A LITTLE HOUSEKEEPING

a few photos that brandon took a few weeks ago. (when it was still warm out!) they aren't related to anything, but every post deserves a picture!

on monday afternoon i put together the very last article for babble that i will ever write in this lifetime. it felt hugely good. friends, i've been maxxed out!! between the book and the blog and being the best mom i can be, plus other little things that come and go and attempts at having an outside life with huck and his friends, it just got to be a little dumb. really i should have done this months ago. 

so! well, this means mostly nothing in the grand scheme of things, but a lot of you have said you'll be despondent without my babble posts (exaggerating, me?) but don't worry! and thank you so much! going forward, any of the style posts i would have written for babble, i'll just write here instead. i'll even share a few forever 21 links should i find anything outstanding. (i'm working on a ridiculous yet thorough guide to navigating the forever 21 for the book, so that you all may go forth and conquer. chapter three! just kidding i have no idea.)

until then, you can find my final forever 21 round up HERE. i hope you've enjoyed reading these as much as i've enjoyed putting them together. and thank you so much to my babble editors for always being such understanding, supportive, and accommodating peeps. it's been a pleasure. 

p.s. 

my stylish friends latonya and belle have started their own line of clothes for tots. 

it's all supremely kick ass.

they're fundraising over on kickstarter, it's a worthy cause!

you can check it out HERE.

SOME RAMBLY TYPE RAMBLES

so, this is the best photo i took this week, hands down.

and now this: 

a few weeks ago my iphone stopped listening me. i'd hit the home button and nothing would happen. i'd hit it again and still nothing would happen. sometimes i thought i could see it rolling its eyes at me, so disrespectful. then one day my phone speakers up and went out on me too. now, this wasn't such a big deal. i rarely use my iphone as an actual phone (oh this weird future we live in). but that was the last straw, so i marched myself over to the apple store to have it looked at, and they declared it a problem with the phone software or something miraculously NOT having to do with me and water. (who is this mature person who is me??) then they handed me a new phone, a refurb once belonging to someone else. all my doodads and personal information got imported onto it, and then i was on my way. it took about two hours but huck snoozed in his stroller like a champ the whole time and life was generally pretty kind to me that day. pats on the back, day. thanks! all that stuff.

since then, i'll occasionally find strange reminders that this phone once belonged to somebody else. somebody who is not me. it's really creepy. i keep thinking like maybe it's haunted? for instance. one time a password prompt called me chrissy. and just today, when i was checking in my calendar to see what all i had scheduled for the next week, my calendar told me that next week was my birthday. by which i mean, next week was chrissy's birthday. 

june 7: "it's ya birthday!" 

location: "where ever you like." 

i mean, at least this chrissy person is generous with herself.

VERILY MAG FEATURE

back in february i was asked to give an interview for the teaser issue of verily magazine, 

a brand new online and print magazine launching this year. 

it was such a pleasure! 

you can check it out HERE.

i'm on page 24 talking about personal style, motherhood, and life in the city. 

the whole issue is so great! i am so proud of be a part of it. 

today peter pan walked around all day with a q-tip stuck in his beard

i don't think he minded it a bit.

::new sponsor:: darlybird

 

i am excited today to introduce you to darlybird, my newest sponsor. 

darlybird is a fun online shop with unique, hand-made and vintage jewelry, party supplies, and miscellaneous sundries (i love that word, sundries). 

if you're looking for something really rad, might i recommend the earring of the month club? 

(it's like a cheese of the month club, only you can wear it in your ears!)

thanks, darlybird!

* * * *
are you interested in sponsoring nat the fat rat?
email me here
natthefatrat{@}gmail{.}com

did you see this?

i don't think they're real.

my gut feeling tells me this.

adipose tissue tip

attn: nat the fat rat mommy. 

your child has a great excess of adipose tissue. 

this increases his chances of being a fat man quite a bit. 

he needs a slightly less wholesome diet.

you do know these blogs are recruiting tools, right?

these women and their photos may not even be real.

* * *

i knew a mormon girl once.

she ate one in&out burger a day 

because she said it satisfied her. 

(see the rat's photos of hamburgers . . . 

have we got a hamburger cult here?)

* * *

above you will find one nat, of fat rat fame, ingesting what is likely to be the best cheap slice of pizza on columbus avenue between 68th and 70th street.

just below that, you will find some really awesome comments from the comment section of the salon.com article i was interviewed for regarding mormon lifestyle bloggers. (don't read the comments. really), including one conspiracy theory, courtesy of an intelligent salon.com commenter.

now. this entire business gives me great pause.

because actually, i did survive my entire sophomore year at byu by only eating one half-pound arctic circle hamburger a day, along with a giant order of fries with fry sauce (fryyyyy sauuuuuuce), and an extra large dr. pepper. and oh, it was gooood.

and, i did eat enough hamburgers while pregnant for my anemia (doctor's orders!) that i was able to rank with conviction of spirit all of the best burgers in the neighborhood. (best one is shake shack and that is not product placement (i wish!)).

even worse: we did have plans to go to the shake shack tonight with our friends.

so.

!!

what if i am part of a hamburger cult, i started to wonder? do you think i'd know it if i were? or is it like having bad taste in men, you don't think you do, but only you totally do and everybody knows it.

luckily, at the last minute my friend had to work, so we ended up getting a slice instead, which also freed my poor mental state of its nagging cultish mental anguish.

for dessert we had cannoli and hot cocoa at the shop around the corner, which is now called "cafe sonatina." they don't allow cell phones inside, which really boiled my gourd! (the cannoli was only so-so. good cocoa though!)

when nursing in public it's important to stay hydrated. fresca does the trick.

HUCK!

And here's a picture of the cutest kid ever.

Just because. 

A LITTLE UPDATE

It is 1:24 in the afternoon and we are just starting our day here at the Casa De Holbrook. Huck was feeling frisky last night until four, and then at eight the smoke alarm started beeping at me so I had to change the batteries, and then I changed three diapers in under three minutes, and then I had to coax Barney to come out of the shower and back to bed, because strange beeping noises cause Barney to feel horribly insecure about things.

And now I am off to Apple Care to have my MacBook inspected. It's pretty exciting. And now for a picture of my new best friend.

He's pretty rad.

BIJOU!

If you'll be in Utah near the end of November, 
go to the Bijou market for me and tell me all about it!

Birthday Week Giveaway!

On Saturday I am having a birthday. (Happy Birthday to me!)

So how about a Petunia Picklebottom giveaway? 

Click here to enter!

Noteworthy, Moi?

Blogger made my silly little blog its Blog of Note today.

In the spirit of being noteworthy I will list six other things of note about me, for your reading pleasure.

1.) I am short. Short as in "can't reach the bowls" short. 

2.) My cankles are pretty noteworthy. The Holbs's college roommate even noted on them one time so you know (for once) I'm not exaggerating.

3.) I threw shot put in high school track after getting kicked off the sprints, distance, and jumps teams for being too slow, too pathetic, and too short, respectively. The shot put team, they keep everyone they can get. My PR was 8 feet.

4.) I have no kids, though not for lack of trying. I have decided I am not infertile, I am impatient.

5.) I think Diet Coke tastes best when it's from a fountain and for breakfast.

6.) My goal is to one day have pretty handwriting.

To help us get acquainted, I will refer you to this post which I wrote for my Blog's fourth birthday (my blog is so spoiled!). My more popular labels seem to be Gurgly Babies and The Holbs. You should know that I try not to take myself too seriously in here and neither should you. (I take myself plenty seriously in my real life, thanks.)

You can also check out my Etsy shop, Onesie-Twosie, should you feel so inclined.

So, welcome! Feel free to introduce yourself in the comments!

Bloggie Birthday

So, my blog just turned four. We needed to celebrate this.

It just so happened that I had a stash of Vanilla Creme Peep Hearts saved from that one Valentine's day when I hoarded them all and hid them in my desk drawers. Once marshmallow hearts were on the menu, I saw it all, glorious and sparkly, a tea party! With the dignified cast of characters that make up my little blog.

I selected my favorite couture doggie costumes to lend an air of sophistication.

I set up a nice little tea party in the middle of the spare bedroom.

We sat down for some pink lemonade tea and marshmallow hearts, and that's when it all sort of fell apart. That room is a wreck. I have clothes hanging everywhere, and a giant teetering stack of onesies to finish for an order, and it is really really hot in there after 4 p.m., and my guests were less than dignified.

Three minutes in and Barnaby had helped himself to all of the marshmallow hearts.

Peter Pan drank all of the pink lemonade.

Holbs The Photographer was in a hurry.

Barnaby's hat would not stay on.

I started to sweat.

I don't think I'll do this ever again.

Happy Birthday, Dear Blog.
Here's to however much longer I can keep this up.

And now,
Nat The Fat Rat
The Cliffs Notes version
I live in New York City.
I regale you with tales of subways and weather and going to the atm and things.
We get Peter Pan.
The Holbs decides to go to law school, we leave New York and move to Idaho, ushering in the Nerd Era.
I start to really really want a baby. We don't have much success, but I still have hope.
I decide to turn over a new leaf.
I will always hate game nights.
My candidate wins (jury still out.)
We don't make it to Hawaii for Christmas.
I finally quit my soul-sucking job.
Peter Pan almost dies but lives to pee another day.
We go to San Jose for the summer.

The End.

ANNOUNCEMENT

The Holbrooks are moving to San Jose for the summer
...in one week
(we just found out today)
Lord have mercy.

Change Of Address

People, people!

You can now find me at
www.natthefatrat.com

I know, right?

Typing all those letters - b-l-o-g-s-p-o-t - was just too much to handle for me. So I killed that.

You don't have to update anything - if you have my blog on a bookmark or a favorites list (a girl can dream) or if you are a creature of habit, the blogspot address will work and will forward you on.

Okay, that's all! Carry on!

By Way Of Explanation

I have just finished cleaning up the archives of a blog I used to keep while I lived in New York City. I moved them all to this here pretty website. I blogged back then because I had so many stories to tell and not enough phone-minutes in which to tell them.

And then, oh, I don't know, I just fell out of love with blogging. And I moved to Idaho, where exciting things don't really happen. And then I got a real job, suffered through Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) (but true), and it is for the best that no record was kept. Trust me.

And then a few things happened all rather quickly:

1. I discovered a blog (a blog!) of all things, and somehow it helped me feel less alone, and more in control of my own happiness; 2. My creative skins became all itchy again and needed a really good scratching; and 3. I decided to make exciting things happen for me, instead of just waiting around for something good.

Blogging is great because, if done right, you can create a world for yourself where all of the small but wonderful moments are magnified and kept and shared, and where people who've never met can inspire and encourage each other to be better.

So, after a bit of housekeeping, I am ready to go. I am itchy to record the funny little things in life that make me oh so happy, and all of the things I'm doing.

Mostly, I am ready to create my life. This is a small but important step for me - I am about to make my life a little bit better.

Are you with me!?