Anybody Still Out There?

Just checking in on this ol' blog of mine...

T-minus 7 weeks and counting until the little martini olive makes HER grand appearance... The last 5 months have been a wild ride, indeed.

I suppose I can't really tell people I'm a blogger if I haven't blogged in the last 5 months... I really miss blogging, so hoping I can renew my 'blogger' status here in the near future. Changes are obviously on the horizon, and I'm hoping I can get back into the swing of things to capture the memories.

Hope to be back soon...

xoxo,

Lulu

Life and Love, By The Numbers

3 years ago last week, a little gal by the name of Lulu was sitting at her desk one afternoon, wondering how to fill up a little bit of free time left by her job as an assistant at an interior design studio in SoHo.

Energized by the new-found creative energy she held from quitting her job in Corporate America, ditching her heels and suit jackets and jumping ship for a life of Starbucks runs, fabric sample hunts, and scouring 20,000 square foot mansions in Greenwich top to bottom to count the number of doorknobs and window hinges she need to custom order, she decided to start a blog.

I keep thinking back to what life was like back then... Some days it seems like I left New York City last month, and other days it feels like I never lived there in the first place. Then I take 1 step further, and realize what a journey the Mr. and I have been on together thus far.

The Mr. and I have been together for 6 years in December. In that time...

23 - the number of times we have collectively moved apartments (!!!)

11 - the combined number of jobs we have held

5 - the number of different countries the Mr. has lived in

5 - the number of ferrets yours truly has owned

3 - the number of times one of us has been "funemployed"

2 - the number of times we have moved cross-country

We've gone on vacation, gotten engaged, lived in an Ikea loft bunk bed while sharing a 1,000 square foot apartment with 2 other roommates and 3 ferrets, gotten married, and have survived (the first half of) life on 1 salary while the Mr. slaves away in graduate school to complete his MBA degree.

When you break it down by the numbers, it's all been quite the adventure.

However, one number sticks out far more than all the others combined:

1 - the number of babies we're expecting in March 2012

xoxo,

Lulu

Greetings!

Well, I didn't expect my first post back from an unintended blogging hiatus to be some random link the virus currently nesting in my computer decided to post! haha

I wish I could say that there has been some fun, super-secret reason why I temporarily abandoned this little blog of mine, but that just isn't the case. I've been equal parts lazy & over-committed with extracurricular activities, life has been vanilla & perfectly lovely.

I'm still very much alive & kicking, hope to get back into the blogging swing of things in the near future. In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter if you're interested in hearing from me more than once every 2 months!

xoxo,

Lulu

Bradley Cooper Speaking French.

You're welcome.

Where I've Been...

... and a little...





Stay tuned...

xoxo,
Lulu

A Little Friday Royal Wedding Fun

Proof that as a wee babe, I a) had a rockin' rainbow of an 80's nursery going on, and b) had a mother on a mission for me to marry a prince (check the poster in the right-hand corner of the photos).






She knew I'd marry a prince all right- she just picked the wrong one out for me! I'm happy to say that I've found my Prince Charming (and even happier that he still has all of his hair...!)



Happy royal wedding weekend to you all!

xoxo,
Lulu

2 Years.

730 days ago I walked down a long, sunny terra cotta-tiled aisle at high noon, and met the love of my life in front of the church we had our second date in.



We stood before the Lord, and vowed to take care of each other for the rest of our lives.


He placed the thin, filigreed wedding band on my finger- a band I haven't removed for one single second in the 730 days since he slipped it on.








We drank dirty martinis, danced to Ray LaMontagne's "You Are The Best Thing", cried and laughed and smiled so much our cheeks hurt.





We spent the afternoon celebrating in the sunshine, surrounded by family, friends, and the most wonderful wedding vendors we could have possibly been blessed to work with.





730 days later, I still have trouble finding the words to explain how I felt on that day... but watching this cherished video just may give you a small idea.


I love you, husband. Happy 2nd anniversary.


xoxo,


Your little Lulu

Watermarked photos courtesy of Hollye Schumacher , video preview courtesy of Darby Simon and the crew of My Wedding Film

What's In My... Carry-On Toiletry Bag

Look at me - I'm vlogging!

I found out recently that one of my sweet Twitter friends has never been on an airplane before, and that she was preparing to pack her bags and hit the skies for the first time this week. She'll be carrying on her luggage for the short trip, and wasn't sure just how to navigate the whole TSA Security "pack your liquids, 3 oz. or smaller containers" situation we all have to deal with.

I decided to create a little packing vlog (my first!) for the ol' blog here, in order to illustrate all the packing rules I didn't think I could explain in 140 characters or less. Since I'm a pretty frequent traveler myself, and always carry my luggage on, I decided to post on the blog since there may be a tip or two in here that even the more well-traveled gal-on-the-go may find helpful.

A few brief warnings- The sound on the file doesn't seem to quite sync with the movement of my mouth. No, I'm not a talented ventriloquist... I just have low-budget recording software. Also, this is just how I prefer to pack my own liquid goodies for each of my trips. There are other things I pack in another make-up bag, like all my powders (blush,eyeshadows, pencil liner), eyelash curler, and the like; I just chose not to drone on about them here. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below!



xoxo,
Lulu

Life As We Know It

Here's a little brain dump- or I guess life dump- to archive what we've been up to this last busy month of ours...

- I'm 3 weeks into my first NutriSystem plan and I *LOVE* it! Love the food, love the convenience, love the fact that I am actually doing something about the extra weight I keep complaining about in my head. So long, squishy love handles that prevent me from bending properly to the side!

- I've had the urge to give myself a string cheese mustache every day during my afternoon NutriSystem snack. I finally caved.

- If you don't follow me on Twitter, than you don't hear about how my husband broke his nose playing in a rugby game a few weeks ago. And had emergency surgery to correct the damage. For about 12 hours, I was married to a brunette Owen Wilson. And they gave him purple socks to wear with little bear paw non-slip grips on the bottom. I would lurrrrve to post some of the photos of the eventful weekend on here, but a) he would kill me, and b) they would probably turn your stomach. Consider yourself saved.

- We finally moved 'out tha ghetto'! Words cannot properly express how much I am obsessed with our new town house. His and hers offices! Formal dining space! A vegetable garden! I'll give you a little tour once I finally have the place in shape for guests.

- My mom came to visit and help us relocate, since I perfectly timed our move to happen during my husband's midterms and a busy workweek. The plus side? Our move also fell during the same weekend as Junior League of Phoenix's Rummage Sale, so we were able to take our moving U-Haul TO Rummage!

This was my first time at Rummage, and we certainly made the most of it. You bet we filled that U-Haul *full* of furniture and electronics (hello, $10 televisions! )for the new house.

- The Mr. turned the big 3-0! We celebrated with a seafood dinner, complete with dirty martinis. The whole meal was just comically horrible. Terrible service, wierd food, even the cocktails were off. I don't think we'll go back for another round of blue cheese-stuffed olives in our dirty martinis, since there are fewer things wierder than chunks of blue cheese floating around in your vodka. But you know what? We had one of the best nights ever. A complete blast.

It just goes to show that even the worst of times can be the best of times when you have the right company. The Mr. was expecially excited that night, because he received an extra-special birthday present:

A (terribly photographed posterity photo of) an iPad! Welcome to the future, Husband!

That's a brief little glimpse into the Martini household over the last few weeks... What have you been up to?

xoxo,

Lulu

Happy 30th Birthday!

You're my favorite.



Have fun on your adventure...

xoxo,
Your little Lulu