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contest!!!!

WallartLW-tiff

i keep forgetting to tell you something really cool.
Laura Windslow is having a Wall Art Love Contest and i get to be a judge!

YOU can submit your photos of your wall art in your home or studio to be entered.
but since i forgot to tell you….you only have till AUGUST 2 to enter?!!

i am so sorry i gave such short notice.

check out the rest of the judges: 

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pretty lovely company if i do say so myself.
🙂

 

ok….GO to Laura's blog….READ the details of the contest.…and ENTER the contest.

TODAY!!!

because did you see the prizes?!
the prize list went ON and ON and on. 

how awesome is laura??

i can't wait to show you all the choices to vote on!

 

Allison F. - omg! I need to know what font that is she used to list the judges names! Love it!

Sarah - Ok, seriously might have to fight you for that green cabinet! Love!!!
Also, so excited for the CW girls! I wish I could come back. 🙂

Amanda - Oh boo, I wish I had my wall in my craft studio done! Oh well, can’t wait to see all the great designs! 🙂

rachel - excited for this contest! entered my walls when the contest was first announced by laura! 🙂

happygirl - Cool contest. Now to learn how to photograph the art on my walls. 🙂

Laura - Thanks so much for sharing and for being a part of the fun! You rock! 🙂 xoxo

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grasshoppers and HOPE.

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we have big bugs out here in the country.

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big grasshoppers, big locusts, wasps, bees and dragonflies too.
it's to the point where i don't flinch when they come around anymore.
the kids are getting better too.
before we were all afraid when wasps came around.
but it's getting much better.  
and when we can catch them and observe them for awhile…even better.

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country living is pretty great.  
i am so glad we are here.

 

………………………………………………..

i am a little late in blogging about it but it's never too late to do good.
friends of mine Jessica and Kim are part of BIG project to help the people of Sudan.
you can read all about it HERE

it cost $0.06 per serving to feed the 200,000 people in Sudan, Africa who are currently dying of starvation.
six pennies?
oh my.
i think we can all pitch in.
it's a big faith move to ask that enough is provided to be able to mobilize food to this region.
we can help!
we all have excess.
even when we don't think we do… WE DO! 
you can donate directly on that site.

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go read about their project.
and if you want to help julie and her fundraising…for their fundraiser :) 
you can go to her printables shop
and get some really fabulous prints with the Hope project's theme verse.

how about we make a difference today?
what a great way to start your Monday!
let's be the hands and feet of jesus.
let's help feed His sheep.

literally.

 

 

julie - Crickets. Grasshoppers. Whatevs. I need to come to the country and learn about bugs. Soon.

julie - I love your guts way more than cricket guts.
For reals.
Thank you friend. Soooooo much.

Jade Cook - DONE! Love those girls and love the print. Thanks!!! =)

Emily - We do have so much! Thanks for the print… bought one to add to my hall! It’s a perfect reminder as a mother too.

Stephanie - 🙂 we donated too. I tell my kids about the kids in Sudan often and this is a great way for me to show them a tiny way in which we can help.

amanda d - my brother just got back from South Africa and I’ve loved hearing the stories and seeing pictures. skipped Subway today to buy a print – thanks for sharing! 🙂

Becki - Those shots with the grasshopper and the jar with your daughter looking in… stunning!

Krys - The kids and I donated 🙂 We already printed out our turquoise sketch and have it hanging up – it was so easy – and every time we walk by it we can remember & pray for the families in Sudan. Thanks so much for letting us know about this! Just lovely <3

Lacey - I love that you are always helping us be the best version of us. You give us so many different ways to help! I’m going to donate to the Sudan project. Thank you for always showing me a sweet direction for my helping hand. You. Are. Great!

kim - Meg, you are the best. Thank you for having a passion for Africa and it’s people. You are right, it is a big faith move, and God is SO good. As of yesterday, we are nearly halfway to the initial goal! Thank you again for helping spread the word and your heart! Love you! Big, huge, gigantic hugs to you!!!

Jessica Johnson - i love grasshoppers and i love you. no words. thank you.

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new clothes.

annie is one lucky girl.
she got new clothes from Tea.  
and they are the softest things she owns…..i love them! 

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she wanted to pose in front of our garden.
since this picture a few days ago we have been infested with green lady bugs…not their real name i know.
and our sunflowers leaves have been devoured.  
not cool nature!

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she sat down and this red lady bug flew right onto her leg.

i love the stripey capris.

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the marker fingers make me so happy.
i love to see that on kids…it means they MADE something!

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rompers.
i couldn't believe they came back in style but oh my goodness they sure are cute!
and so comfy!
this one ties at the shoulder so it can be adjusted too…excellent!
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annie picked this one because of the butterflies.
and i picked it because it was adorable.
she looks like a sweet picture of summer to me.
thank you Tea for annie's new digs…. she loves them.

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and rompers also work great for jumping on the trampoline!

all of these outfits are on sale over at Tea right now!

and their back to school collection is SUPER cute.

 

 

Cecilia - Your daughter is beautiful! I have been looking for some inspiration for what girls clothes I should buy for my daughter for Christmas this year. This has been quite helpful, thanks!

Kristine - I know you love bright colors but she looks fabulous in that eggplant colored romper!
As a mom to boys I love your girls posts!
Her marker fingers are REAL life!

s - Wow she is looking so grown up with her hair clipped back!

Carrie - She is getting so big! She is a beautiful girl!

Jenna - Beautiful girl! (Cute clothes, too.)

elizabeths - Wow great pics and what cute clothes she has. I have boys and went to check the site out, but $30 for a long sleeve T??? Way too pricey!

Sarah - When did she grown up? Must be that country air, my daughter (who is the exact same age) went through the same thing this summer. Thanks for the inspiration, just bought our first day of school outfit.

Amy Lynne - Oh my goodness…she is looking so much like Talby! Why to they keep having to grow? I tell my boys to cut it out and they just laugh.

Anne - Those are some really cute outfits! The purple jumper is my fave. I love, love, love Annie’s bangs pulled over!! SO pretty!

alyssa - she is getting so big! sorry, to point that out. I’m sure it makes you sad!

Natasha - Hi, I tagged you for a Leibster award on my blog, hope you dont mind:
http://www.bridgesfreezefirst-natasha.blogspot.com

Rachel - love the hair with the bangs clipped over! And the outfits! She is beautiful!!!

April R - super cute clothes 🙂
super super cute photos (love the tree shots and the fence!)
super super super cute Annie!
… who is looking so grown – a lot like Talby when I first started following your blog…but I think Annie’s got her own look, not a Talby twin, although you can tell they are related 🙂

Amy Jo - WOW! Can not believe how grown up she looks! She is beautiful! Cute clothes. 🙂

Sarah - She looks so grownup here. She’s a beautiful little girl. Love the clothes!

Dara - I think rompers are cute, but wonder how easy it is to get off to go to the bathroom?

Kate B. - She’s adorable.

Sharla - Wow, when did Annie grow up?! Love that dark purple romper on her. I wish ALL THE TIME they made women ‘s sizes for most of kids clothes.

Angie - Those rompers are so cute!! She’s a doll 🙂

non geographic numbers - Little girl as they grown up, they will be independent by choosing their own stuff. When it comes to fashion, they know what they want that fits for them. Now days romper is one of the favorite dress of girls not only little girls but also big girls.

JustMommer - She is adorable and so cute in her new clothes, I love rompers too. I feel like I’ve watched her grow up, love her style.

rebekah - love her hair when the bangs are clipped over. so cute!! and the colors of the rompers look so go with her skin!

tara pollard pakosta - wait, that’s annie?
I thought for sure the girl in the romper was TALBY!
no way she looks just LIKE talby now!!!!!
adorable clothes! tara

happygirl - rompers… I remember rompers. Cute

Terrie - I miss the whole ‘back-to-school’ gotta get new clothes deal!
Maybe I should pretend…I can always use a good excuse to go clothes shopping!
She is super cute!
Can’t believe how grown up she is getting!!

Kate - Oh Meg! She is so cute. Great photo shoot. Annie, you look stunning!

Shannon - She looks so grown up Meg! Love those adorable clothes you both picked out. Off to check the outfits out for back to school for my girlies 🙂

Pink and Green Mama MaryLea - Love her hair! We just got “C” new Tea clothes for Kindergarten this fall. She’s been wearing her dresses all week and I LOVE them!!

Southern Gal - We wore “rompers” when I was in high school. Not to school, of course. They were terry cloth and other soft fabrics. I have a picture of me and my high school sweetheart (future husband) while wearing one!

karen gerstenberger - She is such a pretty girl, and those clothes! Ah, do they make grown-up sizes? 😉 I’ve decided that the days of fitted waists are OVER. Bring on the beautiful long tops!

melodee - awe new clothes before back-to-school are sooo fun! you should know your porch and buntings (and cute bulb lights) are adorable. I love them from your inside pix too from your craft weekends:) I had to copy you and put a bunting above my kids’ shower curtain:))

Lindsey - She is adorable! I love Tea clothes. A little expensive but so worth it. I can’t stop buying them for my new little girl!

Sandy - Annie looks so grown up and is looking more and more like Talby. She’s so cute! Love the clothes.

Michelle - I can’t believe how grown she is getting Meg! She is looking more like Talby to me.

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decorating.

so…i have a been a mom kind of a long-ish time now.
17 years is long enough to have gained a bit of experience i would say.

i have learned that at about 10 years old (4 of mine have done this…) kids want their rooms the way THEY want.
no matter how perfectly decorated you want it…they always want their own flavor to their room.
and by now…17 years in… i am all for it.

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talby and annie share a room.  
they were upstairs quite awhile the other night and then came down so happy to say "we cleaned our room…COME SEE!!!"

it was SOoooo clean.
i said "let's take pictures in the morning."
they were so proud.

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                                     (name pillow made by the fabulous chrissie grace)

i thought i would share these with you because when this first happened with lauren 7 years ago i kind of freaked out.
i didn't want her covering her very cute room that i had designed with magazine pictures.
not at all.
i let her but i didn't like it.
and i probably commented every time i was in her room about it not looking nice anymore.
cringe.
then my son did it and then my next son did it and i realized something…
OHhhhhh…they are growing up and want THEIR style.
not mine.

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and now i get it.
i am completely on board with my kids decorating their own rooms.

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if they want to hang up more posters of justin bieber… i help them find the tape.

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because really….it is their room.
why should i be trying to decorate it for them?
they know what they like.
they enjoy the freedom to change it, choose what they like and make decisions on their own.

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if the piano bench looks better to them covered in a blue cheetah blanket…GREAT!

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so i guess i am saying today…. i know that better homes & gardens isn't going to come knocking on my door to photograph my kids awesome bedrooms.
and i don't care.
perfect bedrooms for my kids don't work.
pottery barn kids is not happening here.

and it's not a battle worth fighting to me.

why would i want to stiffle creativity?

as long as they clean it up on saturday mornings…
they are free to decide on their wall art & what is on their shelves.

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and just outside their door i have my giant jesus picture from my mom.
i really love that giant jesus.

🙂

 

happy friday peeps!

 

Mrs.B - Love this post and the giant Jesus! I REALLY love the giant Jesus!
🙂

Rosemary Watson - I just discovered your blog today following links from facebook. What a beautiful home you have! We have alot of the same tastes in decor too 🙂 I love the giant Jesus picture also. Are you on pinterest or etsy? I saw where you had things for etsy but don’t see a link. Do you allow any of your photos to be pinned to pinterest?

Katie - good thoughts…I try to steer most of my kiddos “decor” to the inside closet doors!! it does not all get there! I am cringing at the pop star poster stage, especially since I try to shelter my kiddos as much as possible from all that junk – but it is dang hard when they go to school and come home singig things like “i am sexy and I know it”….I kept thinking they were saying “i am sassy and I know it”…anyhoo I am digressing here – good thoughts, kiddos need to not have every decision made for them – even when they are 2 yrs, they love to have “choices” through out the day – do you want the pink or the green cup – it helps for when I make the call! love your Jesus pic too!

Maggie Rose - From when I was about 8 until when I officially moved out at 19, I constantly was rearranging my bedroom and the cat posters on the walls and all that jazz. Luckily my parents let me do pretty much whatever I wanted if they didn’t have to spend money on it (except a gallon of paint (mint green) for the walls and a new dresser when I was 12). Creative freedom! Now at 27, I own my own decorating business. You never know what you’re fostering when you let them express themselves!

Rebeca Flores - This is exactly what we’re going through too with our 8 year old…she has all kinds of stuff taped to the walls and her door but we’ve let her make it her own even though it doesn’t look like a magazine picture. But right now she wants to transition from light pink that she has to hot pink and purple…I’m trying to find how to help her make it her own and also make it cute and organized

Deb Meyers - oh the things we do to our first-borns! I read a humor writer who said: “the reason the first-borns in the Bible got all the land and titles was ‘payment for damages rendered’ “.
Love your perspective.
Deb Meyers

Alyssa - Love it, not there yet, but I am glad you shared this because it will be kind hard for me too I think! BUT they did a wonderful job, it is so cute and I so remember doing this and my mom ordering me a tie die comforter to complete my “look” You and your girls will stay close since you are giving them their wings, my mom is my best friend and was my matron of honor! She said she knew from the time I was little she had to give me my space or she would push me away, and it worked. So cheers to you, you will be blessed by this, and from your words I think you probably already were 🙂

Lindsey@ Piecefully Home - yep, i loved redecorating my room all the time when i was a kid. i remember at one point, i moved my bookshelf to the middle of the room and my parents let me keep it their. 🙂 i let my kids have a say in their room and last year i let them pick the paint colors, too. every time i see perfectly styled kids rooms, i always wonder if the KIDS like it or is it just the parents.

Kat - Oh I so hear you. My oldest three share a room (a girl and two boys) and littlest has her own room.
My kids room is far from a magazine spread, but they love it and like you I am learning to just go with it.(btw my oldest is 10, then 7.5, 5.5 and 3.5.)
It’s the clutter I can’t stand from Miss 10, but that is another story!!

se7en - Love it… Your kids are so creative!!! Better Homes and Gardens could learn quite a bit about decor from them!!! Have a fun week!!!

Katherine - Love it! Thank you!

nat - i love this post and it came at just the right time. we are changing some things in my almost 8 yr old’s room. i want it to look put together and cute and magazine worthy. he wants tiger woods posters and star wars hamsters on his wall.

Katie - Thanks. This was so good to hear. I just had a major freak out session with my 8 year old. I guess this is a mole hill that I am making into a mountain.

Katie - This was so nice to hear. I JUST had a major freak out session with my 8 year old daughter. She has trinkets set out EVERY where you look. I want the nice magazine look. I guess this is really a mole hill that I am making into a mountain.

Prairie Jenn - Yay for letting them decorate their own rooms! I’ve always let my girls do their own thing too…even when my oldest was five and picked out creamsicle orange for her room’s paint color. It’s all good:)

Valerie @ Chateau a La Mode - Good girl Meg….mine are 21, 20 and 16 and Better Homes and Garden aren’t calling but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Nicole Q. - Love this post Megan. You might have just saved some kids from having a room their “mom wants”. I’ve so had these same wrestlings. Still do. But you slowly get over it and focus on the areas you DO get to decorate with your style.
Hang dumb Angry Birds posers on your wall… whatevs …. just not in my living room. ha.

Mary - hhhmmmmmphhhhh.
i’ll admit it.
this is hard for me.
the control freak in me wants to make it just so, but you are right.
and i don’t like it! 🙂
great post, girl.
thank you!
xoxo

Su@TheIntentionalHome - I teach this class on home organization and decor. . take ladies on a tour of my home. And when we get to my kids’ room (I have 5 ages 5-15). . I always remind them that the kids’ room should make the kids go “Ah, this is the life!!” It should not make us say that. We want a place that our kids feel nurtured, at home, free to be themselves. Your post reminded me of this. . .
Here is a picture of my girls’ room if you are interested:
http://www.susoutter.com/2011/06/my-girls-new-bedroom-giveaway.html

Renee - when i was 14 my mom let me paint my room bright teal and purple, knowing we’d have to use 3 coats of primer and paint to get rid of that in the future. true love 🙂

Chrissie Grace - Thanks for the reminder Meg. I too, get caught up in the pinterest hype. It is so important.that the kids have the freedom to express themselves. What a confidence boost too for them when mom appreciates and respects their styles
Oh, and it made my heart swell to see their pillows…. 😉

Chrissiegrace Grace - Thanks for the reminder Meg. I too, get caught up in the pinterest hype. It is so important.that the kids have the freedom to express themselves. What a confidence boost too for them when mom appreciates and respects their styles:)

Laurie - I really needed to see this…thanks for putting it in perspective.

Johanna - Love-love-love!!! This is a good reminder for me… I have done the “cringe” too… need to let the creativity flow:)

Tanya H - my favorite part was the “cringe” about freaking out at Lauren. THAT’s the part I needed to hear!! I AM an oldest child, you’d THINK I would catch on…nope. I fight and demand control and then the light clicks on and “ohhhh….this is what HE needs right now…whoops.” my 10yr old did get to pick the color we painted his room, and we just strung up a thing for him to clothespin his own art on his wall with… But thank you for the wonderful reminders and lessons you learn and share! 🙂

Cory - My mom has that same picture of Jesus in her room. I am hoping to inherit it some day… 🙂

elz - I think the same thing. I’ve told my girls that they can do whatever they want to in their rooms when they are 10. I want to give them enough time to grow up a little so they can decide what they want, but they are still young enough to involve mom.

Jennifer - I could not agree with you more! Ladies get so hung up on having their homes decorated just so. And for what? Having beautiful bedding in your kid’s room doesn’t ensure they will find fulfillment in life. Letting them be who God made them to be, does. I don’t have a picture perfect home, I don’t spend time scouring catalogs for the coolest trinkets, and there is definitely dog hair on my bathroom floor right now. But my home is filled with laughter and happiness. And my son doesn’t care that the peach velvet wingback chair circa 1984 is in the living room looking quite worn and needing to be recovered (I can’t decide on a new fabric). It really is pretty hideous but we had a great day at the beach today and no one gives a rip about that chair anyway.
Kudos to you for this post, and for telling the ladies who don’t know, that it is really, truly ok to have a regular home that doesn’t look like something out of a magazine. Living your life and loving your kids, and letting their unique personalities develop is more important. I love your words and I love your kind, real heart that comes through in your posts.

Amy Mak - Love your style, love theirs. We are just beginning this in my home…thanks for inspiring me to let go and go with the flow. Everyone is happier.

Jessica P. - Where did you find those beautiful pillows on the girls’ beds (the ones with their names and scripture)?

Carrie - Okay, I get that however my almost 5 year old is starting to do this and it is driving me nuts. She draws pictures to tape up in her room. She frames them with various colors of painters tape. She is actually a very good artist for her age however when she decides she is making pictures for her room it is quantity not quality that is important to her. I am going to surprise her next week while she is at Vacation bible school one morning with some decorations in her room, including a magnetic spot on her closet for all of her pictures. Hopefully that will be a good compromise. As for my 20 month old luckily she could care less at this point as long as I do not move the books she likes to keep on the spare twin bed in her room!
At age 8 or 10, I am ok with creativity driving what goes on in the room but 5, I am not sure!

Kelly - I thought you’d probably love this video. I thought you may want to post it. It reminded me of you.
http://www.charitywater.org/blog/rachels-gift/

Michelle From Australia - The first time I had thought about this was when I listened to the late Professor Randy Pausch talk about how his parents had let him paint his room. I just found a link to it – http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/room/
Thanks for reminding me about it again Meg. Great post!

Michelle Whitlow - oh man, I am totally there with my oldest! It’s so hard to let go & let them ‘decorate’ when I have so many cute ideas!

Molly - Hi Meg,
I am glad you posted this. When my daughters were adopted at ages just 4 and 6, they shared a room. Then we split them up and they had their own rooms. We decorated a bit before they came home, but as our rooms were spare room and office, we hadn’t really painted, etc. We let them pick paint colors and painted a year after they came home. Now at 10 my oldest daughter wants to make her room her own. She had tinkerbelle up on the walls and now wants to change it. I think I will be looking at a great big Justin Bieber poster soon. LOL. But it’s time for her creativity to come out. For her birthday this fall she can pick out her new comforter and sheets, and what to put on her walls, maybe another bean bag (the dog ruined the first one) new furry lampshade, new dresser knobs, bookcase, etc. It will be fun to see what she chooses.

Amanda M. - Long time reader first time commenter….. This is exactly the post I needed to read today. My sons are 2 and 4. I wanted them to have the perfect bedrooms. One is tractors and all things John Deere and the other is trains in bright bold colors. Now as they have grown to love more and more things I struggle with wanting their rooms to look like those on blogs I read or magazine pages. So what if my son wants tractors, diggers, legos, world maps, tools, animals and all sorts of treasured collections in his room. It is his room not Pottery Barn’s. I let out a huge deep sigh of relief when I read this. Thank you so much.

elizabeth highsmith - Soooooooo glad our Jesus is GIANT! ; ) Love your spirit here hope to adopt the same attitude should our Giant Jesus ever grace me with my own motley crew! Also I love that your Read room received such rave reviews in blog land even more knowing this is your decorating philosophy! love your light filled photos both literal and spiritually!

Sabrina - You’re an awesome mom! My parents let me decorate my room and when my kids are wanting to decorate their room I will let them. My cousins though, had a different experience. All they wanted was Motley Crue and Poison posters on their walls. My aunt would have none of it. Instead she let them pick one poster and she went and got it framed!!!!

Janet @ Ordinary Mom - THanks for posting this. My son has been wanting to add to his room and being my first I am hesitant to let him. But you are right. I need to let go. Thank you for sharing.

sullyj - You always post exactly what I need when i need it…how do you do that? I have been struggling with my soon to be 9 year old on how she wants her room. Trying to find the balance between letting her have some control and still looking cute (it’s not working) This post made me realize it’s time to let go 🙁 Goodbye cottage style bed, hello loft bed!

seriously sassy mama - My girls do what they want. They are creative little bundles that explode color. I love it. I am around to just organize the chaos into some form of sanity on the wall.

Michelle - This is exactly what I needed to read today. I did allow my daughter to “posterize” under one condition….I could at least straighten them so I wouldn’t cringe every time I walk in. Perfect agreement for us.

Lisa - You have no idea how much I needed to read this! With my daughters it started about age 5. My beautiful, magazine-perfect-but-not-reality visions of their room are constantly foiled by their pipe cleaner and scotch tape creations and dog calendar pages taped to every wall. And why shouldn’t their room look that way??? I have a whole house to decorate just as I want it. I needed permission to chill out and let them have total license to go for it in their own space. Thank you!

plumbing - Kid’s nowadays wants to be independent. Independent when it comes to choosing for their things. Allowing them to choose what they want decorations and style in their let them to be mature thinking. At early it is better to learn how to manage their self and their things.

Stephanie - This post made me cry…literally. I am so there. I always have had a say in their rooms, and slowly that is changing. I love how you embrace this stage of life and I pray that I can let go…just a bit to let them be who they are. I love your heart attitude. WONDERFUL!! And then I cried that you have a Jesus Calling devotional book like I do. Love.

Theresa - THANK YOU! I really needed this post today! My oldest is 10 and wants to put up every poster she got in her FIRST tween Mag! I am not ready but now know it can not always be the way I want it! I need to let her have input in what she wants in her room!

Sharla - I had an entire door decorated with a men’s cologne ad (can’t remember which one) . . he was so gorgeous. 🙂 Thanks for posting this – we just moved and have yet to situate my boys’ rooms (6 and 8) and I know my oldest would love to put his own spin on it. Have a great weekend!

Robyn Farmer - This is soooo good. We all need to hear this in a “pinterest world.”

Cari - Love it! We are about to move and in my head I want to use that as the perfect time to decorate the “perfect” rooms for my girls (11 year old twins). But I know they’ll have their own opinions and I needed this reminder to let them! Thanks! And giant Jesus is awesome! 😉

Alicia @ La Famille - i love it. it’s hard for me too. my oldest is a boy and he’s 10, but hasn’t really expressed interest in decorating his room. so i do it. and i love it. i did create a section to show off his Lego creation, so maybe he’s satisfied with that. thanks for the good mom wisdom 🙂

Heidi C - I sure needed to read this today. My girls just bought their very first “teen” magazine and proceeded to rip out all the pictures and hang them up on their walls. :O I was slightly horrified. Thanks for reminding me that it’s not my space. 🙂

Charlene - This post couldn’t of come at a more perfect time! My daughter is away and coming home Monday morning. We are making over her bedroom while she is away! I know she will love the new turquoise walls and some of the things I have picked out…but I will make sure not to freak out when she starts adding “her touch” lol.

Jenny wells - LOVE the Jesus picture!!! Reminds me of Sunday school as a child!! Great post too, I know how hard it is for me to let go of the smocked dresses for the cheetah print neon ones she chooses (cringe). Ahhh I’ll be a mess when it’s her room too!!

beth - my perspective on this is that it’s a compliment to you. you’ve raised kids in a creative environment, where your kids have learned that one way people express themselves is through their environments and by surrounding themselves with things that speak to them, and bring joy to their hearts. it’s cool that they actively chose to decorate their own ‘homes’ (their rooms) just as expressively and creatively as you decorate your family home! i think it’s fantastic! that’s my 2 cents from vancouver island bc canada : )

Shannon - I remember the days of taping new kids on the block posters all over my walls 😉 I completely agree with you on letting them decorate their own room but I will admit that I am sure I will cringe when I see what my girls have done in the future.
I think they did a great job though and it does look like a fun happy place!

Tiffany - if they want to hang up more posters of justin beiber… i help them find the tape. {tear}

Katie - What great advice! I love the jayhawk pillow pet, but I’m kinda biased 😉

kelly - This actually made me cry! I know you didn’t write this to toot your own horn , but you are a great mom!!!!
My boys are 1 and 4, so I have a while before we get to this…but thanks for the heads-up! Jesus is working on my control issues, so maybe a 6 year advance warning that this is coming is good for me to hear now!! 🙂

Heather Crawford - Ha…Yep, my son will turn 10 in November, so it was good to read this…it’s true..I remember loving MY room when I was little..and my parents pretty much let me do whatever I wanted, so I need to remember that with my kids…it’s hard though b/c I do like things “decorated” and neat…but realizing I’ve got to let them express themselves and love THEIR space..thanks for posting 🙂
and by the way, I had two Jon Bon Jovi posters above my bed 😉

kirsten - i never get past decorating the nursery…my son started decorating his own room at age 3. he loves it. i, on the other hand, can’t be in there more than a few minutes at a time without being over-stimulated, lol!

Sarah - Love this Meg!!! It’s so true. As much as I would love the kid’s rooms to look straight out of a magazine…no way is that going to happen. I do like neat and clean and uncluttered…but I settle for semi neat and clean, and I have two kids who don’t mind clutter a bit. I bite my tongue on that one. This is why we all love you..because you are REAL and live in a REAL house with REAL rooms and REAL decorating.

heyruthie - great post. i think it’s so important to purposely have rooms in the house not decorated by you–or even undecorated–especially if you have kids. my kids’ rooms look just like yours. now, if only MY parts of the house looked as good as yours do 😉

Kate - Love it! So true…
Cool story – here is the post about Julia’s room:
http://songskatesang.typepad.com/songs_kate_sang/2011/12/julias-room-fall-2011.html
And apartment therapy decided it was a-ok! LOL
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/julias-room-mix-of-sun-clouds-165054

Jillbeth@aol.com - AMEN!!!

Sarah{Handbags*N*Pigtails} - Yup, we’re there. My oldest is 8 and a collector(Oh Jesus, help me!) She was just given beautiful Ashley white cottage bunkbeds…twin on top, full on the bottom. We’re trying to figure out how to paint her walls because her Suzy Zoo nursery theme still adorns the walls, per her choice. She’s not a big fan of change, unlike her momma who re-arranges furniture every few days somewhere in the house:)
I needed to be reaffirmed that they need their own space too. I have the rest of the house, right? Right? {sniff sniff)

seriously sassy mama - My daughter is 8, and loves to put her room together her way. I love it. My two younger girls are not their yet. I always ask them what they want in their rooms, and we go from there. No pottery barn kids for me either, I cannot afford it.

Kimberly - I have an 8 & 6 yr old girls & they are already like this. I have a BA in Interior Design, so it is hard to see their rooms looking very “un-designed”, lol

happygirl - I know what you mean about kids wanting to decorate their own rooms. My son wanted to paint his room black. No, I wouldn’t go that far. Anything but black (or very dark) paint. whew. Cute room. Great giant Jesus.

sarah - This was odd for me too! I just painted my sons room and no sooner did he want to cover it with Pokemon posters and lay his odd things all around. Now I just hand him the tacs and let it roll. My daughter is just starting this. She somehow has a collection of fake flowers placed just so around her room. I’m learning to love it.

Kelly - Your grown-up kids will thank you for this one day! My mom was the mom who took down what I put up and told me I couldn’t do certain things in my room. Not in a mean way. We’re just very different. To this day she cringes at some of the things I do in my house, like letting the boys pick orange for the color of their bathroom walls or tearing out all the cabinets in the kitchen to put up shelves instead. 🙂 All 3 of my boys share a room and they have yet to want to “decorate” it any differently than how I have it now but I’m sure the day is coming.

sara @ the land of ozmabomb - i love that you are passing on this ‘awakening’ to your readers! i’m not gonna forget this, because i can totally see myself not liking it either (when the time comes). you’re a great mom!!

Carey - This was a hard lesson for me to learn as well. But once I let go of the control of their rooms, peace was restored! 😉 As long as they keep them clean, I’m happy!

Trish - good eye opener… my girls (8 & 6) share a room too. we just painted their walls a pale pink. My 6 year old is the more artsy fartsy of the two and she was not happy about it at all… she wanted a different color on each wall :/ you are a great mom to give them that freedom and not freak out about it!

Trish - good eye opener… my girls (8 & 6) share a room too. we just painted their walls a pale pink. My 6 year old is the more artsy fartsy of the two and she was not happy about it at all… she wanted a different color on each wall :/ you are a great mom to give them that freedom and not freak out about it!

Michelle - Love it! I am right there with my (very close to being…) 9 year old daughter. Would you please share where your daughter’s name/scripture pillows came from? I’d love to get one for mine! Happy Friday!!

Dani - Thanks for this post! My daughter is a crafty diva! Her room overflows with the pictures she paints, the quilts she sews, etc. I get so upset b/c she wants it all to be seen. This post was just what I need…. except I just can’t do Justin Beiber…. he has to be hung in Abbey Beth’s closet haha.

bethie.horton@gmail.com - Hi Meg. Going thru the very same thing today as I am painting my daughters room DARK GREY! It does look a bit elegant tho – will be lots better with the lime green and bright purple added it. Love your blog – miss Piece of cake but glad we still have you!

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NYC….last one

people have asked me about the apartment we rented.
craft weekend alum Karen lives IN new york city and gave us SO MUCH help with ideas of where to stay and what to do and where to eat!
she rocked.
she shared this blog post with me and that is how we ended up with vrbo.com.
we stayed on stanton st.
it was nice enough and safe enough.
it wasn't fancy.
but it worked great for us to have some space and room to sit around and talk.
 i am a bit of a hotel snob and missed my bed being made for me.
but other than that it was perfect.
memories were made with our friends….lots of nervous laughter when we arrived.
using vrbo you are never 100% sure of what you are going to get.
but it's always worked out great for us. 

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we rode all over new york on those double decker tourist buses.
it was cheaper than cabs and we learned as we rode.
one tour guide had the best thick new york accent that it felt like he was faking it….but it was REAL.
also i got MUCH less motion sick on the top of the bus too.
bonus.
the first day was so hot i thought i might die…but after that day it was fine.
🙂
and i am still alive.
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t
hat is cool and artsy….but also….very weird.
she looks like the costume lady on the incredibles…. (oh you've gotten fat!) 


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dave convinced me it would be cool to rent bikes and ride through central park.
once we got out of traffic it was fun.
i always visualize bad headlines like "mother of 5 killed by a tour bus while riding a rented bicycle in NYC"
i was very worried at first…but it turned out to be great!
thankful it was only two hours though because i had a very tiny bike seat for my not very tiny real seat.
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on instagram i said "name every movie with this fountain"
there were a lot of comments.
this is one very famous fountain.

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the dude in the spandex was doing yoga…alone in central park.
i can promise you that is something you will NEVER see me doing.
yoga alone in a public park in spandex.
nope.

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we headed over to 30 Rock because Dave had scored tickets to Jimmy Fallon!!
jimmy fallon and letterman tickets are through an email process that happens months before the show.
dave worked hard for this trip.

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it was AWESOME.
we are BIG jimmy fallon fans.
his guests were matt lauer and mike tyson!!
i thought this hour was the best part of our trip.
and… jimmy touched my hand.
i haven't showered since.
ha.
it was SO MUCH FUN!

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practically twins.
but mine is way cuter.
when i cut craig's hair he always says "just give me the matt lauer" 

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jenny dressed to match our NBC studio day!

i kept my eyes open for liz lemon all day long… i saw nothing.
blerg! 

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we went to the top of the Rock.
amazing isn't it?
all week i felt like i was walking around in a movie set.

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our last day was filled with more rain….bleck.
but we were troopers.
girls shoes just aren't good for rain.
especially if you are trying to look cute.

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we hugged goodbye at Penn Station and went to different airports home to our kids.

 

i spotted corbin bersen across from me at the airport and texted jenny every thing he was doing.
he's eating soup.
he put on glasses.
he is on his laptop.
now he is having a lollipop.
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poor corbs.

at least i didn't go bug him to his face right?

but now that i see this….i really wish i had gone over and said "hey man…we were LITERALLY just talking about you over breakfast this morning!"

because we were!!

how bizarre and random is that?
we talked about all the shows we watched growing up…starting with brady bunch all the way out to dallas, falcon crest and then later in life… LA LAW.
and there he is!
crazy.

but…i stalked him instead.
what a dweeb i am.

new york was good.
it was overwhelming.
it is a busy, loud, full, crowded place but it's also a LOT of fun.
i never get enough time with jenny now matter if it's a week or a weekend.
i love spending time with them no matter where we are.

but i loved getting back to my kids too.
i really did miss them.
and my VERY quiet little farm.

so… have you been to NYC?
do you want to go?
where are you headed next… where is your next trip?

 

 

Penny Smith - You. Went. To. Jimmy. Fallon?!?!?! I use to LIKE you! Hee!! It’s on my bucket list! 🙂

Shana - If you hadn’t told me you were going to blog about that car I never would have known you went to NYC!
Seriously. We have got to catch up!

April R - Thank you for sharing these! I probably won’t get to NY but that was a neat ‘taste’ of it. You guys sure rocked it 🙂
And the photos from the top – the evening city shots – I caught my breath…wow Meg! Those were super!

Andrea - So funny–I give my husband the “Matt Lauer” too! Love the New York pictures…it makes me want to go!

Lacey - We always have to jump into the drugstore and buy a poncho when the rain his us on our NYC trips. Next time I’m hitting a shoe shop for rain boots and a cute umbrella to match! Looks like such a great trip.

Molly - My best friend from high school lives in NYC and reads your blog… because I told her about it! I live in Kansas. 🙂 I’ve been to NYC lots of times and would happily go back. Especially to see my friend!

Julie Kittredge - Oh NYC. I love it! I was there visiting a friend exactly a year ago. She lives in Brooklyn – it was just a weekend trip for me but it was magical and exhilarating and adventurous. I wouldn’t want to live there but it’s an amazing city to visit!! Way busier than Chicago and way different. I expected it to be more similar than it was. Glad you had fun!

crystal - I like your lipstick in the first pic! What brand & color is it?

karen - awesome trip. i loved all your pics. makes me want to go!!

Beth - I got butterflies in my stomach when I saw your picture of the fountain. My husband proposed to me on the steps leading down to it almost exactly 6 years ago! We are planning to go back to NYC this October to celebrate our 5th anniversary. I’m hoping to set up a little photo shoot on those steps. (Want to come back to be our photographer?) 🙂 We love, love, love New York – can’t wait to go back!

Routhie - NYC just isn’t our cup of tea. I like big cities, but it’s a bit too much. Our next trip will be back to Spain to visit my brother-in-laws in Zaragoza. We’re flying into Madrid this time–can’t wait for all the good food, coffee, and [of course] family! My favorite treat was one afternoon, before siesta, we had chocolate and churros for lunch. I needed a couple glasses of wine and cheese afterwards.

aimee - these are wonderful! you did it all!

Alicia @ La Famille - what a trip! i love seeing new and weird things…so fun!

Carolyne - Meg I have loved your take on NYC and will have to nick pick your brain as we are heading there next April (coming from Australia). Have been twice before but with kids which is a whole different trip altogether and it was HOT!!!! Can’t wait until we go because I love that city so much. Thank you for helping me get excited and LOVED your posts.

amy - Our next trips are Italy, Paris and London — all within a month’s time! Wish I had a quiet little farmhouse to come home to! 🙂

Mindy Harris - thank you for the laugh tonite, miss megan. you are a hoot and a half!

Kelly - I like to ride those busses too and look at sweet Craig carrying your stuff in his bike basket. Great husband!
On my third trip to NYC with two girl friends I made (I do like to plan) a “choose our own adventure book” for us for NYC. It was a lot of fun to make and then use there. Kelly

amy jupin - i can almost hear your voice as i read this!
so happy you and jenny got to hang out in nyc together.
yay for bffs and trips with hot hubbies!

Hilary - OMG! I never see anyone famous at the airport or when I go to the city (chicago)…maybe I’m looking too hard! I totally would have gone up to Corbin Bernsen, he’s on my very favorite tv show, Psych!!
What a fun trip, looks like you had a great time!

Julie - I love NYC! And Jimmy Fallon is my absolute favorite! I’ve seen him perform four times, but always in Indiana. I’d love to go to a taping at 6B!
No traveling plans right now, but your posts make me want to go back to New York – like, tomorrow! Thanks for sharing!

Christi - I left a comment on your last NYC post… we just went in December with all the kids. I would love to do another trip sans kiddos. We were going to do the VRBO thing, but I chickened out. Love your photos from the Rock!

Valerie @ Chateau A La Mode - Just because it’s random, just wanted to share that I have seen Corbin Bersen lots at the Pasadena Flea Market. He must go every month. My sister and I stalk him too 😉 sometimes we separate and one of us will text each other if we see him. He looks around at very random, funky stuff. He usually has on sweats and crocs which we think is funny, and he is with his wife too. I think she’s a decorater, hee hee, just thought I’d share. Glad you had so much fun with your friends, it’s what life is all about!

Janine - Thank you for showing me NYC through tourist lenses! I live just outside of the city and don’t go nearly often enough. And I don’t ever really see the sights. You’ve given me ideas to plan a weekend in NYC. Thanks!

Kim - Love NYC! We’ve been several times and are in fact going back this week. It will be the first time we are taking the kids. Can’t wait!

Jill - Loved reading about your trip to NYC. I went last summer for the first time. I was only there a couple of days so naturally I didn’t get to see everything. I definitely plan to go back and spend more time seeing ALL the sights! Such a change from Omaha!!! Glad you had fun!
xo Jill

Jayne Barbour - Had to share my full circle moment:) My husband looks a smidge like Corbin Bernsen (or maybe George Strait?)
see here: http://jayniac.blogspot.com/2012/07/whatta-guy.html
AND he always gets the Matt Lauer cut too!
Love seeing these pics. What a special-and fun!-trip with your fella and friends!

Anita - Hi Meg, loving the photos of your NY trip! That is our next holiday in 5 weeks time…but for 14 whole days without our 3 kids (5,3 1/2 & 22 months)… I thought I would be ready to leave them all for the trip but as its getting closer I am getting more nervous about the little one as he is mummy’s boy. But coming all the way from Brisbane, Australia it’s takes over 20 hours and we just wanted to make it a once in a lifetime trip! Have tennis tickets & Yankees tickets booked already and have a list a mile long of things to do/see. It’s been wonderful getting a tast of it thru your Intsgram pics and now your blog. Thanks so much for sharing…. Even tho all those busy street pics gave me anxiety!! Am I really ready for NY?!

Catriona - I have never been to New York, never even been to the US! I have a fantasy trip to NYC planned in my head, though. By the time I get there I will probably need about a fortnight to get through my ridiculous itinerary!
Still, for now I am really looking forward to a trip to my parents in my home town of Edinburgh, Scotland – such a great place.

Miranda - YES Been to NYC and I LOVED every minute!!!!!!! Did quite the same things you did and I cant wait to go back. Amazinggggg city.

Sheridan - As I mentioned on instagram… I head there in two weeks… So super excited. My brother lives two blocks from central park. So cool that you have been just before me. Have loved seeing your pics. I am leaving hubbie and our four kids at home. Praying that I don’t miss them too much. A much needed break for this at home mumma. So love reading your blog and hope one day to make it to craft weekend… Would surely be the guest who would travel the furtherest… From New Zealand………… 😉 One day…..

Sandy - I’ve been…a couple years before 9/11. Want to go back with my man, my daughter and her boyfriend. I think that would be a great trip! Next on the list though is Grand Cayman in January!! Can’t wait.

Debbie Hargadon - I have loved these posts and the instagram – but wanted to put out my vote for VRBO.com Such a great site to use when you have multi fmailies going to the same place. We have always had outstanding experiences in really great properties. Don’t be afraid!
NYC so fun to visit – you did a few things I have not done in the past but would do on my next trip. I want to travel with DAVE!!! Score for the tickets and the planning! 😉 And yes. . . ahhhh Kansas. . . if only it were NORMAL weather and not 100 every day!
From 65 degree San Jose, CA. . .

Jessica Johnson - Love the NYC. My mom’s family is from Long Island so we’ve been back to visit quite a few times. My parents are there right now actually! Also, I love Jenny’s shirt. And VRBO. We use it ALL the time.

amanda - My husband says the same thing to me when I cut his hair! Ha!
Being from a tiny town in New Mexico and now raising my kids in a small West Texas town – I’ve always dreamed of going to NYC and experiencing really city life. Someday…someday!

happygirl - Your trip looks GREAT. I’m going to get on the ‘net right now and try to score tickets to Fallon for when I go to NYC in Feb. FUN!!

Laine - So fun! I went to NYC on a missions trip back in 2001. We stayed where Brooklyn meets the Bronx. It was an interesting place! But I loved it too. I grew up right outside of D.C. so the craziness was nothing new. Central Park is cool, and that’ awesome that you got to bike through it. I would love to go back to NYC!
My hubby and I have a picture together on the top of the twin towers with the sunset behind us. Less than two months later were the 9/11 attacks. Crazy.

roganne - It looks like you guys had so much fun! I’ve been to NYC once in my life and I want to go back! I feel like the first time you go your neck just keeps craning around and around taking in all of the stimulus overload. But now as an adult I think I would do much better 🙂

Lori H - My one trip to NYC was at Christmas time (not ON Christmas). You should really see it looking so festive. And see the Rockettes Christmas show. Very cool! Love the story of your trip…

jen - love this! i have been to new york city for one day when i was 17 as we passed through driving home to vancouver from our week in myrtle beach, sc. 6 girls in a van, 3 1.2 weeks, down the westcoast, across the south, up the east coast, across the north. epic. but your looked like more fun!! we are headed to ny in two weeks…the adirondacks, cottage country…for my mom’s 60th. a small hop from montreal. big week. big party. i am counting the days.
happy summer to you! xo

chrissi - Thanks for sharing NY. My favorite city!!! Love, love, love it. In my other life I went there a few times a year and it is always a bit different and always a great adventure. New life now and my husband hates it. Your photos made my day.

Patti - I am a born and raised Brooklyn, NYC girl now living down on the farm in southern Michigan…my husband is a native Michigander and i’ve been trying to get him to move to NYC (my mom, sister and most of my family are still in NYC…Brooklyn and Staten Island, Long Island etc)..i’m just not cut out to be a farm girl…I miss my crowds, noise, traffic! lol Looks like you had fun!!

Mollie @ Sprinkles of Life - I LOVE New York! LOVE LOVE LOVE it! My boyfriend and I went there for New Year’s Eve. So. cool! I can’t wait to do it again with him years down that road! Until we go back over NYE though, I need a couple trips just to explore and see more.

seriously sassy mama - I would love to go to NYC. I have never been. I love all your pictures of the city.

Curious Details - Crazy coincidence~a few years back we went to NYC for my 40th birthday (we live in Houston) We love Letterman and I scored tickets to his show AND got to try out for Stump The Band! What in interesting process that was. Made it all the way through to the final round which happened before taping in the Green Room with Paul Schaffer, but didn’t make the final cut. We did, however, get to sit really really close to the front and Dave came and stood “right there” next to us. Really fun!
Your trip looked very familiar. We live in a big city, but New York just overwhelms me. Too much of too much. But, like Vegas..ya gotta see it at least once in your life!

Rachel - I actually lived there for a little while! One night some girls I went to college with were like “Hey, let’s move to NYC.” And I was IN! I had ALWAYS wanted to live there. We were young and single and READY to mingle! Ha! So we packed up a UHAUL, drove from Chicago suburbs to NYC. It was a blast, and I’m really glad for the experience, but so glad to be living in my little rural Arkansas town, population 1500. I would rather have cows and chickens for neighbors and not all the LOUD stuff of NYC. But it is FUN. Lots of good experiences! And only one drive by shooting….for real :/ ( We didn’t tell our parents because we were afraid they would come and take us home!)

Betsy - So we went to NYC for the day and you were there at the same time!!!!!?!! I was looking for famous people all day– didn’t know that the famous Meg was there! (We were there on the rainy day- ick. Went to Rockefeller Center, and since our kids were with us, had to hit the Lego store.) I kept whacking umbrellas with other people by mistake as we walked the crowded streets. Love NYC- but that many people? Take me home, country roads, to the place where I belong… Connecticut! 🙂

Sarah{Handbags*N*Pigtails} - Since we live only about 4-5 hours away Ive been there numerous times. I LOVE it but I will not take my kids until theyre much older. Ive been there at different times of the year too and there are just too many people. Id be a nervous wreck that Id lose one of them.:)
I spent two consecutive birthdays in New York trying to get to the Rachel Ray show. The 2nd time we went totally made up for the first time they cut us off AT THE DOOR (even though we had tickets)saying “We’re sorry…the studio is full. We’ll give you VIP tickets for next season to make up for this.” The 2nd time we got to see Bob Barker and some dude from DWTS and everyone in the audience won $1500 in stuff! My mother in law and sister in law had taken me so they won it all too. Awesome, memorable trip!
We just got home from a family trip down through Virginia…the beach, wild horse islands, historical sites,etc… and in a few weeks hubby and I leave(alone) for El Salvador and Honduras for a teaching/missions trip.

Kim - MEG. This post makes me want to go to NYC right now. I have been twice, and I feel like I saw so much, but now I just want to see it all again, and MORE.
I LOVE NYC. Seriously. I wish I was 20 again, and packed up and moved out there.
I ALWAYS think in headlines too. Family vacations and youth group trips back in the day. FREAKY.

Christine - I want to comment on the whole trip, but I have no time. Let me just say I love your blog. Its awesome.

Michelle - What a great trip Meg! I was totally instagram stalking you while you were there. It looks like a blast!

brandi - i am going to NYC in 64 days (but who’s counting) with four of my best girlfriends. It will be my 3rd trip to NYC. I love it there. Maybe not the smells and herds of people, but I do love the diversity of New York. There’s just so much to do and so much culture. I can’t believe how lucky i am to go with just the girls (while the hubby stays home with the kids). I am glad you enjoyed it. It’s really hard for us Kansas girls to feel at home in the hustle and bustle of the city – but lets be honest, with all the kiddos, it’s still hustle and bustle, just a different kind. 😉

Tiffany - Oh how cool is the blurry photo of you with the umbrella, that looks movie set *ish. I live very close to NYC, prolly a little over an hour and we hardly visit, now I feel like a dweeb. Can’t believe you didn’t say hello to Corbin Bersen, let me find out you’re actually kinda shy, that would be a shocker.

Kristin S - No, don’t stop posting. I’m living vicariously through you on this trip…
I used to go with my dad every other year. Then I grew up. Stink. Haven’t been in over 20 years.

Jana Banana - Looks like a fab trip! Jealous of the Jimmy Fallon tickets, I’m a fan, too! (But then, who isn’t?) Well done on the bike ride through Central Park, that’s not something I would have thought about, but now, if ever we get to NYC, it’s on the list. 🙂

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NYC…continued

i am not planner….i don't like to be the one who makes the schedules.
i don't like to be the one who decides what everyone will be doing.
on trips or in groups i tend to just go with the flow.
or at least i try.
so the only thing i think i said besides "i want starbucks" when deciding where to go
was "i would love to see Fishs Eddy in real life.

i got my wish. 

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i was in love at first sight.

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major hot burning passionate love.

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i loved EVERYTHING in here.

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this picture is overexposed but those mugs look like notebook paper!!!
(if only they weren't 12 oz. mugs…i need a big mug)

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for reals…vintage linens just like at the barn in kansas!
i prefer my barn prices to fishs eddy.  
🙂

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a million milk glass cake stands.

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sour apple green hutch?
fabulous.
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i loved every detail in this store.
every display piece.
every hand painted sign.
every dish and cup and tea towel.

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i could have easily spent another hour here.
EASILY!
but of the four of us….i was the only one freaking out on the inside about how
completely amazing and REDONKULOUS this store was so i bought a t-shirt and we left.

i did not want to.

also i said "i'm going into anthro…" when i found it.

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we don't have many fire escapes in kansas….

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 we walked to the 9/11 Memorial.

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it was very quiet in here….right in the middle of the city.
the waterfalls and pools are so big.

i can't imagine what it was like for people in New York City on 9/11.
i looked around and was trying to comprehend it….
all i could think was "i hate that day"
i was far away from new york and i hate that day for me.
i was so scared for my children and my husband.
so i just can't imagine how the people of new york feel.
the people who saw it with their own eyes…who lost family and friends….
i hate that day.

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the memorial is beautiful.
it is a lovely place to honor the people who lost their lives.
but it's sickening that it has to be there at all.
evil.
evil in this fallen world.
but i was thankful for that beautiful quiet place.
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we took a ferry boat to the statue of liberty.

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she's lovely… just like i thought.

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storms were rolling in.

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after the statue of liberty we also took a tour of Ellis Island. 
and it poured rain outside.
POURED.

i did not stay dry.

and i didn't stay very chipper about it either…..

i am a girl.

i don't like to get rained on. 

we ate dinner in Little Italy.
it was so weird…they hassle you to get you to come eat at their restaurant?!
begging you to come in…try THEIR food….whadda ya lookin' for tonight folks?
with heavy new york accents.
 we chose the ONE place that didn't do that.
and it was yummy. 

one more new york post tomorrow.

:) 

 

Kami - I too did NOT want to leave that store! Isn’t New York so amazing?!
Did you come home and roll around in your backyard when you got home? I did. As much as I love to visit NYC I LOVE to come home too. 🙂
ps. Your photo of the Statue of Liberty is beautiful!!

Martha - OMG…Fish Eddy’s. I NEED to go. That place looks amazing!!

Jenna - I have loved every single one of your NYC pictures! Thank you!!

Kelly - I do love Fishs Eddy! I have polka dotted drinking glasses from there.
I like Lombardy’s in Little Italy. Kelly

tiffany gardner - My brother has lived there for the last 20 years and my hubby and I lived there after college. Thanks for bringing back some memories to me today. NYC and its people hold a special place in my little oklahoma heart.

Cari - Oh my gosh! I have been obsessed with Fishs Eddy online for years!! How stinking cool you got to go to the store! Yay for you!!

Donna R - Awesome pics on my hometown. When I go back now I love to stop in Fish’s Eddy. Don’t you just wish you could pack the whole store up and take it with you?? 😉

Kimberly Dial - Loved your pics … lots of fire escapes … I hate 9/11 too … it’s the only day as an adult that I was afraid to go to sleep that night … eerily quiet … not sure what the morning would bring. I’ve been to NYC (prior to 9/11) & I hope to return some day to see the memorial … so many sacrifices made that day … God help us :/

karen gerstenberger - I would have stayed in that store with you for another hour!
Thank you for posting about the 9/11 memorial. I have never been to NYC and your photos – the perspective in your photos AND words – are some of the clearest and most personal I’ve seen/heard. Thank you for that. And I loved your Statue of Liberty photos!

jennie - I was at Ground Zero yesterday and Fish’s Eddy this morning before catching the train home. I would have been too, too excited if we had been there at the same time. Hope you had a great trip. Couldn’t you have sifted through the piles of dishes for hours?

Kimberlee Jost - Let’s go soon.
Like tomorrow.

Patty - Oh my…that store. Wow. I need to go. That’s for opening my eyes! What a treat.

Janine - I hope you made it to Puglia’s in Little Italy. Great food and such a fun place. The whole restaurant comes together and parties – standing on chairs waving napkins, singing, table war chants. I live so close and haven’t been in a while. I’ll have to trek in and be touristy one weekend. Your pictures are beautiful. That statue of liberty pic could be a post card!

Rebecca - Oh, my kids go to school in the big silver wavy building! I lived 6 blocks from the WTC on 9/11 & it was shitty, shitty, shitty, awful day and really hard time to follow. Thankfully the neighborhood is back bigger and stronger. I still haven’t been to the memorial. Just not sure how I feel about being right in there.
Fishs Eddy is an awesome store.

Leah - Amazing pictures! I feel like I’m in NY. And I seriously just teared up and started crying looking at the 9/11 Memorial photos the Statue of Liberty. I depicted the memorial beautifully. Thanks for the reminder of freedom – both from 9/11 and the Lady Liberty!

Christi @ the brown shed - I love all of your photos! We went to NYC at Christmastime. It was grand. Fishs Eddie was on my list, but after I see your photos, I am almost glad I didn’t make it there. I would have gone totally nuts! I did make it to ABC Carpet and Home… did you go there? That was fun. We ate at the best place in Little Italy. Da Nico’s. Ferrara’s bakery is just down the street from there, and it was soooo good. We also loved Magnolia Bakery. I can’t wait to go again someday.

Tracy Fisher - love that shop. had never heard of it. so, thanks! what fun. one day i’d love to visit nyc. one day 🙂 -tracy

Dara - love the fire escape pictures! I’m in kansas too – where are you? I would love to visit the barn you mentioned!

Sarah - You are beautiful. I love that shot of you in front of the Statue of Liberty and that last shot?! Stinking amazing! Perfect.

happygirl - Wow, what great shots. I haven’t been to the 9/11 monument yet. I can’t believe I wrote about 9/11 in my blog post today. Weird how things like that happen. I’m going to NYC in Feb. I’m sure all my shots will have a gray sky. 🙂

vicki - I am weak in the knees over Fishs Eddy. Oh love….

jan - Love your pictures of New York! My husband and I were there at the same time you guys were… we were visiting our oldest son who moved to the city in April. Like you, we visited the 9-11 Memorial. Our first trip to NYC was in December 2000… just a few months prior to that evil day. We have pictures of our boys on the top of the World Trade Center, so standing in that same spot was very sad. On a happier note…. where in the world is Fishs Eddy, and WHY did I not know about it??? I did find Anthro though… I do love their displays and styling! Thanks for sharing!

Cynthiaj - I discovered Fishs Eddy by accident in 1996, wandering in there while on a trip to NYC chaperoning the church youth group… I almost died, I loved it so. I’ve made an effort to go back on subsequent trips and have ordered stuff online. Should have known it would be right up your alley! (The store across the street, ABC Carpet and Home, used to be such a fabulous funky place, but it has gone seriously upscale and it’s no fun to visit anymore.)

Pamela Gordon - I am enjoying your posts on NYC. I am going there in November (not the nicest time of year) on a choir tour (we’re singing with a mass choir at Carnegie Hall!!!). I’ve never been there before so in seeing your photos I am getting excited. I will take photos of buildings too, and signs and people and fire escapes, because that’s what I’m interested in. We’re staying on Times Square! Woot!!! Thanks for sharing these awesome pics! Pamela

Dianne - Love your NYC pictures. Will visit Fishs Eddy if I ever get a chance to go there! Would love to see the t-shirt and hear more about your apartment arrangement. I have a large family and sometimes staying in a hotel isn’t a great fit for us. Our family drove through Kansas last week and stopped in Wichita for lunch. Pretty country – a lot like my Oklahoma, but nicer roads and amazing windmills and silos.

jill - Not to make you crazy jealous, but I work 3 blocks from Fishes Eddy. Then again I live in a 900 sq foot apt with no outdoor space, so every place has it’s ups and downs. I drool over the barn stores you get to go to! Anyway, even though I’ve been to Fishes Eddy many times, I really enjoyed seeing it through your eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever paid that much attention to the display cases, next time I go there, I will look at them and think of you. =)

Mindi - Oh I forgot to tell you yesterday in my comments, we are going to an Avett Brothers concert in Central Park while we are there! I think you like them, right? They are my husbands fav!

Kim - i have heard about this Fish’s Eddy place, and caught glimpses. but those mugs.
i need to book myself a flight to NYC just to get one.

Stephany - Thanks for sharing.
I would love to go to NYC someday.
I’ll definitely find Fishs Eddy,,,

seriously sassy mama - I must have the collanders. I love the pics of the city. I have never been to New York.

Shannon - great pics of New York and that store, Fish Eddy’s looks amazing! I’m sure I would spend way too much time admiring all their goodies

Juli - Years ago my two teen daughters and I were in NYC for a dance week. The two highlights: I got to take a dance class at the Alvin Ailey school, and our hotel was right around the corner from Fishs Eddy. I’d never heard of it before our visit–what a treat! Like you, I loved every single thing in the place.

Ashlyn@Pinecone - I love Fishs Eddy soooooo much. We are living in upstate NY now, and every time we go into the city I have to go there. It is always the issue of how much I want to walk around with all day though – so I usually get a new dish towel or something. Makes me happy ;))
Great photos!!!!!!! xo

angela - love love your blog (i’ve said it before) but this post. the 9/11 tribute, your words. Gosh, thank you so much for sharing!
i was in NYC (first.only) in july of 2003 – and the site was a hole – but very silent and moving….thank you for giving me a glimpse of what is there today.

Rochelle - What a fun trip! I’m reading a fascinating book right now about 9/11 called The Harbinger. It shows the relationship between the prophecy of Isaiah 9:10-11 and the events related to 9/11 in novel form. You should check it out!

KirstenP - What is the tall white building(or maybe it’s two tall white buildings connected to each other) with the wavy sides? It’s cool. It’s the photo above the one with the tall red metal sculpture.

Lacey - I’ve never even heard of Fishs Eddy but it looks like it’s going to be a new favorite. I see more city than I do corn fields in Atlanta. I was in Indiana two weeks ago and was blown away by barns, soy bean fields, and dirt roads and this week you are in the super city. It’s amazing how we all live in such different places. I love this world. Great pics!

Tiffany - Fishs Eddy is prolly like your barn shops jacked up on Mountain Dew for you. I love how they brought the barn to NYC though, love that. Very colorful vibrant shots of NY.

Terrie - I love all of your NYC photos. I’ve never been there and would love to go.
I would love to go to that shop! Oh.My.Goodnes.!! How did you get out without buying one of everything?!
And your photos of the 9/11 Memorial brought tears to my eyes.
Our family has a connection to one of the families…because our son wanted to donate to a family.
I blogged about our connection last year….still breaks my heart.
Someday, I want to go and pay my respects to the families who lost so much.
Thanks for sharing!!

Mandy - Fishs Eddy?? Oh my goodness!! How did I not know of this place? I could’ve have spent all day in there. I clicked on over to their site and I’ve already made my Christmas wish list!!!

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NYC

last week craig and i got all our kids off to three different places 
and we hopped on a plane to New York City. 

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we were meeting chicago jen & dave for four days together.

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we ate at very fun places.

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it was dave's 40th birthday.
letterman's guests were Roseanne, audrey plaza and Jeff the brotherhood.
it was SO cool to see that show IN PERSON after watching it my whole life.
really cool.
dave had been working on tickets for months for us to get to come….thank you dave!!

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and we popped into the hello deli.

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times square.

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dinner at R Lounge overlooking times square….very fun!

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dessert at carnegie deli….cheesecake.
(sorry carnegie… pam's cheesecake is still better)

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we rented an apartment through vrbo.com so we could have our down time together instead of 2 hotel rooms.
it worked out well!
this is the view off the roof…pretty sweet.

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how do you feel when you look at that picture?
i wanted to go straight back to my little farm house and take a nap.
🙂
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i will share more pics tomorrow.
it was great to get away.
it was great to come back home.
and always so good to see our chicago friends.

 

Yaz - I cannot believe you were in NYC…. I live a quick train ride away:) great pics

Kelly - So fun that y’all did this and great idea to stay in an apartment! love the dress as always! Kelly

Audrey - Beautiful pics!!! Could definitely use one of those milk glass cake stands, or one in every color! Heading over to their website now!
http://www.SpilledMilkStyle.com
A blog for stylish moms despite all the spilled milk!

Mindy Harris - megan that looks like a BLAST! i have never been to nyc but want to go so bad!

Jessica - I feel like I was right there with you. You are an a.ma.zing photographer Meg! I love all the pictures and can’t wait to see more!

laura b - That pic with all the cabs was CRAZY! I can’t even imagine. I haven’t been to NYC, but it’s on my bucket list. Can’t wait to see more photos!

Julia @the BackLoop - Awesome! I’m trying to get 3 days in NY to hang out with my sister before November. Once my little lady is completely weaned (we’re thiiiiiiiiis close) my husband has given me the green light to go to New York BY MYSELF!

Kori - NYC is my favorite. FAVORITE!! 😀

jeri - I wanted to go to NYC but after seeing those pictures of all those people I think I will stay in quiet Denver! Cool pics though.

Barbara - YAY Craig and Meg! So happy for you that you got to get away and celebrate with your friends! Looking forward to seeing more pics tomorrow.

Kristin S - Brilliant to rent an apt through VRBO! All I ever think of is the beach or the mountains for them. Brilliant!!!
Loved seeing your Instagram updates.

Valerie @ Chateau A La Mode - I love trips like that. Looks like you had a great time. I know what you mean, New York is such a fun place to visit, but wouldn’t want to live there 😉

Heather S. - I think I got hives from those photos! Ha! I’m a *live out in the county* kind of girl. I have found that I really like some cities, like San Francisco…but NYC just looks…well, dirty and cramped. I’m sure there is a lot of cool things to see and do, though. So glad you got to spend the time with friends. We are taking a 4 day trip to the Smoky Mountains with our best beds this fall. I’m REALLY looking forward to that!

Leslie Davison - We went to NYC in March, for the first time. We took the whole family. I just uploaded some of the pics to my facebook today, coincidence :). Looking at your pictures was fun! Thanks for sharing.

Mary - Looks fantastic! Will you share which vbro apartment you rented? We’re looking to do the same thing and would love a recommendation.

Kimberly Dial - I <3 NYC! One of my favorite places in the whole world! That pic made me wanna go ... and I can't ... and that makes me 🙁 How awesome that you got to visit spend time with your Chicago friends in the Big Apple. YAY you! Thanks for sharing ... I can't wait to see more.

Lisa - My only time visiting NYC was when I was 22 yrs old. A loooong time ago. 😉 Such a fun, crazy place to visit. But a bit of sensory overload! haha! Glad you had a getaway!

Lisa - An apartment instead of hotel…genius! Looks like a great vacation. Times Square looks like it was made for you – all that color! Thanks for sharing.

karen gerstenberger - I’m so happy that you got to make this trip with your sweetie and your good friends. Love the “Soup Nazi” – I mean, “Soup Man” photo (I hope you’re a Seinfeld fan and get that reference)!

Melanie - Glad you had a good time, but after seeing these pics of NYC, it only confirms my notion that I have absolutely NO desire to ever go there!
Hugs,
Melanie
(from the Chicago ‘burbs)

BriBedell - Looks awesome!!

kerry - Wowza’s what an awesome couple of days! You are such a cute couple – I’m coming over to NYC for my 30th next year.. can’t wait xx

Mindi - How fun! We just booked a trip to NYC for our 10 year anniversary! I am a small town girl too and I am a bit anxious when I think of being there but am so excited to get away with my man.
Would love to hear any tips or pointers and places to definitely not miss!

Christy - My home state woohooo!! I grew up on the Island with lots of trips into the city 🙂

seriously sassy mama - An apartment in the city is the way to go. I love the pics of the city. The pic of the traffic is excitement to me. I love all the business and colors.

Tiffany - WHATEVER! You were on the East Coast, hope it was good to you. A little grown up time never hurts.

Kae - I live in NY! Bummed I didn’t bump into you!! Love the photos as well….your photography just gets better & better!

Dani - I get all happy when I see pics of NYC. Years ago (before hubby and kids) that is where I wanted to be. Right in the middle of all the chaos! Now I look at my husband and three kids and realize I am right where God intended for me to be. Yes, I’d love to visit… just not live there!

shiela - luv nyc!

Paul - Wow! I’d love to visit New York one day!

Alicia @ La Famille - wow! that taxi picture gives me an anxiety attack!! i would love to visit there, but not to live. looks like a great time!

Lacey - Looks like such a great trip. I really want to go to NYC again soon. I haven’t been in such a long time. Looks crazy busy in most of those pics. Thanks for sharing I love all of the pictures you take.

aimee - oh, you were here! so close by! and how wonderful that you managed to take off together sans kids… that time alone is essential! glad you enjoyed your trip. xo

Jenna - I really do “love NY” … the pictures made me smile!

julie - So rad to get away. Especially with your best friends. The apartment is geniuse. Love vrbo.
New York stresses me out a little, (a lot) but someday I would love to go.

Sarah Wolfe - I went to college in downtown Chicago. Leaving my little country home, it was a little bit of a shock. But I grew to love the big city, and there’s a part of me that will always feel at home in a big mass of people. Never been to NYC, but want to some day 🙂 Great pics.

Dawn from Alberta - Love New York City and really love your perspective and photos. Thanks! What I really want to know is……did you buy one of those Statue of Liberty knickknacks?

happygirl - I <3 NYC so much. So cool you got to have a getaway time with friends. I couldn't have done the Letterman show. He makes me nuts. I love your pics. And I can't believe you have a cardigan on. Was it chilly? Fun fun fun.

Gina in Louisville - How on earth did you make arrangements for all of your kids for four days? I am amazed and honestly a little jealous. My husband and I need something like this so badly. We were planning a trip but had to cancel because of money but also the stress of placing the kids. We have two teenage boys. It seemed so much easier when they were younger. It was so easy to make them happy and going to the dollar store was an adventure.

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