Happy Friday! Rob, Ender, and I are in San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande for the weekend--we had big plans to go to Palm Springs or something on a little babymoon but then we decided to take a road trip for a show in Paso Robles last night and couldn't bear the thought of boarding Ender again after our long trip to Virginia last month. That pup of ours is spoiled, let me tell you; but he's never been to the beach before and he's almost three years old, so we figured it was time.

Before I sign off for the weekend, I wanted to share some links with you:

To Read/Watch:

• Trevor Noah on Trump and the NFL. I really really enjoy Trevor--he's just incredibly smart, thoughtful, and hilarious. 
• Do it for the 'Gram: How your outdated brain is making you unhappy and how to hack it. So, so interesting.
• I always want to make smoothies but they're very rarely good. These ones all look delicious and are full of veggies.
• Still completely obsessed with Pentatonix over here, and this song is one of my all-time favorites. Also it made me laugh to learn that Avi Kaplan (the bass) quit and they replaced him with a cello. 

Wish List:

• I just ordered this rug for the baby's room and I am in love with it. I surprised myself by going with bold colors for the nursery--I'm normally a neutral gal but the walls are bright yellow so I decided to just go with it.
• REALLY CUTE BOOTIE ALERT! And they're really on sale.
• I'm still not really sure overalls should be a thing again but these ones are making me think twice.
• Still have my eye on this curling wand after having two different stylists use it on me at different Drybar locations. My hair has never looked better.
• One of my favorite nail colors for fall.

That's all from me! Hope you have a great weekend--what are you guys up to? As always you can follow along with me on Instagram or Snapchat (flynnmd), especially when I'm out of town!

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Dear Baby,

I have never been heavier or more swollen or generally larger than I am right now, and most of the time I don't even care. Last weekend your dad and I went to the mall because I needed new tennis shoes, and the pair I bought were two sizes bigger than my other shoes. (We went to Pressed Juicery afterwards for a non-dairy, Paleo frozen yogurt made out of vegetables, but I don't think it made much of a difference.)

We're about eight weeks away from meeting you and things are getting real. We moved into a bigger house across the bay from our old place so we could have a yard for Ender, who is a little crazy but sweet and silly and I think you guys are going to be great friends. You also get your own room, which is bright yellow and full of books. We finished putting your crib together two nights ago and every time I walk by it reminds me a little more that you'll actually be here with us soon, no longer surprising us with your big kicks and rolling movements from within.

We still call you "Baby" and I think I might know what your name is, but we're still waiting to see you. I'm so curious to learn if you have hair already, and if it's going to be black like mine was or bright blonde like your dad's. What color will your eyes be? None of it matters, of course, we're just excited to know you and hold you and do our best to raise you.

With just two months to go I feel simultaneously rushed and impatient--like it's not enough time to do all the things we need to do before you get here, but it's too long to start panicking about installing the car seat correctly. I have a few work things to get done before I can start thinking about packing a hospital bag or preparing meals for us to have in the freezer when we come home with you.

The world lately has seemed like a strange, dark place at times; but then I feel your little feet in my ribcage and think about your strength already and I can't help but feel hopeful of the future.

“If we lay a strong enough foundation
We’ll pass it on to you, we’ll give the world to you
And you’ll blow us all away”

— Dear Theodosia, Hamilton: An American Musical

I know I said I'd keep the hash browns coming, but thankfully I'm not nauseated anymore. Now I just have crazy heartburn, so I hope you're enjoying all the Tums (and the hot fudge sundaes...which are probably giving me heartburn).

Love you so much already,

Megan

Photo by Virginia Ashley Photography.

A year ago we were driving through Kansas on our way to Denver.

I remember standing in front of a lake on the side of the highway in Colorado on the first day of fall, swallowed by mountains and feeling the first chills of autumn in a way that felt like we were somehow escaping the still-hot summer haze of North Carolina that we had left several days before. We walked Ender down a trail along the water, away from the interstate as cars zoomed by behind us, and as we stood at the edge of the lake I felt for the first time that we were really far away from home--wherever that is. But the air was cool and refreshing and I had my dog and my husband by my side and our life really was starting to feel like an adventure.

I'm so thankful for that road trip across the country, from Charlotte to Nashville to New Orleans and back up through Texas, then to Colorado and Salt Lake City and Lake Tahoe before we finally made it to the Bay Area a week later, tired but ready to start a life on the west coast.

And now here we are, having just moved all of our stuff from the South Bay to the East Bay and trying to figure out where our new Chinese takeout place will be, where I'll grocery shop; color-coding my bookshelf for the third time but now in the bright yellow bedroom that will be our daughter's nursery.

We packed the last of our stuff into the car on Saturday afternoon and drove away from the townhouse we called home for the past twelve months, marveling that we've been in California long enough to have a place we can now refer to as "our first place in California." We stopped by our favorite Chinese place in our old neighborhood for dinner on Thursday and we ate there instead of getting takeout, and the guy behind the counter was surprised by it. We do have rituals here, even if they're fewer and further between. I still think I'd rather be back on the East Coast, in Charlotte or maybe Richmond--regulars at our favorite coffee shops and just minutes away from old friends, but over the past few months I've found myself living in a place of contentment--happy to be where I am, open to the things that make California different from Virginia or North Carolina, and excited to start our family right here in just a couple months.

Sometimes I'll be on Facebook and come across an old classmate or friend who stayed in one city--they've worked for the same company since college and married someone who had already planted roots or maybe they bought a house and live close to their parents and they never had to make new friends or pack everything they own into a U-Haul. I have to admit that I'm often jealous of those people, but then I wake up in my house full of boxes and open the window over the sink as I boil water for coffee, and Rob and Ender are snuggled up in our bed and this baby is rolling around in my belly and even if I could imagine my life another way, I wouldn't.

(From Sea to Shining Sea, Part One)