Birthdays are Fun!

06/24/2010

Actually, I could have called this post Gifts are Fun! But that sounds kind of … materialistic. Maybe gifts is my love language. Regardless, I’m so thankful for each of my thoughtful, wonderful friends and family members and I got some really neat things that I thought I’d share with you. Not literally, you know, just in pictures.

I mentioned yesterday that my first birthday gift was Gee-Wiz.

My sister and brother-in-law sent this beautiful bag from a recent trip to Nicaragua. It seems to match almost everything and is the perfect size!

My brother and his wife sent The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey since I’ve been wanting to read it. I forgot to take a photo but really, it’s not a pretty book anyway.

I got a canister of my all-time favorite tea, Mango Ceylon Republic of Tea, from our friends Nate and Kala. Yummy! I have this everyday and somehow never get sick of it.

My sister-in-law found some great things, just my style. A cute screen printed burlap bag containing a cute little retro journal, gift certificate for a manicure (we’ll go together), and this really fun book by Pop Ink called Fluffy Humpy Poopy Puppy. Tons of wonderful illustrations and funny quips. I need another copy to cut up and frame.

And the mack-daddy of crafting inspiration: Martha Stewert’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. My parents got me this lovely book and a metal water canteen.

My dear husband got me some new tank tops that I LOVE! I can only find a photo online of this one, which is actually more of a beach cover up. (Hooray for beach vacation next month!)

And our friends Leila and Jeremy went over the top giving me a new outfit (skinny jeans and a shirt), candy (that I’ve already eaten), swimming googles (that are already in my pool bag) and a handmade pocket mirror (that I’m too lazy to dig out of my purse to photograph.)

Thanks everyone!! I feel very loved!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

A Weekend Recap

03/02/2010

“Some weekends are so busy, I can’t wait for the week to start.” – Jason

We kicked of the weekend by having some friends over for a late dinner. Jason grilled some chicken (I love being able to grill year-round!) and I made PW’s baked lemon pasta. It was a delicious hit. Late dinner led to late night chattin it up with good friends.

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Saturday morning I kissed Jason goodbye and headed off to a PJ breakfast baby shower. Brilliant! (Was that your idea, Jenna?) So fun to sit around with a bunch of my favorite ladies in our comfies eating waffles and quiches and watching our friend unwrap lots of adorable little girly outfits.

I spent Saturday afternoon preparing for baby shower #2. Making a bunting banner. Baking a guitar-shaped cake. Cleaning the house. Arranging the table and furniture.

Saturday I had a girls night with my sister-in-law and our good friend while our husbands were all out on the road.  It was fun to watch a chick flick – He’s Just Not That into You. I have to say, it’s kind of a depressing picture of marriage and dating these days, though. Definitely makes me appreciate my marriage!

Jason got home sometime in the middle of the night Saturday and was up and gone to set up at church before I woke up Sunday morning. I was a couple minutes late but the service was great. Something is about to explode. It’s so exciting! People are so hungry for more of God’s presence that no one wants to leave.

I did eventually scurry out so I could get back home to finished prepping for the Rockin’ Baby Party. Bake artichoke dip. Tie balloons to the mail box. Give directions over the phone. Set out chips, salsa, guacamole, hummus, crackers, pita, sushi, guitar cake, punch. The party was a hit and I hope our friends were blessed. I didn’t think to count but I’m pretty sure that’s the most people we’ve ever had in our house; definitely the most kids we’ve had running around at one time. Lucy was a great vacuum gobbling up all of the cake and crunched chips that the kiddos left behind.

Fun weekend but we were pooped! We were both asleep by 10pm on Sunday night which is extremely rare in this house. Phew!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

02/05/2010

Setting this idea aside for Miss Future Offspring.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Happy Groundhog Day!

02/02/2010

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It’s Groundhog Day and we have snow on the ground. Not a good sign for an early spring. Being from Pennsylvania, February 2 was always a fun little holiday and a worthy cause for a party in elementary school. Will Phil see his shadow? Will we have 6 more weeks of winter?!

Random fact: my granny was from Punxatawny, PA.

Buy that cute little groundhog and/or read a brief history of the holiday here.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Happy Christmas Eve!

12/24/2009

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I LOVE this picture. It captures the essence of Christmas decor I want to have in my home. It also sent my husband and me on a mad search for bottle brush trees. (Once I finally figured out what they’re called!) I’ve found some on Etsy but I was hoping to come across some vintage ones at local thrift stores. No beans.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Not Too Trashy, Right?

10/12/2009

Jason and I spent the afternoon Saturday making cold frames (mini greenhouses) for some of our tender plants—agave, hen & chicks, pineapples, cherry tomatoes, palm tree. They’re actually very simple to make using old wood-frame windows screwed together with 3″ screws. Just be careful not to break the glass with the screws. (We only did that once.)

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We’re using storm windows to cover the tops of the frames and black trash bags under the greenhouses to attract more sunlight.

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These should work well for starting seedlings in the spring too.

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I thought this snail was cute. Jason thought it was gross. Then we cracked the glass in this window.

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A Chinese windmill palm (I think…) is frost hearty after it’s been established for a couple of years. This is it’s first winter so we’re being extra cautious with a cold frame.

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The moral of the story is: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. These windows were recycled. My parents had new windows put in their house last year and Jason snagged all the old ones before they got tossed. So… these look not too trashy, right?

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Lucy, our Mid-Century-Modern Life mascot, kept an eye on things from the lounge chair. She’ll be 5 next month. She’s really starting to act like an old dog, which we find to be very entertaining.

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Even though it was cold outside (I’m allowed to call 60º cold, right?) Jason and I enjoyed a lemon berry fruit slush from Sonic. Happy Hour baby! This giganto drink was only $1.03!!

3 Comments | Art, Art: crafts, Art: God's creation, Art: modern design, Family: Lucy | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
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:

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and Benjamin:

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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:

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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:

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I hope she likes it!

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

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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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Posted by mahlbrandt

2009 East Nashville Tomato Art Fest

08/12/2009

One of my favorite things about East Nashville is the annual Tomato Art Fest in historic 5-Points. There are all kinds of activities like a 5K run, red-head contests, tomato beauty pageants, NOLA-style parade, vintage fashion shows, local artisan vendors, burrito eating contests, wine tastings, bloody mary contests, lots of tomato inspired art and like every Nashville festival — tons of live music. I’ll let the photos do most of the talking.

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Wonders on Woodland mid-century antiques:

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More vintage items for sale out front. I Dream of Weenie in the background. (I love these goofballs.)

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Fanny’s House of Music:

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The Groove new & used vinyl, CD’s & more:

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Perfect Jeans

08/05/2009

I have to admit, I’m pretty pleased right now. I found exactly what I was looking for—a pair of crisp, dark-wash, work-appropriate  jeans—at Old Navy on clearance for $7.50. (I don’t even look at the regular-priced jeans anymore.) The jeans were almost perfect. They were about 1/2″ too long and the waistband was too loose. Don’t you hate that about ON jeans? The hips fit fine but when I sat down the waistband flung wide open in the back. After reading this so-so tutorial on bringing in the waistline on loose-fitting jeans, I decided to try sewing darts in the back.

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(Sorry, there was a smudge on my lens … in ALL of these pictures.)

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After that went pretty smoothly, I thought I’d also tackle hemming the bottoms to the perfect heel-length.

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The darts don’t lay perfectly flat since the denim is so think. I think a shirt will cover it most of the time, though.

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I wonder if I should have made them a little shorter since I usually end up wearing flats. I guess this is my motivation to wear heels more often.

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No more “window to the crack” in the back.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Love Painting #2

08/04/2009

The second “love painting” is finally done and hanging above the new mcm credenza in our bedroom. (Did you see Love Painting #1?) Hubby and I quite pleased with it and we’re already talking about doing more paintings like this.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

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