the happiest of holidays.

{all credit goes to my talented aunt molly!}

{roses, roses, roses.}

{me with the gorgeous bride to be!}

after 24 hours of travel last week,
i made it home just in time for my gorgeous cousin's engagement party.
let's be honest, (see previous post), i wouldn't have missed it for the world.
besides losing my voice for almost 5 days straight, i've had the most wonderful time with my family.
all 26 of us made it back for our annual lobster xmas eve dinner
and we all squeezed around the most gigantic/gorgeous dining room table.
tomorrow i'm off on the last leg of my 3 month trip, new orleans!

home is where the party is.

i landed in the us of a and i'm so incredibly happy to be with the murtagh clan for the holidays.
what? your family doesn't dance on your country club bar?
for all my friends out west...
now you know where i get it from.
happy holidays!

that time we shot guns with mom...

{and she peed her pants laughing so hard after her first gun shot}

{and jeff showed us how to be a real cowboy.  again.}

{and osker freaked out and hid under the driver's seat}

{and i whipped out this down vest for the first time this year}

{and put my most favorite cowboy boots to actual use. (similar found here)}

{and my brother's and i decided to awkwardly pose with a gun.  the end.}

naples.

{bikini top: shoshanna (on sale!) // sunglasses: kate spade (similar)  // hat: c/o my pops}

a few photos from our hot weekend at the beach.
it's been nice to spend some quality family time with just the 5 of us.
doing nothing but lounging by the pool and making fun of each other.
i enjoyed rummaging through my father's hat collection the most.
the guy's got some real gems i tell ya.

32 years plus.

{my favorite photo hanging in my room. my parents in the 70's}

dearest mom and dad,

you guys were smokin'!

here's to another 32 years of marriage.

thanks for setting a great example for the boys and me.

i love you.

your favorite child daughter,

the egg.

scenes from la.

{venice beachin' it}

{lil brudder}

{oh hey! i heard you face planted today. cool, me too}

{so organic. so trendy}

{sunshine. i like you.}

fun fact: los angeles averages 2 inches of rain per year.
fun fact: every time i've ever been, it rains.
here are a few photos in between the rain drops, mimosas, and friend meet ups.
we surfed at manhattan beach, but i'll spare you the attractive wet suit photos.
(facebook me for more of those gems)
we met up with friends in holly-hood.
shopped on abbot kinney.
drank lots of coffees.
and didn't see any famous people.

face plant + winner.

{trendy!}

i headed to los angeles this morning to visit my little brother.
he wanted to show me his super hip office, 72 and sunny.
a super hip ad agency with super hip peeps.
while he was introducing me to his super trendy co-workers,
i completely face planted. no big deal.
"hey, i'm colin's sister!  meaaaa (insert: face plant) gan."
at least i'm wearing a leather jacket like all the chicks
and skinny jeans like all the dudes.

on a brighter note, they are almost done setting up batting cages and kegs in the office.
just your typical friday afternoon at work in super hipster world.
i think i should apply here.
i can swing bats and drink kegs with the best of 'em.

click HERE to see if you are the winner of the jackson horse shoe bracelet!

why i love being irish {part 2}

if you are a new reader in the last 12 months,
click here for reasons i love my heritage.
a few more to add to the list this year:

-i've learned that kelly green is my color.  only took 26 years.
-double rainbow.  a double COMPLETE rainbow.  what does it mean?  tell me!
-lucky charms.
-notre dame vs. navy in dublin ireland 2012.  who's coming with me?

happy saint patty's laddies!

a very concerned father.

so as many of you know, i recently started blogging for these girls.
i get to write and photograph all things delicious around town.
a few of my posts here and here.
my dad is my biggest supporter of the egg and apparently, very concerned for me.
an email over the weekend from my pops:

Meagan. I'm really enjoying your blog. Lately I've noticed some beautiful pictures of delictable food entrees and desserts. Please be careful! I don't want you to get fat!

Love, Dad

the guy seriously cracks me up.

merry merry.

love the murtagh family!

t-town.

i flew home this past weekend to toledo, ohio for a good friend's wedding.

its always fun to catch up with friends i haven't seen in years

and spend time with my beloved murtagh clan.

stopped by the us senior open but the humidity drew me to the air-conditioned beer tent.

my hair prefers the rockies.

big bro.

this is my big bro, sean p. 

(yes, just like sean puffy combs.)

he's currently in south america with his mandolin.

i'm vicariously living through him by our gchat sessions.

i love this photo of him and thought i'd share.

i'm thinking colombia will be my next off-season trip.

any travelin'-pal takers?

vineyards.

my beautiful cousin lindsay was married last weekend in sonoma.

it was my first time to wine country and i will be making yearly trips.  

who's coming with me?

the weekend was seriously perfect.

{most of the blanchard cousins at the rehearsal dinner}

{courtyard at the viansa vineyard}

lindsay did such a great job with all of the details.
my favorite being the different flavored cupcakes instead of a cake.
stunning dress.  gorgeous flowers.  delicious vino.

after everything that happened to my dad in november, click here

i was a very happy girl to be able to dance with my pops.

what's a visit to wine country without a little wine touring?
congrats lindsay and joe!

trio reunited.

it's totally unacceptable that i haven't seen my bestest pal, smellie, in 3 years.

ridiculous.

poorly played on both our parts.

i guess that's what grad school and having no money will do to you.

the real world can be brutal, folks.

BUT, our trio will be reunited in a few weeks for 5 whole days of...well...stuff like you see below.

can. not. wait.

{boulder didn't know they had it coming.  mario cart through pearl street}

{mario won, as always}



momma bear

mother's day is sunday and i'm sad i won't be able to give my momma a big bear hug.
she is the greatest woman i know and has helped shape me into the woman i am today.
(if that's saying much...)

thanks for always being there for me and pushing me to be the best person i can be.

you are the greatest!

happy mother's day momma bear!

{bitchin' shirt babs!}

{babs on the left.  wasn't she adorable??}

{momma and her baby clancy.  their last photo together}

{most beautiful, smart, loving, inspiring woman i know}

hey, peeps.

i'm back.
with over 1000 photos to rummage through.
keep checking back for my faves from my whirlwind trip.
until then, a little something that sums up my baby brother

via one of colin's design friends

why i love being irish

-the Murtagh Clan....all hilarious and we all have the same pretty blues as our grandmother.
-mom's corn beef and cabbage. yummm.
-dad forcing my younger brother Colin to wear a leprechaun hat and dance a jig to entertain his guests EVERY St. Patrick's Day.  oh how i wish i had a photo right now.
-Gerity, my middle name.  named after my great grandmother Elma Gerity Murtagh.
-dad's extensive knowledge of every nook and cranny of Ireland.  he lived there forever.
-Murtagh's Irish Pub.  it's a real place in the ol' heartland.
-when strangers/fellow irish folk point out my claddagh ring. which i wear everyday. thank you very much.
-our name in Gaelic, O' Muircheartaigh.  it means 'expert navigator of the seas' (we all know that's not true). it's also the name of our family boat.  we get some pretty funny looks in the backwaters of naples.
-my brown hair and blue eyes combo.
-leprechauns are REAL!
-my seriously awful Irish Alzheimer's syndrome.  i'll hold a grudge forever and have no idea why.
-The University of Notre Dame.  nope, didn't go there, but pretty much everyone else in my family has. Go Irish!
-Clancy Mulligan Murtagh.  The Greatest Dog to ever live.

i heart

happy cupid day, everyone!

{photos via wehearit, campfiregirl, personal}

oh. em. gee.



??????????? Are you kidding me?!

have a lovely weekend and give those who love you a big bear/dog hug!

My Heroes.

I have the most amazing parents. 

{family minus older brother sean who was living in asia}

Last year, after the earthquake hit Haiti, they both rushed down to help the survivors.  Originally, just my dad was planning on going but I woke up at 6am to find an email that read:

Hey Guys. Your Mother and I are both leaving tomorrow morning 5AM for a medical rescue mission to Haiti for 8 days. There is no cell phone service in Haiti so we won't be able to communicate. We both love you (all three of you) to pieces and we're going to miss you. Please pray for us as we pray for you. Love Dad

As you can imagine, I was totally freaking out.  Luckily they flew down with a news crew team from Naples and we were able to communicate (barely) via email every few days.  The news team filmed 3 segments on what was happening down in Les Cayes, Haiti.  My parents said they were bringing people in by the busloads to see them.  It was just my mom, my dad, and an orthopaedic surgeon.  Talk about insanity!

Here are 2 of the news clips on the devestation down there. My dad is in the golf hat and my mom is in the blue scrubs hat. {Beware:  Some gross graphic images.}

If you are an alien and don't read the news, Haiti still needs a tremendous amount of help.  My parents travelled down there with a group based out of Naples called Hope for Haiti.  If you are interested in learning more, helping out, or donating, click here.  My parents can vouch that all donations are put towards much needed food/supplies in Haiti.