Expelliarmus!

We spent our whole day off trying to figure out a way to find "Butter Beer" without paying the hefty entrance fee for "Harry Potter Land" at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. We just couldn't justify a $90.00 beverage no matter how delicious the drink tasted. Also, I doubt that Nick and my new Vegan diets would allow us to indulge in any food item with the word "butter" in the name.

Unfortunately, our quest to find the infamous Harry Potter "Butter Beer" did not end successfully. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that Robert, our tour manager, much to Dia's horror, pulled the "Do you KNOW who this is?!" card. He leaned in to hiss into the poor ticket lady's ear, "This woman standing beside me is "Dia Frampton" from NBC's 'The Voice'!" Dia shuffled nervously from one foot to the other, tugging at Robert's sleeve like a frightened child eager to leave the intimidating sleepover. Then he all but wailed at her, "She worked will all the people that have their faces plastered all over your theme park!"  He stood back triumphantly to witness the effect of his brilliant efforts. 

I give Robert  kudos for trying at least. He's not a punk or anything. He's just really great at "finding a way" when we want something. That's why he's our tour manager. In this case though, he only received blank stares and a sarcastic, "Oh really? I ain't never heard of her before!" And that was that.

Not completely dismayed, we satisfied our "Harry Potter" fix somewhat by stopping at a tourist trap on the way out and snapping some photos with "Harry Potter" capes and wands. Take that Universal Studios! 

We would make such great wizards. Just saying'!

Which one's cuter? The owl or the Dia?

We crossed the vacant street on our way home from the theme park. Robert, always full of energy, bounded ahead of the rest of us. I trailed behind. Dia crossed just ahead of me, pulling her puffy evergreen hood lined with faux fur tightly around her neck. Taking light-hearted steps, she joyfully shouted out into the night air, "Oh, the city walk. Oh, the city walk, " in the voice of the "Honey Badger". (If you have not seen the "honey badger youtube video" yet, please stop reading my blog and view it right now! ) Robert turned around. He began flailing his arms about and started mimicking Dia in his slightly lower honey badger imitation, "Oooohh, the city waaaalk."  

It must have been the fresh evening air combined with the "Honey Badger" accents and our happy tummys that made me realize: we have finally come to "the moment" on this tour. The moment when a tour becomes a tour. The "camaraderie" between all of us crazy kids solidifies. We become a comfortable bunch of goons, in step with each other, gliding across the U.S.A.

I am writing this blog at 6:45 a.m! We are about to walk into NBC's News Station in Florida to perform "The Broken Ones" live. I am sitting on the bus. Jonathan (Bass Player) shuffles in, still in his pajamas, messy hair, messy face. He says in a scruffy morning voice, "Is it foggy in here?" Then he takes off his glasses, wipes them on his pajama pants, places them back on his nose, squints and says, "Oh."

I love tour...

Honestly,

Meg

INTRODUCING My Latest Design: "Tiny Dancer Bot"!

Happy Birthday "Tiny Dancer Bot"! 

Hold me closer tiny dancer

Count the headlights on the highway

Lay me down in sheets of linen

You had a busy day today

~Elton John

Visit my online jewelry shop to order "Tiny Dancer Bot": www.chandlertherobot.com

Thank you to everyone who has already placed a "Pre-Order" last week. Yours will be the first orders that are sent out:) Subscribers to my CTR Newsletter will always be the first to know about "Pre-Orders" for upcoming "First Thursday" pieces as well as any other exciting CTR news, so if you haven't signed up for my CTR email list, please do! To anyone who hasn't yet ordered "Tiny Dancer Bot", now is your chance... Read on!

You know that comfy white tee that you throw on for Saturday mornings while you are preparing blueberry pancakes for your hunny?

Or how about the pair of jeans that you've worn in for years now and can't seem to give up? True

Jewelry can and SHOULD feel like that!

True, we don't want to be judged by our outside appearances, but don't look at your "outside" as a platform for people to judge you by, but rather a "stage" for you to be creative and expressive. Allow what dangles from your neck and your ears to make you feel more like YOU! 

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

                                                                                                             ~Dr. Seuss

 When I started making jewelry, I realized there were a few designs that I couldn't help but connect to in an intimate way, and a few designs that were a bit more meaningful to me than the others. So I decided to offer them to the public in "Special Limited Edition" batches. On the first Thursday of each month, I release a "First Thursday" Design. There are usually only 50-100 pieces made.

Last year I designed, for example, a Cowbot for Blake Shelton and his lovely wife, Miranda Lambert, in celebration of Dia's success on NBC's "The Voice". I also designed a "Punk Rock Robot" for old times sake because "Meg and Dia" have participated in Warped Tour a few times, and CTR had a booth at Warped last year. I designed "Explorer Bot", my favorite "First Thursday" piece from last year, during my first summer in my new city: Austin, TX, to represent all my new adventures in nature.

I'd have to say my favorite "First Thursday" design of all time is my latest creation...

Imagine, a tiny robot dressed in a delicate dancer tutu, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet crafted from solid steel so she is anything but fragile! A bow tie on the side of her copper head completes her chic robotic style. 

• "Tiny Dancer Bot" is 1.75" tall
• Antique copier chain is approximately 19" long
• Designed by artisan and craftswoman Meg Frampton (Me, Duh:)
• Made from a stunning alloy metal with pure copper coating
• This is an exclusive "Limited Edition" piece. Only 100 pieces made!

Visit my online jewelry shop to order "Tiny Dancer Bot": www.chandlertherobot.com

If for any reason at all you are not totally happy with your robot, I will issue you a full refund or exchange.

Like always, you guys know if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at: meg@chandlertherobot.com

Honestly,

Meg

P.S. Only 100 Tiny Dancers are available as part of this "Limited Edition", and more than half have already been spoken for in the "Pre-Order", so order soon:) Ships within 2-3 weeks, but will most likely take about a week to arrive

Silver Chandler is Back!

Thank you, all of you, for patiently waiting. I have a new batch of about 50 silver Chandlers back up in my shop! Now Chandler can finally match with that little black dress of yours;) Not sure how long these are going to last, so order yours soon:)

Made from an alloy metal with silver coating. Chandler is  2 1/2 " long. Chain is 24" ($25.00)

CTR Featured on "Goodsie" Blog!

Goodsie-powered store of the day: Chandler the Robot

Meg Frampton of alt rock band Meg & Dia recently ventured into the jewelry making business, and quickly developed a beautiful craft. “I spent a few months working out the kinks and developing my Robot Jewelry designs, and then created more designs to fill up my shop,” Meg told us.

She named her shop Chandler the Robot after the first piece she designed. The adorable Chandler pendant with copper booties hangs from a 27” chain and is available for $25. 

The shop releases a special “First Thursday Limited Edition” product the first Thursday of every month, with designs ranging from Cowboy Robots to Punk Rock Robots. Be sure to check out February’s special, the Tiny Dancer Bot! Pre-order for the cute dancer necklace begins today, so don’t wait too long to claim yours!

Meg and Dia are currently on tour with country music artist Blake Shelton, but be on the lookout for new products! You can follow Meg’s adventures in jewelry and music on her blog, where she also posts store updates
.

T.V. Performance with my sister (Dia Frampton) on Fox 17 News

Sisters On the Road

Welcome to the "Girl on the Road Blog". For those of you visiting for the first time, I'm Meg, Dia's older sister. I am playing guitar and singing back up vocals for her on the "Blake Shelton" Tour. In other words: I am witness to ALL the CRAZY shenanigans that happen on tour! Dia's a busy girl, so when she doesn't have time to write blogs or take pictures, I happily offer to fill in. Enjoy!I

rack my brain for the lyrics of the one song that seems to sift right through my mind every time Carlo plays the first chord. Dia turns to face the audience with a mischievous grin after sipping from a water bottle in between songs. 

"I also play in a band with my sister Meg called 'Meg and Dia'." The spotlight blinds me after that sentence. (After the 3rd time it happened, I figured out when to shield my eyes.) "We wrote a record awhile back called "Cocoon". We never had the chance to play songs from the record on tour. So today we are going to sing for you guys a song from "Cocoon" called "Bandits". It's about these two criminals on the run…who will never run away from each other, even if they are doomed to keep running." Pause for effect. She continues, "I'm bandit number one!" A slight theatrical bow from the waist. "And I'm bandit number two!" I shout out into the audience, a giant smile spreads across my face to mask my impending terror. The time is coming for me to sing my lines in between hers…alone.

She begins to sing. I sing my line. She sings hers. The song is coming along quite swimmingly. Usually I have my smart phone hidden on my keyboard to read lyrics if I need them. (I'm cheating. I know.) But this time I was on my own. 

The chorus rolls around. Easy enough. Harmonies never freak me out. All I do is listen to Dia's breath and inflections before she sings a word, and I can usually figure out the lyrics. This on-stage method I use is the closest we will ever come to sisterly intuition.

Second Verse. She sings her line. 

And I've… got …NOTHING!

No words. Just silence. My heart is beating like race horse. I can't find any clues. So what do I do? I grin like a mad woman, and shake my tambourine like my behind is on fire. I believe I pulled out a "Ashley Simpson" dance like she did on that t.v. show when she had her little "moment". Dia just stared at me with those big brown eyes that grew more enormous with each missing word. 

Then she started giggling, gave me a light smack on the back of my head, and finished the lyrics for me. 

After that we could barely muster to correctly pronounce the rest of the lyrics in between muffled laughter. The song is a very serious song. In fact, "Bandit's" is the only song Dia has ever written that made me cry when I heard it the first time. So, our performance must have been pretty "interesting" to watch that night.

Dia didn't even bring up my "slip-up" after the show. I did. All she said, through an eruption of laughter once again, "Yeah! What was that?

Our funny moments. Our "mistakes". Our continued "support" for one another. Those are the things I love about our sisterhood.

Party in the tour bus bunks!

I feel incredibly guilty even assuming for a second that she would choose another, "better", "shredding" guitar player to back her up once her career exploded. I should have never doubted that girl.

The other morning, she didn't know I was reading a book in my bunk with the curtain closed while she had a conversation with our tour manager. 

"So Mac make-up is coming to do a makeover on you girls. They should be on the tour bus around 5:00 p.m. They'll give you 20 items, and they will also throw in 10 for Meg."

"No." Dia said without even skipping a beat, "15 and 15".

Honestly,

Meg

P.S. "Cocoon" can be found HERE

P.P.S. As for the question: "Do we steal each other's boyfriends or do each others hair for date night?" I'll let you figure that one out;)

"Tiny Dancer Bot" FREE shipping available only to CTR's Newsletter Subscribers and readers of "Girl On the Road Blog"! Visit my online jewelry shop to order: Enter coupon code: eltonjohn upon checkout to receive free shipping!  You know that comfy white tee that you throw on for Saturday mornings while you are preparing blueberry pancakes for your hunny? Or how about the pair of jeans that you've worn in for years now and can't seem to give up? Jewelry can and SHOULD feel like that!   True, we don't want to be judged by our outside appearances, but don't look at your "outside" as a platform for people to judge you by, but rather a "stage" for you to be creative and expressive. Allow what dangles from your neck and your ears to make you feel more like YOU!  For subscribers of the Chandler the Robot Email Newsletter and readers of my "Girl on the Road" blog, I have a SENSATIONAL deal to offer you. The actual release date of "Tiny Dancer" Robot is February 2nd, but I'm letting you guys in on a secret pre-order a week in advance. I'm not telling anyone else through twitter, or Facebook, or anything. I'm only letting readers of this blog and subscribers to my email newsletter in on this to thank you all! The pre-order begins now! If you order between now and the acutal release date (Feb 2nd) and you enter the coupon code: eltonjohn,  you will receive free shipping!  After the pieces I designed for Dia's coach and "Country Star" Blake Shelton and his lovely wife, Miranda Lambert (Cowbot) as well as Dia herself (Diabot), I was determined to create a robot even more awe-inspiring and memorable.  Imagine, a tiny robot dressed in a delicate dancer tutu, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet crafted from solid steel so she is anything but fragile! A bowtie on the side of her copper head completes her chic robotic style.                 "Tiny Dancer" bot is 1.75" tall                  Chain is approximately 19" long. (I know the norm is 18", but I think 19" looks cuter!)                  Designed by artisan/ craftswoman Meg Frampton (Me, duh!) with love and care:)                  Made from a stunning alloy metal with pure copper coating                  This is an exclusive "Limited Edition" piece. ONLY 100 pieces will be made! Visit my online jewelry shop to order: Enter coupon code: eltonjohn upon checkout to receive your FREE shipping!  Silvia Chelazzi, writer of "Born in 82 Fashion and Creativity Blog" (one of the top fashion bloggers in Italy) says about "Tiny Dancer Bot": "Yesterday, browsing the handmade fabulous world, I found a lovely online shop selling amazing necklaces with a robot pendant that immediately caught my attention. It won my heart in a second! I strongly suggest you to take a look at this shop!"    ~Silvia Chelazzi If for any reason at all you are not totally happy with your robot, I will issue you a full refund or exchange.  Like always, you guys know If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at: meg@chandlertherobot.com Honestly, Meg P.S.  Only 100 Tiny Dancers are available as part of this "Limited Edition". Ships within 2-3 weeks starting from the release date, but most likely will take about a week to arrive.

I Was Featured on "Gretsch Blog"!

Meg Frampton Prepping For Blake Shelton Tour

Posted: January 18, 2012

Meg Frampton is getting ready for an upcoming tour with her sister, Dia, and star of the NBC hit showThe Voice, Blake Shelton.

Dia Frampton, who finished as the runner-up in the competition’s first season, will have Meg in in her band as part of Shelton’s “Well Lit & Amplified” tour beginning Jan. 26.

As such, Meg recently stopped by the Gretsch Showroom in Burbank to pick up a glittery gold gold guitar.

“I feel so spoiled, and I am so excited to break in this sparkly beauty on the Blake Shelton tour!” she tweeted.

Check out a photo of Meg with that beauty below:

For a full list of tour stops, visit Shelton’s official website.

Actual Gretsch Blog: http://www.gretschguitars.com/blog/artists-blogs/meg-frampton-prepping-for-blake-shelton-tour/

Past, Present, and Future

I felt so old walking into the beat-up venue in the middle of nowhere.  I stretched my wrist out to be wrapped with that awful tacky neon wristband which would prove to the suspicious security guards I had in fact paid for a ticket. The music started playing. I heard crashing and hi-frequency splashes of noise. In fact, there wasn't much of a difference between the sound of the band on stage through that horrendous sound system and the 80 mph winds mixed with "tornado warning" sirens that took place the night before.

The loud crowd,  full of energy, scurried about the room like a new litter of pups rolling over and under each other, fighting ruthlessly for their mother's limited supply of milk. I saw young girls walking around hiding behind their bangs with the same harsh haircut I used to wear only a few years ago: shoulder length, side bangs, choppy-dramatic layers. The hairstyle of the rebellious young female. 

The lead singer danced about on stage, theatrically using tense hand gestures to accentuate her punchy vocal phrases. The band released a steady explosion of discordant movements and sound, crashing into each other both sonically and physically.

Out of place. Slightly irritated. I desperately wanted to be back in our corny hotel room (which I recently just found out is basically vacant. Hmmm… I wonder why?), watching comedy central, and eating one of Nick's vegan cookies that I'm pretty sure I could snag without him noticing. 

And then I realized that…the girl on stage used to be me! That band used to be us! We used to look like that, and believe it or not, we used to sound like that. 

While watching their performance, I found myself transported back to the time when we didn't use fancy "in-ear monitors", when we loaded and set up our own gear and toured around in a stinky van.

Nick's voice brought me back from "la la land". "The drummer plays so loose. I used to play like that. What happened?"

We escaped the loudness and found a warm, cozy coffee house down the street. Over a cup of joe we discussed the change in our recent musical circumstances.

"Well, maybe it's just nerves?" I offered. "The stakes are up. We are playing in arenas now." "Yeah, maybe you're right. I just feel so rigid. I haven't had a good show in awhile. There are so many thousands of people sitting in the audience. What if I mess up? I feel like I am letting everyone down…" I've never seen Nick so serious and so deep in thought. He continued, "I feel as though I have to…"

"Earn it." I replied. I knew where he was coming from. 

Uncomfortable thoughts started to creep up in the silence that followed, thoughts that we haven't allowed to show their ugly faces until now that we have time to let them: " Are we still on the right track? Are we still doing what we started out trying to do? Are we Making a difference? Are we being true to our musician's hearts?"

Back in the hotel room, Jonathan, Nick, and I continued to discuss our concerns and growing excitement about the new whirlwind of a tour we are part of compared to the journey we have been on over the past 6 years, and our humble beginnings. 

I  shared, to counter the worry swirling about the room, that for some reason, once we started playing these giant arenas, I found (surprisingly) that I love the energy of being in front of that many people! I love performing. I haven't always felt like that. In fact, when we started rehearsing for the "Blake" tour, my skin would crawl whenever Dia mentioned moving around stage, and dancing, and moving. My comfort zone has always been standing still on stage. The whole "professionalism" of the tour set off a fire in me. Hopefully if these guys could see that even a person as reserved as myself has embraced our new situation, that they too can find a comfortable and joyful place in it as well.

All throughout the conversation Carlo sat silently in a corner with peaceful monk-like expression on his face as he listened to the conversation come to a decrescendo. Then he spoke, and in his way of offering to a conversation words that don't have much to do with the topic at hand, but at the same time words that tie together everything we have been trying to say:

 "I don't play music for the fame or the glory. I am a musician. It's my career, my responsibility." 

He stuck a cigarette in between his lips, and stepped out into the night to light it.

Honestly,

Meg

Fly Away Safe

Hello, for those of you just discovering my blog, I'm Dia's older sister Meg. I am on the "Blake Shelton" tour with her right now playing guitar and singing back up vocals. I will be regularly updating my blog with updates from the road, so please visit often to keep up with the "Dia Frampton" Band traveling adventures and to also hear about my robot jewelry I create:)

Photo by David McCudden

"The older I get, the more scared I become of planes." I looked over at her face, thoughtful and surprisingly calm after such a confession. Uneasily I shifted around in the driver's seat. "Well," I offered, choosing my words carefully, "I feel less safe driving around in our huge bus and trailer in the winter for months at a time." Oops. I am supposed to be making Dia feel better, and I am failing miserably! Nick chirped in from the back seat, "Statistically speaking, the chances of that plane crashing are even less then an accidental pregnancy from a condom breaking." I take my eyes off the wet roads up ahead to look back and shoot him a biting glare. Of course, a male's viewpoint. Just what we need at the moment. Dia shakes her head and replies, "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

We pulled into the parking lot of our favorite vegan-friendly restaurant in Nashville, "The Wild Cow". "Welcome back" says a familiar waitresses with a smile. She appeared to be about our age, tiny in stature, make-up free, wavy, long, jet-black hair without an ounce of product, and covered in colorful tattoos. The five of us band members squeeze into our favorite booth on the far west side of the restaurant. We reached for our menus. "It's nice to be with the band." Dia said. I felt a warm feeling begin to spread throughout my tummy. It might have been because of my hunger, but I believe the feeling radiated from happiness from hearing such an affirmation from our lead singer. 

We began reminiscing about the old house we stayed in while we recorded our most recent Meg and Dia ep, "It's always Stormy in Tillamook". We talked about going on vacation there sometime. Then the conversation turned to how curious we find our new crew and how much we have grown to appreciate them after such a short period time of being on tour. "Did Rob really freak you out last night?" I questioned Dia. Rob is our new guitar tech. "Yes! He opened the bus door wearing this skeleton mask with a big black coat, and I nearly fell out of the bus!" The table erupted in laughter. Good times.

Near the end of our meal, Dia pulls out her phone. "You're checking to see what time Jenni's ice cream closes next door aren't you?" She doesn't even look up from her typing as she nods guiltily. "Jenni's on me!"

A salty caramel and lavender ice cream later, we arrived back at the hotel room. Dia spent all night packing and reorganizing her luggage on the bus benches. "I'm sorry about the mess guys," she apologetically sighed as she continued to fold jeans and tuck her make-up bag into a carry on bag for her trip to New York. (In New York she will be interviewed for an event that I can't reveal quite yet!) 

"Your single is in radio rotation in Oklahoma" announced Robert on the way to the airport the next morning. "That's good right?" Dia replied. "Yes! That's definitely good!" As I listened to the trusty GPS guiding me to the airport, I began to ponder what the year ahead would look like for "Dia Frampton" and crew. 

I wonder if we are going to tour out of the country…

I wonder if Dia's songs will start to be in rotation everywhere, and we will have a "That Thing You Do Moment" where we are all sitting in a car together, and then we hear Dia's song on the radio!

I wonder. I wonder. I wonder…

She gave me a big hug as she exited our rental car. "Bye Meg. See you in a few days." A tired smile, and she was off.

Honestly,

Meg

P.S. On the jewelry side of things...Pre-Order will begin for my latest necklace design, "Tiny Dancer Robot" on Jan. 26th (in only three days!!!) I will only have 100 pieces available of this limited edition piece. You can click on the pink heart pic to the left to see more pics and read more details!

Cover of Mike Snow's Animal

Download a free mp3 of this cover here!

Limbo in Nashville

When Dia and I were little starry-eyed girls, my father would always tell us that we ought to visit Nashville for a week or so sometime. He has always been a strong believer in going directly to the source of whatever it is that drives a person. Since music is what drives Dia and I, naturally a city like Austin or Nashville should be first on our lists.

Now it looks as though we have our chance. Dia is fairly familiar with the area, since she spent a bit of time here writing for her new record "Red". The rest of us have only passed through this honky-tonk city.

We have been staying in a cheesy hotel with a guitar shaped pool (yes, really!) for five days so far with another three days to kill before our performance at The Exit Inn. Then the Blake Tour will continue on as planned. For those of you that are concerned about the canceled shows, don't worry. The shows will be rescheduled at the end of tour.

I'm sure you've already heard about the passing of Blake's father, which is the reason for the cancelled tour dates. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Blake.

I have tried to spend my time being productive during this time off. Each day I tuck myself away in between aisles at Barnes and Noble engrossed in several books at a time. We've become regulars at a few local vegan restaurants such as "The Wild Cow" (my ultimate favorite) and "The Silly Goose". Dia convinced us all to go line dancing last night at the "Wild Horse Saloon" and Mr. "I can't dance" (Nick) found himself smiling and cutting loose with all the country western folk on the dance floor.

How have I held up on my Vegan diet? Pretty well. I caved once and told everyone I was going to slurp up a kale smoothie from the Wild Cow while they were sipping on Coffee at Ugly Mug. Instead I snuck into a Jeni's ice cream, feeling like a criminal on the run, and devoured a salty caramel scoop of pure sin. Those were the most amazing two minutes of my stay here in Nashville. (If Nick reads this blog, I'll never hear the end of it!)

Our touring circus consists of five musicians, a tour manager, a merch guy, a sound engineer, and an intern/guitar tech/body guard. That makes nine of us. A scramble for the one shower we share between us takes place every morning. I try to wake up a little early to beat the shower rush, but I'm just so exhausted each morning from a whole day before of "not playing music". I usually end up strolling up to the hotel room, shower bag tucked under my arm pit, at about the same time that we run out of clean towels. 

Although we have given Nashville a fair shot, the general sentiment is pretty similar to our bus driver's response to our tour manager's question this morning:  

"How's it goin' Wes?"

"I'm bored as Hell."

Nick said, "All we do is eat and sleep and eat and sleep" to which I said, "but Nick, that's what all people do." "No. We usually eat and sleep and play music and eat and sleep and play music!" 

Nashville, I'm sure you are a great city. The thing is, we don't want a great city right now. We want our great tour back!

Honestly,

Meg

A Few Musicians Braving the Snow in Madison, WI...

Yeah baby! Not gonna lie. I kind of want to stay for the "Winter Jam Beach Party"...

Winter touring: love the "touring" part, not so fond of the "winter" part.

What is she hugging so blissfully? 3 humidifiers! She's got to keep her vocal chords strong, and the bus is very, very dry.

Of course I had to bring Stupendous Chandler and Chandler along for the tour. Dia mentioned bringing Chandler before I did!

I have to say (no offense to the other cities we've played so far), but this really was the sweetest crowd!

Change of Heart

The mansion, built in the modern-pueblo style, popular in the Santa Clara Canyons of Southern Utah, stood proudly in the twilight.  The facade of the house looked as though a child had been in charge of the blue-prints, stacking cubes of smooth, canyon-colored elegance beside each other. 

Inside, the rooms were spacious with high ceilings. The stair case had a beautiful, wrought-iron stair rail leading down to bedrooms blanketed with plush ram's fur carpets. When I looked outside the west dining room wall, which consisted of a single sheet of glass, I admired  the beauty of the last rays of sunlight bouncing off of the red rocks. At that moment, I promised myself that one day I would OWN that house. 

I was barely old enough to drive a car when I made that promise. 

I still think about that memory from time to time. I'm impressed because although I was just a child, I had such a strong desire! Am I still going after that dream that had been engrained deep in my soul for at least a decade? Hell no! 

First of all, I don't have anywhere near 3.2 million dollars! (The estimate worth of the house today) Second of all, I think that I loved that house because the first boy that I fell in love with showed me that house. Had he showed me a shriveled up armadillo, my dream for a decade probably would have been to someday be a proud owner of a shriveled up armadillo! Also, I am in love, IN LOVE, with Austin, TX. Even though I was born and bred in Utah, it would take nothing short of a miracle to drag me away from my Texas sunshine and 6th street!

Sometimes we hold onto dreams for so long that we forget where they originated from and why we wanted them so much in the first place. I know you know what I'm talking about.  

Artwork by Julie D'arcy. Visit her etsy shop here.

The skeleton of my dream of that glamourous mansion has morphed with humility into my up-to-date desire which is: A cozy, little, old house, in the heart of downtown Austin or just outside of it with a little jewelry workshop on one side of the house where I can build and create robots to my hearts content, a fabulous kitchen where I can cook all the homemade vegan food my happy tummy desires, a descent size t.v. for watching "Big Love" and "Breaking Bad", and a man who adores me down to my baby toes and who will cook me breakfast in bed every morning. (O.K. that last part of my dream may be pushing it a little…) Is that too much to ask for oh gracious lord of the universe?!

"Meg and Dia" is another example of a dream that changed. "Meg and Dia" was a fantasy come-to-life that I lived fully for six years.  I had such pride in my "independent creativeness" and being an "Indie Rock Band".  Now, I play in a pop act with "Dia Frampton". Did the change tug on my heart strings just a little at first? Yes, I admit it, but what a blessing it has been to be part of my sister's dream in such a huge way! I still get chills when I listen to incredible bands like Dawes or Bon Iver. My dreams, in respect to music have changed, have broadened, and I now realize as the woman I am growing into, my true musical passion is playing many different styles of music with all types of inspiring musicians across the country and the world. 

Re-evaluate your dreams. Make sure they are strong and still relevant as you begin to understand who you really are. While waddling around in diapers, if you carried around miniature silverware in tight chubby fists, cranked open your cousins jaws when they came over to visit, and told them to say, "Ah", and then you turned out to be a Dentist 20 years later. Wonderful! I know that was the way it happened with Dia and her career. 

"Change of Heart friendship" necklace. Coming this spring!

There is something to be said about loyalty. Keep that, but when your heart changes, your heart changes.

Honestly,

Meg

Thank You For Your Help!

Thank you for all of your wonderful responses! I have made a lot of notes that I am WAY too excited to implement once this Blake tour is over. 

• Because of you guys, I have decided to open up one month this year to taking custom orders. I haven't decided when that will be yet. The deciding factor will be based around future tours that Dia will have scheduled later in the year. 
• I'm also going to focus more on "male accessories". I think that is a great idea. 
• I am going to bring back the "Friends" collection sometime soon as well. 

These are just the tip of the iceberg for Chandler in the year to come!

Honestly,

Meg