Natalie Steen

📍 Houston, TX | Creative Consultant & Founder of The Nat Note

Why Natalie?

Leah Brady recommended Natalie, who writes a popular weekly fashion newsletter The Nat Note. While I may not be the target demographic, I’ve enjoyed subscribing to the Nat Note to pick up tips on how she displays and curates her recommendations each week. Check it out!

“Natalie Steen is a creative consultant and the creator of The Nat Note, a fashion newsletter delivering curated shopping suggestions for women, children and the home in Natalie’s signature collages - the “Notes”. What began as a creative outlet for Natalie when she began practicing law in 2016 is now a coveted newsletter with loyal subscribers - and her fresh, bold style acts as a filter for the finds she shares each week. Natalie is a Cuban-American, Miami, Florida native living in Houston, Texas with her husband Jamey and their sons, Whit (4) and George (1).”

Instagram: @thenatnote

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Natalie’s Recommendations

Written in Natalie’s own words…

📰 Newsletter: The Nat Note

Going to take the self-promotional route here and say my newsletter, The Nat Note. It goes out every Monday morning and is purposefully meant to add some fun to the otherwise dreaded Monday inbox. Each newsletter includes 50+ products in the womenswear/children/homeware categories (and sometimes, menswear) that I've personally curated based on what I think is interesting and worth checking out. You can subscribe here (and rest easy knowing your inbox won't be inundated - I only send one email a week).

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🛒 Shop: LilyEve

Recently discovered LilyEve jackets made from up cycled & vintage Hermes, Chanel and other designer fabrics by Lily, 25, and her business partner, Michel, 88 - they are fabulous.

🛒 Shop: Houses & Parties

Always but especially during the holidays, I can't get enough of Houses & Parties for all things merriment and entertaining.

🧸 Kid’s Toys: KiwiCo

I'm always on the lookout for toys and activities that will occupy my sons' attention span for more than 5 minutes (without burning their brains with too much blue light) and was thrilled to learn of KiwiCo, makers of over 2,000 age-appropriate and educational hands-on projects created by a team of educators, makers, engineers, and rocket scientists. I could go on.... or you could just subscribe to my newsletter to see what I've found each week.

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📲 App: HiNote

HiNote is a cool app that offers a new way to text with clever and stylish messages that you can personalize and send via text message. It's perfect for those communications that you want to feel less formal than an emailed or paper invite and more formal than a regular text.

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💪 Well-Being: Purefinity Magnesium Gummies

I swear by taking magnesium gummies every night - it helps me temporarily turn my brain off and sleep, which in turn prevents burn out and helps me be an energizer bunny during the day.

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📺 Content: @houseinhabit

Jessica Reed Kraus' Instagram highlights, "where pop culture deep dives mingle with quality conspiracy theories, lifestyle highlights, and trending water cooler gossip." I can't get enough.

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🍺 Drink: Athletic Brewing

This is quite niche, but this is a wonderful non-alcoholic beer (take it from the pregnant lady with a craving for things she can't have).

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💼 Professional: Focus relentlessly on your professional satisfaction

I have note saved on my computer copy-pasted from the sign off of an end of semester email from one of my Penn Law professors that reads: “Focus relentlessly on your professional satisfaction. No employer will care nearly as much about that as you should. It's easy to sublimate your satisfaction to every day pressures. Don't do it! Protect yourself and the value of your career by doing things that matter to you and others.” I’m not practicing law anymore (in large part because I followed this advice!) - but it’s sentiment is widely applicable and still rings true. In short - don’t spend your days not doing what you love.

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🎁 Gift: Dead & Company

I'm feeling pretty good about my gift to my husband this year - tickets to see Dead & Company which I'll print out and present with this ornament.

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🎼 Music: Ebo Taylor or Sam Cooke Radio

You can never go wrong with putting on Ebo Taylor or Sam Cooke radio and letting Spotify do it's thing.

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✈ Travel: Use a Travel Planner (Kate Johnson)

It was pretty game-changing to use a travel planner - I love working with Kate Johnson and am looking forward to planning our vacation for next summer. I'm having my third in February, so am very much manifesting a child-free week in the South of France with my husband.

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💻 Amazon: Projector Clock

If you don't already have a projector clock - let me be the one to tell you that you need one. It removes the need to pick up/look at your phone to know what time it is - perfect for insomniacs, parents of young children, and those who frequent the snooze button.

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Final Hits from Natalie

• Recent Passion: Welcoming a baby girl in February and a newfound passion for pickle ball.

• Ideal Saturday: Spending the day with my husband & my boys. Spending the evening with my husband while a babysitter watches my boys :)

• ‘Hidden Gem’: Mislabeled and/or mispriced items on The Real Real.

• Brand Loyalty: I'm a serial brand polygamist.

Thanks Natalie!

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Gift Giving Round-Up!

• What was the best gift you gave? I’ll want to resurface these again next year.

• Did you end up using any of the recommendations from the gift guide?

Please comment below to let me know!