Some people like to take pictures with funny mustaches. The A-team likes to entertain ourselves on road trips with taking funny pictures in “chinaman glasses” (leftover from a theme party for The Office).
Erie Trip – Part 3 (Bonus)
10/27/2009
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Erie Trip – Part 2
10/22/2009Day 3 – Visited my aunt, uncle and cousins in the morning (didn’t get any pics), had lunch at Imperial China Buffet, went shopping (tax free clothes baby!), Ginger and I played with a pug puppy at the mall, went to dinner at the home of Jason’s bro Steve and wife Char, and finally met their almost-1-year-old little dude Aiden, then we all fell in love with him and his goofy laugh
Day 4 – I had the smile breakfast at Eat’n Park were Jason used worked as a cook and my friends hung out every Friday night for a year in high school; took advantage of the sunshine and when down to the peninsula for a walk—my favorite location in Erie; reminisced about one of our first dates when we watched the sunset and talked about the wonders of God; walked toward the place Jason proposed to me 7.5 years ago; went to Aiden’s 1st birthday party; watched him get overwhelmed with gifts and confused by the singing followed by giant cake; had dinner at O’Charley’s (yes, a Nashville-based chain) with Dave and Emily; played Mexican Train for a couple of house and then fell asleep watching The Office
Day 5 – Breakfast at Tim Horton’s (a first for all of us Nashvillians) and then napped on-and-off thru a 10 hour drive home (including 4 stops)
Leave a Comment » | Art: God's creation, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: Erie, framily, friends, Presque Isle, vacation | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Erie/Cincinnati Trip – Part 1
10/21/2009Since I have a lot of pictures to share from our vacation to visit family and friends last weekend, I thought I’d divide it up into a couple of posts.
Day 1 – drove to Cincinnati, OH to visit friends (not quite half-way to Erie, PA), saw some joker on a motorcycle, drank a grapefruit IZZE (yum!), ooohed over the beautiful fall trees in KY and OH, and awed over cute little 2-month-old Ben.
Day 2 – hung out with Ben and his mama in the morning (Jason was great with him!), saw more gorgeous trees on the drive, drove the rest of the way to Erie, saw snow as soon as we arrived, visited Jason’s Grandma and Aunt Linda’s cute boston terrier named Shakes, had dinner at Quaker Steak and Lube with our good friends Dave and Emily, and later hung out at their home watching funny videos.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
What Erie Gave to Me
10/20/2009
Leading up to our trip last weekend to Erie, PA—the city where I did most of my growing up, from age 8 to 20—I was reflecting on some of the things I got through my time in the Flagship City, the town from That Thing You Do:
• a great foundation in Christ through a church that produced a super fun children’s church by Captain Bill and a vibrant youth group lead by Pastor Derek
• my now husband Jason, who I met at said youth group when I was 14 and married at that church 4 years later (yep, I was that young. nope, no fundamentalist arranged marraige. haha!)
• a great appreciation for warm weather and sunny days (due to Erie’s lack…)
• many breath-taking sunsets over Lake Erie
• snow driving skills that I may or may not ever need to use again
• lots of sweet friends through the years, a few who have managed to keep in touch
• a quality public school education
• a tolerance for swimming in 76º water on an 80º day
• summers and holidays spent with my mom’s parents and extended family
• summer walks on the beach of Presque Isle (hands down my favorite place in Erie) and the spot at beach 7 where Jason proposed
• a lasting love for Connie’s turtle ice cream, Smith’s hot dogs, Heinz ketsup, Troyer Farms chips, Wegmans grocery store, and Romolo sponge candy
Tomorrow I’ll share my pictures and a recount of our trip.
3 Comments | Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Me, Other | Tagged: Erie | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Packing Clothes for 5 Days
10/19/2009This past weekend my husband, BIL, SIL and I went on a 5-day vacation to Erie, PA stopping half-way to stay overnight in Cincinnati, OH. As I was planning what clothing to pack, I thought it would be fun to share my method of mixing and matching clothing in order to pack as light as possible. Let me start off my saying a few things: 1. I am definitely no fashion expert, 2. I wear a lot of blue, green, brown and gray (I think this makes things easier), 3. I don’t iron my clothes. Now that I have those things off my chest, let’s go. Here’s the entire wardrobe for five days:
(2 pairs of pants, 5 shirts, 3 sweaters, 2 jackets, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 hats, 2 scarfs)
Day 1
Expected plans: 4.5 hour car ride, visiting friends with 1.5 month old baby, dinner & maybe shopping or sightseeing:
Comfy worn jeans, teal blue t-shirt, gray cable knit sweater, silver slip-on flats, gray striped scarf, black cap (optional)
Forecast: Hi 50º / Lo 41º Rainy
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Day 2
Expected plans: 5 hour car ride (on to second location), visit hubby and BIL’s grandmother, dinner with friends, shopping
Dark jeans, gray keyhole t-shirt, green cashmere zip hoodie, brown wool cap, green suede casual shoes, long brown wool coat
Forecast: morning city Hi 51º; evening city Hi 48º / Lo 38º Rain 50% chance
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Day 3
Expected plans: Visiting friends and family, shopping, sightseeing, dinner with hubby’s family at home of our other BIL and SIL and our 1 yr old nephew Aiden
Comfy worn jeans, green boat neck t-shirt, gray cable knit sweater, black fleece pullover, silver slip-on flats, gray striped scarf, black cap
Forecast: Hi 45º / Lo 39º Rain & show showers
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Day 4
Expected plans: Church and out to lunch with friends, birthday party for our nephew with family, hang out with friends and/or sightseeing in the evening
Dark jeans, pink t-shirt under brown wool deep-v sweater, olive green jersey knit scarf, brown wool cap, green suede casual shoes, long brown wool coat
Forecast: Hi 50º / Lo 41º Sunny
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Day 5
Expected plans: 9.5 hour car ride back home
Comfy worn jeans, light blue scoop neck t-shirt, green cashmere zip hoodie, gray striped scarf, silver slip-on flats, black cap
1 Comment | Art, Art: fashion, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: clothes, Family, friends, packing, travel, vacation | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Fall Family Night + Chili Recipe
10/15/2009
…AKA Chili Night. Our church had our annual picnic on Sunday evening. This year it was a fall festival where everyone brought chili and fixin’s and dessert. It was a very laid-back afternoon of playing games on a blanket in the grass. Jason looks forward to any opportunity to hold baby Mikaelyn. (She’s the sweet little girl who just might ruin our planned baby timeframe.)
Then chili for dinner, of course. I ate my own recipe and Jason looked for something spicer. He found a New Orleans style Bouron chili that was perfect for him. I had a yummy peanut butter and chocolate rice krispy treat for dessert. Just before dark we went on a hayride. Then gathered around a bonfire to get warmed up afterward. Hayride pics (and above pictures) taken from friend’s facebook. (Thanks!)
In case you don’t have a good chili recipe, I thought I’d share. This is the recipe my mom has been using from a 35 year old Betty Crocker cookbook plus some modifications we’ve made. I turns out very colorful.
Chili con Carne with Tomatoes
1 lb (or so) of ground beef
1 big sweet onion, chopped
1-2 large green peppers, chopped (I used 4 small ones from the garden, some turning orange)
1 can (1 lb 12 oz) peeled whole tomatoes
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 tsp chili powder (original recipe calls for 2 tsp)
1/8 tsp salt (I always end up adding more)
1/8 tsp cayenne red pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
2 cans (15.5 oz) beans (I used 1 red kidney and 1 black bean)
Cook and stir ground beef, onions and green peppers in a large pot until meat is brown and onion is tender (15 minutes or so). Stir in remaining ingredients except for beans.
Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 2 hours covered, stirring occasionally, or 45 minutes uncovered. Break up whole tomatoes with a spoon. Stir in beans and heat until warm.
Suggested fixins: finely shredded cheddar, sour cream, fresh chopped cilantro, crackers
Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: Cooking, Faith, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason | Tagged: bonfire, chili recipe, fall family night, grace church, hayride | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Meet the Wilsons
10/06/2009
Meet the Wilsons: Sully, Kortney, Jett and Dave (and their new baby girl Lennox, not pictured). They live in our neighborhood. Jason played guitar in their band for several months last year. And he used to work for Kortney. They have their own reality show on CMT Canada. That makes them celebrities. So basically, we’re famous, too. (Just kidding.)
If any of you live in Canada, please do me a favor and check out their show on Sunday nights. Not only is it not on TV here, but I’m very sad that I can’t watch the episodes online. They’re a super fun family. Dave and Kortney are attempting to launch their country music career while raising 3 little kiddos, flipping houses and working other jobs. I’m sure their crazy life will make for a very interesting show.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
A Perfectly Lovely Weekend
10/05/2009This past weekend was so wonderful! It started Friday when Jason met me at work with Chick-fil-A for lunch (including chocolate milkshakes.) Then we got on the road towards Valhermoso, Alabama where J was playing guitar in the worship band with our pastor Lindell Cooley at an outdoor festival. Besides the damp chilliness as it got dark, the night was perfect: two hours of worship and dancing and celebrating God, getting to hang out with 2 of my sweet friends and their adorable kiddos, watching our pastor get completely undignified jumping around the stage dancing and worshipping, and ending the night with fireworks! I love fireworks. Here are a few pictures I didn’t take:
Jason and I absolutely adore that little girl (and her parents are pretty amazing, too)! Getting to hold her always makes our days.
Her mama adores her too.
This sweet little boy is going to be a big brother this spring! I love this kid and his mama, too.
Our husbands, our pastor, and the rest of the band picking out some songs for the night (not that Lindell ever sticks to the setlist!).
Saturday, after sleeping in late, J got together with his bro to work on some recording stuff and us ladies went shopping. Found some great deals at the thrift stores and Macy’s. Had my first real fruit slush from Sonic (Half-price happy hour between 2-4pm – seriously?! My drink cost $0.50! Hello mid-century prices!!)
Later that night we went to PM for sushi with friends and then downtown Nashville to the art crawl. We ended a lovely Saturday falling asleep on the couch in front of Seinfeld in a “Roma-coma”. (Drifting into a peaceful rest after gorging yourself on Roma pizza!)
Sunday after church we had lunch at the brand-new abode of some dear friends; overate and then relaxed on the couch on a peaceful rainy afternoon.
I seriously can’t imagine a more perfect weekend. I am so thankful for our friends, for our church and our pastor, for our family. We don’t normally have a weekend that includes just about EVERYTHING we love: worship, friends, BBQ, music, fireworks, friends, art, sushi, “sleepovers”, church, friends, resting. Ahhh. Thank you Lord!
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Phone Photo Friday
09/25/2009
My sister-in-law’s name is Ginger but she occasionally gets junk mail for Finger. It’s pretty funny.
1 Comment | Art, Art: Phone Photo Friday, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: cell phone, finger, junk mail, Phone Photo Friday | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Babies and Elephants
08/26/2009It 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:
and Benjamin:
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:
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:
I hope she likes it!
Jason and I look pretty good with one of these, don’t you think?
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!
1 Comment | Art, Art: crafts, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: babies, crafts, elephant pillow, sewing | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
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