Whooo loves ya??

Last night we channeled our inner Marthas and made the most amazing cupcakes. We made the batter, made the frosting, bought a pastry kit, studied the picture our mama sent us, found the candy bits, and then made our owl cupcakes. It took some practice, but by the fourth owl, we were on a roll and owl-making experts. I think they turned out super super cute. Don't you??

Yes, the little owlies are in the freezer....there was an unforseen "mudslide" of the frosting that kept happening. After a few minutes in the freezer, everything was dry and good to go!! I hope all the lucky recipients enjoy!

Thank goodness we didn't name her Athena

Last Saturday we met Zeus.

Yesterday we met Apollo.

Two of the most spectacularly huge dogs I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Both black labs, both *over* 100 pounds. (Zeus clocks in at 120!) Both (I swear) over 4 feet tall. Both owners cooed over Tulip and then said, "Ours was the EXACT SAME SIZE as her when he was 14 weeks old!!"

Every night before we go to sleep, I whisper into Tulip's ear, "Forty pounds. Fifty at the maximum!"

She's going to keep up her end of bargain, right?

It was amazing!

Getting ready for the show to start...

The crowd begins to go wild.....



Pandemonium is increasing......!!

She's almost here........!!!!!

IT'S BRITNEY SPEARS!!!!

The concert last night was so much and Britney did a great job. I don't think anyone loves her more than Louisianans, and she sang and danced the night away with us. What a great night!

And for the record, Hit Me Baby One More Time is still an awesome song!!!

OMG! It's B minus 4 hours!!!!!

Oh, Britney Spears. You crazy girl with the crazy dance moves and irresistably catchy tunes. We bought our tickets months ago. The concert night is finally here!!!!

Bon weekend everyone!

I am obsessed with this photo and will spend the weekend trying to figure out how to get these colors worked into my new bedroom! That plus teaching Tulip to sit, walking in the park, copious amounts of studying, rocking out to Britney Spears (the concert is on Tuesday!!!!!) and church on Sunday will comprise my weekend.

Hope you have a great one!

Tulip doing what she does best: CHEW

Which, unless she is chewing on your fingers or toes (or pant leg or sleeve), is very cute.

Memo to Tulip: We don't eat beads. Or chicken!

Last night was my first night of Mardi Gras. It was incredible! So far beyond what I had expected. Everything was amazing - the floats, the marching bands, the excitement in the crowds.

It was also Tulip's first Mardi Gras. Yes, we decided to take our nine week old puppy out and about in the wild crowds. You know, to socialize her. It actually turned out to be a great plan. Jessica knew that the Thursday night crowd would be the most benevolent of the bunch (and they honestly were really good). We packed a little backpack with water bottles, a doggie water bowl, poo bags, a camera and we were off. We were able to park at a friend's house (thanks again, Crawfords!) and set off to find the perfect viewing spot. As we walked, anyone and everyone who saw little Tulip cooed and stopped to pet her. She was quite the belle of the ball! I had tons of fun screaming and shouting and scrambling to collect beads and throws. It was so fun. When the first float went by, I waved and cheered and Jessica shouted from behind me (she was holding Tulip) "Scream louder! Wave bigger! No, BIGGER!!" She was not kidding. The more I screamed and jumped and waved, the more and better stuff I got. I ended the night with a wreath of beads so thick it practically went from my shoulder to my chin, two purple plastic water cups (I have a strange addiction to that particular sized plastic cup), a squishy football which will be conferred to Tulip for playing, AND a Jester's hat with bells!!!!!!! The hat was so fun and I wore it the rest of the night. (Note: all that cheering and waving and jumping is hard work! Arms and legs are very sore today. Maybe some stretching is in order.)

Tulip's favorite throw of the evening? The people down the sidewalk from where we were standing were having a nighttime picnic, and would casually toss aside their fried chicken bones and french fry ends, to her extreme delight. I didn't see her in action as I was up front waving and shouting, but Jessica said Tulip was in puppy heaven. When I returned back to them after the float had passed, Tulip still had fried chicken bits in her whiskers and on her face and was contentedly licking her chops. The rest of the night she was on the lookout! Too bad for her she's never going to get fried chicken at our house!

All in all, it was a fantastic night. Jessica and I wore the new Mardi Gras polos I bought for us as a treat. We each saw people we knew in the crowds. Tulip was so well behaved. And BONUS, she was so tuckered out that she slept in until 7:20 this morning! (And really only woke up because I needed to take a shower to get ready for the day!)

It was a late night, and I didn't have time to load my pictures. They will come, I promise!!!

Puppies like to wake up early. Me? Not so much.

My friend Chris once told me that since she had her baby boy four years ago (can't believe D is four!!), she no longer has any need for an alarm clock. I think I'm starting to understand what she means.

Along with standing up straight, my new year's resolution was to become more of a morning person. And by more of a morning person, I meant, like, not hitting the snooze button 3 times and not rushing to get to work on time.

hahahahhahahahahhahahahahha

If only. Tulip chirps every hour, on the hour, it seems, to please be let outside to do her ladylike business. She also wakes up at about 5:45 in the morning. And won't go back to sleep. Which means that I (because I have a very hard time hearing her in the middle of the night, quite mysterious) take her for her morning walk when she gets up while Jessica snoozes to make up for lost time during the night.

There are countless bonuses to getting up and outside in the morning. I'm teaching Tulip to run on the leash and she is the pefect running buddy (meaning, she likes to stop and rest about as often as my knee wants to). I've seen the sunrise two days in a row. I know what the weather is like, so can plan my outfits more accurately. And 5:45 is nearly three hours before I need to be at work, so I have plenty of time to not only walk the pup for almost an hour, but straighten my hair without rushing and drink my protein shake at a leisurely pace. I also go to bed much earlier now (because I'm tired much, much earlier), and manage put down the book (something I was never able to do before).

Except, sometimes, in the afternoon, maybe around 3:15 (meaning right now) I start to get a little sleepy. Think my boss would notice if I took a little puppy nap under my desk??

Home

I don't know if you can make out the word on that scuffed up blue key. It says "HOME".

Jessica made that key for me on a humid August night, and when she handed the shiny blue new key to me, I felt lost. I felt completely unsure about walking through the front door of that apartment. I felt completely unsure about walking out of the front door to my job interview. I felt frightened at night by the people walking past our windows, and was sure that something bad was going to happen to us. I felt hot (becuase it's hot here), I felt cold (because we blast the air conditioning). I felt like I had made the worst decision by moving here. I felt like I had made the best decision by moving here.

We moved into our amazing new apartment four days ago, and today I went back to that apartment to do the final close up. As I walked through the empty rooms, I remembered. I remember the first time I went to that apartment, during graduation last May (2008) and how we had all worked and cleaned and laughed and filled up the space with elbow grease and love. How merrily I cleaned that apartment, day dreaming about my new apartment in New York. What a different time that was. I remember the night Jessica asked me to live with her in that apartment. I remember our first night there, and how I didn't sleep because I was scared. I remember packing up literally everything we owned and driving away, evacuating for Hurricane Gustav. I remember learning which water handles made hot water and which water handles made cold water, because they were different at each faucet. I remember learning to deal with and get rid of all the extra roommates. I remember learning how to lock the front door, with its funny way of locking, and then learning to do it with one hand. I remember every time we made cupcakes. I remember learning how to make Jessica's amazing mashed potatoes. I remember learning which key went in the laundry room (the key closest to my car key) and which key worked on the second door (the one in the middle). I remember getting lots of practice parallel parking on the street, where the spots were usually smaller than I would have liked. I remember how awesomely big the bathroom was, and how conducive it was to two girls getting ready at the same time. I remember how much Drano we poured down the sink and when each of us learned how to use a plunger. I remember how we never sat down and ate a meal at the kitchen table (let alone off plates, we are bowl girls).

I remember all of it, each laugh, each tear, each excitement and each confused moment. I remember how many times I wanted to throw in the towel, and move back to New York. I remember how often I thought I had completely lost my mind. I remember that six months have passed since I moved here. I remember that I am a new person because I moved here.

Yesterday, walking home to the new apartment, someone stopped me and asked me for directions. I knew where they wanted to go and was able to communicate exactly how they should get there. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment from this simple exchange. I know that I am starting to belong here.

I can't wait to scuffle up my new, shiny key.

Nastia Liukin + BCBG = beautiful

I love Nastia Liukin.

I love BCBG.

Therefore, I love that Nastia Liukin has been asked to be the face of the Spring BCBG collection. The images are breathtaking. Enjoy!

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a splendid Valentine's weekend!

We packed and trollied and moved our belongings all night Friday night, in preparation for the guys from church coming move the big heavy items. They came, they moved, they assembled like champs, and we replenished them with juice and doughnuts. Everyone was happy.

E came to inspect our progress, bringing with him decadent Valentine's treats from he and A (thank you again! The raspberry chocolate mousse was especially scrumptious!) and then the three of us went on a rescue mission.

Any guesses what we were rescuing?

Anyone?

A puppy!!!!!!!!

I would like to introduce our little Miss Tulip Roberts!! We absolutely love her to bits. I'm sorry the photos are a bit blurry, but the pretty thing wouldn't pose for me.

She is 9 weeks old, loves to run wind sprints down the hall, loves to leap with abandon off the front porch, loves to flop on the floor by our feet, loves to earn treats by doing business outside, is learning to love her crate, and most of all, loves to play with sticks and leaves.

We are absolutely in love with her! She is the best Valentine's gift ever!

Hope all the celebs make it work!

I've just heard the most totally awesomely fun news that Tim Gunn is hosting this year's ABC Academy Awards Red Carpet special. He will be fantastic! I can't wait to hear what he has to say about all the frocks and jewels and lapels and shoes!

Tomorrow

We move into the new house!

Gimme an L!

Love that the weather is gorgeous.

Love that I made it to the gym today.

Love that it's Thursday.

Love you!

An open letter

Dear Restaurant Hosts and Hostesses,

I am very sorry that I am calling you three days before Valentine's Day, trying to make a reservation for the 7:30 seating. I am very sorry that everyone else in New Orleans made their reservations weeks ago and that I only got asked to make these reservations today. I am very sorry that I have to keep asking and pleading for you to fit in one more table-for-two for my boss's guests. I am very sorry that it's also Mardi Gras and by this weekend our city will be under seige by tourists.

Please stop laughing at me as soon as I start to say the words "this Saturday". It's not funny, actually, and since you are the 14th restaurant I've called today, I'm starting to get annoyed by it.

Thank you for your time, and you know what? I will have a great day - thanks for the well wishes.

Hugs and kisses,

Emily

Happy Monday

Hello all! Did everyone has a wonderful weekend? We did, down here in the balmy tropics. The weather this weekend was pretty magical - 75, sunny, not humid. Perfect driving-in-the-car-with-the-windows-down weather. I forget what I did Friday night...most alternated between reading the weekly mags and organizing/packing things to move. Saturday morning we met our aunt + uncle + cousins after L's tour of Tulane and swept them over to Sucre for gelato and giggles. It's always so nice to see family! After dropping them off downtown for French Quarter adventures, we began an adventure all our own, entitled, "Where to find lunch when you're starving and there's an hour wait everywhere." Ahh Mardi Gras (the first parade rolled Saturday night). We ended up logging a fair bit of the afore-mentioned window down driving, and ended up with Po'boys and cheese fries, a very nice treat at the end of a lengthy scavenger hunt. After that, we powered through Target and Lowe's for odds and ends for the apartment. The things large (like closets) and small (like striped bins for the bathroom that perfectly match the shower curtain) that will make our apartment just right.

Then we showered and gussied and tarted up for a fancy-schmancy art museum party. Loved the exhibit, a series of portraits of jazz greats by Frederick Brown.

Sunday morning, we met the fam for church (so fun having family to sit with!) and then we started the haul, which mainly consisted of our laundry because one of my favorite features of the new house is that the laundry is FREE!!!! We started running the laundry during the hauls, and we managed to get several loads over to the apartment and through the wash. (Except we forgot one critical part - which was that by washing all our towels and leaving them at the new house, we had nothing to use to dry off after our Monday morning showers. Yes, this was an awesomely fun realization to have last night at 11:30PM. We made do with paper towels and hair shammys. Go ahead, laugh, it's funny.) The weekend was finished off with Mexican food and Oreos and the Grammys, where we cheered on Jennifer Hudson, loved Justin Timberlake's impromptu performance, thought Kanye and Estelle were glitteriffic and were concerned for Rihanna.

{Photo by Mademoiselle Molly Fryxell's Flickr album}

I hope everyone is having a lovely Monday!

Exciting days ahead

One week from tomorrow we are moving! We are so excited. We have found a darling new apartment located right in the midst of a really fun, New Orleansy area. We stopped by last night just to say hi to the new rooms, and everytime we go we get happier and happier with our choice. I love new apartments because there are limitless choices and endless possibilities. What colors to choose, how to decorate. It's like you get to redefine yourself. The official moving day is next Saturday, but starting tomorrow we are going to deposit bins and boxes each day so that hopefully come next Saturday, the guys from church will only need to move the large furniture pieces. It'll be the best Valentine's Day ever.

Confidence, trust, respect, etc.

“Confidence grows at the rate a coconut tree grows; it falls as the rate a coconut falls.”

{Montek Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission in India}

Red + White

Image from Clementine Press

I hope everyone is having a wonderfully {love}ly day! I have a tutoring session this evening and perhaps afterwards I'll stay up too late to watch Top Chef. I did get 11 hours of sleep last night, so maybe I can pull it off. But I also want to pull off doing yoga in the A.M., so we'll see. Choices, choices.

I tweet you

A sigh of satisfaction

Today began bright and early at 5:45. Armed with an amaaazing blowout (thank you for making this a great hair day!) and my trusty black suit, I zoomed into the office at 7:15. Today was the day - the culmination of two months of planning and organizing. I can't divulge too much detail, so let's just say it involved a really famous person, Secret Service and a bomb dog. (Whose name is Madison and is so, so cute. And in high demand - just this weekend, she sniffed for the SuperBowl.) The event is all finished, and everyone has departed safely. I had a lot of help, but this was my project. And everyone has said what a wonderful job I did. I am a very, very happy girl.

January passes to February

Another great weekend has just passed and another great week has begun. At the end of last week, I started exploring a volunteering opportunity that I am very excited about. Friday night we went with E & A to listen to Shirin Neshat give a lecture on her art. She is an Iranian artist, who's work is feminist, political, strong and intense. She herself is a tiny hummingbird of a person, with the sweetest voice and wonderful sense of humor. It was great having the art explained by the artist, and I started to understand her point of view. Which is the entire point.

Photo from ISPhotography

And now February is upon us. We have big plans for Valentine's Day, yes indeed we do. Details soon to follow.

And the whole city is gearing up for Mardi Gras. Mile markers, portapots and special garbage cans are out on St. Charles. I've seen some grandstands, and the niftiest contraptions that involve ladders, wheels and bucket seats. Too hard to explain, I'll try to get a picture of them. And a few days ago in the park, we saw a group of people marching and dancing in rhythm. We could not figure out what they were doing, and then Jessica realized - they were practicing for the parade! Brilliant plan actually. Where else can a large number of people march around and around on a smooth surface while dodging other foot traffic? I can't wait for the spectacle that has been promised. And I've discovered that King Cake is delicious. Wickedly, addictingly delicious. Thank goodness it's not sold year round!

Chanello, gorgeous

The Paris couture shows are going on right now - it's a little hard to believe, with the ecomony in the stinker and President Obama trying to get the stimulus package through and all that - but, for just one moment, stop and notice what magicalness Karl Lagerfeld has created at Chanel. I would wear almost any of these confections (minus the headdresses!). It's so exciting to see so many options with sleeves. Not enough designers and clothing companies understand that us ladies need sleeves! Click here for the full show.

Jessica - it's my answer to your amazing sequined dress! We'll wear them to Britney. Can't wait!

So sad!

I am so sad - I just read that one of my favorite magazines and websites, Domino, is folding. This was the perfect place for inspiration and ideas and pretty pictures and yummy recipes. Two thumbs down for this recession.

Last night

Jessica and I worked out together, and then made a wonderful feast of Indian food - red lentils on basmati rice with nan bread, finished off with homemade mango sorbet. It was amazing. That, plus manicures and watching Fashion Police from the SAG awards pretty much made it a totally marvelous day.

I love this.

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the Year of the Ox - a time to work hard, discipline ourselves, and next year we will be thanking ourselves as we reap the fruit of our labors.

Drill Baby Drill

I started this Monday morning in the dentist's chair, staring up into the big light, trying to ignore the water squirting, teeth munching, drill action that was happening in my mouth. I imagined I was in Italy, walking along the lake. I mentally redecorated our apartment. I remembered how much I liked my dentist in New York, except for the fact that the filling he put in a year and half ago wasn't very good and now I was having to have it replaced. I think I like my new dentist better. Plus, he's really cute. Now I'm back at work, feeling like a numkin because the entire right side of my face feels pouffy and funny. I'll be slurping soup for lunch and hopefully soon I'll be feeling good as new!

Feats of culinary prowess

Last night (before the creeper Grey's incident) Jessica and I made dinners. Two dinners, to be precise. She made hers and I made mine. It was very exciting for two girls who generally subsist on pots of chili or protein shakes. I made barbeque chicken (with my magical barbeque sauce from Texas) and cheddar jalapeno cornbread with farm fresh sweet butter (which I washed down with organic chocolate milk). Jessica made orzo with feta, tomatos and green onions, topped by honey/red wine vinaigrette. Both were scrumptious. We also had the pleasure of wandering Whole Foods prior to cooking, which is always fun. I had a chunk of the cornbread for breakfast and it's still completely delicious. Everyone is invited tonight for a feast of leftovers!

Creepy!!

I'm totally, totally creeper creeped out by last night's episode of Grey's. Jessica and I were totalled creeped out last week, and she wouldn't even watch with me last night. Sigh. It was sad, scary, creepy and sad. Thank goodness today is Friday. I need a weekend to recover from it.

Thank you

Karl Rove has written a lovely tribute to former President George W. Bush. I know some people felt let down and angered by his administration, but let me tell you this: as someone who lived through September 11, being kept safe for the last 7 and half years means the world to me. He outlined and executed seven and half years of policy that protected America from further terrorist attack. I am grateful for that. I am so glad Mr. Rove has the opportunity to say that President Bush was right when it mattered the most.

Also read this interesting post by On Life and Lybberty.

The most wonderful time of the year

Yes, I know, it's really Christmas, but a veryclose second place is Oscar season, which got kicked off today with the announcement of the nominations. Here is a complete list of the nods, but the one that I am most excited about is for Best Documentary. Trouble the Water is a Hurricane Katrina documentary, made by Kimberly Roberts, a Lower Ninth Ward resident who lived through the storm, and filmed the storm and its aftermath on a small, handheld video recorder. It is such a remarkable story. Read about it here and here.

Lately

I've been up to this and that...Jessica and I spoke in church on Sunday, which is always exciting. Made tripley exciting by the fact that here in our branch, they only have two speakers, not three, which lengthens the amount of time said speakers get to speak. I've never been that 20 minute, anchor speaker before. Now I can say I've done it! We were very lucky in that 1) someone got confirmed, taking a nice amount of time and 2) a whole cruise ship of people was visiting which meant that passing the sacrament took really long. Jessica's talk was wonderful and she said mine was wonderful too so we feel good about that. Went to a few movies over the long weekend, talked about doing yoga (and talking about it is nearly the same as actually doing it) and practically froze to death because of the cold snap down here. I know, I know, in New York and DC and Ohio it's actually very cold, but it's really cold down here too. I think Jess told me it was 34 degrees here this morning. Which, when you left your winter parka at home because "it never really gets that cold in NOLA" is cold. Thank you to A and E who are lending us some winter warmth - we really appreciate it!

Amazing

Inauguration fun

While I am still disappointed that CNN didn't show more of the Neighborhood Ball's first dance, serenaded by Beyonce, I loved every minute of yesterday. I am happy that everyone yesterday was caught up in the feelings of hope and change. It was truly infectious and inspiring. I believe that President Obama will not only work very hard to make our country healthier and safer, but that he will do so in an honest, fair, and cooperative way. What more could you want from the leader of our nation? I love Malia and Sasha too, and wasn't it so nice that someone thought to get an apple box for Sasha to stand on?

What a wonderful day (and night).

The 44th President of the United States

I just spent the last 45 minutes in the conference room watching the Inauguration. I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of this occasion. I am grateful to have witnessed it and am proud of the spirit of the American people. I am proud of the graciousness of everyone present today. I am in love with Aretha Franklin's hat. God bless America.

Just to chat

Last night I got three lovely phone calls from friends. I just love talking and catching up and hearing everything that's new! Thanks for the calls and sharing the good news and the sad news and letting me be a tiny part of your lives. I think you're all wonderful.

Yippee!

I just got the best news ever. Hip hip hooray!!!

I offer a smile to the new year.

I have always been a Christmas devotee. I love Christmas, can take or leave (usually leave) New Years. Change, historically, is neither my forte nor my favorite. Resolutions that inevitably get broken simply seem depressing to me. And January always seemed to me like a horrible white expanse of time that existed boringly until the blossoms of Spring.

Except...this year...things were a little different. Something about the holidays seemed off. I couldn't get my Christmas magic to click. No matter how hard I tried, the Christmas spirit seemed to elude me. And so Christmas passed me by. (I loved being home, wrapped up in love with my family and friends - in no way am I suggesting otherwise. Everything about my time at home was delicous and magical.)

It's just that...I never really felt holly and ivy about the whole thing.

I have always known that I have issues with change. I've never liked it - even going as far as crying on my birthday and dreading New Year's. I clung to the past, rather than looked on to the future. Somewhat ironically to me, my last 8 years have been riddled with change. I've never lived in any apartment longer than a year, last year even inhabiting 3 different apartments. Friendships have come and gone, as have relationships. People I love have left this life. The more these things happened, the tighter my grip became on keeping things just as they were. And sometimes I felt like someone was playing a trick on me.

I once heard the following about life:

When we pray for patience, God gives us experiences through which we will develop patience. When we pray for courage, God gives us experiences to develop courage. When we pray for kindness, God gives us experiences where we can develop our kindness.

Etc.

Can you see where this one is headed?

I have never, ever prayed for change. Or the ability to deal with change. Or anything like that. But to my eye and my head and my heart, I have consistently been given experiences to develop the ability to cope with change with reason, compassion, patience, adaptability, balance and kindness.

Well.

This past year was witness to the most magnificently wonderful and gut-wrenchingly awful changes I've experienced in my 27 years.

I believe that I finally have it through my head that change is hard but change is good.

As the days following Christmas faded away, and the days leading up to New Year's rushed towards me, I felt some of the boulderous weight I've been carrying around in my heart start to fall away. I felt my vision start to clear a little bit. And I rang in the New Year with love around me and hope for the future. Never has my cry of "Happy New Year!" been more heartfelt.

(Full disclosure: this has not been an effortless process. My sad girl face made so many cameos in the last few months she nearly got upgraded to co-star. And lest any of my darling readers thinks otherwise, this has not been easy for me. At all.)

The thick, muddy, murky glasses of confusion have been knocked ever so slightly askew, and now I find lovely rose-colored spectacles beginning to take over.

Today is January 6. Today is the real 12th day of Christmas. Today is known as Epiphany. Very, very fitting.

I have never been so relieved for a big white expanse of the January calendar. I've never been so happy to finish vacation and get back to real life. To go back to work, and to keep going on the path of figuring out how to make my dreams come true.

And so, I tip my hat to the new year. Grateful to be at peace. Here's to 2009.