I am so at a loss for words at what to post. Not because I don’t have any words, but mostly because I am emotionally drained…. There are actually so many thoughts running through my heart/mind that I couldn’t even begin to share them… and you most likely wouldn’t even want to hear them.  :)

I’ll keep this brief… and by brief, I am hoping to keep it to a paragraph-ish.

If you follow the blog, you might know that I am a Penn State Alumni… a VERY Proud Penn State Alumni. You can read a little bit here about my post in the midst of the recent mess at PSU. I still stand behind JoePa, and will support him… He has touched my life and SO MANY lives… and he truly made Penn State what it is today. He is soooo much more than football… and I would highly, highly encourage you to watch the memorial service that was held. He is an amazing man and he has done more good in his lifetime than you or I will ever do. There is so much more on my heart, but I am not here to provoke arguments, etc. All I know, is that Joe Paterno is a legend… that legends never die… that he inspired THOUSANDS…. and he knew that there was a greater purpose and calling in life. Some say that he died of a broken heart… I believe it…

Soo….I couldn’t not head to Penn State to say goodbye to JoePa. Was chatting with a great friend on Tuesday about going up to Penn State…. we talked about leaving super early on Wed am to make the last public viewing from 8am-12… and so at about 4pm on Tuesday we decided we should just go up that night… So, 3 hours later, Ainsley and I were packed and in the car and on our way to PSU. I am so incredibly thankful that we went…. It was truly amazing. So I wanted to share some pics from our trip up.

I will say…  at the same time that it was so amazing that I could take Ainsley there to see Penn State and to be there for such an amazing event… it was also very hard b/c the photographer in me wanted to document everything…. and capture all of the events and emotion on campus… but I couldn’t. I could barely even change my lenses…. I was either shooting over her head while she rode in the Bjorn… or I had the camera around my neck and was holding her hand as she toddled around….  I really wrestled with this…because I wanted to take all of these amazing pictures…. and I didn’t/couldn’t. But I will share what I was able to capture….

On to the adventure after my not-so-much-a-paragraph-ish-paragraph…..

We got to PSU around 10pm… and I HAD to go to the JoePa statue at the stadium… So Ainsley and I headed over there… and I was greeted by this cute face when I opened the car door to get her all bundled up! A Penn Stater at heart. She was so excited!!

Amazing…. I could have spent HOURS here…. HOURS…. It was just amazing… but I had a sweet little girl that I had to keep warm and it was waaaay past her bedtime.

This picture is in honor of actually using my degree! That is the Visual Arts building behind me…. where I spent many hours… and nights….

SBS (Student Book Store)

Heading towards Beaver Stadium for the processional…. Here’s the sign at the BJC

Beaver Stadium…..

Everyone lining up along the street for the processional…

Keeping Ainsley occupied as we waited for the processional to begin…

Adore her.

This is totally amazing. There was a rainbow straight down the street… right over the chapel where JoePa’s funeral was… This was right before the processional began. It was super faint….. but so cool….

One last stop before Ainsley and I headed home… the Nittany Lion Shrine for A’s first (of many!!) pic there! She just kept looking at him… and she made the lion sound! ha ha

WThank you JoePa. You inspire us… and We truly Are, because You Were.

And below is a slideshow of more of our day.. and please, please take some time to watch the memorial. I promise that your heart will be touched.

Slideshow: http://meaghanelliott.myshowit.com/paterno_

We Are…

m.e.

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You may or may not know what eating Paleo is…. and I will be sure to share some more info with you about it over time. We haven’t always eaten this way but slowly transitioned to this new way of eating and are loving it. We aren’t 100% all of the time, and you’ll find us “cheating” the most on the weekends, but here is the short version of how we started eating this way, and then a paleo recipe for you to try!

We met at a gym in Baltimore… We started doing kettlebells…. We got into Crossfit…. Lots of crossfitters eat Paleo…. did some reading, and decided it was the way to go! We feel the best we’ve ever felt and we are pretty much the strongest we’ve ever been.

So, with that said, here is a pic of the Paleo Lasagna that I made one evening….  Love that the vegetables make it colorful!

And a close up….

And now for the recipe, which I got from Everyday Paleo. Awesome recipe book and blog!  Check it out!

I made a few changes… but here you go!

1 red onion (I used a sweet onion)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb ground beef (grass fed if possible!)

1lb mild italian sausage

2 tablespoons dried  oregano

1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1  (14 1/2 ounce) canned tomatoes, juiced drained (I used fresh tomatoes, lots of them)

1 (6 ounce) can tomato sauce (I skipped this b/c I just read this article)

5 zucchinis, thinly sliced long way

1 cup sliced black olives (skipped these)

*I added roasted red peppers as well (make sure there isn’t any sugar) as well as diced yellow squash

1. Preheat the oven to 350

2. Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes

3. Add ground beef, sausage, and brown

4. Season the meat with the dry ingredients, add tomatoes & tomato paste, mix well

5. Layer zucchini in 9×11 baking dish, then add meat mixture, and top with black olives, then layer zucchini, and them meat again…

6. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, let it sit for 10 and then serve!

Happy Thursday!

m.e.

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As I am sitting down to write this post it is in the midst of playoffs… and can’t help but be depressed that our first winter in Pittsburgh, we ended our playoff season super early… so not only do we have to watch the Raven’s play (boo!), we have to wait 8 months to see the Steelers on the field again… And I just realize while sitting here.. that the room that I am going to share with you in our house is actually like a Raven’s/Steelers bathroom! Yikes! If only I had thought of that before I started…

Actually if you must know…. the color palette for the room was 100% inspired by one of my clients weddings! Danny and Erika had this beautiful Purple and yellow wedding… I have adored that color scheme since!

And, although I miss Baltimore (except for the Raven’s), I have to say we are so incredibly happy here in Pittsburgh! It just feels right. This is definitely our home. I haven’t even begun to rebuild business here…. but have a plan of attack, and will do so soon. My new website should be launching super soon…. It has been such a long time in waiting b/c my designer was totally overbooked….but it will be worth the wait and I can’t wait to share it with you!

Anyways… back to the house post…

Buying a new house is super exciting for a lot of reasons…..

One of the most fun reasons (in my opinion) is because it is like a giant art project! New rooms… just waiting to be painted, decorated, etc.

So with that said, I thought I would give you a little welcome into our new place… We are moved in…. mostly all set… but still little touches and ideas of what we want to do with some of the rooms and spaces, but I thought I would share some pics!

Here is a pic of the bathroom before we moved in….

Another view of their bathroom….

And our finished bathroom! Well…. almost finished…  Eventually I would like to paint the vanity… not a huge fan of the oak or whatever it is….  and would also paint the wood around the light…. and maybe even the tile…. not a huge fan of the tan/brown family… unless it is super dark, like espresso! And we want to put a little shutter in the window as well…… but we’ll be in this house for a LONG time….so there is plenty of time to play around and change things!

And here is where I got everything!

Towels: Marshalls and TJ Maxx

Rug: HomeGoods

Yellow Vase with Purple Flower: Anthropologie

Purple Vase: SuCasa

Billy Buttons: Hammelmans Dried Floral

Flower Wall Canvas: Bed Bath & Beyond

Accent table/storage: Hobby Lobby

Other flowers: Had some already… got the rest at Michael’s/Joanne Fabrics

Happy Tuesday!

m.e.

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It has been on my heart for a long time to share a little piece of my heart with you… I know.. always getting mushy gushy… sharing feelings… blah, blah…

BUT, sometimes things just tug at your heartstrings like crazy until you share them and my heart is just about burst so instead of allowing that to happen, I decided it was time to share some thoughts!

I am blessed to photograph some really amazing memories for folks… mostly weddings right now (since having our daughter, Ainsley, not as many families and children… but I do plan to ramp that up again this year!) but regardless…. folks trust me to capture some pretty important days/chapters in their lives…  It is such an honor. A really amazing honor.

Weddings… these are sweet days… of new love and excitement….of adoration… of future plans and goals…. and all of the good things in life.

Families… these are also sweet days… exciting days… days full of laughter , exploration…the joy of raising children that goes incredibly too fast…

But, on the flip side I know that these joyous times also bring hard times… marriages aren’t always blissful…. actually quite the contrary… husbands and wives fight… have struggles… get disconnected… and families aren’t perfect either… there are struggles and hardships here as well….

So, because this is something that is near and dear to my heart because I am a wife and my marriage isn’t anywhere near perfect… and now I am a mom, and everyday I bring my best but am pretty much clueless about being a mom….. I wanted to have a series of posts about “Real.Life.”

As your wedding photographer, I not only stand behind you at the alter to document your wedding day, but I stand beside you as a witness and  to support to you in the ups and downs of marriage. I am 100% behind you and your new marriage commitment and I mean that with all sincerity. Call me for coffee… shoot me an email when you are frustrated…. cry  on my shoulder….call me with amazing news… I am here.

As your family photographer, I spend time with your family to document what makes your family unique and special… and what you love to do together and what you love about eachother… but, I also come as a mom who has questions about parenting, who wonders if I am doing the right thing on a daily basis… and so I stand beside you as a parent… who needs support and who has questions…  I’m here to share in the joys and frustrations of raising kiddos and would love to grab coffee to chat about parenthood… to learn from you, encourage you, and be encouraged by you.

Bottom line is… Life is beautiful… and it is also messy. I want to be a part of your beautiful AND your messy.

I want what I do to be deeper than just taking photographs.

So I plan to regularly blog about the messy in life…. to share  books, circumstances,&  people, who have inspired me, challenged me, & encouraged me in my marriage and in my  family… I want to share resources with you that have been helpful to me… I would love to have guest bloggers who have great info and insight to share…(email me if this might be you. meaghan@mephotography.com).

So with that said… stay tuned… and check back often. The reality is that we all stand at the alter in love with the one we are marrying…we say for better or worse, in good times and in bad… and nobody ever intends to get divorced. But life gets messy… and sometimes the obstacles we face become larger than the vows that we said. Let’s not let that happen… let’s be real about the messy…and walk alongside eachother… because none of us are alone.

Happy Monday! Thanks for reading.

m.e.

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Happy New Year all! A bit belated, yes…. but better late than never! We had such an amazing 1st Christmas in our new home in Pittsburgh, and had company in town for almost 2 weeks…. and so we have really just enjoyed this time together as a family…just as the holidays should be.

And, to start of the new year of blogging, I wanted to highlight someone super special in my life… and share a little bit about my favorite part of the wedding day when I am shooting….

I get this question a lot…. and I have to admit, it is kind of hard to choose…but when folks ask me what my favorite part of the wedding day  is, I would have to say that it is watching Dads give their little girls away…  I love watching them walk down the aisle together. Sometimes it comes with tears and sometimes it comes with smiles… I love watching the father daughter dance at the reception. Sometimes I can barely keep the tears back, and other times I have laughed out loud.

I think I love these moments at weddings because I have such a special relationship with my dad. There is just something so unique about a Father-Daughter relationship…. And I wanted to write this post because my dad just celebrated his 64th birthday this past Friday. But, 64 is just a number… and the man behind that number is really worth celebrating. My dad is one of the hardest working men that I have ever met in my life, and he is such a huge part of who I am today, and that I am doing something that I love. He always told me that I could do anything I put my heart into… He told me I was smart, successful… that he believed in me, that he supported me, and that you have to take risks in life to get anywhere. Risk big, win big. If you fall down, no big deal…. just get back up and move on. He was an entrepreneur and I am proud to follow in his footsteps (on a much much smaller scale!). He is a man of integrity and honor…and I am so proud that he is my dad.

I feel so blessed to have spent so much time with him growing up… I know not every kid gets to do that…. Growing up he was my hero, and in so many ways, still is. When I was little he killed spiders and checked for monsters…. He was big and strong and protected me. He made me laugh until my stomach hurt… and I will forever cherish the times we went fishing, walking the property… playing basketball in the driveway…. He taught me to play golf and loved when I beat him…. We played until dark until we couldn’t see the ball anymore… He was the best caddie when I played in tournaments… As I got older, I started to understand the sacrifices he made for our family… and how hard he worked to take care of us. He started to teach me about life and what was important. He told me it’s all about your family and the people you love…and that money doesn’t matter. So thank you dad for all you have done for me, taught me, for how much you have encouraged and believed in me. Thanks for loving mom so well. Not a day went by that I ever doubted your love for her, and that gave me  such an important sense of security. I knew you would do anything for us,your family.

And thank you for helping me discover this path in life…for encouraging me to be an art major in college when every other art students parents told them to get a “real major.” You knew that is where my heart was, and you knew I could do something with it. I am so thankful that I get to document special moments between Dads and Daughters like these…..

I love capturing those moments…and I hope that my brides will forever cherish those images like I cherish these…..

an image from my wedding day captured by Garry Weber

And, I love when our little sweet pea gets to spend time with grandpa so that she gets to know the first guy that I loved… and that I admire so much.

Happy Birthday to the best dad in the world…. and here’s to MANY more years!

Love you lots.

Your little girl,

m.e.

Day 18…

Yup, getting closer!

How about some of these for her stocking?

Super cute, handy, and won’t break the budget!

Thank you notes, or cute little blank notes always come in handy and are great to have on hand!

Hallmark, paper source, and Target usually have an awesome selection….

m.e.

Day 19….

How is Christmas coming so fast?!?!

Here is another stocking stuffer idea for you this season…

I just adore these little wallets! I know it seems excessive…. but one is for my business (the yellow one), one is for everyday life (the b/w one), and one is for when I am feeling fancy (the silver one)!

I love that they are small…. easily fit in my purse… they don’t hold very much change… they don’t let me stuff them full of receipts (or they don’t close)….

they have just the right amount of pockets to hold the cards, money, etc. that you need and it is never bulky!

It has a pocket for your id.. that you can just flash when you need to show it…. now this feature has recently made me quite sad, because I have not had anyone ask me for my id in quite awhile. We all know what that means… I look old!

Hmmm…. that might mean I have some new stocking stuffer ideas…. age defying beauty products anyone?

ps. I forgot to mention that they always have these little gems at Target!

Happy Wednesday!

m.e.

Day 20…

Stocking Stuffer Idea…

A Gift Certificate from yours truly!

You can get one in any amount, and it can be used towards products or services! Thought I would share this idea now… in case you wanted to get one for a loved one! Wanted to make sure that I culd get it to you in time!

m.e.

So about the 25 Days of Christmas Stocking Stuffers…. I got behind when I had just started….

So, here are a few more ideas!

Day 24….

A HomeGoods Gift Card.

Now I know that GiftCards can be “impersonal,” however…… I would venture to say that there is not a woman out there who would be disappointed to get a HomeGoods gift card in her stocking. And who doesn’t love shopping with Gift Cards?!?!? I think that 50% of our house is from HomeGoods…. Here are just a few of my finds from there….

Day 23…

Starbucks VIA

You just never know when you might need it….  I got a pack when our coffee maker started being a booger and only brewed cups when it wanted to… and it really is amazing…  so amazing I wouldn’t even know I was drinking instant coffee.

Could also be great for travels… I took it to Disney when we went so I didn’t have to drink hotel coffee since we were staying on the resort… and it was amazing!

Can’t go wrong with this one…

Day 22…

Chocolate.

Any kind…any amount. No need for an explanation on this one. If you are looking for a stocking stuffer for a woman, this is a no brainer, and it won’t break the budget! Win-win!

Day 21…

An ornament.

I just love decorating the Christmas tree and pulling out all of the ornaments… b/c they hold so many memories, whether they are from a significant place or person… or just a sweet reminder of good times….

Here are a few cute ones from our tree that I have gotten my husband…. The gym bag on the top b/c we met at our gym… and the one on the bottom b/c Josh watching football on the flatscreen with our dog Sanders at his feet is only appropriate!

More to come!

m.e.

So, I wanted to do a little something on the blog for the holidays…. and I thought that since one of my favorite things about Christmas is opening my stocking…I thought I would share some of my favorite things that would be great stocking stuffers…

So here goes the first!

Bare Escentuals Buxon Lip Gloss (my favorite is Katie)

(photo credit: Sephora.com)

It makes your lips all tingly when you put it on…. tingly in a good way. Almost like a minty or cool feeling. Hard to describe, but my favorite thing about this gloss…

It makes your lips look and feel kissable…

You might want to grab this for your mom, sister, and for my grooms out there, you may want to slip this in your fiance’s stocking this year. It could come in handy  under that mistletoe…

m.e.