End of an Era

Tags

change, life, move

I can hardly believe today is my last day working for Vanderbilt (for now, anyway!). I’m about ten days shy of my five-year anniversary, and so many things have happened in those five years! I’ve held three positions, the first of which was just down the hall from the office I’ll be leaving today. I’ve learned so much from so many people not just about development, but about professionalism, responsibility, work ethic, and drive. I could not have imagined a better first five years out of college.

I even started this blog a few months after beginning my job! Wowzers. And then I got bored but thought I was being deep. So then I was in a musical. And then I went to grad school, and got my second job, which was less boring than the first. And then I got my third job, which was even better than the first two, and I was so thrilled to have an office with a door that I decorated it. And then I finished grad school.

And now, we are on to the next big thing. Can’t wait to keep sharing things with you from Columbus, Ohio! Get ready for a whole new chapter of Megster Meter. Much will be the same, I’m sure, but I will also share with you the ups and downs of a new city, new job, new marriage, new home, and all the new and exciting things on the horizon. See you soon!

Big News!

Tags

columbus, grad school, life, move, ohio state

I promised it a long time ago, but we are finally ready to share our REALLY BIG NEWS with all of you, our friends and family!

We are going to be Buckeyes for a couple of years!

{The night we finally decided! I was traveling, so we set up a skype date. Jonathan went draft-style and unzipped a sweatshirt to reveal his OSU shirt!! Then we had a skype-dance party.}

This fall, my lovely soon-to-be husband Jonathan will be attending The Ohio State University for graduate school. In the two years he is there, he will earn two Masters degrees: one in City and Regional Planning and one in Civil Engineering. To do this, he is giving up his five-year career as an 8th grade US history teacher, which he has been incredible at! I have all the faith in the world that he will be incredible at this next step of his journey as well, living out his dreams!

Meanwhile, I have accepted a job at Ohio State as well, which I will be starting on May 20…just around the corner! There, I will work with the College of Arts and Sciences team as a major gift officer – a great next step from my current position in Leadership Annual Giving. I’ve gained incredible experiences in my five years working for Vanderbilt, and sad as it may be to leave, I’m thrilled for my next steps!

Need I remind you…we will be getting married at the end of June, so there will be a lot going on between now and then! But before you know it, we’ll be settled into our new home in a new state as newly weds. Right now, I’m trying to savor every day and moment of planning and celebrating with our many wonderful loved ones. Thanks to all of you for your incredible support in this time of much change! The Lord has truly blessed us, and we know that as long as we continue to put our faith in Him, He will be our solid rock in these busy times.

Bridal Luncheon

Tags

luncheon, shower, wedding

I have to admit, I simply love our upcoming wedding because it’s such a great excuse to see all the people I love even more often than I already get to. This last weekend, I made a very quick trip to Wisconsin for a dress fitting and a bridal luncheon. And it was such a great use of 36 hours!

My mom and stepmom, Annette, hosted the sweet little lunch for some family and friends. Annette did some great table decorations that went right along with my mason jar and burlap decor for the wedding.

There was also a great little “activity.” As we all chatted and spent time together, each person at the lunch wrote a piece of marriage advice on a blank wooden spoon. I think they turned out so cute!! I will absolutely find somewhere to display them in my kitchen.

Worry or Pray

Tags

50 cent, faith, God, oprah, prayer, worry

Who would have guessed that 50 Cent could get so deep. Here’s a clip of his interview with Oprah. Check it out:

RIGHT?! Pray or worry, but don’t do both. If we pray about something, and truly give it up to God (which of course is easier said than done), then why on earth would we continue to worry about it? Well, partly because we are human. But truly, don’t pray AND worry. Just choose one.

Amen, 50 Cent, Amen.

Stock The Bar Party

Tags

bar party, shower, wedding

Jonathan and I know how blessed we are with an incredible network of family and friends. As we prepare for our marriage, we are constantly being reminded that we have great people around us all the time! Our families have thrown us showers and helped with planning, and just last weekend, our friends threw us a great Stock the Bar Party. The idea is simple: bring a bar-related gift or a bottle of your favorite libation to stock the soon-to-be-married’s bar. Easy! It’s a great way to have a “shower” that includes guys and girls from both the bride and groom’s circles of friends.

Whoever hosted the first Stock the Bar Party should be awarded a Nobel prize.

Not only did we, of course, get all sorts of goodies to stock our soon-to-be-married bar, but our friends – many of whom had not met before – got to really get to know new people. I hope this means that our wedding day will be that much more fun with our intimate group of buddies.

Our lovely hosts:

Lots of yummy food and drinks!

And of course, good friends:

And a not so shabby end result…

Classic Steakhouse Cooking Class {Viking}

Tags

class, food, life, viking

Last Christmas, my mom gifted Jonathan and I with a very generous gift card the Viking, so that we could enjoy a cooking class together!

We browsed their courses many times, and finally settled on a menu that seemed like something we would both enjoy: A Classic Steakhouse Menu. We made bacon-wrapped filet mignon, crab stuffed mushrooms, double baked potatoes, roasted asparagus, iceberg wedges with homemade blue cheese dressing, and we even attempted bernaise sauce, but it was a big fat fail…who knew it was so hard!

Here are a few iPhone photos for you to enjoy…

 

Whole Wheat Sunshine Muffins

Tags

breakfast, health, muffins, tasty tuesday

We all love a good breakfast muffin, and this one is jam-packed of nutrients, as well as other delicious gems. I modified the recipe slightly from Health magazine, based on my personal tastes and what I had available in the house, but I’d say they turned out pretty tasty. Now, for those of you who don’t like the taste of whole wheat, well, you won’t like these. Sorry. They taste healthy, but I love it!

Ingredients {from Health Magazine}

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (I only had regular whole wheat flour – it was probably a little denser than I’d like, but still worked)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom (I did not have this on hand)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 orange
3/4 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
2 cups grated carrots
2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, divided (I omitted this, and added about 1/2 cup of chopped dark chocolate to add a little sweetness)
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffin cups with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the first 5 ingredients (through salt). In another bowl, grate 1 tsp orange zest and squeeze 1/4 cup juice. Whisk in the sugar, egg whites, oil, and yogurt. Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in carrots and 1 1/2 cups cranberries.

3. Divide batter among muffin cups. Top with pistachios and remaining cranberries.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean (22-25 minutes). Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Unmold; cool completely on rack.

Vanilla Hostess Gifts

Tags

crafting monday, dessert, food, gifts, hostess, vanilla

I have so many wonderful people in my life, and lately they’ve been loving on me extra hard by throwing showers and help plan a wedding! So as a little, tiny thank you, I’ve come up with a hostess gift inspired by Penzy’s Vanilla Extract. Who doesn’t love some extract from my home state, along with some freshly baked vanilla scones?

People give all sorts of things for hostess gifts…flowers, kitchen items, all sorts of things we girls love to get. But I hope these little bottles of vanilla will find their way into some delicious homemade goods!

Cups

Tags

anna kendrick, cups, fun friday, music, pitch perfect, video

There are big announcements on the horizon!

But for now, I want to share with you something I’m loving right now. We all love the Pitch Perfect soundtrack (wait…is that just me and my music friends??), but I especially love this video of Anna Kendrick performing “Cups.” Mostly because I love her and this song, but also because I love biscuits. Enjoy! Happy Friday!

Miles {2 Years Old}

Tags

photo, photography, picture thursday, toddler

I had SO much fun last weekend shooting a few photos of little two-year-old Miles! Mostly, I loved his hammy little personality and the joy this little family brought to a rainy day in the park! It is so fun for me to see them have so much fun together…how can you beat this??

If you want to see more photos, make sure to check out my full portfolio at Zenfolio.