Featured Mama: Gabrielle Brennan, Co-Owner Rebel Field
I'm beyond excited to share today's post with you. Today I'm spotlighting Gabrielle Brennan. Gabrielle is the co-owner of Rebel Field, an amazing mother, unbelievably supportive friend, and a constant inspiration to me.
Gabrielle loaned me my first baby-food cookbooks and recommended the awesome baby-food maker I used to make C's first foods. Before he was born she cooked freezer meals with me and after we came home from the hospital she was here stocking my fridge with delicious treats. Along with being a kick-ass entrepreneur she is the friend I turn to for new recipe ideas, style tips, music recommendations, and parenting advice.
She's worked incredibly hard this past year to turn her inspiration for Rebel Field into a reality while also staying home full time with her sweet, silly, and wild son. I just got my first order from Rebel Field in the mail and can tell you that their products are just as beautiful and stylish as Gabrielle. I love the Freedom Flags, they are stunning!
Somehow she makes it look effortless. Below she shares a little bit about her company, her experiences feeding a toddler, and how she pulls it all off.
You launched Rebel Field this month and I could not be more excited about it! Right off the bat tell me a little bit about RF.
Thank you! It really has been such an exciting week to say the least. The support from my personal network of friends and family has been overwhelming and I could not be more thankful. Rebel Field is a home goods and apparel company inspired by the history of New England with the goal of celebrating local heritage by collaborating with regional modern makers. Our hope is that we can preserve the essence and ethos of early Americana, all while putting a modern design twist and applying this concept to goods we use everyday.
Where did your inspiration come from?
The idea for RF was born out of a need, as most things are...I was looking for a version of one of the early New England flags, Trumbull's Continental, to hang in my house and quickly discovered there were no quality options.
See more about her inspiration and get the full story of this beautiful flag on the Rebel Field website.
It's a long journey from concept to reality, what was your process for getting started?
First, it was all about getting inspired. I did a lot of "field research" in Concord, Lexington, Lincoln and Arlington - going to historical sites, museums and shops. I also did research the old fashion way and went to the library. Once I had a greater understanding of the history and stories behind the early flags, I knew what direction I wanted to go in.
Second, it was time to find someone to help me design the flags (three all together). I don't have a background in illustration or graphic design so I needed to find someone that could take my vision and put it on "paper". Once we had the designs, it was about building the brand - What was the vision? The voice? The visual identity?
I know how crazy it is to be home alone with a kiddo! How do you pull off creating a company and being a full time stay at home mom?
Ha! This is a very good question! When you figure out the secret, will you tell me? Haha, but in all seriousness, I am still trying to figure out that balance. When my son was three months old, I went back to my full-time corporate event management gig and ended up leaving when he was 18 months old. The stay at home mom gig, is a new one for me. I have always seen myself as an "all or nothing" type - so finding the balance has been a bit of a struggle as I am getting busier with Rebel Field.
All that being said, there are a few things that help me get close to finding the balance between mom and business person:
1. I am lucky that Harlan still takes naps so I usually use that time as wisely as possible.
2. I have a super supportive mother and husband - my mom takes Harlan once a week and my husband manages bath-time most nights
3. I have a super smart, talented and supportive business partner, Jessie Rogers. Jessie is my friend and long-time collaborator so we have a great way of working with one another and picking up where the other leaves off.
On the days when it's just me and my little dude, he is my first priority, but there are still times when I am answering emails while Harlan is playing with his Legos, but I try and keep that to a minimum and fight my urge to instantly return someone's email.
What are some of your favorite things to do with Harlan?
Harlan is all about nature so some of our favorite things to do involve being outside. We frequent Mass Audubon sites, especially Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, MA. Drumlin Farm is a working organic farm that focuses on education - I can not recommend it enough. Another nature-based activity we do together is hiking. We have always gone for wood walks with Harlan since he was just a tiny munchkin, but now he wants to walk himself. We usually search for specific items to get him really engaged like acorns, mushrooms, bugs, moss on rocks, etc... He gets really into it! It really warms my heart that he is so into the great outdoors and it really sparks his imagination.
Harlan has also shown a great interest in painting and coloring so when we can't go outside, we are usually working on a craft project. We are currently making Christmas ornaments for family members.
Did you have a particular method for introducing Harlan to foods?
When we were first introducing new foods to Harlan, we followed a couple of baby food books that were recommended to us. We started with grains/rice then moved to fruits and veggies. We focused on mostly a vegetarian diet because my husband and I eat mostly vegetarian. We really tried to feed him what we were eating, but babified. I put a lot of time into making almost all his food and this is something I am really proud of since I was working full-time. I know not every parent can do this 100%, but it's something that was important to me. But of course, on the flip side, when I was in a pinch and needed to feed Harlan prepared baby food - he disliked it - that little guy knew the difference!
In retrospect, I would have done a couple things differently when introducing foods:
1. I would have let him get more messy with food. There are a brief period he would be really bummed out if he had food on his hands and it would distract him from eating.
2. I wish I got a little bit more experimental mixing textures and using more spices to flavor. Even though we did do this a little bit, I wish I did it more! Maybe we would be more experimental now, but who knows!
Harlan was one of those eat anything babies right? He is almost three now. What’s changed in terms of feeding him now vs. then?
At first, when we introduced solid food to Harlan, he would basically eat anything. Then he became a toddler and that "eat anything momma gives you" flew right out the window. He has a core group of foods that he will always eat and he is mostly concerned with texture these days. If we get lucky and he tries something new, if he doesn't like the texture regardless of taste, he will not eat it.
In terms of getting him to try something new, we usually try and make it fun, make up a little song to try and convince him he will like it. Most of the time it doesn't work, but we keep trying! I read that you have to introduce a new food to a child sometimes over ten times before they will try it, regardless of like it, so we just keep trying.
Before my husband and I had Harlan, we said, "we will never be Mac n' Cheese parents". I laugh now, because I am totally OK with being a Mac n' Cheese parent. We balance out the Annie's with broccoli, carrots, avocados, apples and bananas so again, we strive for balance! We are lucky that Harlan likes a good balance of protein, grains and fruits/veggies - even if the rotation is limited, it's healthy and I am holding out hope that he will get more experimental as he moves into turning three in January. Fingers crossed!
Do you have a favorite food to share together or to cook for him?
Harlan is great at sharing food actually! He is very generous and doesn't hesitate to give you his last bite. He did this really sweet thing with my husband a couple months ago - they were eating popcorn together and it came down to the last kernel- Harlan picked it up and split it in half, gave one half to his dad and ate the other. So that being said, I really like snacking with Harlan. Like me, he loves a good crunch! We really like rice crackers, popcorn and goldfish of course.
Harlan is just starting to be come interested in the process of cooking. My husband actually started cooking with him more recently. Recently they have made English muffin pizzas, cheeseburgers and scrambled eggs. Harlan really enjoyed cracking the eggs!
I asked Gabrielle for a couple of her favorite recipes and the recipes she shared perfectly sum up the warm wonderful feeling I get when I hang out in her kitchen on a rainy day. I can't wait to try them.
I'm obsessed with turmeric milk. I always use coconut milk for the base. This is a good recipe to go off of. I always recommend using fresh turmeric and fresh ginger for the recipe although you could use powder if fresh isn't readily available. I usually add a little bit of water and a few whole cloves for simmering. My fellow chai lovers will be into this, but it has greater health benefits.
The other recipe is classic and both kid/parent approved (in moderation of course). The Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie! This recipe is divine.:
Chocolate Chip Cookies: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015819-chocolate-chip-cookies
Harlan is really into dark chocolate so we tend to use as dark chocolate as possible. He is not super into sweets yet, but he does love a good chocolate chip cookie. I like my cookie chewy and just a little crispy on the edges - it just really feels indulgent and that's what I want to feel when eating a cookie. Also, sea salt. I'm always sold if my sweet has a little salt.
Enjoy!
