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2.04.2013

WINTER WEEKENDS // OF RUGS AND BANANA BREAD

scarf c/o white plum boutique, huck's leggings c/o carlymegan 

it was a quiet, cold weekend for us holbrooks. doesn't that sound like the beginning of a fabulous story? well, here's this instead.

the holbrooks have been on a sort of a rug odyssey. first there was much talk of rugs. brandon wanted a rug that would swallow him whole when he stepped on it. like, padded. i just wanted something pretty to look at. he wanted a rug in the living room and in the dining room, but i was sure the living room was too oddly-shaped. talk of rugs at our house almost always end at a spousal impasse. you want to start a holbrook argument? your best bets are rugs, and how many vine videos is appropriate for a person to post in a day. (what does "too many" even mean? it's so relative .... ;)

a few saturdays ago we wandered into west elm and found their mira rug floor model on stupid clearance, so we bought it for the dining room. and then it got stuck in the living room on the way to the dining room because WOAH THE LIVING ROOM LOOKS SO GOOD WITH A RUG. and there was this one time on monday when a kilim i wanted on ebay had ten minutes left on the sale and i was texting brandon at work saying "should i do it?" and "text me back!" and "eight minutes left text me text me!" and finally "I AM SO BUYING THIS IF YOU DON'T TEXT ME RIGHT NOW" and long story short . . .

so on saturday we needed a rug pad for our new kilim rug.

wow wasn't that a thrilling story?

first i made brandon take me to chipotle. can i tell you something? i live in new york city. the best food in the world is right at my fingertips. do you know what i want to eat every day? every stinking day. 

i baked a truly impressive banana bread on saturday night. henny made valentines for all of his favorite small friends. we split a chocolate peanut butter levain three ways, and then brandon convinced me to watch the first half of the superbowl with him. 

i'm a good wife, you can tell me so if you want to.





oh hey banana bread recipe:

1/4 c melted butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c mashed banana (or shredded zucchini, or canned pumpkin . . . the possibilities!)
1 egg
1/4 c sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c flour (back in my super healthy idaho days i'd do 1/2 c whole wheat flour and 1/4 c bran flour)

bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

*update: now that i think about it, i usually double the fruit portion to a full cup. i'm lazy and never actually measure the banana, just chuck it in there till it's gloopy ;).

P.S.
hey, we've been nominated for apartment therapy's the homies!
in case you'd like to vote for us (hey why not?) you can vote HERE.

53 comments:

  1. pom pom hat twins! :)

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  2. lovely photos! you have great taste in rugs!i have a kilim from ebay as well, and i will be buried with it... over here we argue about coffee tables (someone doesn't think they are necessary, and i need all the surfaces i can get). happy monday!

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  3. That's some pretty ruggage, right there.

    And oh man, that hat...THAT HAT. With the big fluffy whatchamajigger...!

    Beyonce OWNED that Super Bowl halftime show. And, I mean, I'm all the way Down Under, but they still show the Super Bowl.

    I wanna teleport myself over to NYC, like, YESTERDAY, and nosh on some Shake Shack. Mmmm. My 1st cousin was in NYC last year, had it (I insisted she have it at least once) and confirmed what everyone's been saying, that it's SOOO GOOOOOD.

    (I have yet to visit NYC or have some shackage...sniff!)

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  4. love the rug! and it's good to know that someone else shares my incredible chipotle obsession... (seriously, what do they put in that rice?!)
    :)
    http://dailydoseofarti.wordpress.com/

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  5. your rugs look great! i'm on a rug-shopping quest right now myself since we're moving in to a new home. who thought it would be this difficult??

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  6. sometimes date night for us involves chipotle and netflix. because we have exquisite taste. we have carpet right now (shudder), but i can't wait to have arguments about rugs with my husband over here when we move out!

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  7. OH, THE RUG ENVY I HAVE RIGHT NOW!

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  8. Ok I feel like buying a rug for my place after looking at these photos.. Haha.

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  9. I'd buy that rug too. It's gorgeous!

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  10. That pom pom hat is INCREDIBLE.

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  11. I've read your dry shampoo post on Babble, but I MUST know: what dry shampoo have you been using lately? Your hair is always gorgeous, but these past few weeks it has looked incredible!

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  12. Beautiful pictures in this post! I especially love the one in the window:)

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  13. lovely lovely rug! both are beautiful.

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  14. I love all the rug discussion! Makes me wish I had a stubborn old redhead for a husband. My husband is very lovely and he let's me do whatever I wish with the decorating. Sounds like a dream come true, I know, but then again there's all that lovely banter about rugs.

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  15. love the rugs... love the scarf... love this post! will try the banana bread recipe.. yum!

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  16. i go back on forth on rugs so much. sometimes i think they're great, but i love hardwood floors with such a passion that i can't bear to cover them up most of the time. while i really like both rugs (particularly the west elm one, it's just really awesome) it's way too much rug in there for me. and your rugs are so different and close together. my anal retentive heart is having palpitations. but guess what? it's not my home so it's not like it even matter.

    thank you for the wonderful recipe, although i think i shall add some chocolate chips to it (what is banana anything without a little chocolate?)

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  17. I get super excited about new rugs too. And I LOVE that giant pompom hat!

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  18. Banana bread needs more banana than that!! I use 2 or 3 squishy ones.

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  19. I check your blog daily, I just love it! You seem like an amazing person and mother. And I just have to comment because Chipotle is my favorite and I think I am a nut for loving it so much but.. mexican + freshness = awesomeness! haha! Thanks for giving us followers a look into your life!

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  20. the stroller gloves still on the stroller in the last photo is glorious. like an invisible short person just hanging on the stroller. stay warm!

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  21. I really like the rug. And I voted for you! Hanna Lei

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  22. Gotta love men with taste and opinions about interior design :) We have similar debates in our house but they are over throw pillows and wicker laundry baskets, haha.

    thejustincases.blogspot.com

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  23. My god, this post made my day. You are too funny.
    Talk about some serious rug adventures! Looks like you two picked some good ones.

    And, don't be ashamed about Chipotle. Ever.

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  24. Ah, rugs maketh the couple. That is a saying right?! The day my now-husband and I moved into together we went rug shopping. I found the biggest, heaviest and most beautiful Persian rug in a tiny little shop. He ended up carrying it home halfway across London (and London is BIG)and I knew that I had done the right thing moving in with him. In memory of that epic, exhausting voyage and because wool is the traditional gift, he bought me another Persian for our second wedding anniversary. It is now used in our baby boy's room. So for me, rugs are very romantic.

    Also, they just opened a Chipotle in London and I am so excited. I loved it when I lived in NYC-who wants fancy schmanzy food when you can have a Chipotle.

    Fellow blogger at www.samandasha2.blogspot.co.uk

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  25. definitely a good ebay win you got there. i am just impressed you were so considerate to ask your hubby if you should bid. i'm pretty sure the rug would have just turned up with a "oh yes, i seem to recall bidding on this. well it's here now anyway" or something along those lines.

    http://thislittlemum.blogspot.co.uk

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  26. Your rug is absolutely gorgeous! I fell in love with it when I saw on IG. beautiful! and Hey! I made banana bread over the weekend too and shared a recipe yesterday! Banana bread is obviously the best thing to bake on a weekend :0)

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  27. this post made me laugh because I've been on the hunt for the perfect rugs for a while now -- they are really hard to find actually. until then i have bare cold floors! xo

    http://allthingsprettyandlittle.blogspot.com/

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  28. My husband and I are at a rug impasse too! I'm heading over to ebay immediately :)

    www.anna-bird.com

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  29. Had never considered eBay for rugs. Will have to check it out! I share the crazy Chipotle obsession. I have Chipotle and Jimmy John's and First Watch (each) at least 1x per week.

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  30. I know what I'm making after work today! Rugs bring such warmth to a room...

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  31. I just bought those leggings for my little guy a couple weeks ago from CarlyMegan. They are the cutest thing to ever surround his chubby little legs!

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  32. you TOTALLY made the right call on that kilim!

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  33. I love that rug! Your home always looks so cozy.

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  34. Oh man, you have NO idea how many emails have gone back and forth between my husband and I about a stupid RUG. MONTHS have been wasted on this very topic. Congratulations on now being able to talk about something else in your marriage ;)

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  35. Love the rug! And you just have the world's greatest writing style. Never a dull moment! Love it!

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  36. Thanks for sharing the recipe for your killer banana bread! I love the reflection photo with you and Huck in you giant pom pom beanies! I love yours by the way! Care to share where it's from?

    PS that rug is amazing! good call!

    Theresa
    http://bomamma.blogspot.com

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  37. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  38. Hi, I'm from Russia and do not know much English, so I read you through translator.Ya delighted by your blog! I have a little girl)) you are a real, just a wonderful girl and your family! really like your style! you done Thank you!

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  39. Thanks for the banana bread recipe! It's quite tasty, but definitely more light like a cake than a bread. As Mare suggested, perhaps some more banana (& flour) would make it a denser version.

    Must echo the comments on the rug - looks fantastic! Great buy.

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  40. Duuuuude. Totally made that banana bread and it is wonderful. Thanks for sharing. I rarely comment on anything so that must mean your banana bread was comment worthy.

    On the other hand, Huck is the cutest most well-dressed kid ever, and I'm loving your blog. :)

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  41. My husband and I had the same heated debates (and we even bought & returned) about rugs for three months before finally settling on a pick from Ebay too... I mean, I never ever comment, but I feel like I've been right there with you on this one. Why is finding a rug so emotional? I don't even know. Now I want a kilim like yours... it's perfection, seriously. xo, Kate

    stylesmaller.com

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  42. Hi, Natalie! Thank you for this post. It just so happens that we bought a very similir kilim on Ebay recently and never received it. The owners are located in Turkey. We are in this long battle with the shop and Ebay. Crazy!
    Would you mind telling me which shop owner you went through? They obviously seem reliable sell something I really like.
    Thanks so much!
    Grace

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  43. I love cozy winter weekends. Thankfully, it's almsot time for another one! The rugs look really great. Your apartment is so adorable!

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  44. I actually loved the paragraph about rugs because my hubs and I have almost identical conversations about rugs just about every night these days. What is it about rugs that gets the emotions so high??

    p.s. your new rug is a beauty. congrats!

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  45. Nat have you ever baked your own Levain cookies? Prob not considering you can walk to a place where they make them for you. Well, my Google results for the recipe yielded some fantastic chocolate peanut butter babies. Try it! Or Sony't. Whatevs. Oh and...I know!...rugggggsss!! *shakes fists in fury*

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  46. I just wanted to share that I am trying this recipe and the banana bread is in the oven as I type..!

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  48. I love this recipe, it seriously never fails! I substitute the banana for canned pumpkin, and I take the fact that my boyfriend consumes it by the slab (seriously, they are door steps!) to be confirmation that it tastes good!

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  50. This is waaaaay late but where is your long down puffer jacket that you're wearing in this post from?! I need a really warm New York winter coat!

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  51. This is waaaay late, but where is your long puffer jacket you're wearing in this post from? I've been searching for a similar one for this winter!

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  52. nice ,I really like the rug.
    http://polypropylene-rugs.blogspot.com/

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