HUCK IN HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

these days if you are looking for huck, you will find him in one of four places:

• on the couch watching mickey mouse (with mickey mouse)
• at his toy bin making a mess and shouting, while sitting in the block cart
• trying to pull the toilet plunger out of it's hidden spot behind the bathroom hutch
• attempting to bust into mama's secret chocolate stash in the freezer.

this little boy is starting to live up to his nickname's namesake. mischief, mischief, mischief. it is fun having a little boy around this house.

here are my babble posts this week:

my very favorite faux taxidermy trophies for your home,

container and windowsill garden tips for small spaces 

(so excited for my little fire escape garden this year!)

huck's food diaries

(how "bringing up bebe" has changed the way i feed him)

aaaaand huck's blog!

p.s. the beso giveaway winner was announced HERE!

have a good weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER

dear mom,

the other night before i went to bed i stayed up late reading a parenting book on the couch. it was about a woman living in france and how she'd noticed that french children were better behaved than american children. she says it has to do with the french mothers, who they have higher standards for patience and manners in their children than us americans. they make it their number one priority to teach their kids to be polite and have manners, and then they make sure they have plenty of time for themselves and a rich life outside of motherhood. the author was somewhat enchanted by this. parents might not exist just to spoil their kids or to raise "the best?" WHO KNEW.

at one point in the beginning i started smiling and didn't stop until the last page. i couldn't help myself. apparently france is full of julie lovins. mom, you are so trendy right now.

growing up i knew you were something special. i could tell by how you dressed, by how you gave attention to others, and by how you cultivated yourself as a priority in the middle of raising us girls. i knew there was more to you than "just my mom." and because of it i knew that when you wanted something of me, it was something worth giving. i knew that what you expected from me was something worth living up to. 

i find myself holding lots of in-depth conversations with mr. henry holbrook these days. sometimes (most times) we're talking about lions or monkeys (they say "wahhh!' and "ah-ah!"), but a lot of the time we're talking about what we expect from him. he's still such a baby, but there's a big, smart boy in there. there is so much more wisdom in that noggin than some might think. i look at him and i think of you, and sometimes i feel a little overwhelmed with the responsibility i have of doing right by him, and of doing right by you, too.  i owe it to all three of us to be the mother i was raised to be.

thank you for always being such a class act. and happy birthday! may there always be twenty pounds of turquoise m&ms from times square for you in your candy bowl.

MAKING ME HAPPY TODAY

i am still battling off a very silly case of the funks. it's sillier than silly and yet i seriously can. not. shake it. but watching this video of ballet in super slow motion (over and over and over) has certainly helped.

THE DAY I WALKED A BLOCK IN KATHLEEN KELLY'S SHOES AND WENT RIGHT UP THE STEPS TO HER BROWNSTONE

sunday evening found us wandering near west 90th street and riverside drive. 

when suddenly the air felt..... mossy. 

and i went--wait a gosh darn minute here--i know this place! 

you see, it was calling to me. 

i wandered just a bit farther. 

i found the right street. 

and then... my breath catches in my chest until i hear three little words...  

kathleen.

 kelly's.

 apartment!

THE GREAT COOKIE QUEST :: momofuku milk bar ::

we stumbled on the momofuku milk bar quite accidentally on saturday while out on a very long and very chilly walk around town. i'd heard good things about their cookies (especially their compost cookie) so when i saw it i sort of squealed inside the way you do when you spot a celebrity (emma stone, yesterday, 72d street), although i do have to say, as a girl who gets grossed out by the mere thought of drinking the milk at the end of a bowl of cereal, i just can't get behind their cereal milk concept. the whole thing makes me shudder. but right.

we got a couple cookies and some pork buns and ate them on a bench outside verdi square in the cold. we tried the compost, the blueberries and creme, THE MARSHMALLOW CORNFLAKE . . . ingredients in the compost cookie include butterscotch chips, graham cracker crumbs, pretzel bits and coffee grounds. (coffee grounds!)

the thing about momofuku cookies is they're really flat and chewy. more "candy" and less "baked good." they all kind of have a hint of caramel flavor. they're like caramel toffee cookie leather. 

they're good.

we tried the pork buns per holbsrequest. they were $8 a piece and were maybe almost worth the price. that's a lot of dollars for a steamed bun!

i think i'm going to have to go back tomorrow because...

MARSHMALLOW CORNFLAKE COOKIE

momofuku milk bar score

on a scale of 1-5

flavor:5

texture:5

appearance: 1

nyc experience: 4

total: 15

next time you're in the city

momofuku milk bar

561 columbus avenue

p.s.

levain

jacques torres

choco bolo

city bakery 

two little red hens bakery

AROUND OUR HOUSE

this is what goes on at our house most evenings . . .

it's a not a whole lot.

but i love it.

and here are my babble posts:

hunger games inspired make up! 

these are a few of my favorite shoes 

(including more info on my saltwaters. hot topic, those saltwaters)

what YOU should be buying at forever 21 RIGHT NOW

and conversely, what no one should ever buy at forever 21... ever.

then there's our toddler food series,

aaaaand huck's blog!

hope you have a rad weekend!

xoxo

us

AFTER QUICK CARE, A TRIP ON DADDY'S SHOULDERS

i dare say huck must think he is the king of the city the way he gets carted around on his daddy's shoulders these days. the boys met me at quick care on saturday, where i was busy having my gauze ripped off mercilessly and my thumb wrapped up like a giant pillow, and then we took ourselves a little walk.

like a pillow!

p.s. how rad is this girl and her hot pink pants?

A DAY AT THE ZOO

one of my very favorite things to do with huck is go to the central park zoo. it may not be very big, and there may not be a whole lot of animals to look at, but there is something so charming about that zoo that gets me every time.  it's like the little zoo that could.

last week hen and i decided we'd become patrons of the wildlife. i think that sounds right fancy! we walked down, waited on a very long line, and bought ourselves an annual pass to all of the city zoos. after all, the penguin room is climate controlled (not to mention stinky!) and it is going to be a long summer (knock on wood!). that pass was our first real family-outing type purchase, and i am not kidding, when i paid and they handed me henry's free t-shirt, i had one of those moments where i was suddenly a real mom. 

a few photos from our holbrook 2012 inaugural mission to the zoo.
(warning, they're from last week when i REALLY sucked at my manual settings)

the little petting zoo (is really little)

and a shot from our walk home:

it's gonna be a real fine spring i'd say!

AND THEN I SLICED THE TIP OF MY THUMB OFF OPENING A PACKAGE

learn from me, your resident klutz who does stupid stuff a lot:

bread knives are for bread, and not for opening post office packages.

boo.

A LITTLE SPRING IN THE CITY. AND IN MY SOUL, TOO.

well, here is the good news: i believe i have pinpointed my funk. why do i always forget that the changing of seasons always throws me for a loop? i should pencil it in my calendar right now for june. warning: summer is coming! you're about to get cranky! 

the changing seasons always simultaneously inspires and frustrates me. (it turns out, i've even written about this a million times: here, and here, and here, and here too!) on the one hand, everything is so beautiful! and spring colors! on the other hand, i sometimes have a hard time feeling like i'm keeping up. 

me and the camera are getting along like gangbusters. i'm getting there! practice practice practice.

 

and blurry shot of these cute bums to take us out.