycled appliances/junk turned into functional furniture and home items.

DIY no knit scarf!

Check out Emma Watson's (Hermione) new hair via thesensesfive.com and beautiful holiday hair via a cup of jo!  I love it!

So, that's what I got for links this weekend.  This weekend I'm hoping to be super productive with my thesis, beautify a lamp that's been waiting for a face-lift and a place in our home, and clean up the workroom in our home.  Wish me luck.  And, because I want to send out some love to both of my nephew's and give a shout-out to my best buddy, Joey while he's at work, here's a couple of awesome pictures of Joey and Jeremy on their Boys day here at our house:

September is always bustling with birthdays it seems like, so this is going to be a birthday shout out post for all of those birthday's!

On Sept. 2nd, 1920, my grandmother, Irene Farris Travis a.k.a. Mimi, was born.  She turned 90 a couple of weeks ago and did it with grace.  She is smart, funny, and movin' and groovin' every day.  Way to show old age how it's done, Mimi!!!


My two cousins Madison and Mabree and their grandfather, my Uncle Scottie, all shared birthdays this month as well.  They're a beautiful bunch who have way too much talent for their own good.  Seriously, they're talented in everything from singing/songwriting, to dancing and cheerleading.  Ladies and Uncle Scottie,  I hope your birthdays were utterly delightful!


Three of my dearest friends, Audrey, Lauren, and Katie B. also shared birthday's this month (except Audrey, whose birthday was the 24th of August, but close enough).  Audrey's finishing up vet school down in Auburn and has done it with a style and finesse that no one else has yet to achieve, Lauren's getting down and dirty on the farm while attending vet school in Dublin, and Katie, whose birthday is actually today, is going the homo sapien route and attending Med school over in East TN (ETSU). Yes, if you must ask, all of my friends are brilliant.  Ladies, you are beautiful, talented, and so intelligent, I am so lucky to have friends like you and I can't imagine not having you in my life.  I hope your birthdays rocked!

Tomorrow is my birthday.  So, since it's on a tuesday, we treated this weekend as my birthday weekend, and I have to say, it was wonderful and much needed.  I got to spend Saturday with my buddies Angela and Dani exploring the COOLEST thrift store in the city of Memphis, the Elvis Presley Blvd. thrift store.  Still don't know why I hadn't ever been, so thanks Angela and Dani for taking me!  Then, we dominated India Palace's buffet (Joey joined us for this amazing feast).  Joey and I went home to relax, and then we went and checked out the Horn Island exhibit at MCA, went to dinner at Bennihana's (delicious!), and then went bowling with our friends Garre, Greg, Katherine, and Paul.  Cosmic bowling and beer... great combo.  I even scored the highest game (153) but have no memory of doing so if that tells you anything.  On Sunday, we relaxed and then hung out with my parents who grilled a delicious birthday kabob dinner complete with birthday cake!

So, I don't deserve the AMAZING gifts that I got for my birthday, however, they were AWESOME, so I'm going to share them with you.

The EELS, one of my favorite bands since High School are playing up in Chicago, so Joey got me tickets to the concert and everyone pitched in and got me train tickets (Joey covered his own ticket so I won't be going solo) to ride up their for the weekend!!!  I am so stoked, you don't even know.  My mom also got me two tickets to Wicked, so we have a date to go see that in October as well!  I've heard it's great, so I can't wait to experience it.  I'll definitely put a post up about our Chicago trip after we go up there, as well as a post on Wicked, and for your listening pleasure, The Eels.  Thank you to everyone who made my weekend wonderful!!!

Life unfolds in the most predictable and unpredictable of ways; always presenting to us the inevitable obstacles that challenge us and take us forward, sometimes throw us back, and sometimes just hold us to a stop until we're able to "pick up the reins" again.  Throughout our individual journeys through life we're faced with overwhelming experiences that, for just one person, can sometimes be close to impossible to face alone.  Our greatest gift and support throughout life are our friends and family... and the two are often interchangeable.

This week has been completely wonderful so far.  On Tuesday night I was able to meet up with my friends Lauren and JB (Jeebs) and share good stories, good drinks, and a few new cocktail recipes as well (courtesy of JB).  On Thanksgiving, I was able to meet some new family members of Joey's family and enjoy the festivities at his place which is always a truly great time.  Although I missed spending time with my family and their traditions on Thanksgiving (getting stuffed and then napping with a football or NASCAR race on the TV), I feel right at home with Joey's family which is a great feeling.  They are wonderful people and I love them.  This weekend, my sister and my brother-in-law are coming in town, so I'll get some family time in then, and we will all find out the name of their new little baby boy on the way.  I can't wait to meet my nephew (due in February)  :)



My mom and I went and tried on some dresses today at a Vintage shop in midtown for the wedding.  Their were some extremely pretty dresses, though my bust size has become a serious issue in this search.  I do have to say though... I think I might be coming to a decision :)

I've also been asked to shoot out some ideas for Christmas, so here are some things that I've come up with:

• Micron archival ink pens... you can find these at most art stores and they're always handy when I'm illustrating.  They come in varying widths, which is always fun to play with.
  
• My "favorites list" on Etsy (it's a long list that's been building for a couple of years now, so don't feel overwhelmed): http://www.etsy.com/favorite_listings_public.php?user_id=5772828&ref=favorites
• a new hair-dryer
• Art books
• A gift certificate to frame some artwork that I've been meaning to frame and hang for a while now
•  A healthy crock-pot cookbook
• oh, and check this out :)
  

and that's that!  If anybody needs any ideas for anyone else, I might have some, so just let me know if I can help.  Love you!

This blog was previously an assignment given to my illustration class and I, during Undergrad, intended to help us keep a routine of illustrating and blogging. However, that was back in 2007 and I haven't really touched it since, seeing as how life flies by and before you know it you're in "the game"... the "real world". So, I've erased the previous posts in order to create a clean slate for which to record my life and, hopefully, my progress. So, here it is... a fresh start...My goals for this blog are as follows:

• To document important events in my life, such as my engagement to my fiance, Joey, the anticipation of the birth of my nephew, and other exciting events that life presents to us.
• To motivate myself to create more personal artwork and to document that as well.
• To display my favorite obsessions, interests, and collections.
• and, in an attempt to metaphorically create my perfect plant, To allow the blog to grow.

To introduce myself, my name is Megan Travis, and these are my loved one's...