been awhile

oops. 

life sure does find a way of getting in the way sometimes. 

sorry for the lack of posting. 

the o's have had a crazy fall.  

right around the time i posted last, my company was sold and my whole job part of life was turned upside down.  between the sadness of Curbside (previous company) closing and the stress of the transition to the new company, i've just been trying to keep my head above water. i'm a bit more settled into the new company and new role, but still have some adjusting to do.

on the other hand, in oct, we packed our bags and flew 25 hours to asia! 

hong kong - phuket - bangkok - ho chi minh city 

to be exact. 

(the o's in Thailand)

we ate crazy food, met some amazing people, explored everything we could, and had an adventure we'll never forget.  
there are too many memories to fit into a single blog post.

...but if you are interested, i'd be happy to share all 1000 photos and spend an entire weekend of your life talking to you about it - sounds great, right? just let me know.  

while the experience was everything we imagined, we were so happy to step back onto american soil, hear english, and eat pizza (sad. but who doesn't love pizza?).  2.5 weeks in a foreign land really made us appreciate what we have in the US (not including pizza) and just how lucky we are to live where we do.  

really helps put life and some of our everyday problems into perspective.  

 the real voyage of discovery 

consists not in seeking new landscapes

but in having new eyes

-marcel proust

one year

yesterday, mr. o and i celebrated our first year of marriage. 

year old cake, champagne, dancing to "you and me" in the kitchen.

amazing how the time flies. 

it feels like yesterday i was sitting in the chair getting my hair done, surrounded by my favorite girls, and fighting back tears as i tried to practice my vows.  it feels like yesterday that i was walking towards mr. o for our first look and then, as if it was second later, giving him the kiss to seal the deal.  

what an incredible day we had on september 22, 2012.  all of our favorite people around us, lots of smiles and hugs, good food and dancing.  i would re-live that weekend over and over again if i could.  

thankfully, i got the best party favor from that day.  

the most amazing husband in the whole wide world. 

i don't think i could get any luckier. 

(the actual cake! and it didn't taste bad!)

thanks, mr. o, for a fantastic first year of marriage.  i fall in love with you more and more each day and can't wait for all of the adventure that lies ahead of us.  

the b wedding

it's an amazing moment when a good friend finds a match that is so perfect for them.

one of my best friends, jen, found that match in her now husband, andy.  

i couldn't have created a better person for her.  he is hilariously funny, so handsome, so caring, atheltic, and just a genuinely fun person to be around. 

i met jen 6 years ago during our semester abroad trip, Semester at Sea.  we first found each other in the bahama's before the ship departed from port and we went dancing and drank too many yard sticks at Senor Frogs - the formula for an instant friendship, of course. 

jen is smart, stunningly beautiful, loves everyone and everything, and just the greatest, most supportive friend you could ask for.  she is always there when you need her and i swear we share a brain sometimes.  she's a super fancy lawyer and her and andy live in buffalo, ny.  we're constantly saying how we all need to live closer to each other, so i'm hoping they'll cave and move to boston or mr. o creates an instant transport device.  

jen had graciously asked me to be bridesmaid for her which, of course, i accepted followed by a lot of crying and dramatic screaming as i'm on the phone with her trying to get on the highway.  i've spent the last year helping design her invitations, hosting her shower and bachelorette with her other amazing bridesmaids, getting to know her incredible family, and having a blast supporting her. the ceremony would be held at the church she grew up going to and the reception was at Barn on Bridge. 

the weekend came and we all traveled to Phoenixville, PA for last minute details, nails, tomato pie, rehearsal dinner, welcome drinks, getting all doll'ed up, and finally... 

watching two of the greatest people on earth unite for life. 

i'm crying just thinking about it! 

the weather was perfect, everyone looked so pretty, lots of dancing, good food, buffalo bills chants on repeat, and being amongst some of my closest friends.
it was an incredible weekend celebrating love and i wish i could do it over and over and over again.  

 

 (our amazing crew and photo with traditional wedding blanket gift)

cheers to you, mr. and mrs. b! 

here's to a life of hugs, laughs, happiness, cats named max, and so many more adventures.  you are so loved. 

wicked

mr. o and i have had a string of free weekends.  no travel, no plans, no weddings, just waking up when we want to and doing whatever we want to.  
this doesn't happen very often. 

yesterday, we decided to go hiking at the blue hills reservation in milton, ma (about 30 min south of boston).  the great people who set this all up have mapped out tonsss of trails for all skill levels.  you can canvas almost the entire mountain and the paths intertwine so you can decide to go on a different adventure halfway through if you'd like. 

we took the skyline trail and it was perfect.

the trail was a mixture of a nice walk and 
crazy inclines up and over rocks.  we got the heart rate going, got some sunshine, and had ourselves a very nice hike.  

mr. o packed lunches for us that morning so once we got to the top we found a rock to have our picnic on.  mr. o handed me my sandwich and asked for the extra napkin that was sitting on top.  when i grabbed the napkin to hand it over....

WICKED TICKETS FELL OUT!! 

i was so surprised, so psyched, so thankful, and just the happiest person in the world in that moment.  i've been in love with Wicked (the musical) soundtrack foreveerrrrrrrr, but have never been able to actually go see the show.  it's in Boston right now for a limited time, but i kept putting off getting tickets because they were so expensive and ryan isn't the biggest fan of watching people sing for a couple hours. 

regardless, he got us two tickets to the show that night and it was everything i had every dreamed it'd be.  so funny, so sad, so magical.  the voices were incredible, amazing costumes and effects, the story is so engaging, and the music.  ohhh the music! seeing "defying gravity" performed in real life is so much better then from pandora on the "broadway's hits" station.   

finally, i can check this off my bucket list. 

(outside the boston opera house)

thank you, mr. o, for an absolutely amazing day.  

canadian cuisine

something i didn't really touch upon in my post about our trip to canada was the food.

it's amazing and i want to discuss two new dishes i got to experience. 

poutine and donair.

 (aka pure joy)

poutine is pretty basic and surprisingly (maybe not so surprisingly) delicious. 

(poutine on the left. amazing lobster roll on right)

french fries, coverrreedddd in gravy, and sprinkled with just the right amount of cheese curds. i was weary of cheese curds before i tried them since i wasn't sure what they were, but they are just blobs of a really mild cheese (don't wiki it, the description doesn't do them justice).  when you decide this is something you'd like to try, you order a batch at any restaurant or food truck.  It arrives steaming hot, you stir it all up, and gobble it down. the whole concoction is an ooey, gooey mess of salty goodness.  you can order it regular which is how i described above, but lots of people order it with pulled pork or bacon piled high on top.  it's, no question, a heart attack on a plate, but at least you would have died eating a really great meal.

donair is the best sandwich i've ever eaten. 

that's a pretty heavy statement for me to make since i love all sandwiches. mr. o has tried to explain this sandwich to me many times and it never sounded like anything special. you've probably heard of it as "donar" which is a middle eastern sandwich, very similar to the donair, with sliced lamb and a cucumber yogurt sauce with various veggies in a pita. 

as wiki explains the history of the donair: "a variation of the doner kebab known as "donair" was introduced in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in the early 1970s. Peter Gamoulakos immigrated to Canada in 1959^.  when he failed in his attempt to sell traditional döner, Gamoulakos adapted the dish to local tastes.  he substituted beef for lamb and created a sweet sauce."

spicy seasoned thinly sliced beef, diced tomato, and a sweet sauce all wrapped up in a pita.  i took one bite out of this messy sandwich (it exploded all over my hands, face, lap, and seat of the rental car) and couldn't believe i had lived 27 years without having had one before. 

will someone please open a shop that sells these things in boston? cool. thanks.

color run

sometime in july mr. o and i, along with our great friends mr. and mrs. d, did a 5k color run! 

getting psyched to start the run with the d's

the race was held at rentschler field in harford, where the UConn football team plays.  there were hunndreeddsssss of people of all shapes and sizes.  definitely a family day which we appreciated since i don't think any of us had run more than a mile since last year sometime.  i respect any event that gets people off the couch, outside, and doing something active.  the downside was that it was 5,000 degrees out.  not the best day for a 5k, but we were up for the challenge. 

thankfully, we all stayed hydrated and i was extremely proud of how we did.  my parents even came to cheer us on and were there at the finish with high fives for everyone (maybe even a colorful hug for mom who was not dressed for a color run ha!).  afterwards, the d's headed back up to boston for a work party they had to attend, but the o's went home with my parents and we went out to a really fun dinner at abigail's in simsbury to celebrate my parents anniversary from last month.  i think i needed 6 showers to get the blue, green, and pink color off, but even the bit that was left made for great conversation at my 9am morning meeting at work on monday. 

it was the low key weekend we needed, spent with great family and friends.

curveballs

well, life, thanks for always keeping me on my toes. 

july was an interesting month for the o's.  we started off with an excellent vacation to nova scotia.  shortly after, we found out that our good friends had ended their almost 4 year long relationship. 
it came out of nowhere, at least to us, and it was a bit of a blow for everyone. 

it feels like a string of these breakups have been happening lately.  the "i can't see the rest of my life with you" breakup.  3 of us got married, one couple became serious, and the rest have broken up with (or been left by) their long term boyfriends.  it's a make or break point in life, people deciding their careers, who they are going to spend their lives with, having kids, buying homes...

these late 20s, man, are tough times.

it did give mr. o and i a chance to reflect on how lucky we are to have each other and recognize the strength in our relationship.  

it also finally gives us an answer to the age old newlywed question, 

"does it feel any different now that you're married?"

we usually gave some cheeky "it feels the same as the day before the rings" type answer, but after this year of change and witnessing heartbreak, we realize that the biggest change is that we've formally committed to each other.  i recognize that sounds a little bizarre (weren't you committed before?), but committed in the sense that we've proven our commitment to each other by getting married.  Trusting that this person will be by my side no matter what curveballs life throws our way.  

 we won't have an "i'm not sure i see the rest of my life with you" conversation.  

we won't have an "are you the one?" conversation. 

we've chosen to see how the rest of our lives play out with each other. 

another july curveball is that my wonderful company was sold to another company.  i can't get too much into it because the sale hasn't gone through yet, but we're all a little heartbroken.  lots of change, too many questions, and more anxiety about the future than i'd ever like to feel again.

regardless of these curveballs life has thrown me and my loved ones, we will all come out on top.  i'm sure i'll embrace the career changed head on. i have faith that my dear friend who is now starting over in love will find an amazing partner like the one i found in ryan. she will look back on this difficult time and realize what she learned from it and how it made her stronger. 

thanks for the tests, life, but we've got this.

oh canada

the 4th of july is one of my favorite holidays.  

a day/week/weekend of sunshine.beers.grilling.friends.beach.fireworks.usalove

this year, the o's celebrated our great nation's birthday in a different way.

we flew to canada.

(at My Father's Moustache, an awesome bar in downtown Halifax)

mr. o is from that large country that sits over our heads, more specifically, the province of Nova Scotia. he actually only became a citizen of the US of A in 2010.  when he was about 11, his dad got a new job and they shipped off to alabama.  if ever there was such thing as culture change, that was it.  while it may have been difficult for awhile, he can switch from a southern to canadian accent and back again between sentences and i think that's a pretty neat party trick.

some of ryan's extended family still resides in Nova Scotia so we decided to fully utilize the quiet week at work and go up for a visit.  

if you've never been to Nova Scotia, i highly recommend that you go.  it's lush with greenery, amazingly beautiful coastlines, great food, friendly people, and the list goes on.  i got to see the house that ryan grew up in, we spent a day/night in downtown Halifax touring around, a day at Peggy's Cove to see the famous lighthouse, and the last two days relaxing at his uncle's lake house just north of Halifax.  most importantly, i finally got to meet ryan's cousins, who are fantastic, and spend some quality time with his aunt and uncle who are the sweetest and most gracious hosts. 

sounds like a good trip, eh?

goshen

goshen is a lakehouse (aka: little slice of heaven) tucked away in the litchfield hills of connecticut.  i talk about this place as if i have some ownership of it, but it really has nothing to do with me. one of my best friends family owns this adorable lake house equipped with a sweet boat, a mama that's always one of the girls, a dock that was definitely made just for laying out in the sun, and an amazing dad that whips up fresh margs and award winning mashed potatoes at a moments notice. whitney, the middle daughter of 3 perfect young women and my friend, has graciously allowed us to partake is the "goshen experience" for many years. even when we were 15, we were never too cool for tubing (until recently, but only because we're old and get too sore after one loop around the lake), spent too many years not using sunscreen, and let go of any weird "plain turkey sandwich with mayo on the side" diet we had for some shopis family home cooking. 

a little bit about whitney? she is a fashion icon (i just recently found out that Mary Kate Olson is hers.  sadly, i had to google MKO to see what she looked like). whit puts my black stretchie pants and high school cheerleading tshirts, that I probably wear too often, to an all time shame. she also happens to be one of the kindest, most forgiving, and supportive friends I've ever had. how lucky am i to know this girl? so mix all that with a killer family, the little slice of heaven, and some other super cool chicks that also consider this place home, and we had ourselves a nice little weekend.

goshen was, and always will be, a sure sign that summer has arrived.

(from left: whitney, laine, heather, me!)

(whit creepin on the neighbors)

(typical day on the dock)

welcome, summer.

32 years

last week, my amazing parents passed another milestone: 32 years of marriage.

how much cuter does it get? these two met in a business school class at NYU, my mom lied about her age, my dad seriously burned his mouth on a chinese food hot pepper during a date, and the rest is history. i believe they got engaged after 6 months of dating which seems unbelievable, but obviously that means nothing since they beat the odds. 

so cheers to you Sal and Bill Val - you deserve all the hugs, laughter, and joys that the rest of your lives together have to offer. 

you are so loved.

putt putt

we've never been mini golfing together! 

crazy, right?

i feel like that should be a first date everyone has.  i guess when you start dating on new years eve, though, waiting to go to putt putt as one of your first dates would have pushed us back quite a bit.

anyway, this was an excellent surprise "first date" put on by mr. o. i had mentioned my love for mini golf a couple weeks ago and he must have stored that thought in the "things i should remember that meg says" part of his brain. 

flowers, dinner at the best food court in MA (inside thing - i love variety), and then mini golf at Richardson's Ice Cream.  Richardson's is a Massachusetts institution.  if you come to MA you better make sure to get some Richardson's ice cream.  what i didn't realize about them is that they have their very own mini golf course, batting cages, and a driving range at their factory in Middleton, MA. 

after two rounds of mini golf (we should both probably be golf pros) we got some of the famous ice cream.  a scoop of toll-house cookie and snickers for me and a scoop of purple cow and moose tracks for ryan.

dream. date. come. true.

thanks mr. o!

keeping busy

all while i was engaged, my friend caitlin (who was also engaged) and i used to wonder what life would be like when we weren't planning a wedding.  it was as if we'd forgotten how to do anything expect tie ribbon and futz with budget spreadsheets. 

now that post-wedding life has arrived, i'm bored and yes, 

i've forgotten how to keep myself busy.

i decided that i needed to find some new things to occupy my time.  ryan started attending a tennis clinic and got super into hockey this season - go bruins! i love taking photos, but i've already done a class for that and my usual subjects (max and ollie) are totally sick of me. 

so, with some brainstorming help from ryan, i took a knitting class at Bead+Fiber in the  SoWa district. i'm terrible, but slowly working towards knitting a really excellent arm band (even ryan doesn't want it).  

maybe soon i'll graduate to a scarf or something more useful like that. 

the highlight of my week, though, is a cake decorating class 

with my friend harlisa put on by Michael's.  

it's awesome. 

i'm not terrible at it. 

(finished product from cupcake class)

i definitely recommend this class to anyone who is looking for something fun to do during the week (or all you newlyweds looking for a new hobby).  ryan has also enjoyed the fruits (sweets?) of my labor and once this class is over we'll probably be 10-15lbs overweight.  

i guess my next venture will be something involving the gym. 

the o's

i found an old diary from 7th grade the other day.  the writing itself was a bit weak (ex: "why doesn't he like me? is it my braces?"), but aside from that, i realized that it brought me back to a time i can hardly remember these days.  

i guess my 7th grade self had the right idea...

with that, i'm pleased to introduce: ryan and meg (me!) o

(from our honeymoon in hawaii oct '12)

to give you all the 4 year long story short, we met at a new years eve party '08-'09 (he was my midnight kiss!).  since then, we moved to boston, adopted two crazy kitties (max and ollie), got married, and are now doin' the newlywed thing. 

welcome to life with the o's