Art | myMCMlife.com

The Yellow Satchel

06/10/2010

I recently got this new satchel from Target. I love it!

I’ve been looking for a bag this color for about a year so I was very happy when I saw this for only $12.99. Perfect for carrying my laptop across my shoulder.

Or using as a purse or book bag. Much cuter than the backpack, don’t you think?

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: fashion | Tagged: book bag, satchel, target | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Since December I’ve been able to work from home about one day a week, unless I’m really busy. And the past 2 weeks I was really busy. But yesterday I worked from home and it was nice … blissful, actually!

I woke up and realized my computer was sitting on the floor beside the bed. I worked for almost an hour before even getting up! Then I had a nice sit-down breakfast with pretty vintage dishes. I LOVE Trader Joe’s banana/strawberry yogurt. Top it off with a few just-picked black raspberries… heaven!

Plus I made a pot of tea and a few hard cooked eggs.

Side note … I have to get out this cookbook every time I make hard boiled eggs. Why can’t I just remember – put eggs in pot, bring to boil, simmer for 15 minutes. (One of the three eggs exploded because I let it boil too long.)

My home office is sunny and peaceful. I got to eat lunch with Jason. An afternoon break meant strolling around the beautiful garden to let Lucy out.

And of course, I did some work too. But my desk (on the wall opposite this window) was too messy to photograph! Working from home is the best! I dream of the day I can work from home full time. For now I’ll gratefully accept one day a week.

6 Comments | Art, Art: graphic design, Family, Family: Me | Tagged: graphic design, work, working from home | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Mid-century Modern Treasures from the Nati

06/08/2010

As I mentioned last week, over Memorial Day weekend I visited my wonderful friends in Cincinnati. We spent most of our days hopping around from one antique store to another looking for mid-century modern goodies. We were not disappointed!

I fell in love with this Sessions A-frame wood clock the instant I saw it. It has a key to wind it up. How cool is that? It ticks really loudly.

Got this 1970’s Yamaha classical guitar for Jason. He’s still grieving the Manuel Rodriguez classical he sold after college. Maybe this will help a little. It is a cedar top – his favorite.

Corning Ware skillet with blue and yellow flowers

Pyrex blue and white Amish casserole

Anchor Hocking candlestick pattern casserole

And last but certainly not least, this original gouache painting signed by Dick West. The vendor believed it’s an interior designer’s rendering for a client. As a graphic designer who loves mid-century home design, I think this piece is really special.

3 Comments | Art, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: anchor hocking, antique store, Cincinnati, clock, corning ware, dick west, painting, pyrex | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Coming Home

06/07/2010

The Pioneer Woman ran a photo contest last week called Coming Home. Originally, this photo was posted in the contest called Happiness. Tears welled up in my eyes when I saw this photo of a soldier returning home from Iraq to his wife and 6 day old baby girl.

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Joyful reunion must be one of the greatest feelings God created. There is nothing else quite like the immense joy of coming back together after a separation filled with pain and longing.

Jason has been away on a tour for two weeks. (He’ll be home today – YAY!) I know two weeks is nothing compared to what military wives or even what many other musicians wives go through. But its still a long time and I’ve missed him bad. But these photos of Coming Home have helped me remember without being apart, we wouldn’t have the immeasurable happiness of being reunited.

1 Comment | Art, Family, Family: Jason | Tagged: coming home, joy, pioneer woman, reunion | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

06/04/2010

One of the shops in Cincinnati we checked out while hunting for mid-century modern treasures.

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design, Art: Phone Photo Friday | Tagged: antique store, cell phone photography, mid-century design, Phone Photo Friday | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Lamp, Pitcher & Utensil Tray {MCM thrift store finds}

06/01/2010

We picked up a couple of little treasures on a recent trip around the Nashville thrift stores.

A retro green silverware tray – not too exciting but I love the color and it has more slots than our old one. And it was 75¢!

Jason’s never going to let me forget that he spotted this lamp FROM THE STREET! Meaning: we were driving past one thrift store on the way to drop off our garage sale junk at the Goodwill and he saw this lamp out of the corner of his eye through the window of the thrift store. That man has eagle vision!

We still need a shade. It had an ugly one paired with it that we left at the store. No thanks. Price: $6.99.

Jason also spotted this neat round plastic carafe. The brand is Alfi and it’s made in Germany.

Sadly, in it’s beautiful roundness it rolled off the counter top and the top broke. It’s no longer a functional piece but it still looks pretty on our display shelf.

2 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: germany, mid-century design, thrift store finds | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Painted Ranches in the ‘Hood

05/31/2010

I live a neighborhood loaded with brick ranches – red brick, pink brick, orange brick, gray brick, smooth brick, textured brick. You name we have it.

But thankfully (in my opinion) we also have some painted brick houses. (And we almost had one more. But then the flood swallowed it.) I’m a big fan of paint and if done right it doesn’t harm the lifespan of the brick – just adds a little more personality. And it breaks up the monotony of brick, brick, brick. I like being able to tell people “it’s the green house; the only green house on the street.”

A few days ago I asked Jason to drive me around so I could snap pictures of some of the other painted brick houses within a few blocks from our little mid-century brick ranch.

We saw some blue and gray-blue:

Some taupe and warm gray:

Some cream and white:

And some green and olive:

Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: Drive-By Shooting, Art: mid-century design | Tagged: painted brick ranches | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

05/28/2010

Does anyone else see an abstract garbage-art bride? Or is the heat getting to me …

2 Comments | Art, Art: Phone Photo Friday | Tagged: cell phone photography, garbage art bride, Phone Photo Friday | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

A Typical Evening

05/27/2010

I imagine other people have typical evenings like this: come home from work, eat dinner together, watch some TV, go to bed.

I’m not sure if Jason and I have EVER had an evening like that. We’re always running around doing this or that … working late, running to the hardware store or grocery store, doing freelance graphic design or music recording projects. Sometimes we eat dinner together but it’s often at 8 or 9. And maybe one night a week we catch up on our favorite shows through Hulu (24, The Office, Modern Family). Our wind-down-relax time rarely starts before 11pm.

The other night I was thinking about what a “typical” night looks like for us and I decided to snap a picture of what we were both doing right before our late dinner break.

Jason was installing a new bowl sink in the guest bathroom. The teal glass one was pretty but impractical – it has about 7 chips in after 3 years. (Only one of which was made by Jason or me.)