08/23/2016
Jason and I are excited to announce our new project: a custom, modern 2-story, 3 BR, 2.5 bath house to be built beside our home, right here in Rosewood Heights in East Nashville. We loved the process of building and designing a home. We love real estate, architecture and interior design. Since we have no plans to move right now, we started to dream about what we could do with the piece of land between our driveway and our neighbor’s house. We’ve decided to build a house to sell. We’re excited to be working with architect Ryan Thewes again.
Rosewood Heights is 3.5 miles from Nissan Stadium (where the Tennessee Titans play), a mile down the street from East Nashville’s 3 Points (Jeni’s Splendid ice creams, Ugly Mugs coffee, Eastland Cafe, Rosepepper Cantina and a bunch more) but just a block away from Shelby Bottoms Greenway (960 acres of natural area along the Cumberland River, connected to Shelby Park) all of which means we have the perks of urban city living AND we still have deer eating our shrubs.
We’re calling it Rosewood Heights House. Follow along with our progress on Instagram @rosewoodheights.
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Art, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Art: Rosewood Heights House | Tagged: modern home, rosewood heights house, rosewoodheights | 
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Posted by mahlbrandt
06/01/2016
Jason and I had been talking for some time about a bigger shelving unit or built-in shelving in our living room to make better use of the large wall space. (Tons of ideas on his Shelving Units Pinterest board here.) After looking at a lot of pre-made and vintage options, as well as contacting a subcontractor, Jason ultimately decided to tackle this project himself. In one of my nesting moods, I started emptying everything off of the bookshelf (it’s from IKEA, many years ago, called ENETRI) and made room for it in the den/playroom. I was craving more storage for toys in the play area.
Before:
After:
I’m really happy with how it turned out. We still need to do some arranging on the living room shelves and we need a boat load of bookends so all our books aren’t stacked horizontally.
People often ask us how we keep our living room so clean. Here’s the answer: the toys all stay in the playroom and in the kids’ rooms. Organization is my jam. Every bin in the playroom has a specific purpose and I purge and rotate toys fairly often. We use the living room for sitting, resting, reading and occasionally watching TV. It’s mostly an adult room. I spend the most time here in the morning for an hour before the kids wake up for my quiet time and during their afternoon naps when I need to put my feet up for a few minutes.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
04/20/2016
Isaiah and Josephine will be almost irish twins—more than a year apart but only by 2-3 months. Since they’ll both be using the changing station and be rocked in the rocking chair, it made the most sense to put them in the same room for this stage. (Though JoJo will sleep in a Moses basket in our room for the first few weeks or months while she’s feeding frequently through the night.) The other reason I opted for the double nursery was space; two cribs and two dressers fit more easily into this room than adding a crib and dresser into big sister Alianna’s already-quite-full bedroom. Much to her dismay because she desperately wants to share her room with her sister. That day will come, Ali, I promise.
Zay is now in the full size blue crib, the same one Ali used for her first two years. It’s from IKEA, called Somnat. The little green bookshelf was a thrift store makeover I did a couple years ago. The French Paper monkey poster was a gift from a friend. I made Isaiah’s name sign while I was pregnant with him last year. The album cover is from my favorite band Needtobreathe’s recent Steams in the Wasteland, based on a passage of scripture from Isaiah that I love. The canvas was a gift from my friend Steph and says, “Take a deep breath, you’re home now.” I see it every day while I’m rocking and feeding Zay and it reminds me to pause and be thankful.
The green fleece (cut up strips from a blanket) are to protect the crib rails from my little beaver who likes to teeth on wood. I saw the cheap, no-sew idea on Pinterest.
The black acoustic guitar is mine from high school. The tall dresser currently has Jo’s clothes in it but I’m going to swap them right before or after she’s born so her clothes are easier to access during diaper changes. Isaiah is big and wiggly enough that it’s easier to dress him on the floor most of the time. The walrus painting was a gift from my sister-in-law for Zay. The bike riding deer poster is from IKEA. The rocking chair is from Amazon. The rugs are both from IKEA. Green black-out curtains from Target.
Josephine will get the portable mini crib to start out. I use the storage boxes from IKEA under each crib to store sheets and blankets. I made the name sign for Josephine. I bought the rubies print from Etsy and painted the frame from a thrift store. I took the glass out so it wouldn’t be heavy or easily breakable since it’s right above the crib.
The walls are Sherwin Williams Ellie Gray, same as our first nursery at our last house. I use a sound machine and a CD player with Jason’s Acoustic Lullabies album to muffle the household noises and help Isaiah sleep. I’m hoping it will help to cover the sounds of two babies in the same room and keep them from waking each other up very often, too.
Nesting is in full swing over here, thanks to Spring cleaning and 2nd trimester energy. I know it’s going to get harder to get around and be motivated to do home projects in the next 2-3 months so I’m doing all that I can do now. Twelve more weeks to go!
1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: kids room, Family, Family: Froggie/Isaiah, Family: Nutter Butter/JoJo | Tagged: bedroom, double nursery, kids room, nursery, shared room, zay and jo | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
03/26/2015
I’m 36 weeks pregnant and just as tired as I ever was at the beginning of my pregnancy, if not more. The most basic human functions of breathing, walking and sleeping are all more challenging. I’m not sleeping well due to hip joint pain, getting up frequently to pee, heartburn and sudden leg cramps that jolt me out of bed faster than anything else. As unfun as all of that sounds (and is), it’s still totally worth it because I’m just in awe of this kid growing inside of me and the amazing transformation my body is capable of going through. And as I’ve said in my past several updates, I’m totally in love with feeling Isaiah’s movements. I love to interact with him. All of the complaints…I’m positive that it’s part of God’s design when it comes to the end of pregnancy that the mother is so mentally and physically done with being pregnant that she is ready to endure whatever it takes to hold her child in her arms. I have four more weeks until my due date (April 21) but dude is considered full term next week at 37 weeks and all the way up until 42 weeks is considered a healthy pregnancy. Lord, I know your timing is perfect and you have Isaiah’s birth date already picked out. I just pray it’s on the early side and if not, that you would give me lots of patience! Speaking of God’s perfect timing, Jason is a touring musician and he just got a new gig, which is a huge answer to prayer, especially as it pertains to income during a time when I’m about to take a big chunk of unpaid time off work. It also means he will be out of town 7 or 8 days in next three weeks. Again, I’m totally trusting that God has got the timing of all of this worked out perfectly so that Jason will be present for Isaiah’s birth. I think Easter would be a great day to have a baby…just putting that out there. I am so excited to deliver our little guy and start into the next season of our lives. Pregnancy has been harder than I expected and more amazing than I expected. I’m ready to be done now. Speaking of done…
Isaiah’s room is officially done. There is nothing I’m waiting to finish. The bouncer will end up in the living room once he arrives, not in front of the closet. And we’ll have him sleep in our room in a Moses basket for the first little while so he’s closer for feedings. I love to sit in this room to pray and dream. The other day Jason came in here to open the window and sighed, “Isaiah’s room is so peaceful.” That’s the best compliment I could get on his nursery design.
Big sister Ali loves to feel her little brother’s hiccups. (I do too!) She’s always asking me if he’s hiccuping and reminding me to tell her whenever he starts.
The picture below is me giving Ali a bath… I put her in the tub and then I collapse on the nearest couch. “Mommy, I’m done playing. Come wash me!” she calls from the bathroom. “I can’t… I’m stuck on the couch.” Seriously, it feels like I’m pinned down by a small boulder. Thankfully Jason has been jumping in as much as possible to take over my typical mom duties and turns out she likes it better when he does her baths anyway because “you’re more gentle than Mommy.” Win-win. 😉
And now for some pregnancy memes to explain how I really feel:
Our bags are mostly packed. The car seat is installed in the van. Arrangements are in place with family and friends to take care of Ali and our animals. We have plans in place with our jobs. My doctor says everything is on track and looks perfect. In summary, here’s the hashtag I’ve been using frequently on Instagram: #imreadywhenyouarebaby.
1 Comment | Art, Art: Bedoom for Foster Kids, Art: interior design, Art: new home nursery, Family, Family: Froggie/Isaiah, Family: Me, Family: Precious/Ali | Tagged: baby, baby boy, expecting, froggie, pregnancy, pregnant | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
02/23/2015
I love to sneak off into the nursery and make little adjustments and finishing touches, preparing all the details, waiting with excitement, nesting.
I added a couple pillows and a quilt to my favorite Baxton Studios rocking chair so it’s comfy for rocking, snuggling and feeding my little guy.
Late one night I quietly assembled this bouncer seat. It’s one of the few bigger items I requested. We’ve borrowed random bouncy seats for the past 4 babies so I know we’ll get a lot of use out of one of our own—a cute one—the Fisher-Price Deluxe Bouncer, My Little Snugabunny. This was a gift from my mom.
The bookshelf is stocked with books that Ali has outgrown, new and hand-me-down baby toys, a CD player loaded with Jason’s Acoustic Lullabies, the precious little lamb my mother-in-law crocheted for our son and a soft light for late night diaper changing.
Speaking of diaper changing, that station is all set up and ready to go, too, with wipes, diapers, hand sanitizer, Butt Paste and a changing pad on top of the dresser. The lower shelves of the supply cart have burp cloths, bibs and receiving blankets.
Another item that we’ve borrowed for the past couple of babies is a Moses basket. My sister gifted us with one at my baby shower and I am looking forward to using it with our son. When a friend first lent us hers for baby Firefly last summer I thought it seemed unnecessary but it turned out to be a new favorite baby item. It’s pretty, light and easy to move from room to room when the baby is tiny. This one I chose didn’t have a very nice liner or cushion so I padded the bottom with blankets and used one of our mini crib sheets. It works great because it’s jersey so it’s super soft and stretchy.
There’s a little collection of lovies in the corner of the crib. The monkey is a Cloud B soothing sound machine that we inherited from my nephew Jack.
Above the crib I added some of the decorations that my sister-in-law Ginger made for my baby shower. I wrote about the record album in this post. The “Take a Deep Breath You’re Home Now” canvas is from Hobby Lobby and was a gift from my friend Steph.
OK, I’m ready now! Baby just needs to finish growing so he can come out and hang out in his new room.
1 Comment | Art, Art: interior design, Art: modern design, Art: new home nursery, Family, Family: Froggie/Isaiah | Tagged: baby room, expecting, nesting, nursery, pregnant, preparing for baby | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
01/14/2015
Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: house tour, Art: interior design, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design | Tagged: home, home tour, IKEA, interior design, living room tour, midcentury modern, modern, vintage | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
12/11/2014
Last month Jason did a project we’ve been thinking about since we moved in two years ago—he tiled a backsplash and added under cabinet lights in the kitchen. He spent many nights working from after dinner until long after Ali and I were asleep. He’s such a hard worker. I LOVE how it came out. My only contribution was helping to pick out the tiles, which were a special order from Home Depot, in case you’re wondering. We picked the color and straight-stacked pattern to mirror the exposed concrete block wall that’s across from the kitchen in the dining room. (You can see it here in my grapefruit-belly photo.)
I haven’t taken any photos of the backsplash in our master bathroom yet but Ali snuck this one on Monday while I was getting ready for work.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
10/29/2014
Alianna’s room has made the full transition from a nursery to a big girl room. In the past couple weeks we moved the twin IKEA Kura bed into her room. Eventually we’ll flip it over so she can have a low loft bed, which I know she’ll love. For now, she has no idea it does that. She does LOVE to hang and swing off the bar at the end of the bed. With the addition of the bed, I swapped her nightstand out with the IKEA Ribba book ledges we’ve had for years. They’re positioned to work with the bed in either position. We’re all loving the new bed and she’s only fallen out once – yay! Her old dresser was a vintage find from a local antique store and was perfect size and height to use as a changing table. With baby Froggie on the way and since I took away Ali’s two drawer nightstand, it was time to get her a taller dresser. I went with the unfinished wood IKEA Tarva so I could customize the look for less money. I ended up building the whole thing myself (though Ali helped me with the drawers!) and doing all the painting and staining myself too. Usually when we do home projects Jason takes the lead. He’s more experienced and much more detail-oriented than me. He’s in a busy work season, though, so I’m pretty proud of myself for how this turned out. Ali was not crazy about the idea of a new dresser until the day she helped me build the drawers. Now that she’s personally invested, she’s very excited about it. In the upgrades to her room we also added a real curtain rod. When we moved in we bought a cheap tension rod to be used temporarily and almost two years later it kept falling down when she’d try to open the curtains. This room continues to be one of my favorites in our house.
A few months ago I wrote about her Lottie dollhouse and the Barbie furniture my granny name for me.
I bought a small digital clock to fit on her shallow shelves and it happened to have colored numbers. It’s actually been quite helpful in teaching her to read the time. We used to use a timer and light for “OK to come out of your room now” but we’ve been using a digital clock now that she can easily recognize numbers. With this clock it’s even easier to say, “You can get out of your bed when you see the green 8.”
I love all the special touches: this name banner made by a friend after her adoption, the flower was an adoption day gift from another friend, the crocheted owl blanket was a gift from her Nana for her 3rd birthday.
Here’s a before picture of the Tarva dresser, straight from the IKEA website.
And after paint and stain.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
myMCMlife.com 