In our latest series with some pretty fantastic ladies, we have been searching the Twin Cities to find out what makes people happy-- where their happy place is, essentially. Whether it's a beach in Monaco or looking at adorable baby clothes in Oh Baby!, we want to know what makes you happy and why! Life is short, everybody-- to short not to have every day be completely wonderful and filled with peony scented candles and happiness. To submit a nominee for the Happy Place series, please send 2-3 photos and a quick description to maggieh@lauerstores.com.
Megan McCarty takes the cake (wedding cake...get it?) for one of the most happy jobs out there- covering all things wedding! Read on to find out what she's loving.
Photo by Gina Zeidler
Happy Family: What is your official job title?
It's a mouth-full. Currently I'm Web Editor and Digital Content Specialist for all six of Tiger Oak Media's bridal publications:
Minnesota Bride,
Wisconsin Bride,
Arizona Bride,
Seattle Bride,
Oregon Bride and
California Wedding Day. My day-to-days include overseeing nearly every aspect of our websites, from updating the address of a florist's new studio to writing and posting original content to re-purposing print articles to make them web-friendly, as well as a heaping handful of Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. That "dream job" fantasy? For me, this is it.
HF: What is your favorite part of your job?
What's not to love? I work alongside sharp, hilarious and beautiful women to produce this coffee table-worthy book that I'm infinitely proud of. To be able to inspire brides during this exciting and stressful time of their lives is endlessly endearing. Plus I get to scroll and scroll through Pinterest and claim it as work. Again: dream job.
HF: Where is your favorite Minneapolis restaurant?
Tilia! Let me emphasize with more exclamation points: !!! I'm biased though, since you can find me there three days a week, including every Saturday and Sunday slinging the best biscuits and gravy this city has to offer. The wait's not as long as you've heard, the fish taco torta is that addictive, and you just may find Josh Hartnett, a regular, sitting next to you.
HF: Where is the most fantastic vacation you've ever taken?
If you're expecting some I-found-myself-while-traipsing-around-Europe story, I don't have one. However, it's been months, and I'm still trying to pick myself up from a post-Coachella crash. It's every part hipstery goodness as you'd expect, with girls sporting flower crowns and every band that occupies your Spotify playing back-to-back for 12 hours a day.
HF: What are three fashion trends you're most excited about for fall?
Blame my Taurus stubbornness, but I've never been one to track trends. Don't care what you say, women's magazines, I'll wear what I want. So if that's a leopard-print sweater layered over a ratty men's t-shirt tucked into a mini-skirt with those vintage loafers that dye my feet turquoise, so be it. That said, fall brings boots, layers and sausaging our legs into tights — two of which we all love.
HF: What are your favorite summer wedding trends you've seen this season?
The latest summer weddings are just starting to flood my inbox, and I'm anxious to pour through them. Fingers crossed for some newly legal same-sex newlyweds, along with more innovative takes on personalized details. There's really no such thing as a cookie-cutter wedding anymore (thank the bridal heavens), so from a s'mores bar at the reception to walking down the aisle to your favorite Stevie Wonder song, the sky is the limit and the sky is high.
HF: Where is your happy place?
Is the sun shining? Yeah, there. With a magazine — Kinfolk, preferably — cradled in my arm. In a new city where I have to teach my brain unfamiliar street names. Ideally a gin and tonic is within reach. If there is a pool or a lake or, best of all, an ocean acting as the backdrop, all the better. Wherever that is, it's a happy, happy place.
