Catching up

Phew, so the weekend flew by and, as usual, it seems like a blur we were so busy.  On Friday, Joey and I went and saw an art exhibit and then had a beer at "The Cove" and then beer and sandwich's at "The Bayou" .  Afterwards, we went home and I finished addressing baby shower envelopes while Joey played on the PS2.
Saturday morning, I did my best to sleep in and then headed over to MCA to put the information and the finishing touches on the baby shower invitation.  There, I struggled with the printers for quite some time and then headed over to Kinko's (now FedEx Office) to print the batch of them.  I was very pleased with the results.  By the time I made it home, it was around 3:00, I had terrible cramps and no Pamprin or Aleve to repel them, and I was tired and hungry, however, Joey was there with a Lenny's sandwich, jalapeno chips, and a cherry coke to greet me and fix me up for a better afternoon.  He got me a heating pad going for my cramps while I ate my lunch and indulged in some nostalgic movie watching with the made-for-TV series of Merlin (I'm a total geek for Arthurian Legend and fantastical storytelling)... Joey, you are a wonderful man and I love you forever!
After watching Merlin for a while, I settled in for a nap and soon after, Joey and I were getting ready to head over to his parents house to partake in Star Trek night.  It was a total blast complete with some laser shooting guns as well as other transporting beamers provided by Joey's Uncle Mike, and the night was served with delicious snacks and Romulan Ale .  It was all pretty fantastic, not to mention that the most recent Star Trek movie directed by J.J. Abrams , the feature presentation for the night, is completely enjoyable to watch.
We ended the night by heading over to our friends Jason and Greg's house where we hung out with them, and our friends Anna (Jason's girlfriend), her friend Christy, and Will.  As always, that too was a good time made merry with good friends, beer, and a nice little fire pit.  After 3 shots of leg spreaders and more beer, we played the drinking game "21".  The game never found its end due to the fact that most of us became too drunk, but it was definitely fun while it lasted.
Sunday, Joey and I met up with Garre, Greg, Jason, and Anna at India Palace for some Indian buffet  *love*  and then we headed to Target to start our first registry .  We kind of walked around for a little bit like lost puppies, but we chose some things for the registry even though the process was kind of overwhelming.  Yeay!  We are checking off more things on the "To-do" list.
I met up with Mama, Daddy, and Bowe at Garibaldi's and finished off the invitations and then handed them over to Mama to stamp and send and then headed home, finishing off the night with this last Thursday's Office episode and The Up series on netflix.

Phew... told you.
P.S. - for some reason I had the urge to give a plug-in for every restaurant, movie, and mentioned event in this post.  Yes, I like creating links.

Here's a fun new blog I found:  http://noteatingoutinny.com/

Paul at age 7 from the UP series (his idea of marriage):

Almost finished baby invitation

So, I have designed my sister's baby shower invitation and I'm hoping that she likes it (she hasn't seen it yet).  She's having a boy and his name will be announced around Thanksgiving week; I can't wait... I have some projects up my sleeves and a name will be required.  Also, it will be nice to be able to identify my nephew as an actual person with a name instead of It, Killer Monkey, or little buddy, although all of those nicknames are fun too.  So, here is the invitation (front and inside), however, baby shower information has yet to be added.

P.S. - Their last name is Hill.  They aren't back-country folk.

I found this video on Boing Boing and found it interesting, fun to watch, and somewhat meditative:

Chris Piascik from Quarter Productions on Vimeo.

Dream Home

Joey, let's live here.

Dreaming of Thanksgiving

Ahhhh, I'm dreaming of Thanksgiving week and how it's just around the corner.  I love the anticipation, and, like most other teachers, I am definitely ready for a break.  I love the warm feeling of this specific holiday, and dream about naps that only a post-Thanksgiving meal can encourage.  Plus, the Macy's Day Parade and that nostalgic feeling of waking up as a kid to the sound of the parade on TV and the smells of your families contribution to the family feast.  I can't wait to spend time with family and meet the rest of Joey's family that I have yet to get to know.  So, this post, in honor of my premature daydreams of next weeks holiday, are in honor of Thanksgiving and a collection of things relating to it.

BullWinkle!!!

Thanksgiving Dinner for a feast on a budget:

and Part 2...

Also, in case you forget your wine cork at dinner...

These look warm and fun for the winter:

Sweater Cardigan 

Giraffe sweater 

Wedding Dresses

So, my search for the perfect dress to wear on my wedding day has begun, and I must say, I have been failing miserably to narrow the search down and have succeeded in finding a bunch of beautiful, fun, and pretty dresses, but still have yet to single out one lucky gown or dress.  I have, in a way, made this task harder on myself as I have limited some of the options in my search to find a used or vintage dress within a thrifty price range, and have found many vintage dresses that I LOVED, but cannot wear due to my busty figure.  So, in an effort to organize and list theses lovely things, and to hear your opinions on them, I'm going to spill out my cluster of findings into these posts.  Your feelings and opinions will always be helpful :)

• The Vera Wang Dress in Moonlight blue (This was the first dress I really liked, however, as it is pretty non-traditional, I have received mostly negative feedback, but I still want to have it on the table)

Used Dresses:

• BCBG Runway Silk Chiffon Dress
• BCBG MAXAZRIA Silk Dress
• J Crew Goddess Gown
• J Crew Rebecca
• Wedding Cocktail Tea Length Dress

Vintage Dresses:

• Vintage 60's Floral Eyelet Circle Skirt Dress - I'm not sure that this one is available to buy, but I like the idea of something similar.
• Mike Benet Ball Gown - Simply Awesome... this one is a lot of fun! 
• Malcolm Starr - Keep in mind, it will be a more casual, outdoor wedding.
• 1970's Vintage Cocktail Dress Gown
• 50's Ruched Chiffon Wedding Dress
• 1950's Chantilly Lace Wiggle Dress
• Beaded Silk Wedding Gown
• 1950's Suzy-Perette evening Gown
• 1970's Ivory Lace Maxi Dress - This one, I would alter to look more like the Sophia Silk Chiffon dress at J Crew.

and last, but not least, New Dresses:

• Solid silk chiffon Whitney long dress
• Silk Chiffon Sophia Gown
• Eco Chameleon Wedding Gown
• Aegon 2 - in white or cream
• Pearl Modern Tulle and Silk Wedding Dress - this one is way over what I want to spend, but I still think it's very pretty.

Phew, and that's the heaping pile of fickle confusion that I have made for myself.  Overwhelming.  Yes, but fun too!  Let me know your thoughts!

and, for your viewing pleasure, "Weird Al" Yankovic Helps Explain Auto Tune (I found this and was amused and, Yes, this is completely off topic).

I love, love, LOVE this series

Yo La tengo - A Take Away Show - Part 1 from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

At blogotheque.net there are AMAZING improvised performances by amazing artists.  I can't get enough of these shows.  God, I want to be there with them.

Cheers and Happy Birthdays!!!

Today I woke up at 6:00 am to go take a 2 hour test that's required in order for me to gain certification as a teacher.  Well, I woke up and I took the test, and ended up having the eery and familiar feeling of just having taken the ACT and not feeling as confident in my test-taking as I should.  I drove home feeling insecure and down about the whole thing, knowing that I shouldn't until I get test results back.  Regardless, it's that old familiar feeling.  So, in order to drag myself out of this selfish pity party, I'm looking on the bright side of life...

Today is a beautiful day, and best of all it's a wonderful day for birthdays!!!  So Cheers to these lovely birthday boys...

The most important birthday of all today is my grandfather, B.B.'s.  A wonderful, intelligent, and witty man.  Never to back down in an argument without making sure that his opinion is heard, B.B. is pretty famous, locally, for his letters to the editor as well as his participation in WWII as the co-pilot of a B-24 plane that was eventually shot down and the passengers taken as prisoners of war in Germany.  Later, after his experiences of being a family man, marrying my beautiful grandmother, Annie, and raising my aunt and my mother, and working as a pilot for American Airlines, along with many other life experiences, he wrote a book about these life events.  His book, though very privately owned and distributed, is an extremely interesting reflection of his life and the war.  B.B. has always been a hero and role model of mine, a source of inspiration, who I strive to do my best for and I'm sure has served as a hero figure and role model for my siblings cousins, and others in my family as well.  Cheers to you B.B. (Margaritas!)!!!  I love you and I hope your birthday is a truly beautiful day!

For my other birthday boy:

Claude Monet:  1840- Dec. 5, 1926

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Impression, Sunrise 1872 18.90 x 24.80 in

A fresh start...

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...

My fiance, Joey, and I

and Darla (the name Underbite is in honor of her smile)                      ... and Nugget, the cat.

and this is my beautiful family! 

(If you notice, most pictures of Joey include a goofy expression of some sort.  I love it.)