Retired Paint Pants

08/31/2009

It’s time to toss this pair of jeans. (Some of my pants mysteriously started shrinking around the time I turned 25). Is it odd that I’m a little sad to say goodbye to them?

paintjeans

They’re pants are a denim scrapbook of the past 2 years …

“artichoke” fromthe exterior of our house
“quietude” from the living room
“softest green” from the kitchen and bathroom
dark gray from the exterior trim
chocolate milk brown from the bedroom
pea soup green from my office
“black fox”, “dill”, “bon voyage”blue and “antique white”  from 2 weeks ago (painting my company’s office)

I wonder what color I’ll be painting next … and where.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

08/28/2009

phonephotofri

2009-08-28

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Bathroom Renovation Stage 1 of 10

08/27/2009

Master bathroom renovations have begun! I forgot to take a true before picture and because our master bath is our least favorite room in our house … we don’t have many pictures of it in the before state. Here’s what I do have:

bathroombefore

(Notice the builders’ beige? The only place it’s left in the house.) I created this floor plan a few months ago, which shows how getting rid of the wall around the toilet will create more room for a vanity and building in a large shower will create a separated laundry room (not to scale):

floorplansw-notes

The picture below shows the french door into the master bedroom, the door to the toilet closet and the toilet closet. (Why are bathrooms so hard to photograph?)

towardsmasterbefore

We plan to do the walls of the shower and the laundry room and bathroom floors in large gray slate-like tiles. The shower floor and vanity counter-top will be some kind of pretty small tiles. Mid-century 1″ square tiles if we can find some at a salvage yard or online. Any supplier suggestions? Also, we’re hunting for the perfect mid-century vanity/credenza/cabinet/dresser to use as a sink vanity.

By the way, I don’t know if the reno will be 10 stages but we’re definitely taking our time, doing one thing at a time.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Babies and Elephants

08/26/2009

It seems like every few weeks I find out another friend is pregnant. Does that just happen at my age or are A LOT of people pregnant right now?

The best part of having pregnant friends is, of course, babies! Last week I got to meet 2 new babies!

Mikaelyn:

mikaelyn

and Benjamin:

ben

I had to patiently wait 2.5 weeks to meet handsome little Benjamin. (He lives out of town.) But it was worth the wait! Mikaelyn, on the other hand, I had the privilege of meeting 1 day after she was born. How cool is it to hold a newborn baby?? I’m so AMAZED at the miracle of life — to be able to hold a little bugger that just INSIDE my friend the day before. It blows my mind. God is so awesome!

I sewed Mikaelyn a fleece elephant pillow:

mika_ele1

mika_ele2

Her room is decorated in an elephant theme and I really wanted to come up with a design that was an “M” and also an elephant. (Can you tell I’m a graphic designer?) After a couple of days of searching and sketching, I found this inspiration finally:

mika_ele_insp

I hope she likes it!

mika_hosp1

Jason and I look pretty good with one of these, don’t you think?

mika_hosp2

Though I do have to say, if our future-someday-theoretical baby comes out with a full head of dark hair like these 2 did, I’ll be completely shocked!

I was making the elephant pillow WHILE Mikaelyn was bring delivered so I didn’t pause long enough to take step-by-step photos. However, if anyone is interested, I can draw up instructions. Just let me know!

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Blackberry Hand Pies

08/25/2009

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Mmm… hello delicious! I made these sweet little blackberry hand pies using this recipe. (You’ll have to go there to get ingredient amounts and specific instructions—I won’t take credit for someone else’s work.) As an inexperienced cook  I thought it’d be fun to document my adventure with step-by-step photos.

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Blend flour, butter, salt and shortening in food processor. Pulse in a little cold water.

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Wrap up dough and refrigerate at least an hour.

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Warm blackberries in a sauce pan. (I used frozen.)

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Add sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch.

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Gently heat into a sauce. Set aside.

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Roll out dough. Find something round to use as a template. (This is my first homemade pie crust. Please don’t criticize my rolling skills!)

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Plop a spoonful of blackberry yumminess into circle of dough.

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Carefully rest loaded pastry on a baking sheet and seal with a fork.

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Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with sugar. (I used my finger as a “brush”. Shhh… don’t tell anyone.)

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Bake. Be patient a minute. Serve to your husband!

(And enjoy one for yourself, too, of course.)

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Posted by mahlbrandt

What my nightstand says about me

08/24/2009

What’s on my nightstand?

an IKEA lamp
an copy of Alice in Wonderland from the 1940’s (on loan from my sister-in-law … it belonged to her grandmother)
Paper Source catalog
Vaseline
Geriatric size digital alarm clock
Dust

nightstand

What does this say about me?

I love cheap and modern home decor. I like to read before falling asleep or graze through creative stationery catalogs. I have a very sweet, trusting sister-in-law. My lips are soft in the morning. I can’t see anything more than 18″ from my face without my glasses on. Cleaning is not a priority for me, much to my sweet husband’s perturbation.

* * * * *

That all sounds about right. 🙂 Got this idea from Joy the Baker. She has lots of delicious dessert recipes on her blog. This nightstand reveal idea was actually an intro to a Lemon Rosemary Palmier cookie recipe but I thought it would be fun to do my own.

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Drive-By [Photo] Shooting (MCM Architecture)

08/23/2009

drivebyMCM

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Location: NW Nashville/Bordeaux

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Fruit-sicles

08/21/2009

If you live in Nashville surely you’re familiar with Las Paletas, our local gourmet popsicle dealer. They’re delicious and absolutely creative in their flavors (all made with real fruit and natural ingredients).

popsicles

•

But… they can be a bit pricey. So I decided to make my own. Hubs and I make smoothies at home all the time so this was a simple adaptation. I blended up a mix of way-too-many kinds of frozen fruit (we buy bags of frozen fruit and freeze our own bananas), sugar, and water. Then I carefully spooned the mixture into my popsicle molds. Easy peasy!

process

Might as well make yourself a smoothie while you’re at it…

inthefreezer

Afterall, it takes a while for the fruit-sicles to freeze.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

08/21/2009

phonephotofri

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Cup of Inspiration

08/20/2009

myfavoritemug

I’m very sad to report that my favorite tea cup — the one I use EVERYday — the one that my best friend fellow graphic designer gave me — did not survive the office move. :: sad tears ::

naturallynina

I just discovered a new blog called Naturally Nina and it’s full of beautiful inspiration. Her mug shot post (where I found these pictures) gives me hope. I will find a new “design-licious receptacle” for my morning cup of tea.

mugshots

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