my first time {at the white house}

there's been so much going on {hence my MIA-ness last week} and i was sick last week, but am glad to report that i'm well now and had an incredible weekend of lots of new experiences that i'll be sharing with you!  i figure this is an appropriate time to share a few snaps of my time at the white house fall garden tour {thanks for inviting me, ames!}.

this was my first time up close & personal with the president's home and though we didn't get to go in, the backyard is pretty stinkin' awesome.  we got in this ridiculously long {but quick!} line around this lovely statue and into the garden.

apparently the prez likes golfing and playing on the playground in his free time...?  surely his girls are a bit too old for this, but i'm sure there are plenty of kids who enjoy the company of this jungle gym along with a few secret service agents. (;

people are right when they say the white house doesn't seem that big from the outside, but the architecture is surely has a grandeur about it and it's something worth seeing at least once in your life.  somehow in the crowd we ran into another familiar face we had to snap a picture with!


imagine having a garden like this in your backyard.  they even have a beehive on the property!  granted, i'd never ask for the presence of bees, but i get the purpose.  there were so many beautiful plants everywhere, but it was roped of so i couldn't pick anything {sorry chef friends} unless i wanted to get arrested.

and this is the breath-taking view when you stand immediately outside the white house.  see the hundreds of people?  we went for a 3:00pm tour and the white house staff said 14,000 people had already come through that day, and an expected 40,000 total for the weekend.  cue jaw dropping.

i owe this girl big cause i keep getting treated to all these DC tours for free.  last year she gave me my first look at the capitol!  needless to say, i had an amazing time in the city on saturday.

xoxo, megan

p.s. a little shout out to shop sunchild for the ahoy mate skirt i wore

it's my first time {visiting wineries}

the only times i've ever been to these beautiful virginia wineries is for work, so i've never been able to really enjoy the view, tastings, etc.  it's really just a 30-40 minute drive west and there are wineries galore.  so as a belated birthday celebration for one of the girls, we decided to pack a lunch and stop by two of them!

 the first one we went to was delaplane cellars and the view of virginia was just stellar.  my jaw dropped when we pulled up the hill.  the leaves are just starting to change color here, but even now it is just such a sight.

at delaplane, they had grapes still on the vines.  they grow a lot of the grapes on their property, but they get some from other growers in virginia.  you can't really see them here, but there were bees everywhere on these vines!

 i was in love with the inside the tasting room – slanted ceilings + lots of gray and white beauty.  i think the 2010 williams gap we tried was my favorite taste there.  oh, and we used the tractor in the vineyard to self-time some group shots of us, but of course i had to take a picture on it myself.

we had some extra time so our next stop was aspen dale winery!  this place was super quaint + rustic.  i felt like i could live here and there was the cutest 11-year-old fella hard at work driving a john deere!  the girls and i decided he probably drives better than all of us.

i loved the cozy feel of this place.  they have live music on the weekends and you can bring a picnic and eat anywhere on the property {which is exactly what we did!}.

this fabulous circle staircase led up to a little attic room overlooking the tasting room with some of the cutest furniture ever.  my favorite piece was this little red desk!  along with wine, they import olive oil from greece that is to die for.  it was so good i picked up a bottle!

 the owners of this place are super friendly {as is their staff!}.  we had a great time and felt right at home.  aspen dale did wine pairings, so we tried each wine with different cheeses, chocolate, and pheasant.  my favorite wine here was Mary Madeleine's Rosé, and this was definitely my favorite tasting experience.

 i just loved the atmosphere here, and we saw a horse getting some exercise in those barns in the back.

 the four of us are definitely glad it's finally fall – we all wore boots to our outing!

what a great way to start a saturday!  i can't wait to explore more wineries in virginia.

it's my first time {sailing}

i had a great first experience sailing on monday.  in theory, i've always loved sailing but there's nothing like getting out there on the water and seeing how it's done for yourself.  i took a free 2-hour exploring sailing class at belle haven marina and got a feel for some of the basics.  it was a beautiful view from the potomac river, seeing national harbor and the beautiful green of the virginia/dc border.  everyone should do this at least once!  it's so peaceful.

i finally got to use my boat shoes for what they're made for, and indeed i did not slip.

here's what i wore: sunglasses / navy polo / watch / white jean shorts / sperry boat shoes

it's almost the weekend, y'all!

i'm particularly excited cause it'll be a beach weekend {also the first time for me on an east coast beach} with my housemates, so i'm loading up the playlist with lots of '90s tracks and including some new tunes from robyn, yuna, phillip phillips {if you've been watching the olympics, you'll recognize 'home'}, owl city + carly rae jepsen, and rascal flatts.

see you soon, myrtle beach!

xoxo

m

it's my first time {at a paper party!}

Who knew you could spend a whole evening talking about paper, color, and design trends?  I sure could, but never actually did it before until The Dandelion Patch in Georgetown asked us (Fig 2 Design) to host one at their store.  We met with new brides who were on the lookout for paper products for their weddings, and they got to ask us questions about all things paper.  We even did a drawing for 50 free Save the Dates!  Our lucky winner was Allison.

it's my first time {snowboarding}

I am so sore.  This is all I've been saying (or whining?) since I've been back from my first snowboarding experience.  For those that have been before, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  I went with a group from my church to White Tail (a ski resort in Pennsylvania) and, though having prior painful experiences with snow sports, attempted to conquer the slopes.

whoa, it's 2012.

I can hardly believe it.  The end of last year went by like a whirlwind, and now it's the beginning of another. I know it's been a while, so here are some highlights from the last few months:

• I got the wonderful opportunity to start working at Holly Chapple Flowers with some of these amazing ladies (and man!).  On a side note, I am so sad dahlia season is over.
• I experienced the most gorgeous autumn ever!  I also hiked at Shenandoah National Park for the first time.