ADVICE FROM STRANGERS

today, while we were waiting on line to pay for our lunch, some very nice stranger in a long black coat stopped me to tell me how cute my kid is. this happens a lot because, well he is. but this stranger didn't stop there. next i was told to "take lots of pictures," reminded "this goes fast," and then "mine's twenty one," and then lastly, "no but don't turn your back on them for even a minute, 'cause mine fell down the stairs once--they were concrete stairs mind you--but he was fine, he didn't need surgery, just some bruising, maybe a concussion, but we were lucky! so..." 

...at this point my food had arrived and i was already halfway out the door, nodding politely and smiling all the way. yes yes, kind person, thanks. no concrete stairs. right. vigilance. yes. and photos. okay.

so when we got home we took an obnoxious amount of photos... i do like to do what i'm told. (hah.)

thank you kindly for the good-slash-weird advice!

love, that cute baby and his somewhat-wary mother

(pardon huck's shirtlessness. i talked it over with brandon and we're both okay with posting these photos.)

A FEW GIFTS FOR BRANDON HOLBROOK

// 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 / 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 //

this year for christmas, brandon holbrook has requested himself a new suit. how very respectable of him. (he has not had a new suit since he left on his mission, which was... ohhhh... a while ago.) so, well, my work here is done. but that can't stop me from imaginary brandon holbrook shopping! you can't keep a good shopper down! here are all the things i'd love to be tucking under the christmas tree for my cute bearded husband from fab (a fun little design shop) this year. he's been a pretty good boy. ;)

*this post was sponsored by fab

thank you as always for your lovely support! :)

LOVINS ON THE HIGH LINE ▲▲▲

do you like my cool triangles? 

okay sooo... how many times can a person go on the high line before they stop needing to take a million photos of the high line? is my first question.

second question: what if you could make an album of every photo ever taken on the high line. wouldn't that be rad? everyone's photos would look, more or less, sort of exactly the same, except maybe just barely slightly different. that might be really fascinating, the more i think of it... 

it was really fun going on the high line with my family while they were here for thanksgiving (they all left me yesterday and let me just tell you, i am the mopiest), because i liked watching them take a zillion pictures of stuff i've already taken a zillion pictures of, and then i liked laughing at myself when for some strange reason i felt like i wanted to take more pictures too. who knows, it's contagious up there.

so... hey! the high line. mostly via the cell phones de mi familia. you knowwwwww.

wait wait wait. this next one's my favorite: it's ginger time in the city!

sorry babe.

our beso winner has been posted HERE.

THE GREAT BEARD-OFF

in preparation for our thanksgiving week together, the boys in the family decided to stop shaving and let their beards grow in so they could hold some sort of who's-the-manliest-hair-grower beard-off. do not get me wrong. i am not complaining. look at that magnificence! bask in it. i married me the strapping-est ginger beard grower this side of edinburgh. proud wife, proud wife, pats on the back and things.

CHRISTMAS COMES TO THE HOLBROOK HOUSE!

picking out a tree in the city is sort of an experience. 

last year's tree was my favorite. i was able to spend what felt like hours wandering from tree lot to tree lot in the city, it was quite spiritual really, and when i finally found her it was like angels were singing and a giant heavenly arrow led the way. and then dragged her home fifteen blocks, which was sort of the best part.

this year we had my whole family with us and i felt crunched for time and the trees were fresh off the truck and their branches hadn't relaxed yet so i couldn't really tell what i was looking at and the spirituality of the deal was just all missing. once i picked one out, we up and had her delivered! where is the fun in that! 

but anyway the holbrooks have a christmas tree!

here i am haggling* with the tree person. 

huck says, "oh betty!" because betty is her name.

the gentlemen putting her up

 i like to hang my ornaments as slowly and spiritually as i can. 

*no no no, there was no haggling here. i had her show me three trees and by the third tree i felt so guilty for all my waffling that i actually gave her $5 over her asking price, because i'm the worst with stuff.

i made a pom pom garland this year instead of a marshmallow garland, but i'm not sold on it yet. i'm sure betty and i will have a few more go-rounds before she's all together finished, and then i will love her forever. right now we're at that "just-friends" stage. you know, i wouldn't let her borrow my nail polish or anything.

(do you sometimes feel like this blog is the stupidest?)

bonus huck-is-adorable shot to take you out: 

pertinent question to start the holidays: do you name your christmas trees? how many ornament adjustments before you and your tree are satisfied with each other? do i really need to have a tree skirt? because my lazy bone is telling i don't. 

THANKSGIVING WITH ALL MY LOVINS

i have more to be grateful for this year than a person should ever need in this lifetime. i'm healthy, i'm loved... brandon's beard has gotten so long it tickles his upper lip... what ever did i do to deserve such a manly beard grower in this lifetime? truly. 

this thanksgiving will go down in history as one of the best yet. we fit my ten most favorite people around my tiny dinner table in my tiny new york apartment, and then i finally forced myself to try a slice of pecan pie.

i am now obsessed with pecan pie.

here are a few photos from our little manhattan thanksgiving. i hope yours was warm and cozy, that your whipped cream was creamy, and that your sweet potatoes had aaaaaaall the mini marshmallows on top your cute little heart desired.

imma start us out with a photo of my dad snoozing, as this is the officially recognized national symbol of thanksgiving.

(olive hands, haters to the left)

and a quick photo from the night before, when we all walked through the macy's balloon blow up party.

i use the term "party" here loosely... because it was not a party. a woman tried to start a fight with me for trying to cross the street, and in the process of cooling things down i even touched her shoulder, which is new york speak for  "woman, i will THROW DOWN on you," because in new york you do not touch strangers unless you really mean business. and i really meant business. living here has made me just about fearless when it comes to arguing with total strangers. which is probably not a good thing.

where was i.

taduhhh

AND NOW IT IS CHRISTMAS!

MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE!

we braved the macy's crowds to see the parade this morning, and what will never cease to amaze me is how blasted cold it gets looking at those balloons, even when it isn't particularly cold out. 

while we stood there shivering, brandon and i talked about henry's first thanksgiving, when we lived on the corner of central park west. we'd barely woken up  and were snuggled in bed that morning when we heard a marching band from the street and thought, oh hey, are we on the parade route? brandon stuck his head out the window and yes we were! we took turns peeking our heads out the window by the bed to watch the balloons float by, wearing just our pajamas and bed heads. huck was three or four weeks old and still moved awkwardly like a slow-motion t-rex. it was heaven. 

so, while my mom's mixing up the green bean casserole and before it's my turn to throw together the sweet potatoes, i'll just toss up few photos from this morning, thanks to brandon and my little brother blake's magic clicky fingers.

(that enormous chocolate cookie would be henry holbrook's breakfast. parents of the year!)

we love the parade! but after a while ... it starts to get a little painful.

we were freeeeeeezing.

but you've gotta hold out for santa!

 we made it!

happy thanksgiving! i sincerely hope you watched the dog show after.

p.s.
bonus parade dance party with reluctant brothers!



blogger's first gif, aren't we so proud.