Nat The Fat Rat

BRING IT ON, SUMMER!

2012-05-27T23:46:00.000-04:00

it's memorial day weekend, the humidity index is something like 3,000% out here, and we done forgot to plan ourselves any exciting escapes. but! i slept in past nine two of the last three days, and i totally intend to pull a repeat performance tomorrow morning! and now that i think about it, i'm pretty sure i just might have some popsicles looming on my horizon ....

happy memorial day weekend to you! keep that sun outta your toddler's eyes! geez! ;)

three babble articles! just three! what is wrong with me!

what you should be buying at forever 21 RIGHT NOW

the one piece of jewelry YOU'LL never get rid of

aaaaand huck's blog!

DAY THREE

2012-05-24T21:35:00.000-04:00

i sat on the couch in my pajamas, my hands jammed nervously between my knees, feet jittering. take it now? take it later. take it now? take it later. eyeing the kitchen i took a deep breath. then i took another. i felt like i wanted to cry.

i texted my mom, but it was 5:30AM her time and i knew she wouldn't be up. next i texted brandon at work, though he was probably still on the subway heading down. and anyway, this isn't his forte. brandon is wonderfully supportive but wants to know as much about the back end of making a baby as anybody else. which is to say, not much, thank you, and please try to keep it romantic. it should be romantic for somebody! (sadly, with fertility pills, it is really romantic for nobody.)

i put down the phone and fought the tears away. i felt lonely and anxious. i can't do this alone, i thought miserably to myself, though i knew that i had to. that's the point. this is mine, and no one else can do this part for me. it all falls down to me.

with that, i stood up.

i went into the kitchen, and took a butter knife to the little white pill. half for today, half for tomorrow, and three more days after that. i pressed my finger into the dusting of white powder left on the kitchen counter and put it to my tongue. one more deep breath and down the hatch it all went, heavy on the prayers. please don't let me do this alone. then, alert for dizzy spells and hot flashes and sneak attacks of nausea, i slowly got huck and myself ready for the day. an hour or so later, feeling shaky but capable, we went out for groceries. dizzy spells and heat flashes be damned.

the weather report for the day said sunny with a high of 72, but when we stepped outside the sun was nowhere to be seen. instead the sky was low and gray. clouds swirled around my feet. there were puddles on the ground and droplets of sky clinging to the buildings, beading and drooping heavy from the railings. instantly my hair went rogue. the air all around us seemed dense and quiet. the streets were practically deserted. i could hear my thoughts louder than my footsteps as i pushed the stroller up the hill and over toward 72nd street. they sounded like worries. the air seemed cold but warm at the same time, and everything moved in slow motion. moving cautiously, we made our way uptown, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

around 70th street it fell, trickling at first but soon in heavy, angry sheets. i knew it was coming but still it caught me off guard. it seemed to catch the earth herself by surprise. the rain felt immense. it fell with purpose and consumed every single thing in its path. the hair on my arms stood at attention as the rains grew heavier and we raced toward the closest awning i could find for cover, skipping through puddles as big as oceans, while the air positively flooded around us. three other strollers and four other pedestrians soon crowded in with us, all of us covered in rain and shock, shaking out pointless umbrellas and and laughing and watching the sky in awe as it streaked swiftly to the ground. i felt lightheaded, my body completely swimming in hormones. my clothes were nearly soaked. i calculated the distance to the grocery store and weighed the risk of getting further drenched. i imagined all the awnings we could duck under along the way.

we were crossing the intersection at 71st street when the city suddenly blinked away in a blinding flash of white. next came the inevitable rumble, seemingly from the ground itself. it built in intensity until it was so loud i could feel it exploding through my chest. it was the sound of release. it thought it sounded familiar. it sounded like the whole earth was sobbing.

and then i realized, i didn't feel alone anymore.

HOW TO SAVE YOUR POOR, WATERLOGGED MACBOOK HARD DRIVE

2012-05-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

back in january, my macbook pro hooked up with my half-unscrewed bottle of diet pepsi and made broken laptop babies. it was terribly romantic for them i am sure, but i felt like such a boob.

after they called time-of-death over my laptop at the genius bar, i was referred to a company that specializes in hard drive recovery. their initial estimate was something like $750. um, ouch. i figured someone could recover my hard drive for much cheaper, and found the geek squad at best buy, who quoted me $150, plus $60 for the hard drive enclosure. much better. i sat on it for a while, not sure i wanted to throw more money at it, until all of my old music and photos possibly recoverable started to haunt me in my sleep. so i loaded up my macbook corpse and headed back to the geek squad, prepared to pay in full.

lucky for me, though, some nice employee let it slip that all i really needed was a cable and a little DIY spirit. he gave me the run down, and $35 later i was ready to take me apart some hard drive, autopsy style. i felt a little like dana scully hovering over an alien with a scalpel.

should you find yourself in a similar situation where your computer hath kicked the bucket and your harddrive might yet be salvageable but you're just not at all sure, here is what you do. now that i've done it it seems incredibly obvious, but for five whole months i was clueless--so maybe you are too?

step one: find a teeny tiny screw driver, and unscrew the million teeny tiny screws along the bottom of your laptop.

step two: gingerly pull off the backing and take a peek.

your hard drive will be in the bottom left quadrant, right there.

(i had already pulled mine out when i took this photo and was way too nervous to put it back in for the photo.)

step three: plug in your cable.

this is what the hard drive end of your cable looks like. i found an old ipod sleeve and slipped my hard drive inside. from what i've read, you don't want too much exposure on these guys? probably i should buy a real enclosure one of these days.

step four: plug the cable into your usb port.

step four point five: pray anything comes up.

with any luck, your new computer will recognize your old hard drive just like it recognizes any external hard drive, including all of the data inside. the happy ending for me was, i held my breath and crossed my eyes and guess what! it worked! all my old photos, all my old music... i could have cried tears of joy. (and maybe i did.)

the best ~~$750~~ ~~$220~~ $35 i ever spent!

good luck and happy hard drive recovering!

HUCK THE GREAT ORATOR

2012-05-23T10:00:00.043-04:00

i feel like i haven't sat down to actually write anything in here in a good, long while. what's that about, dave? well, and today won't be the day for it, either. but, eventually. um. soonish.

but! huck has plenty to say these days. i mean, dude only has about six words, but it doesn't exactly hold him back. in fact, most times when i try and get him to repeat words with me he'll look at me very scornfully. like, "why would i stop the perfectly logical conversation we're having to repeat silly one-syllable words at you? come on now." i suppose it's my fault for always pretending to understand exactly what he's saying. the other day on the subway we were having quite the in-depth conversation, the huck and myself, when he noticed that the lovely woman sitting next to us was giving him attention. so he turned to her and continued his nonsense yammering (complete with hand motions and very eloquent facial expressions). she nodded and smiled at him, then looked up and over to her husband and started speaking to him in spanish. huck got this look on his face like, "what language is THAT?" but you know who speaks the gobbledygook here? that would be YOU, huck. not the nice spanish lady.

anyway.
this video is cute. and you're going to enjoy it. i promise.
take it away, huck monster!

also, please to enjoy his monkey-like dismount from the bed.
it's one of my favorite things in the whoooole world.
(is that a nursing bra on the floor? yes it is. you're welcome!)

THE GREAT COOKIE QUEST :: the end! ::

2012-05-22T10:00:00.009-04:00

thanks kaitlyn for the photos!

for my final act as high inquisitor of chocolate chips, i decided to throw a little cookie tasting party. you know. swanky type stuff. i was curious to see how some of my favorites measured up against the ultra discerning palates of my friends. also, any excuse to eat more cookies? and decorate my apartment? my mom and i ran around town wednesday morning collecting the highest scoring cookies, then threw together a few decorations, then baked about seven million batches of reader-submitted recipes, just to be real thorough (you understand). and oh dudes. the apartment smelled glorious! and yes i WILL take a moment to brag here: i made seven batches of cookies in one afternoon, and no i do not own a mixer. those butters were all creamed by hand. my intensely muscular hand. i mean, what else is a blog for if not for celebrating these kinds of accomplishments!

of the professional bakeries, levain took first, with city bakery coming in at a close second. choco bolo took third, and the momofuku compost cookie was the decided disappointment of the night. sorry, dudes.

but the top three scoring cookies of the night were homemade! what! my friend janelle's cookie recipe swept the night, not surprisingly because she makes a killer chocolate chip cookie--so good even *i* couldn't screw it up. (hint: it calls for both butter and shortening, and a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt just before baking). ashley brought the number two cookie. she swears by the joy of cooking recipe in case you want to look it up. my personal favorite was, of all the things, a reader-submitted vegan recipe, which came in third. vegan! it calls for molasses instead of egg! it was divine. i was completely obsessed with them and ate them for two out of three meals the following day. (recipe below, suckers!)

and now, for some light nerding: making that many batches of the same cookie in such different variations was fascinating. i swear, i have never had so much fun in the kitchen. i kept shouting at my mother, "MOM THIS IS INSANE!" the tiniest variation in measurements created a vastly different cookie. each dough had an entirely different flavor and consistency, required wildly differing baking times, and always baked up in the most surprising ways. i mean, you know these things, but seeing it happen that many times over really sent me over the edge. i was freaking out. and it made me think that science could have been a much more fulfilling topic for me if only i had approached it from the right angle. truly, if you have children who are struggling in science, set up a cookie tasting experiment with them and help them bake up a bunch of different recipes of the same cookie. my mind was blown. so much so that i included a little fact sheet for the testers that night so they could geek out with me.

it was a great night! thanks to all my friends who made it out for the evening and took their task so very seriously, and many congratulations to our cookie victors of the evening! such honors! ;)

some of the bloggy girls in attendance: ashley, kaitlyn, erica, and meg (not in this photo: becca)

it was such a fun night. thanks to all who came and tasted!

and now:

chelsea's

vegan chocolate chip cookies

ingredients:

1 cup margarine, chilled

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees

cream together margarine and sugar until fluffy

add vanilla and molasses

add the dry ingredients and mix well

(i had to add a few tablespoons of water, and mixed using my hands to get the dough to stick together.)

fold in chocolate chips

drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes
allow to cool completely (better cooled than warm, i found)

//links to other published recipes tasted that evening//

the new york times recipe

(fascinating accompanying article HERE)

martha stewart's recipe

DON'T CRY, SHOPGIRL. DON'T CRY.

2012-05-20T23:13:00.000-04:00

i can't recall exactly how the idea came up, or who thought of it first, i only know that one day i was chatting with kaitlyn about everything and nothing when suddenly our voices had escalated to many octaves above normal and we had hatched our silliest plan to date: kaitlyn would be the photographer, i would be kathleen kelly, brandon would be joe fox, the upper west side would be our canvas. huck could stand in for brinkley. i think i was fanning my face in excitement. there may have been some light bouncing. i told brandon our plans later that night and watched as the entirety of his eyeballs rolled to the upper portions of his face. then he grew real quiet and said, "fine, but if we are doing this, we are doing this all the way." and that's when i knew there had to be amish pretzels involved.

we got the photos back on friday and oh good holy hannah of the valley. they are so ridiculous. and so amazing! i mean, haven't we all wanted to be kathleen kelly? at least for an afternoon? for me, this was huge. silly, ridiculous, and life-affirming. the whole afternoon i couldn't wipe the goofy grin off my face. nothing will ever trump this. nothing in my life! ;) and i have been so excited to share these with you! like, i've been giddy over this post all weekend.

here, wait. let's set the mood first, shall we?

"dream" on grooveshark

okay then.

don't cry, shop girl

(that is a wet wipe. brandon's idea. i could not keep it together)

brinkley!

hooray for you, kaitlyn!

we couldn't be happier with them!

i literally cannot stop smiling, hah.

(you can see more HERE!)

(and more inspiration shots here, here, here)

p.s. we so nailed this one! yesss!

kaitlyn will be in so-cal

holding mini sessions from july 13-18.

if you're in the area,

you need to book her. we love her.

email her at twoifbyseaphoto@gmail.com

(nyc dwellers: keep an eye on her site for upcoming specials)

RED ADMIRALS IN THE CITY AND HAPPY WEEKEND

2012-05-18T15:57:00.001-04:00

my friend ashley wrote about the bumper crop of butterflies swarming manhattan (apparently thanks to an impressive amount of caterpillars coming from texas this year), and ever since i've been so delighted whenever i've been able to spot one. they really are everywhere. this little red admiral was found on west fourth, perched on a little artwork propped up on the street for sale. the artist said they were bringing him good luck, and he'd sold more pieces that day than any other day before. brandon is especially proud of these butterflies, being as they share texan blood? (do you think these butterflies are longhorn fans? the eyes of texas are upon you!) they are just the happiest little bits of joy, these little red admirals, and every time i see one i like to make a little wish. i must have lots of good things coming to me for all of the wishes i've been making lately.

i have yet to see one on the subway on its way to bloomingdale's to buy a hat, but i am holding out hope, you better believe it!

HERE ARE SOME THINGS I'VE ENJOYED THIS WEEK:

those blair kids are just the dang cutest things, and their new series is just adorable.
this post is a little older, but it's stayed with me all these weeks since.
a reader emailed to see if any one could help her with a sick rescue kitty named sylvester. she's unable to keep him and he needs some surgeries and a very loving home. if you can help donate to the surgery fund or may know of someone in the leesburg, va area who could home him, please email her at sarafabuleux@aol.com.

(p.s. our giveaway winners have been announced HERE.)

okay, so... babbles!

what YOU should be buying at forever 21 RIGHT NOW
i'm obsessed with finding the perfect french market tote for the summer,
don't you love the j.crew bubble necklace? here's where to get it way (way) cheap,
crazy prints anyone can wear (promise!)

aaaaand huck's blog!

THAT ONE TIME A PERFECTIONIST AND A NOT AT ALL PERFECTIONIST DECORATED A CAKE TOGETHER

2012-05-17T10:07:00.000-04:00

i generally don't recommend taking on projects with me. nope. i am a starter, not a finisher. i haven't the patience for anything whatsoever, but i sure am good at thinking up an idea, slapping it together all pell mell, and then being very generous with myself by overlooking obvious mistakes and still thinking it looks nice, you know, if you squint just-so.

my mom is a perfectionist. hospital corners with the flat sheets (brandon and i don't even own flat sheets), hanging drapes correctly instead of however seems easiest, and getting all sorts of what i'd call "permanent stains" out of things that i'd sworn were goners using just her elbow grease and fierce determination.

brandon is also a perfectionist, but what has that got to do with this?

and so, when i tell you that we decorated a cake together at make meaning last week, my mom and i, what i mean is that i threw fondant at the cake and then my mom came in behind me and made it all lovely, until we had something rather pretty at the end. no squinting required.

huck was there too, mainly to oversee things and eat frosting and model the latest in fondant mustachios.

while my mother was putting the finishing touches on the cake, i threw together a little painted platter.

if you squint just right it looks amaaaazing.

thanks for having us, make meaning!

next time you're in the city:

make meaning

columbus ave between 75th and 76th

*RIGHT BY THE SHAKE SHACK*

(you'll want to know this for after you've worked up an appetite being all crafty.)

BUSTER SAYS...

2012-05-16T11:56:00.000-04:00

buster says,

"maybe it's time you give the amaro filter a rest."

PRE MOTHER'S DAY IN THE VILLAGE

2012-05-15T14:54:00.000-04:00

you know what's obnoxious? going to the village with me. when i'm downtown i have to tell you how much i love it down there about once every block. "ugh i loooove it down here!" over and over and over. but i do! someday i'd love to live down there. oh, that west village! and generally speaking i feel that if i think it, it should be worth saying out loud. shouldn't it? my thoughts are such a blessing to those around me! isn't my husband so lucky? ;) i figure i have 12 more years of constant narration before huck is rolling his eyes at me and embarrassed out of his skin. until then he'll think i'm his best pal, so i'm going for it!

on saturday we had plans to eat a late brunch at the spotted pig on greenwich street and then wander all over so i could narrate my thoughts to the street signs. we also happened upon a little flea market on perry street (home of carrie bradshaw!), stopped in at popbar for some gelato, got the wiggles out at a huck-sized tots playground, and enjoyed a lovely assortment of musicians and performers at washington square park. (of all the parks, washington square is my most favorite. the people-watching is so so good.) and then we walked up to union square, over to abc carpet, up to the flat iron, and caught the train home. and then my legs fell off. so much walking.

here, then, are a whoooole lotta photos.

the loveliest afternoon, the longest walk ever, and my feet are still mad at me.

someday you'll be mine, west village!

ON THE HUDSON RIVER LINE

2012-05-14T11:19:00.000-04:00

oh, mother's day. you sneaky little thing.

with every year that passes i feel less and less angsty about mother's day, is the good news. it's starting to become just a day again. a day for my own mother, finally (lucky you, mom!), and less a day reflecting my failures. and thank heavens for that. maybe by next year i'll stop feeling jealous when other women announce their pregnancies? probably... not for a while. but someday. i can feel it.

for mother's day this year, after attending church and eating a glorious amount of brandon's famous pasta primavera, we took a nice long stroll along the hudson river. me, the tall red one, the short red one, and the woman i am proud to call my genetic predecessor. the weather couldn't have been more perfect, or the people-watching more divine. could a mother's day get any better? also, we saw a dog on a yacht. and some kind of parrot in the park! fantastic.

being a mom is lots of fun.

to all the mamas-in-hoping out there:
hang in there. oh hang in there. it'll happen for you. i know it will.
and i know this too: once it happens, it will be everything and more.
there are so many amazing experiences to look forward to. and you'll get there.
you and me, you guys. fist bumps.
xo

HAPPY SMOKIN' HOT MAMA'S DAY

2012-05-14T11:13:00.000-04:00

i am so proud to celebrate this mother's day with the wonderful woman here on my left. she is the hottest mama any mama ever had, is she not? look at her! she's a babe. she is also a bangin' wedding planner, a master florist, a fierce boggle competitor, and she can chug an entire can of diet pepsi in under two minutes flat.

now that's a woman!

dearest mama:

i treasure every day that i get share my couch with you while you're in new york.

i promise i won't hold it against you that my baby appears to like you way better than me right now.

let's go to the forever 21 in times square tomorrow, and while we're there we'll fill up on those pricey turquoise m&ms that match your living room so well.

you're a good egg, mom.

i think i'll keep you.

xoxoxo

me!

(more from our mother's day in a couple minutes!)

FAT RAT GIVEAWAY! {closed}

2012-05-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

happy monday! we have some really exciting giveaways today! our first is giveaway from sponsor chalk white arrow, who is giving away one of her intricately beautiful hand-wrapped hanging light bulbs, shown above. when i received mine in the mail i just died over how lovely it is.

to enter, visit the shop and leave a comment below describing the colorway you'd choose--the sky's the limit--any color combination you can imagine! for an extra entry, become a follower of the chalk white arrow blog and leave an additional comment below to let us know.

sponsor junieblake is giving away a dress of the winner's choice to one lucky reader! junieblake is a modest dress shop run by a mother-daughter team based out of safford, arizona. they sent me a kasey dress and it is so stinking cute, and super comfortable. wouldn't a new dress be perfect for summer? to enter, visit the shop and leave a comment below!

our final giveaway is from happily ever borroWED, a genius website that rents jewelry, hairpieces and other bridal accessories. isn't this an amazing idea? happily ever borroWED is giving away $50 in rental credit, perfect for brides-to-be, prom nights, or any other swanky event! you'll love browsing their site, they have some gorgeous pieces! to enter, visit the site and leave a comment below!

giveaway ends friday and the three winners will be announced right here in this post.
good luck and happy commenting!

update:
congratulations to our winners!

winners: contact me at natthefatrat@gmail and we'll get you set up!

MAMA STYLE :: happy mother's day with LOFT ::

2012-05-12T02:08:00.000-04:00

maxi: c/o ann taylor loft // jacket: old navy // sandals: h&m // big hips: my mama

ann taylor loft asked me to style a piece from their current line for a little mother's day promotion on their site. at the time i was like, shoot, why not? and then i remembered how utterly ridiculous i always look when faking "fashion blogger." seriously i have a horrible track record.

and yet, here i am again! lessons learned from "fashion blogging" this time around: 1. if you stick your butt backwards, your hips look a little slimmer. i had about three million shots of my hips looking the width of the husdon river before learning this one. it was a sobering scroll through the memory card. 2. if you cross your legs while wearing a maxi dress, you'll look like your feet are on inside out. 3. angular faces are difficult to capture on camera, especially when it's your husband behind the camera and he happens to be holding a squirming 18-month-old while trying to get a clean shot.

oh well.

my own mother is in town for mother's day and we have epic plans to walk the entire island by foot and commit a lot of ill-thought-out flea market purchases. we'd made plans to see a late showing of the five-year engagement so brandon could have a boys night and watch the game with some boy-friends. as we were discussing the evening i pointed out that it was an r-rated movie. "it doesn't bother me, though i guess i should be a better example..." my mom said, to which i said, "mom. that ship has sailed."

because, shoot. way to fail on me, mom ;).

(it's okay. we saw the hunger games instead. holy peeta! he's a little wimpy, but i like him!)

HERE'S A VIDEO I ENJOYED THIS WEEK!

(not even going to bother with graceful segues)

this little subway symphony flash mob made me all teary. can you imagine?

and now babbles! ahoy!

what you should be buying at forever 21 RIGHT NOW

the stories behind my most favorite jewelry

(including my stack of wedding rings)

aaand huck's blog!

lastly, to all the mother hearts out there this weekend,

regardless of whether your arms carry babies or not:

happy mother's day!!!

take your flower from that short squeaky deacon with pride.

xoxo

BEING HENRY HOLBROOK'S MOTHER

2012-05-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

being henry holbrook's mother means knowing to take a bite of his ham slice before he'll eat it, because henry holbrook's mother knows that ham slices have to be "broken in" first.

being henry holbrook's mother means knowing to ask what a lion says before laying him on his back to change his diaper, because henry holbrook's mother knows that you must engage in thoughtful conversation before he'll submit to letting you see him with his pants down.

being henry holbrook's mother means knowing that he does not like any kind of cheese except for cream cheese, and making sure he doesn't eat so much cream cheese that he makes himself sick, because henry holbrook's mother knows that the boy has absolutely no self control where cream cheese is concerned.

(henry holbrook's mother knows he got that from her. that, and a whole host of other delightful (and weird) little tics.)

being henry holbrook's mother means knowing how to listen very intently when he has something on his mind he wishes to discuss, and not to let on that you have no idea what he's saying, because henry holbrook's mother knows how important it is that he feels "heard." being henry holbrook's mother means knowing exactly when to say, "oh really?' and exactly when to say "i completely understand."

being henry holbrook's mother means knowing when he is in the mood to flirt with strangers and when he isn't, and making sure that when he isn't that he has a safe shoulder to bury his face into.

being henry holbrook's mother means knowing to check the back of his head for food before assuming he's eaten it all, because henry holbrook's mother knows that the back of his head is his favorite spot to stash his snacks when he's bored with eating them.

being henry holbrook's mother means knowing to pack lots of extra bandaids in the backpack, and just where to stick them on his face when he's feeling feisty. being henry holbrook's mother means knowing to grab at least a dozen extra straws at the bodega for when times get tricky, and having at least two (2) soda bottle lids on hand at all times, plus at least one (1) bath time rubber ducky.

being henry holbrook's mother means knowing that when he dangles his foot in the air while nursing it means he wants to have his toes popped. but henry holbrook's mother also knows to only pop two toes per foot before it's not fun anymore.

henry holbrook's mother fully expects she'll have to nurse him back to sleep at least once, but usually twice... and sometimes up to four times in a single afternoon nap.

but she doesn't mind.

because being henry holbrook's mom is a pretty cushy gig.

she counts herself pretty darn lucky most days.

THAT VERY NIGHT IN MAX'S ROOM A FOREST GREW

2012-05-08T17:34:00.000-04:00

we are so very very sad in our house today to hear the news that maurice sendak has passed. bless that man, he had a huge part in getting me through some hard times.

it's weird to be back in the head space of "part-time infertile" after a nice twenty-eight month break from it. there's a lot of uncertainty, frustration, and fear that sneaks in when i'm not watching, and sometimes i let myself think i can't do it. sometimes i let myself wallow in how unfair it is. the truth is, that's a load of crap. it is what it is, and life is made up of complications and disparities and above all, shades of gray. mr. sendak wasn't afraid of the gray or the complications or the scary side of love. that's what i liked best about him. he thought our kids should be exposed to their doubts early. he knew our kids could handle them. his words were like poetry, hinting at all manner of insecurities, allowing them plenty of space to breathe, and plenty of space for us to square with them.

for my birthday in 2009, when my doubts, fears and frustrations were at their worst, brandon presented me a wrapped copy of where the wild things are, for our future max he felt certain we'd find. i wasn't so sure. i was so angry, and so sad. the wild things were in me at the time, scraping and tearing and causing such a rumpus. but brandon was right, as he so often is, and in the months and years since, that tattered old copy became one of my most prized possessions. when i read it to huck at night, i always pause on the first page, run my fingers along that old ink, and say a little prayer of thanks.

these days, i toss in a prayer for strength, while i'm at it.

let the wild rumpus start.

thank you, maurice, for sharing your dear beautiful soul with us.

i hope you rest in peace, in a great pile.

and give old mca a high fiver for me.

p.s. these are worth watching

no matter how many times you've seen them:

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 1

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Grim Colberty Tales with Maurice Sendak Pt. 2

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

ALONG THE PROMENADE

2012-05-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

it was a beautiful, misty gray day on the promenade on saturday. you could barely see the empire state building peeking out amid the foggy clouds. our favorite thing to do in brooklyn is stroll slowly along the east river drinking in all that glorious manhattan skyline. seven years ago we lived just down the street from the promenade in brooklyn heights. brandon used to take peter pan (just a baby!) on long evening walks down this exact path every night.

on a warmer day we like to end up at the brooklyn ice cream factory for a scoop of double chocolate (the best!), or head up even further north to jane's carousel in dumbo. but today it was just perfect for people-watching and slowly meandering and talking about all the ways our lives have changed in the six years since we left brooklyn. can you believe it's been that long? it's crazy to even think of it.

we wandered past the quietest little playground you ever did see, and decided that huck could use a little energy release. i used to daydream about having my own littles when i'd walk past this playground. i'd sometimes pass my girlfriend pushing her daughter rees on the swings and feel so wistful about someday having my own, so it was especially wonderful to be there with my own mister huck, playground connoisseur that he is. and we had the whole place to ourselves! playgrounds in manhattan are balls to the wall full of kids (and their parents--the other day i counted twenty parents playing on a single play structure with their kids at the playground near our place), but it was pretty much just us and a couple of pigeons, even on a saturday! (which meant we got to play a little, too.) score one for brooklyn!

we are still working on conquering the slides. huck is a very cautious gentleman.

should you come across a set of monkey bars?

i don't recommend using them to prove to yourself you can still do dumb stuff.

(but yes, i still can.)

in related news: as a family, the holbrooks have decided we're over the swings.

look at henry's expression, will you? he's not enjoying it.

none of us did.

brandon complained his butt hurt after, and they made me mildly sea sick.

are we getting old?

thanks for the perfect day, brooklyn!

so many kisses from us to you!

NO SLEEP TILL

2012-05-07T10:00:00.006-04:00

we loved living in brooklyn. we talk about moving back all the time. sadly, when we lived there in 2005, rents were muuuuch cheaper, and there really isn't much of a rent break anymore unless you get clear out past prospect park. oh but brooklyn holds a part of our heart nonetheless. one of our favorite things to do is take the train under the east river, pop out at brooklyn heights for our favorite sushi, and take a long walk along the promenade. except we NEVER do it. it's one of those weird things. somehow the last three weekends in a row we made plans for brooklyn and then never made it past 55th street. what is that? who are we? we are old and fat and lazy, is what we are.

but on saturday we finally (finally!) made it to brooklyn, illing and able. (r.i.p. MCA)

(if you play this while reading, this post might either become a.) slightly more bad-ass, or else 2.) way way way less bad-ass. you decide.)

probably less bad-ass.

definitely.

p.s. these were delicious. and weird.

more to come! yippee! ;)

CAN WE TALK ABOUT WHEN HARRY MET SALLY FASHION?

2012-05-05T00:41:00.000-04:00

sally, someone is staring at you in personal growth.

of all the meg ryan movies, when harry met sally is my second favorite. it is also arguably the most dated, and weirdly, the most obviously on-trend. i actually squealed when we watched it over the weekend as part of our marathon, when sally walked through the park with harry and all those leaves. i wanted her entire outfit. and then i realized, thanks to the magic of urban outfitters, i basically had her entire outfit. in my closet. already. probably we all do.

let's investigate this, shall we? (i'm missing photos from her 1977/1982 days because my camera was in the other room and i hadn't yet caught the vision that was to become this, this incredibly amazing and thought-provoking post. so, you know. but i'm sure we'll live.) let's talk about how dead on when harry met sally is in our lives these days. maybe. or maybe not but play along though, okay?

right.

fisherman's sweater

high waisted denim

academic blazer

cross body bag.

american museum of natural history.

check.

peplum blazer? is that a peplum blazer?

AND I THINK THAT WOMAN IS WEARING HONEYSUCKLE, COLOR OF 2011!

could you just die? high waisted pleated trousers!

what is happening here!?!?!?!?

waiter, there is too much pepper in my paprikash.

but i would be proud to partake of your tweedy blazer.

and what do you want to bet all the hipsters in williamsburg are already hanging

their oversized nerd glasses from their necks like this?

i mean, it's inevitable, isn't it?

THIS IS AMAZING HAIR.

(i haven't actually seen this make a comeback yet.)

(i have seen this hair, though, on the middle schoolers. and it is confusing.)

minus the mock turtleneck, I HAVE THIS WHOLE OUTFIT.

only my pants aren't baggy.

(junk in the trunk).

now that's cute.

hey, here are some babble posts!

are you looking for some great summer dresses? i may have found you some!

my favorite places to shop for sir hucklepuss,

what YOU should be buying at forever 21 RIGHT NOW,

aaaand huck's blog!

(p.s. i updated my "shop" tonight. have a look!)

SOUTH STREET SEAPORT

2012-05-03T10:00:00.000-04:00

a few weeks ago i was invited to a little dinner party down on the south street seaport.

i always forget about the south street seaport. but back when brandon and i lived in brooklyn and worked on fulton street, we'd spend a lot of time there, getting our dinner at outdoor seating on the cobble stone streets and shopping at the stinkiest gap store known to man. (i bought a jacket there once and had to let it air out with the windows open for two weeks before i could wear it. i'm guessing it's because the fulton fish market was still open and made everything smell horrible?)

the seaport has some of the oldest architecture in the city. original mercantile buildings, a maritime museum, and a big old period-specific ship you can tour. it also has a "mall" with a little food court, which is comforting sometimes when you get nostalgic for suburbia. (like how brandon and i used to walk all the way to the hospital on atlantic avenue when we lived in brooklyn because it had the only taco bell in the neighborhood? and sometimes you just really need some nachos bell grande?)

sure it's kind of touristy down there, but i just love that colonial architecture. when i was fifteen and we lived in connecticut my family took a big american history road trip. we visited gettysburg, jamestown, washington d.c., george washington's home on mount vernon, colonial williamsburg, and it made such an impact on me. i'd love to go again with my boys. something tells me i was too "fifteen" to properly experience it the first time. until then, south street seaport is the closest thing we got. it's not too bad.

another thing about the south street seaport: it's the best place to buy knockoffs, if that's your thing. skip chinatown, just head to the seaport and look for the guys carting around oversize bundled sheets in cardboard boxes and ask for the good stuff on the very bottom. bingo.

while i was walking to dinner that night i couldn't help but snap some photos and remind myself to remember to come down here more often.

NEW YORK STATE BAR: PASSED!

2012-05-02T22:10:00.000-04:00

the scene: this morning.

huck had risen with the sun (at first chirping sweetly from his crib before shouting progressively louder and more impatiently at us). brandon got up with him and fetched him his morning banana and set up his morning mickey mouse clubhouse. i had logged a solid twenty minutes of extra sleep, when brandon suddenly appeared on the bed, bouncing with the mattress just-so and looking at me with a positively zany look in his eye. and then he announced, rather loudly if i remember correctly,

"i passed the bar!!"

and then he grinned at me like a loon.

PEOPLE OF THE INTERNET: MY HUSBAND IS A HERO!

all hail brandon holbrook!

he came home from work tonight to the welcome of a champion--a knight in shining attorneyness!--and a table full of his favorite snacks. plus a couple of last-minute blown up water balloons, too. festive!

black licorice! so gross! and then we went out in the rain to the neighborhood diner, because the holbsattorney wanted steak. especially if it came with eggs! his heart was set on it.

cue silly photos with our relieved faces!

THE LAST SIX YEARS OF OUR LIVES, PEOPLE!

please also note huck's rat tail.

this was brandon tonight as he pulled the tail into place: "i always wanted a rat tail as a kid!"

huck clearly needs a hair cut.

and now a few more photos,

because this is a blog!

and that's what you do in a blog!

this diner is, like, a real diner.

sort of heavy on the butter and the menu is like unto a spanish novel.

(spanning multiple generations and requiring a family tree cheat sheet on the book jacket?)

(bear with me, i'm in one of those moods.)

it is also owned by the cutest old greek guy you'll ever meet.

and he loves huck. he brought over no fewer than four packages of saltines during dinner

(huck was so confused. "saltines? i'm supposed to get excited over saltines?")

and then showed him off to all the staff while we paid for our food.

perks and vip treatment already at the age of 18 months!

congratulations, husband of my dreams!

we are so so so proud of you.

we knew you could do it.

(even when you had us all pretty convinced you'd failed it.)

you are champion of the world!
we love you!

BUSTER'S BLOG

2012-05-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

buster says,

"tilt shift is a privilege, not a right!"

MAMA STYLE: BANG BRAID TUTORIAL

2012-05-01T15:11:00.000-04:00

after much cajoling (so much cajoling!) i decided to ignore the fact that i'm horrible at this kind of thing and just do it. a bang braid tutorial! this is seriously the simplest way to get your hair off your face. perfect for frizzy weather, bad hair days, and obnoxious post-partum hair loss regrowth. hopefully i was able to show you that and you get something out of this! and that you don't walk away thinking, "that natalie, i swear...." (i mean, unless it's in a good way?)

p.s. much better tutorials for this found HERE and HERE.
p.p.s. our blowfish shoes giveaway winner has been announced! right HERE.

MEG, BILLY, TOM, AND KEVIN (AND GREG)

2012-05-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

on saturday a couple of my girlfriends came over for some major girl time, while brandon took himself down to macy's to find some new work shirts. that's what i said! macy's on a saturday! he was there for almost five hours! and thank you, dear, for not asking me to go with you. i have feelings about macy's and they aren't terribly charitable, steve.

we decided to watch all the meg ryan movies i own because why would that even need an explanation? we ate breakfast food all day long, too. kaitlyn brought daisies. at one point during when harry met sally i busted out an entire two-pound bar of frozen belgian chocolate and we all cracked off huge pieces and spent a good thirty minutes slowly working our way through them. this entire paragraph is a disgusting cliche. it was a really good time.

should you wish to recreate, it's fun to go in chronological order, and we found that a savory crepe break in the middle of sleepless in seattle is the only way to go.

isn't it a shame i am in NONE OF THESE PICTURES! ;)

p.s.

kaitlyn had to leave during the last 10 minutes of joe vs. the volcano

so, kaitlyn! spoiler alert!

the volcano spits them out!

IT'S TIME FOR BED, HENRY HOLBROOK!

2012-04-30T10:00:00.001-04:00

hey henry holbrook!

it's time for bed!

no, not that bed, silly!

your own bed, mister!

when you're a huckleberry,
there is nothing cooler
than the big bed,
and getting caught
hiding
under
its covers.