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4.05.2011

homes of the hundred acre wood


You know what they say . . . if you can't say something nice, talk about cartoon home design instead.

Last night we watched Winnie The Pooh. My mother-in-law sent us our DVD collection from storage and I was so excited to have part of my old house back that the first DVD I saw went straight into the DVD player. I miss that old house in Idaho so much. I can't believe it was 1100 square feet. THAT'S ENORMOUS.

(Maybe next I want ALL OF MY CAKE PLATES shipped to me?)

I have been having a hum dinger of a time feeling chipper about the size of things lately. I think I have size-related depression. I have nothing nice to say about anything. We watched Winnie The Pooh last night while B ate a sandwich in the "kitchen" (it's not really a kitchen the sink is only six inches wiiiiiiide), and my running commentary (there is always a running commentary) went something like this:

"Pooh has a full-size mirror! Look at his huge rug. Do you suppose that's sisal? Oh gosh his kitchen is so spacious."

Here's more: Pooh's entire kitchen consists of one (1) table, and one (1) cabinet of Hunny. What a lifestyle!

Brandon asked me why Pooh would buy a mirror, since he clearly doesn't understand what a mirror does. But do you think a bear of very little brain does his own furniture shopping? Anyway, I hardly think Pooh would choose a sisal rug so large, if you ask me.

Later that night I rearranged my furniture, in an attempt to soothe the aching size-depressed beast within.

It only sort of helped.

37 comments:

  1. do you know what's ironic? i would give up my 900 sq ft apartment [with full sized kitchen AND brand new appliances!] to live in nyc.

    grass is always greener....

    hope you find a new place soon- and if it's a good one will you find a similar one for me? i've almost got the mr convinced we could logistically move there.

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  2. Oh you sweetie, you. Blogging while crabby, and you still seem nice. But I know what you mean.

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  3. Zomigosh I love Winnie - a bonus that my two year old loves it, too! (Get the brainwashing in early).
    I have always questioned the way they live, however... and Winnies relationship with Piglet? Hmmm.
    Read somewhere that all the characters have some kind of mental illness - Winnies addiction to honey, Eeyores depression, etc etc
    When are you going to post some pics of this place, by the way? I need to see how tiny it is!

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  4. I read somewhere that Eeyore was a girl. S(He) does sport a pink bow.

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  5. Gosh this is a fantastic post . . !

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  6. I would give my right arm to live in NYC also, since I'm a new transplant from the Bay Area to the suburbs and I'm struggling to adjust. But if it makes you feel any better, our little apartment in Berkeley (we could see the Golden Gate Bridge from our house!!) was only 600something square feet and I had three babies so it housed our entire family of five! I had to get a storage unit in the building to hold my cake plates and so forth and so on, but it worked out okay. We even stuck a deep freezer in the hall closet hoping that maintenance wouldn't notice or care (they noticed but didn't rat us out, must have felt bad for the family of five who napped their baby in the bathroom because it was quiet and dark and had to use the garage bathroom while she slept). But I must say that I now live in a bigger house (1500 square feet??) and yes bigger is easier in our case, but I desperately miss being able to go downstairs and immediately be surrounded by people! And people to coo at my babies and laugh at our insane triple stroller. Here we are one of a million people and it's easy to get lost without all of the strangers who used to love us. Does any of this make sense? I'm crabby today too. And I've stayed up too late rearranging my space also. Thanks for reminding me that both sides of the fence are green!

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  7. I love that you just did an entire post on the anthropology of Winnie the Pooh. It's funny how our perspective changes when we grow older...I never noticed Pooh's decorations as a kid, but now...

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  8. The gender of the winnie the pooh characters always confused me. Thanks for clearing that up :) I'm a long time lurker (first comment), thank you so much for your blog. It's awesome!

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  9. I don't know how you can be crabby when you have those pants from the previous post...those are a gift that keeps on giving. Thank you for taking me back to the 100 acre wood as it has been a while. My daughter was a huge fan...and I miss them.

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  10. I live about 45 minutes from NYC in a ~house~, but grew up in Ohio where my house's size is considered a shoebox... so I'm feelin' ya here! And freaking Pooh, he doesn't even have a JOB.

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  11. haha i tried discussing whinnie the poo matters with my husband one time. he doesnt find the debate about genders and fashion about children's cartoon characters very cultured. but seriously- why does poo only wear a shirt? while no one else wears clothing. and eyore? pretty sure he is a boy but what is with the bow? and i just dont know about piglet. seems to me that he/she would have to be a boy if he/she moved into poo's place, right? kids could get the wrong idea but sometimes piglet's whimpy attitude comes across as a damsel in distress. am I right?
    Well Natalie, thank you for letting me get those thoughts out. I thought I was surely the only one that noticed these sort of things.

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  12. see, all these people commenting what your tiny little place! and you want to live in the 100 acre wood! okay, who am i kidding....i'd choose the 100 acre wood, too. and i live in europe, which is supposedly desirable or something....

    so yeah, i guess my advice is - just walk around the apartment in those big, giant pants (talk about spacious!) and then stare at huck and marvel at how hopelessly melt-worthingly huckalicious his face is.. i think there's something to be said for that prescription.... don't you?

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  13. oh and my fav part?
    "Or rather, lets!"
    in case you lay awake at night wondering which part made your readers laugh the MOST!

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  14. I can't even remember the last time I watched Winnie the Pooh. Your recap doesn't even sound kind of familiar, so methinks it's been a LONG, LONG TIME...

    Before I forget: I noticed yesterday you've rediscovered Capitalization. Any special reason? :)

    And also, I am NOT okay with people just walking into my house. EVER. I'd have claimed him as not my friend, either. Which would have maybe made things worse, because, What is that acquaintance doing walking into my house? Using the side door, of all places?!

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  15. Aw I love Winnie the Pooh! Have you guys considered moving to another more affordable area in NYC like Queens or Brooklyn? There's some areas in Brooklyn where you can get to Manhattan on the train within minutes.

    I'm sure you could get a bigger apartment for less or the same amount of money if you'd really like :) Though living close to Central Park where you do now is a gorgeous location. I remember you posting about the craziness of NYC apartment hunting - is it like that everywhere in the city?

    We have a two bedroom 650square foot apartment and it's just my husband and I and our two cats and I still feel cramped and wish for more room. I can't wait till summer where we can spend a lot more time outside.

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  16. Move to the east side. You get way more for your money. Some friends in the ward are moving out of a fantastic 1 bedroom with a tub big enough to give birth in (seriously!) and at least two potential walk-in-closet sized nurseries. Although if the Holbs's new job will be on the west side, I would probably stay put too if I were you.

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  17. Now I see where you get your funny personality -- Winnie the Pooh -- it totally makes sense! ;)

    By the way, my sis and her husband have trouble with people using their garage door -- yes, you read that correctly. Apparently, any time they leave the garage open, even for just a few minutes, people go walking right into the garage and knock on that door instead of the front door, which is FAR more inviting. It aggravates my sister to no end.

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  18. love that movie and love this post!

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  19. I've been reading my kids Winnie the Pooh books lately, not the Disneyized ones but the original ones that Disney is based on. Really funny, even more funny that the Disney versions.
    I just read them the one where Pooh got stuck in Rabbits door. The original ones make all the characters REALLY seem like that have mental disorders. But in a likable way.

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  20. I love those movies. I have this thing that for some reason children's tv/movies are really tacky and rubbish and awful but children's books are lovely, and why is that? But then you say Winnie the Pooh and I think well, yes, those do make good movies. (But also books!) So who knows.

    You worry me lots though because I am moving to a big city in the fall (London, not NYC) and I think my fiance does not like small spaces and it may be difficult. But fun! Because aren't cities worth it? And we will not have two dogs and a baby so really how do you do it?

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  21. Aw, Natalie, you've got spring fever! It's a well-known fact that while New Yorkers like their cozy snug apartments well enough in the winter, in the springtime we all realize we're living in shoeboxes, and by the dog days of summer we know we're just clinging to a tiny slot in a not-big-enough set of shelves.

    People around here tend to move April-May and August-September, so keep looking -- you're on the verge of something opening up!

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  22. Natalie, you are my inspiration. Every time I feel so much as a stir of a grumble arising about the size of my house (850 sq ft), I think of you in NYC making it happen. I am determined to purge my belongings in the name of creating more space...I wish you a fabulously large(r) apartment in your near future (with the space necessary to re-establish your plate wall).

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  23. If the weather there is anything like Chicago, I'm sure you're getting to the stir-crazy time of year! Soon enough it'll get warm, and you can take long walks w/ Huck, and hang out in the park, and enjoy your city again. I'm dying for that time of year!

    Also, your side rant about people coming in the wrong door cracked me up. We all need a little crabby venting from time to time!

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  24. Just take a deep breath. I'm with you on the front door though! And knock! Maybe you could get your china shipped...those looked great on the walls in Idaho.

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  25. I love Winnie the Pooh! But I can see what you mean...
    Sandy
    www.twelvemakesadozen.blogspot.com

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  26. you are hilarious! I love reading your blog, so funny!

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  27. You know what I'd really enjoy? A post about the gender issues of Winnie the Pooh.

    Because Rabbit? Also thought he was a girl. And Piglet? Questionable. Poor Kanga... where's Roo's dad?

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  28. you might hate me for saying this, but sometimes i get jealous of your 300 sq feet! Oh the cleaning would take no time at all! I feel like all I do is clean this house (and I won't tell you the size so as not to make you more depressed but it's quite the size bigger than your apartment! Hang in there, you are in the best city ever!

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  29. you are so stinken funny! new follower here.

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  30. cheer up, she's only got 90 square feet!

    http://shine.yahoo.com/event/green/simple-life-in-manhattan-a-90-square-foot-home-2472666/#poll-41C5A35C5BBB11E09776C7F2771ED8E2

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  31. This is a hilarious post. That's all.

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  32. Hi, I'm Michelle. I'm a furniture re-arranger. It's been 5 days since my last re-arrangement.

    I too have found inspiration in children's cartoons. After much thought of what to do with our badly laid out 1915 kitchen - I saw an episode of Little Bear. It made sense to move the open china hutch into the kitchen just like Mother Bear - they didn't have fancy kitchen designers or custom floor to ceiling cabinets. Just a few hutches and a cupboard. I've left the china hutch there for several years now. Hooray for animated period correct decorating :P

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  33. I just found your blog and basically LOVE IT! you are hilarious! thanks for the laughs on a needed gloomy day!

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  34. I have also wondered about the genders of the Pooh characters. It took me years to realize that yes, Kanga is the only female, and I was so disappointed. How can that be? I was so sure Rabbit was a girl. I've also (recently - as in last week) done a lot of deep thinking about Pooh's shirt. Why him, and no one else? Why only a shirt?

    I was happy to see you had the same questions. But where are the answers! Too bad A.A. Milne isn't around to ask.

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  35. hehe,
    i love that your blogging about Winnie the Poohs home decor....i thought i was the only one who thought these kind of silly thoughts...

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  36. love this! haha i can only imagine.. i'm still in idaho but living with parents.. and man 2 rooms for a family of 4 is NO FUN...
    But I must say you miss Idaho for good reason :) I think i read once on here you're from nampa? so you would my neighbor.. :) i live in meridian.
    But what an adventure itd be to live in NYC.
    hopefully the smallness of living arrangements won't last forever right :)

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  37. I think "unadvised" or "ill-advised" tangent would make more sense than "unadvisable" tangent.

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