Is This Thing On?

updates, thoughts, general musings...

Hello to my very loyal and very patient substack subscribers! I am so glad you are all still here!

Many, many, many of you have been asking… well, where the hell I have been on here? And the only good explanation I have for you is that your girl has been extremely busy and distracted since my last post at the beginning of the year. And quite frankly, I am still trying to navigate how to move my thoughts in a more long form format over to this space as opposed to X and instagram. I am an instant gratification person and X has always supplied that for me as well as being a space where I have the largest audience engagement. All of this is still a work in progress (as am I) - and I promise you all substack is back on the top of my priority list and I promise I will be making this medium more of a priority and sharing more frequently on here.

First and foremost, my new Monday and Wednesday live nightly show “Happy Hour with 2way” launched with my new company I have partnered with - 2way. You can join me every Monday and Wednesday live you YouTube or the 2way app at 5pm eastern time to watch or join my new show. We have already had a litany of wonderful guests including my friends Perez Hilton, Politico’s Rachel Bade, Salena Zito and Ben Ferguson just to name a few. The platform was launched by my friend, journalist Mark Halperin, who hosts the daily “Morning Meeting” as well as his daily evening show. The platform has really taken off and garnered a large following in the past year. I have been a fan of the company and Mark’s work from afar for a long time and when presented with the possibility of joining the company, I jumped at the opportunity. What is my new show? It is an hour show, twice a week, where I invite my friends, thought leaders, journalists and anyone I find interesting on to talk about the news of the day and we interact with audience questions. It feels entirely new with the medium and live audience interactions - while it also feels like riding a bike as I have been hosting live content for my entire adult life… I really hope you will join in with me! I find this moment in history and politics endlessly fascinating and compelling and there truly is no greater privilege in my life than to have the ability to do political commentary as a vocation. I don’t take it for granted and it truly was and always will be, my first love.

What else has been going on? Well you also may have heard my lovely girlfriend Tulsi Gabbard has now been confirmed as the new Director of National Intelligence. I had the privilege of attending her Senate confirmation hearings and swearing in at the Oval Office at the White House which was nothing short of remarkable. The experience of being in the Oval Office in general is overwhelming but to be there to support one of my closest friends is something that will stay with me in my heart for the rest of my life.

To say I am proud of Tulsi and excited about what she is going to do to keep America safe is an utter understatement. I have been so fearful of the direction the country has been going in the past four years, particularly when it comes to the space involving our national security and I know she has already made us safer as Americans. It has been an incredible experience to watch history being made with her place in this new role in the new Trump administration. Just personally as a friend, it is so wonderful to see someone I love so much inspire so many millions of others in the country as she has done for me for so long. To truly trust and believe in someone in such a way - I haven’t experience that feeling since my beloved father passed.

Also, right this second, we are still in the midst of picking a school for Liberty to start Kindergarten next year. The entire process has been overwhelming and just the reality that she is going to start a full school day has been unexpectedly emotional for me. I feel like it was just yesterday I was navigating masks and the pandemic while pregnant with her! Can fellow toddler Mom’s tell me how you have handled this? I think I am going to have to be sedated when she goes to college someday…

We are also trying to pick a family spring break destination and it has proved challenging. I am truly and utterly sick of the freezing weather in D.C. and we have been trying to decide if we should go home to Arizona or not. There are some beautiful hotels in Scottsdale and the weather will be perfect in April but I don’t know if I am up for taking two toddlers on a plane right now because we will be returning to Arizona for the Fourth of July like we do every year. This may sound silly but I am already a nervous flyer and some of these crashes recently have made me a little more interested in driving to a destination than flying. If anyone has any recommendations for places that are good for kids within driving distance of D.C. will you please leave a comment or send me a direct message?

Some other big news in our house is that my husband Ben was given the opportunity to interview President Trump for his first magazine print interview for his publication The Spectator since being re-elected for a second term. Ben got to spend an hour and a half interviewing him in the Oval Office for what I believe is one of the most illuminating and comprehensive interviews President Trump has ever done. My personal favorite question was President Trump responding to who he believed left cocaine in the White House during the last administration. Head on over to The Spectator to read the entire piece:

https://thespectator.com/topic/spectator-interview-president-donald-trump-full-transcript/

That is all for now but I will leave you with some odds and ends of what I am enjoying just in life in general right now.

Once again, thank you all for being so patient and sticking with this space. More soon (I promise!!).

Love, Meghan

What I am watching:

White Lotus, Yellow Jackets, Southern Charm. All Amazing, all deeply entertaining, all 10/10 recommend. I feel like people are sleeping too much on Yellowjackets and I would love to talk go any of you who are also watching and what you think of this season..

What shoes I am buying:

Thank you to Grace Atwood for recommending these Dolce Vita fisherman sandals on her substack:

https://www.dolcevita.com/products/lasly-sandals-natural-knit?utm_source=ShopMy&smsclickid=33745a31-1470-4640-b5a1-f8193e310424&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Grace%20Atwood&utm_content=Cute%20Easy%20Outfit&utm_referrer=substack.com

I just ordered a pair and think they are absolutely perfect for spring and summer.

What I am putting on my face:

My skin tends to breakout so I have to be careful about what I put on my face in the morning. I bought this Glow Recipe Cloudberry Cream Moisturizer recently and it goes perfectly on top of my Vinters Daughter Oil every morning. Also, it smells like Mango and I think will be perfect for the spring/summer:

https://www.sephora.com/product/cloudberry-bright-cream-moisturizer-P514506?skuId=2828549

What I am wearing for Spring:

I bought these Old Navy shorts last summer with the matching button down shirt and truly wore them out. I just bought this new stripped version and already love them and excited to wear them when temperatures permit.

https://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=6934530020004&locale=en_US#pdp-page-content

What I am cooking:

I have been in a little bit of a boring cooking routine recently. So much so that I made protein pancakes the other night for the girls for dinner because I couldn’t think of anything else. As you may already know, I live for a slow cooker and found this recipe online for Apple Cider Pulled Pork and it was AMAZING. One of my favorite things I have ever cooked. I let it sit all day and then made homemade coleslaw and sweet potatoes as sides. Just trust me on this, make it when you have time:

https://www.juliapacheco.com/slow-cooker-apple-cider-pulled-pork/

What I am reading:

My friend Eve Barlow wrote this incredible piece this morning detailing how the left, left her. I think she showcases a very common journey for a lot of people who have tried to navigate the last five years in a grounded and rational space. Highly recommend this article and her substack in general:

The Left, and me