Brooke Williams and her daughter Ada, photographed by Noa Griffel, in their Brooklyn apartment

Scan through Brooke Williams’ CV and one question keeps coming to mind: What hasn’t she done? Not only is she the brains behind the popular blog This Is Authentic, but the Brooklyn resident doubles (or is that triples? quadruples?) as a photographer, DJ and musician. In a former life, she was an editor with serious publishing creds too — Cookie and Domino magazines, among them. And we haven’t even gotten around to her 24/7 job as a hands-on mother who crafts everything from stuffed animals to Matisse-like wall decor with her daughter, Ada. Here, wearing Tory’s Savora tweed coat, this modern-day Renaissance woman dishes on all things motherhood — plus, she shares her tips on taking great photos with the kids and her very own just-in-time-for-Mother’s Day playlist.

The story behind my blog, This Is Authentic
When I was a kid, I would chronicle events that were upsetting/significant to me on paper and then write “THIS IS AUTHENTIC” in all caps on the bottom before signing them and tossing them into a box. When I grew up and worked as a magazine editor, I found I was constantly forced to tailor the subjects I wrote about to suit someone else’s taste — be it the people higher up the masthead food chain or the dreaded “advertisers”. I finally started a blog so that I could have a place to write about (and photograph) the things and people I was into without worrying about anyone else’s approval. At the beginning, it felt a bit like putting a message into a bottle and tossing it into the ocean, just like those missives from my childhood. Only eventually, this time around, more people started to pay attention. And the sense of community is a really wonderful thing.

My Mother’s Day traditions now…
I always get to sleep late (best gift ever!) and then have breakfast in bed. We usually have a fairly lazy day, which often includes finishing up whatever gifts we are making for my mom and sister, and then Ada and [my husband] Josh team up with my father and nephew to make dinner for the three mothers in the family.

And when I was growing up…
We didn’t have any strict traditions… just to spend the whole day together as a family. My dad traveled a lot when we were kids, so it was always a treat to get to have unstructured time together. We would let my mom sleep in (she has always been a late riser — even now she’ll sleep late whenever she can!) and then serve her breakfast in bed. My father is an incredible cook, so we could all count on some delicious meals that day. It’s funny how little things have changed!

Best Mother’s Day gift I’ve given…
For me, Mother’s Day has always been a very personal holiday… more about spending time together and letting all of the mothers in my life know how much I appreciate them. So I’ve always tended towards something handmade or super personal. I think the current top runner in the best-Mother’s-Day-gift-given category is probably the handmade lip gloss that I made with my daughter for both my mom and my aunt (I blogged about it here).

And received…
A Jill Platner necklace made of tiny silver alphabet blocks that spell out my daughter’s name (ADA AMALIA)

Best lesson my mother taught me…
To trust your instincts.

And the best lesson learned from being a mom…
One evening, when Ada was three, she turned to me, after listening to me complain about a frustrating experience dealing with annoying red tape, and said, very seriously, “You have to be nicer to yourself, mommy. Don’t be so angry. It’s all going to be OK.” Wise words from a three year old. I think that was the moment I began to take my daughter seriously as a person and to recognize that her opinion is valid and worthy of serious consideration. Not that she gets to do whatever she wants… kids need limits to be able to feel safe and function with grace. But the only way to truly teach them how to respect others is by treating them with respect as well. Having a kid constantly reminds me just how important it is to be present with everyone, no matter how small.

The lesson I hope to pass on to my kids…
If I can teach Ada how to roll with the punches and to face the world with confidence, curiosity, grace and kindness, then I’ll have done a good job. Oh, and maybe get her to become some kind of martial arts Jedi as well as a computer programming whiz so that she can be a next-generation superheroine. Not that I have high expectations or anything…

A typical weekend with the family involves…
Spending some time outside, which has been very snow-centric for what seems like ages but which will hopefully soon turn into time in the garden and walks on the beach. Laying on the couch reading a book aloud — we just finished Chuck Dugan is AWOL by Eric Chase Anderson (Wes Anderson’s brother). Building some kind of civilization out of blocks or Legos or Magna-Tiles. Watching at least one movie — Funny Girl has been a recent favorite, but I feel a resurgence of the Harry Potter movies coming on. Shopping, cooking and eating — we are all farmers’ market junkies and Josh is a true wizard in the kitchen, so both Ada and I learn a ton when we cook together as a family

My favorite mommy-and-me time involves…
Every morning I wake Ada with a mug of herbal tea and a few minutes of reading aloud — we both love a good story. We also have a lot of fun making things together like little stuffed animals for party favors or a felt carrying case for Josh’s computer. We work together, soup to nuts, from drawing a design to sourcing materials to the actual sewing (or cutting or gluing or whatever!). Ada has such imaginative ideas — we always end up with something great!

My tips to taking great photos with the kids…
Take lots of them! I always find that if you create a comfortable situation and then just shoot loads of images, you are bound to come up with a few great ones. It’s all about capturing a genuine moment, which means that sometimes the best shots are the unplanned ones.

The Williams’ household soundtrack…
We tend to stay away from “children’s music” in the Williams/Liberson household, though a little Free To Be… You and Me slips through the cracks every now and then. I just play all sorts of music that I like and then whatever Ada responds to goes into heavier rotation… It makes for a pretty eclectic mix. Everything from Prince, Sam Cooke and Carole King to slightly more esoteric stuff like Javelin, Jun Miyake and Lesley Gore. The only underlying principle is that the music makes us happy. I’ve actually started a monthly playlist on This Is Authentic here, so you can check out some of our family favorites!

Follow Brooke Williams on Twitter and Instagram.

Read more features from our Mother’s Day Issues, past and present.

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