A QUICK CONVERSATION WITH HANK THE TANK

"hang on, i gotta take this call. hello?"

"what's that?"

"shut yo face."

check it, it's babble time:

what YOU should be buying at forever 21 RIGHT NOW!
would you wear harry potter shoes? and other potterpherneila
parenting add-ons that make life easier
insanely expensive baby clothes 
16 of my favorite clogs

and huck has two blogs this week:
huck's travel tips
and huck's weekly blog.

oh! and a late p.s.
the amazing joslyn from simple lovely featured me in her bloggers favorites series.
such a wonderful honor, joslyn!

hope you have a lovely little weekend!

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN

the city as we cabbed in from the airport. don't you just love her?

here's a little public service announcement from me to you: if you get the stomach flu you are contagious for a full three days after your symptoms have disappeared. did you know that? i didn't know that. thus, you are fully capable of infecting your husband on sunday when you were sick on friday. (not to mention entire jetliners filled with passengers--travelers of us airways! i am so sorry!)  

it wasn't until i was finally feeling like a functioning human being again that our dearest holbspuker went down for the count. and then huck woke up from a nap with pink eye? and i was like, holy pestilence, where is the lamb's blood? (passover joke, not terribly funny, moving on.)

and so we hunkered down until the plague had passed. brandon called in sick, i canceled every possible interaction with every possible human life form ever, and huck emptied all his toys all over the floor and got busy being bored by everything. minus a quick trip to the huck-doc for huck-meds, and to the mac-doc for a mac-death certificate (r.i.p., macbook), we did nothing but stare at each other until a. the pink eye was gone and b. wednesday happened.  

and then wednesday happened! it did! it happened!! with eye infections cleared and stomach bugs officially dead, the mama bird and her baby bird left the nest to finally run all the millions of errands they had been putting off and finally get reacquainted with their city. (which is apparently setting up for fashion week! just wondering, could i get some more construction outside my apartment? cause there aren't enough blocked sideways for my liking. k, thanks.)

and now i present unto you, dear people of my blog, an account of our goings on since then. get excited!

first, mama got dressed. OH YES SHE DID!

and then mama went grocery shopping. yeahh, i bought some arugula. you know.

the city was rainy. AND GLORIOUS! oh dearest city, how i have missed you!

and now this: i will have you know it took a full ten blocks before i remembered to put my city face on. i guess my gazes were lingering and i was smiling at too many people? and it wasn't until one woman gave me the side eye for looking at her coat for too long that i remembered--duh! friendliness not a requirement here! and what a relief! thank your, new york!

you'll also be concerned to note that it took a full ten blocks more before i overcame my shortness of breath. pushing a stroller in the city is a WORK OUT my friends, and lo how my car bum's gone soft.

SOFTNESS OF THE BUM!

this is how huck felt about spending time in his stroller in the rain. and just when the dude got the hang of the car seat! tsk tsk, such a shame.

related question: when did those legs get so long and who said that could happen? i choose to be personally offended.

while we were out we refilled the metro card and took a grand tour on the 1 train up to 96th street so i could wander the michael's for an upcoming project for the martha stewart blog. at the subway i stepped on what looked to be a dead mouse and i got elbowed in the elevator. it made me feel strangely giddy and alive. crap i've missed this place!

and then i had to stop in at my favorite shoe store to visit my clog lover, WHO WAS NOT THERE ANY MORE! what? and where??

this handsome chap was in his place, and you know what they say about loving the one you're with . . .

dear mr. sexy boot, i would very much like to be with you.

three cheers to a house of healthy holbrooks!
huzzah and things!!

SODA TAX

so, here comes my dumb story. (grab yo kleenexes!)

on sunday morning, as i traveled blearily and zombie-eyed to the airport after a ridiiiiiculous bout with the stomach flu that i only felt mostly somewhat recovered from, i done dropped a not-totally-closed bottle of diet pepsi into my purse, upon which time said diet pepsi totally hooked up with my macbook pro and, well...

they made broken laptop babies.

i am such a doofus.

so while i scratch my head over my next move, here's this post, which i wrote in the 'burbs of oregon for a just-in-case rainy day.

dudes. it's a rainy day on my macbook, yo. (shed a tear).

take it away, me of the past!

***

since we've been in the suburbs (sans the holbsdaddy, who's at home studying for the bar), i've been more than indulgent of my love of soda fountains and drive-thru windows and that black, sultry elixir of life. oh suburbs, i like you.

now, the huck's father introduced the huck baby to the black devil himself last week (rookie mistake), and ever since that first sparky black sip, the huck has been like unto a man ob-sessed. the kind of obsessed where he'll wake up, roll over and say to me, "woman, where's my morning dp?" (because my morning dp comes to me first thing courtesy of my dearest mother, who knows the power of a good sodee in the morning and often brings me one before i've even completed my daily am-i-showering? debate.) as a compromise, huck has been ever-so-kind as to take care of that sparkiest first sip of new soda for me. you know, a soda tax. 

photo via catcox

you know what, you couldn't say no to that face either.
you can't fool me!

THE GREAT COOKIE QUEST! :: jacques torres ::

here is the thing about jacques torres cookies:

if you like them thin
crispy
warm
and melty,
jacques is your dude.

(but they're not so much my favorite.)

mr. torres' hot sipping chocolate, on the other hand.
yes we can.

jacques score:
(on a scale of 1-5)
flavor: 3
texture: 1 (i like 'em chewy)
appearance: 3 (they look a little scorched)
nyc experience: 4
total: 11

for other cookie reviews from my quest for the city's best chocolate chip cookies, check out:

levain bakery

A LITTLE ALT SUMMIT RECAP

photo via moss + isaac

last year, after seeing all the alt summit recaps going around the internet, i decided i was going to have to attend. not for any real reason, but mostly because all of my favorite bloggers were there and i just wanted to hang out with them. you know? and then this year i was asked to speak at alt and do you know what was exciting? getting asked to speak at alt was exciting! i said yes right away and then set about figuring out how to attend with a still-nursing 15-month-old while my husband was home studying for the bar. luckily my mom was able to come to utah to watch king henry during the day and bring him to me at semi-regular intervals so we could nurse. my mom saved my life last week, there aren't enough flowers in the world to thank her!

the entire conference from top to bottom was absolutely amazing. the sponsors were lovely, the speakers were inspirational, the atmosphere was full of love and support and generosity, and the grand america was grand indeed. i will never get over just how wonderful are these ladies who blog. there was not an ounce of cattiness or competitiveness and everyone, even the biggest of bloggers who you'd think would have no time for you, were generous and kind and completely normal and full of love. and don't you love that kind of thing?

i mostly just went to make friends. and i did! shout out to some of my new favorite real-life friends from the conference time! erin, joslyn, jordan, alison, kacy and lisa (i love you guys, lisa what is your blog address?!), the girls with glasses brooke and summer, and of course the designmom herself. and it was so so good to see some of my old faves, emily and liz and rubi and susan. (i did not get to meet maggie and you know how bummed i am? maggie! let's be e-pals!) i left all sorts of inspired and excited, with a bonus case of the stomach flu (thus ending my 21 year streak, let's not even talk about it, i am so disappointed with myself!).

i think, like most of the bloggers who attended, i put the most effort into my wardrobe for the weekend. more so than on my business cards, and way more so than on my presentation, to be sure ;). these blogging girls all looked SO CUTE. (and can we talk about blogger hair? i have never seen a more attractive group of heads in one place in all my days.) my biggest stumper was the white party. but \my friend ck, who owns shabby apple, happened to buy my old pack&play from me and offered to pay me via clothes, so i took her up on that offer right quick (and wouldn't you, too?). when that little white tutu showed up at my door, it all clicked into place. all i needed was a t-shirt and some heels. (i topped it off with a scarf i sewed up real quick using leftover upholstery fabric from my mom's couch.)

me + alison at the white party photo booth, isn't she fancy?
photo via moss + isaac

if you're thinking of attending next year, just do it! go! you'll have a blast. and try to stay in salt lake if you can, driving in from the 'burbs is dumb. ;)

p.s. since i've been getting a ton of requests for info, i am wearing:
glasses: lookmatic fdr prescription frames
scarf: my mama's couch
baseball tee: forever 21
tutu-riffic: shabby apple (appears to be sold out?)
shoes: zara (red sticker still attached, classy)
clutch: jcrew
lipstick: revlon just bitten--passion


p.p. s. that photo of me up top has been trending on pinterest, and let me just say: WHAT!? 

ALT SUMMIT 2012 UP AND COMING BLOGS

via a merry mishap

i've been at the altitude design summit this week in salt lake, and today i'm speaking in a panel about our favorite up and coming blogs (along with meg, alix, and rachel). drumroll please, here they (all) are!

FieldGuided

Ruffling Feathers

A Merry Mishap

She Blogs She Blogs

An Apple A Day

The Homebook

Le Dansla

Instagram

Posie Gets Cozy

Darling Dexter

Draw! Pilgrim
Frecklewonder
Honey Kennedy
Katie's Pencil Box
Make Something Happy
Midcentury Living
Nubby Twiglet
Whorange
The Red Thread

Angela Hardison
Jane Reaction
Note To Self
Odessa May Society
Dandee Designs
The House That Lars Built
Simple Village Girl
Cubicle Refugee

Art Hound
Life's Little Jems
Kelly Market
Court & Hudson
Pattern Pulp
The Artful Desperado
My Vibe My Life
You're Welcome


enjoy! enjoy! enjoy!

CURRENTLY

i am spending the weekend at alt summit in salt lake city. 

you're going to ask me, you're going to say, "are you having any fun, natalie?" 

well.

(thanks to mr. hackworth for the photo. why am i always such a dork around justin? this is a valid question.)

THIS ONE'S FOR GABY

{the other day my little brother came home from school with a note for me written by one of his classmates, who reads this blog and had just realized that i was his sister. it was straight up old-school style, on folded up notebook paper. it was the sweetest, most lovely little letter. it about made me cry. so, this post is for her.}

four years ago i found this blog. a friend of mine recommended it to me and instantly i was hooked. i knew her. i mean, i didn't know her, but i knew her. she was my tribe. you know what i mean?

two years ago i sat on her couch in a dream, and we talked and talked and talked about everything there was to talk about. when i woke up i felt conflicted. on the one hand--creepy!--but on the other hand, it felt significant. it felt like it meant something. 

i am happy to say that over time she became one of my most treasured real-life friends. isn't that a happy ending? and today, i sat on three of her couches. it was just like i thought it would be. all three of them! 

i've met a lot of my favorite bloggers in the past year, (three new ones today alone!) and my favorite part is always that first moment where you wonder to yourself, "is this going to be awkward?" and then the second moment right after that where you realize, "not even one bit!" 

i ask myself from time to time, what am i doing with myself on this blog anyway?! because sometimes i forget. i'm not doing it for the "fame," if you can call it that. i'm not doing it for the money or the opportunities i've gotten from it (though being able to help pay the rent is a nice bonus, and the opportunities that come from it are f-u-n). i'm doing it because, i guess it means something. who knows what, but something. to a lot of us.

so every time i get an email, or meet a reader in person (or get a note passed on to me from my brother from a high school friend) that says, "i feel like i know you," or "i bet we'd be friends in real life," or "i promise i'm not a creepy stalker!"

i always say, 

"i know!"

because, you know what?

i know.

so thank you for the note. i LOVED it. and i hope to see you around t-town some time, sistah. 

xoxo

natalie

(go wolves!)

WE NAMED HER GERTRUDE

internet, i'd like you to meet my little brother's health class project.

it's a girl.
i'm such a proud auntie!

so i taught blake how to wear gertrude in my sling, like a proper hippie.



crunchy!

here are this week's babble posts:

how to incorporate neon into your wardrobe,

my favorite madewell looks on the cheap (on the forever 21, rather),

what YOU should be buying at forever 21 RIGHT NOW,

and i really really want one of these.  

let's not forget, huck's blog! 

have a lovely weekend!

BRUNCH WITH BLAKE

on tuesday morning, blake had a free period from school and i had promised him a lunch date. so we loaded up my plus-one and drove to panera after much cajoling. (but can't we just go to denny's?) i had a hot herbal tea, blake had a bacon egg and cheese on ciabatta, and henny had an orange scone.  i kept calling it lunch and blake kept correcting me. "no, it's brunch." and now you know.

we talked about the lovin choir curse, blake's new affinity for barbershop quartet, and various kinds of cheeses. and then we had to go so blake could be on time for seminary.

i'm telling you, all you single girls out there, my brother is a catch with a capital k.  

and now, this is what i wore to brunch (this is a fascinating post).

i was telling blake on the way to lunch brunch, "i think i thought this cardigan may have been cuter at the store" (which is the worst), when blake said, "so you wore it with red pants. obviously."

the nuances of red pants are lost on sixteen year old boys, is all i can gather from that.

(the cardigan is now known around these parts as the ferris bueller cardigan. and thus it was spoken.)

huck fell asleep in the car on the way home. and then after he woke up and asked to nurse, he fell back asleep on me. for two hours! i got nothing done.

and now you know.