There I was—a month or so into marriage and coming off a spectacular honeymoon in Italy. You’d think I’d be high on life, but instead, I was down and out. I’m sure you’re thinking ‘WTF’ at this point because well, so was I. To make matters worse, I couldn’t put my finger on what really was bothering me. A few things had initiated the tailspin, but nothing end of the world worthy. However, sometimes a catastrophic event doesn’t necessarily need to occur for a funk to set in.

At first, I tried things that had helped me pull myself out of past lows. Growing up, my mom encouraged me to turn to God or exercise and as I got older, I added little things to my repertoire, such as buying myself flowers.

When none of these tactics worked, I was forced to dig deep and really figure out what was eating at me. And then, it struck me— I missed, better yet, yearned to be creative. I work in tech PR for an enterprise software company, which is fascinating, but not exactly high up there on the creative richter scale. Creativity is so fundamental to me as a person and prior to the wedding, I didn’t realize the hole I had been feeling, as I was slammed at work and completely overwhelmed with wedding planning.

Now, with the truth staring me in the face, I had to figure out what I could do to feed the creative beast raging within me. That’s when the idea for LSquared started to form— I wanted to create an outlet where I could celebrate the “little” things— such as cooking, decorating, and travel— that bring me so much joy, no matter what my mental state may be.

As someone who has tried blogging in the past, I also was honest with myself about why my attempts failed and it came down to time— or lack there of. And that’s when I had another idea— why not incorporate the people who inspire me by “crowdsourcing” (yay, Silicon Valley!) content from them? After all, you’re only as good as the company you keep and I have some pretty bad @$$ people in my life. It would be selfish for me to keep these people to myself, no?

So, here we are. I’m excited, I’m nervous, but I’m more than ready to jump in. I’m still fleshing out the direction of the blog, so I encourage your feedback— leave a comment, send a smoke signal, email me, etc.

And, if you have a killer cocktail recipe that will kick the Sunday Scaries to the curb, a restaurant recommendation, or a secret talent (I’m looking at you, Hunter) and want to contribute, submit your idea here or send me an email (LSquaredSF(at)gmail(dot)com). For all of you thinking, “I can’t write,” stop it. To borrow words of inspiration from the movie Wedding Crashers, “Rule #76: No excuses, play like a champion.” I.e. don’t let excuses hold you back— I’m happy to work with you and/or help you formulate a post, so reach out!

In the end, life can be challenging and messy, but here’s to finding happiness in the little things…and the big things like the love and support from the people around you. Jake, thank you for propping me up when I struggled to stand. This is for you—I love you.

Cheers,