New York - London - Paris!!

Hello Again Darlings,

I'm so excited firstly to be posting twice in one weekend, and secondly to be announcing my imminent travels to EUROPE. August 29th I will be zipping off for an extended labor day weekend to visit not one, but two, of my favorite cities in the WHOLE world. London, Paris, London, Paris, oh my where do I even begin?! The vibe, the sweets, the art, the fashion, I'm bursting at the seams with excitement. It's been five years since I was last in Paris and my heart aches thinking of all the things I miss so dearly. Laduree I'm giving you ample warning!!

Before I sign off I would love to ask you, my beautiful readers, what you would like to see more of from my upcoming travels? In the past I've blogged massive postcards but I'm thinking of breaking it up. I want to be able to cover more individual moments, special happenings, amazing street style, cool on site sketches?! What do you all think? Travel is after all at the forefront of my inspiration here on TWD, so why not delve a little deeper into my getaways across the globe?! Let me read your thoughts below...

Bisous Bisous,
Meag

Camel Riding in Luxor

Photo by Adam Heisler

Happy Saturday Lovelies!!

I hope you all had a fantastic week. My life has been so crazy as per usual and to be honest this is my first Saturday in three weeks that I'm not spending in the office HALLELUJAH. Yes...true story. So where do I even begin? I guess with a camel ride in Luxor, Egypt?! Just go with it. I returned from my trip to Egypt almost exactly 4 months ago and my life has not been the same since. Every uncertainty, every lingering unanswered question, somehow miraculously came to light and now here I am finally at peace.

I lost old friends and made new ones. I finally landed a creative corporate fashion job in July, and got my visa to stay in New York. I pushed myself further and further out of my comfort zone to the point that I don't even recognize my own life anymore. And even though I continue to walk the same streets, nothing feels the same.

REDHOT

Girl who loves to dream,

Lives her life to the extreme,
With adrenaline....

Girl who longs to explore,
With the fruit down to the core,
Because she wanted more,
Yes she wanted more....

If you're gonna crash and burn,
Be prepared to take your turn,
In the game of up & down,
Yeah up & down...

(Scent - Up & Down Lyrics)

Hello My Lovelies!!!!

Hope you're soaking up this REDHOT summer to the maximum. Just wanted to blog a quick post before heading to sleep. Too many new, fun, and exciting things happening at the moment to even begin formulating sentences right now. Instead I present you with this Dolce & Gabbana SS12 earring inspired piece. Can't get enough of their almost edible collection. And speaking of jewelry, shout-out to my talented blogger friend/follower Cindy Moniz and her beautiful Etsy Shop. Check her work out for super cute summer finds.

Can't wait to update you all with my new adventures. G night until then.

Much love,
Meag xx

I scream, you scream...

My iPhone Case Designs

New Popsicle Party Print

SHOP - My Society6 Boutique

we all scream for...iPhone cases!! Well, probably not, but I certainly had a blast putting these designs together for my Society6 Shop.

Oh my darlings, I'm ashamed it has once again taken me a decade to post something new on my beloved blog. But, as I'm sure you know, so much has (and continues) to go on behind the scenes. I don't want to disclose anything just yet, but I will say that after three very lonnnggg years of working my a$$ off in New York, things are finally starting to payoff. I'm having one of the most exciting and rewarding summers yet. There are still a few hoops to jump through to get to my next move but at least I'm having an absolute blast in NYC along the way.

So apart from promoting my new iPhone case designs I also wanted to propose just how important it is to never stop believing in yourself. Having hope and perseverance is 90% of the battle. Odds are, if you don't stop trying, something is eventually going to click ;)!! Wishing you all a beautiful sun-kissed week!!

Much love,
Meag xx

Food & Fashion

Karlie Kloss in Dolce & Gabbana - VOGUE Korea

Hello Hello Hello!!!!

My goodness it has been such a long time since I've been on my little blog. How have you all been? I'm not going to lie, apart from being crazy busy with work, I've definitely been soaking up my fav city during its greatest season. Last weekend alone I managed my way through four NY exhibitions: The Met's Schiaparelli and Prada - Impossible Conversations, James Franco's film launch at the New Museum, Cindy Sherman at the MoMA, and Chanel's Little Black Jacket in Soho. Alas, I couldn't get this post up sooner with all my gallery scouring and such.

Anyway, I'm super excited to be posting today's illustration since it was inspired by my beautiful brainiac bestie Emma Kadar-Penner and her thesis topic Food Motifs in Fashion and Textile Design. Miss K.P. just recently returned from a conference in Atlanta where she presented her genius thesis. From the second I caught a glimpse of her exhibit booth, I knew I found inspiration for my next blog post. Suddenly my desire to paint something from Dolce & Gabbana's SS12 collection fit within a food and fashion historical context.

Emma's abstract details:

Congrats Mike & Ashleigh!!

(The Bride and Groom on their Wedding Day!!)

Hello Again My Darlings!!

I'm so thrilled to be sharing this incredibly special Wedding Portrait commission with you all. Many months ago my most beautiful, supportive, friend through the ages, Jill Zimmerman asked if I would be interested in painting a portrait of her girlfriend (blushing bride Ashleigh) and now husband as a wedding gift. I was so BEYOND honored that she believed in my work enough to actually commission me for this super special gift. It took only a few simple sketches to settle on the direction and one fully-loaded photo album to kickstart the final piece.

I have to share just how nervous both Jill and I were about this gift lol. It was, after all, a pretty important illustration. But when I received a text from Jill this past Saturday informing me that Ashleigh was brought to tears at the sight of her portrait, I knew that all the stress was worth it. Honestly, I don't think I've ever felt so emotional over a piece of my artwork before, and the greatest reward has to be having been apart of such a special moment in two people's lives. All around tearjerker!!

Congrats to the beautiful, beaming, happy couple Mike & Ashleigh; wishing you all the love, light, and laughter in the world!! And last but not least, thank you to my precious friend Jill for being so much more than I could ever dream of in a friend. I love you always!!

Much much love,

Meag xx

Cook & Gates

Hello Loves,

Happy happy Sunday!! I'm so sorry for my mini blog hiatus. Life has been so busy lately between wrapping up my evening classes, finishing freelance projects, and working at Cook & Gates. Finally this afternoon I had the opportunity to paint just for me and I can't tell you how good it felt!! For those of you who don't know me personally, I started working with an awesome hand dyed bag company Cook & Gates back in February. I've been meaning to share the news with you all because it has honestly been one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had.

Sara Gates, the owner/designer, is such a killer business woman. I've picked up so much just by watching her simultaneously run her own screen printing studio Kingsland Printing and handbag line. My lifelong dream has always been to be my own brand and sell accessories with my illustrations on them. Working with Sara makes me realize how easily that dream can become reality. She has supported me so much in my own career, mentioning me in her interview with NBC's Thread NY, and even printing a sample of my textile design for the scarves I'm producing this summer.

At work I do anything from creating techpacks for our handbag designs, the most recent being our backpack for summer, meeting with manufacturers and scouring the garment district for fabric and hardware, to making fun graphics for our hangtags, pocket screen prints, blog posts and communicating with vendors for cool promotional sales etc. The best part has to be working alongside Sara's sweetest french bulldog Janice (aka the love of my life). She wants to be in the action always and insists on sitting next to me at my desk in her own chair, too cute!!

My mom has always said that life is about the journey, especially when it comes to your career. I have to admit that for the first time, in what feels like forever, I'm finally enjoying just that.

Much love,

Meag xx

Postcard from Aswan