How do you even begin an entry to a blog you haven’t contributed to since 2017?

“Hello, there!”?

“Long time, no see!”?

“Hey, good lookin’”?

It all seems awkward and try-hard. Instead, I’ll just be honest and blunt.

I’m tired.

Since we left off, I’ve been a little busy.

Eric and I went on a three week honeymoon to London, South Africa and Dubai, I suddenly lost my father to a rare and aggressive form of cancer, we had a massive leak in our master shower which resulted in a fun (but costly and inconvenient) renovation, I quit my job, Eric moved to Port Aransas to get ready to restart our lives down on the coast, we sold my first home, I followed him to Port Aransas, I started my career as a designer with a prominent local firm, we moved into a 400 square foot efficiency apartment, we were surprised to learn I was pregnant, we designed and self-contracted a new home to get out of said apartment, I was forced to buy a new car after a Lexus dealership ran my previous one through an automated car wash with the windows down (another story for another day), I had a beautiful, healthy, baby boy during a global pandemic, and now I’m living in a tiny-home with my husband and a baby and I’m back to work (partly from home, partly in the office) all while simultaneously continuing to design and manage construction on our new full-time residence.

* deep breath *

Because I have so much free time lately, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to bring this old friend back from the dead. Reading through my old posts was like going back through time to a place were I had infinitely more free time, could decide to go somewhere (anywhere!) with only fifteen minutes notice, and I didn’t even begin to know the true meaning of the word “stress”.

There are some true gems buried here: like the time I vomited in an Uber (totally unrelated to any alcohol consumption), or the time I had to admit that my (future) husband was right about a big furniture purchase, and the time I dreamed about Drake being screen-printed on curtains (???), and all of the other entries that I’m too chicken to read because I just can’t handle the cringe. But here we are, a new (maybe improved - verdict is still out) Meg that is ready to share some, hopefully, less embarrassing stories but still entertaining nonetheless.

I always imagined writing about the design process, step by step, of my first custom home. I wanted to share the planning, drawings, samples, revisions, mistakes and overall end product with readers (hi, Mom). But our targeted move-in date is in August and all I’ve managed to share so far is a series of snippets of the process on my Instagram, as of this April.

Baby permitting, I’d like to start sharing the final details that will bring this home to completion. This, after all, is really the fun part. You probably don’t care that I had to re-draw our kitchen cabinet elevations four times based on revised appliance selections, or that my living room dimensions were off slightly when furniture planning. You may just be here to see my tribulations turn into comedic failures. You may just want to see the vision, the before, and the after. Or maybe my mother is the only one that has made it this far and if so, hi Mom, when are you coming back to visit and can you bring more microwave tv dinners? I’m tired of cooking.

kitchen cabinet elevation that has evolved and changed numerous times over the last few months

Writing has always been my therapeutic outlet and a way to get thoughts and ideas (read above: “drakeries”) that are bouncing around in my head, into a more organized and concrete format for me to process and eventually let go.

I design in a similar fashion, putting together as many components visually, on paper, as possible before I pull the trigger. Most of the time, my instincts are spot on and I’m pleased with the final result with no major changes. But other times I surprise myself with going outside of my comfort zone, or scrapping the idea halfway through a preliminary design. Mimi + Meg has always been an outlet to either share my process, end result, or the surprising hiccup along the way.

Looking back through my old posts tonight, I’m reminded of how far I’ve come as not only a designer, but also has a person. I’m hoping to look back in another two years and remember this time more fondly than how I currently feel, deep in the lonely trenches of tiny-living, new motherhood, postpartum depression and the never ending feelings of “mom guilt” for going back to work and how it may affect my sweet baby boy.

Hopefully, this blog will remind me in a few years that the struggle was worth it, our home is beautiful, comfortable and well-loved and I’ll have more experience and confidence to tackle anything else that life throws at me. But also, Life, can the next thing you throw at me just be a really nice, big break?

If you’ve made it this far, and you’re not my mother, I hope you’ll tune in for some fun design updates as they come.

If you’ve made it this far, and you are my mother, can you also bring a bottle of wine next time you come visit?