11/30/2010
Sorry for the lack of posting lately. (Has anyone even noticed? I’m sure you’ve all been busy too.) My amazing husband has been home a little over a week and I haven’t figured out where to reinsert blogging into my schedule. I’m still soaking up all the evening and weekend time I can with him. We had a great Thanksgiving. Jason smoked a 13 lb. turkey (it took 8 hours!) and we enjoyed all kind of deliciousness and fun times with his parents, my parents and a sweet family of 6 from our church (including a precious 2.5 week old baby girl that I had the privilege of holding for a wonderfully long time.) We put up our Christmas decorations, tore out some walls, chainsawed up some bushes, polished the cloffice (it’s almost done) and caught up with friends and family. It’s been a good week.
How was your Thanksgiving?
1 Comment | 
Art, Art: Cooking, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason | Tagged: thanksgiving | 
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Posted by mahlbrandt
11/24/2010
I saw some pretty fall decorations on Design*Sponge last week: first these Emily Thompson Wreaths:
Then these Bird for Bread fall garlands:
And I was inspired to gather a few of the many, many pinecones that fall from our giant pine tree every fall to make my own fall garland.
I purchased some bright blue spray paint for another project (more on that later) and I had some white spray paint on hand. I could have made this a DIY post but it was really so simple.
I laid the pinecones out on newspaper and spray painted them: 6 of each color. Spray one side, wait an hour, turn them over, spray the other side. Then I used some thin wire (string would have worked) and twisted it loosely around each end of each pinecone to make a chain.
I had some command hooks (the ones intended for Christmas lights) already up on the ceiling so it was a snap to hang my garland. We’re having Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year so I thought it would be fun to do a tiny bit of fall decorating.
Our big pine tree is not only pretty but useful, too. It provides shade for the front yard. We use the pine needles for mulch. We’ve used the pine cones for decor and kindling. But, I’ve never used the pine branches for anything. Maybe this year I’ll try making a fresh pine wreath.
Anyone ever done that? Do you have any suggestions?
Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: crafts, Art: interior design, Art: modern design | Tagged: fall garland, pine tree, pinecones, thanksgiving | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
11/23/2010
Would you like to see a quick half-done before and after? I’m in the process of renovating our laundry room. It’s an extension of the master bathroom remodel that we finished a few months ago. I’ve been wanting to put shelves above the washer and dryer. The first step was to paint the walls back there … but I couldn’t paint the whole laundry room because the other half of the room doesn’t have finished drywall. One thing at a time. So here’s the washer and dryer area before.
And here it is after / now. It’s not really done. I need to go through some of this stuff with Jason and decide what we can get rid of an what can more to the shed because I was hoping to store some other things on these shelves and they’re already full! We probably have 15 gallon cans of paint, most of which have less than a quart of paint. I’m not sure we really need to keep all that…
I have lofty dreams of storing a tub of fabric and my sewing machine in here as well as our games and a box or two of hats and gloves. Hmm … stay tuned.
3 Comments | Art, Art: bathroom renovation, Art: before & after, Art: interior design | Tagged: before & after, laundry room, remodel, renovation | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
11/22/2010
Over the Summer, Jason and I picked up several small pieces of art at an estate sale with pressed flowers, mushrooms and owls. (Closer up pictures here.) At another yard sale we found these plastic owls. I got tired of seeing them stacked up in storage so I made a hasty decision to hang them in the hallway as a collection. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. What do you think? Too busy? I’m not sure what else to do with a bunch of tiny frames.
The baby owl is living in the hallway with the art but I decided to put the mama and daddy owl in our bedroom, above the cross stitch sampler the Jason’s mom made as a wedding gift for us. Someday I’ll put the baby with the mama and daddy… you know, when it makes sense.
1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design, Family | Tagged: Art, dried flowers, mushrooms, owls, wall art | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
11/17/2010
My friend Laren and I went to an estate sale on Saturday and I picked up a few little things. It was just before close so everything was 50% off (and probably really picked over!). I couldn’t resist this sweet little pink bird planter. The paint is chipped off the beak and it was very dirty. I’m thinking of painting it white or turquoise and planting a little succulent in it.
This little glass candy dish with pink flowers and gold stems was also too sweet for me to resist. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it. I put Whoppers in it for the picture but I hate malt. I think those pink spearmints would look nice in it. My dad used to call those his Happy Pills.
And another loaf pan. I think this might be my 4th. Someday I will make more homemade bread. And maybe give it away in the loaf pan! This one with blue flowers is made by Glasbake.
1 Comment | Art, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: bird, casserole, estate sale, flower, glasbake, thrift store hunting | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
11/16/2010
Jason and I had been brainstorming what kind of architectural design element we could add to our house to create a backdrop for our spineless prickly pear cactus (which is the same color as our house.) At one point we were considering using decorative concrete block.
As we’ve also been discussing the design of a fence for our backyard, Jason decided to create the accent for the front of our house using the same style we’re thinking of for the fence. He used 1×2 untreated planks and 2×4’s for support, then stained the whole structure before mounting it onto the house. (I helped a little with that step.)
It took a little bit of getting used to but I’m really loving it now! We’ve decided to call it an architectural trellis (or an architrellis!).
1 Comment | Art, Art: gardening, Art: God's creation, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: architecture, backdrop, landscaping, trellis | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
11/15/2010
My company moved to a new office space several weeks ago. (Yes, that’s the 4th location in 4 years if you’re counting.) In the designers’ area there is a space large enough to create a lounge. Our manager suggested that the other designers and I come up with furniture ideas and present them to our boss. Here’s what we came up with, all in the $850 range:
#1: $841 Mid-century sofa from Urban Outfitters, TULLSTA chairs in white from IKEA, African Suns rug from Urban Outfitters
#2: $841 Mid-century sofa from Urban Outfitters, TULLSTA chairs in white from IKEA, Chenille rug from Urban Outfitters
#3: $827 KARLSTAD sofa from IKEA, TULLSTA chairs in white from IKEA, JORUN rug from IKEA
My two fellow designers and I decided that we liked #1 the best. Except that one design homie didn’t like the rug and he suggested red chairs instead of white so they won’t show dirt as easily:
#4: $841 Mid-century sofa from Urban Outfitters, TULLSTA chairs in red from IKEA (no rug)
I just saw while I was posting this that the Chenille rugs from Urban Outfitters are on sale for $19 … hmm. Maybe I can convince my bosses that we need one of those. Or maybe I can convince Jason that we need one in our house!
3 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: IKEA, interior design, office furniture, Urban Outfitters | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
11/12/2010
Sorry for my absence this week. Aside from my day job I’ve been soaking up lots of Jason time: going out for dates, meeting up with friends, taking a day trip to IKEA, working on landscaping projects in the dark, entertaining new friends at our home, watching shooting stars from a hot tub on a cool night … we’ve been been busy, y’all!
Where have YOU been this week?
Bonus phone photo this week: Lucy sticking her tongue out at me after I gave her a bath and a haircut.
Leave a Comment » | Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Lucy, Family: Me | Tagged: busyness, Jason, Lucy | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
myMCMlife.com 