Weekend Update

10/04/2010

This Weekend I …

• went to my favorite Mexican restaurant with my husband, his brother and our sister-in-law

• watched the ultrasound video of our little baby niece

• made lasagna at midnight with Jason

• took lasagna to our friends and got to see their precious, teeny 5 day old Matteo

• spent the afternoon in the Tennessee hills at the home of the musician Jason will be touring with through the fall

• helped Jason finish installing bamboo floors in his studio

• went to church and lost track of time

• had a lunch date with my sweet husband

• put on “Wild Pacific” and took a much-needed Sunday nap (felt GLORIOUS afterward!)

• pulled my favorite winter hat out of storage (it got cold yesterday!) and headed out to our neighborhood coffee shop with Jason (in our pus) for hot chocolate and some website design

It was a wonderful weekend!

2 Comments | Art, Art: graphic design, Art: interior design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Man Gifts: Greenhouse & Smoker

09/28/2010

I’m having [another] crazy busy week between work & freelance. Blah, blah, blah, everyone is busy… I know! I’m sorry for the lame excuse for light blogging. Here are a couple of quick photos of some new things around the ol’ mid-century modern ranch.

My parents and I bought Jason a greenhouse a couple weeks ago. He was quite surprised to see it out on the back patio when we woke up on his birthday. It’s out in the yard now ready to over-winter some of Jason’s tender tropicals.

This was like a birthday present from God for Jason. He’s been wanting a smoker for years but they’re pretty expensive ($150-250 for a big one like this) and no one ever seems to sell used ones on craigslist. We were riding our bikes home from a coffee shop run a few days after J’s bday and guess what our neighbors were selling at their yard sale? For $20! It needs cleaned up/fixed up but Jason can’t wait to use it… rack of ribs, smoked salmon, jerky …

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Wise Words

09/22/2010

“Fear is what keeps people from being truly creative.” – Jason Ahlbrandt

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Poster Portrait

09/21/2010

I wrote about Jason’s great-grandpa Carl back in July after our trip to Naples and our visit to the lot where his house used to stand. We both really loved this portrait of him. His horned-rim glasses, his raised eyebrows, the pencil behind his ear, the stubby cigar he’s smoking, the strap across this shoulder … it’s all part of the story of this character that I only know about through second-hand stories. Jason considers Carl to be an inspiration for various reason (explained more in the original post) and he wanted a poster of this portrait to hang in his studio as a reminder of his great-grandpa and as a reminder that if we keep working hard maybe we’ll get that mid-century modern beach house in Naples we’re dreaming of…

Anyway, I just wanted to share this really good deal I found. This 20″ x 30″ photo poster was only $7.28 ($17.12 with shipping) through Vivyx with their first time customers special offer! Most other sites are sound $21-30 for a poster this size. Score! Plus we found a frame for it at Michael that was originally $29.99 but was on sale for 40% off plus another 25% off with coupon. Came to around $12. Bonus!

2 Comments | Art, Art: interior design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Happy Birthday to my Best Friend!

09/16/2010

My favorite person in the world, my dearest husband Jason, turns 28 today! Happy birthday, Love! This has been a great year, hasn’t it? I’m looking forward to the next year of your life and I feel so blessed to be your wife. It’s my great privilege to walk along side you, laugh with you, cry with you, sweat with you, get splinters with you and have slumber parties in the living room every weekend (staying up too late watching 30 Rock, eating pizza and drinking root beer floats) with you. You are my heart!

This picture of you is, hands down, my favorite from this year. A boyish side of you came alive while we were in Naples. I loved watching you explore the beach looking for sea creatures and the way you lit up when you found those conch shells. You are creative, adventurous, strong, gentle, thoughtful, patient, caring, passionate, smart and faithful. I love everything about you!

Here’s to many more vacations to warm sunny places and the dream of a mid-century beach house in Naples!

Happy birthday, Jason!

1 Comment | Family, Family: Jason | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

Love Suffers

09/06/2010

Love is risky. It requires vulnerability as we trust our hearts to another person, believing that he’ll take good care of it. But every person fails at one time or another. Failures from the ones dearest to us hurt the most, don’t they?

Believe me, I do my fair share of failing my husband, but the other day it was my heart that was aching from a misstep on his part. I decided to reread 1 Corinthians 13 as I was making a choice, subconsciously after 11 years, to love him still and trust him again with my bruised heart.

I think just about everyone has read or heard 1 Corinthians 13, “the love chapter,” at some point. It’s popular at weddings and it’s no wonder — it’s a beautiful passage. Verse 7 popped out at me. “[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Then I saw verse 4, “Love suffers long and is kind …” That sounds painful. Messy. Beautiful. Dangerous on one side and safe on the other side.

Much like the overwhelming feeling of joyful reunion that we would never experience without times of separation, love would not be the beautiful feeling that it is without the risk of pain.

I am thankful to have a husband who loves me well. When he slips up, he is careful to tenderly pick my heart back up, take it to the Healer of broken things and to lovingly hold it again, a little tighter than before. I hope that I do the same.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Treats from Scandinavia & the Faroes

08/26/2010

Because he is a thoughtful sweet husband, Jason brought back some presents from his travels! In Sweden he went to H&M and bought me this lovely dress:

Sidenote: Whose husband buys her dresses? Mine does! Jason has a great eye for fashion and he always picks out really pretty things for me that I’m not brave enough to choose for myself – but I always end up getting lots of compliments on his selections! (Skirts, dresses, shirts, sweaters … even a bikini, once!)

I love hats, especially warm hats in the winter. This one Jason got me is more of an ear-warmer or headband I guess but it’s really wide, almost like a topless stocking cap. It’s hand knit with local wool from the Faroe Islands, where sheep out number people 4 to 1.

And CHOCOLATE! I loooove European chocolate. (I only eat Hersheys chocolate under desperate circumstances. I think it tastes waxy.)

Hazelnut chocolate bars are my favorite and I was informed that this one from Sweden is all for me. 🙂

Jason also got himself a few things. Several shirts from H&M, not pictured, and some new kicks from the Faroes.

Hooray for functional souvenirs!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Where’s Jason?

08/24/2010

Last Wednesday Jason returned home from a 3 week trip to Sweden, Norway, Amsterdam and Faroe Islands. You wouldn’t know by these pictures but he was actually there as a guitarist with a country band. They had a good amount of time off to explore which is a rare treat on this kind of tour.

A few days into the trip Jason started channeling some Where’s Waldo? every time his buddy Jonathan’s camera was pointed at him.

I thought it was sweet – like he was waving to me! I missed him a lot so I would stalk Jonathan’s facebook everyday waiting for the almost-daily photo uploads which meant they were back to their hotel and Jason would be on Skype soon.

It is SO good to have my husband back!

I’ve said this before but it proved even truer after 3 weeks. Without times of separation we would never experience the immeasurable joy of being reunited—one of the greatest feelings God created.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Phone Photo Friday

08/20/2010

Calculating the time difference between me and my heart. (Now, we’re back in the same time zone, thank God!)

1 Comment | Art, Art: Phone Photo Friday, Family, Family: Jason | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

No Bake Oatmeal Cookies

08/16/2010

Some people call them No Bakes. I always called them Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. Whatever you call them, they’re quick and easy and tasty and I’m not sure why in my adult life I have never made them. Jason had a few made by my mom a few months ago and has since requested that I make them.

Last night I finally went hunting for the recipe card over at mom’s. Here they’re called No Bake Oatmeal Cookies. I love old handwritten recipe cards, don’t you? I love how it’s all dirty and worn and has penciled-in notes for halfing the recipe.

I pulled together all the ingredients. Thankfully, I had everything on hand except oatmeal. Dang, what’s a lot of sugar. These are basically candy … Also, I had to ask a friend what oleo is. (Butter) I use salted butter so I skip the pinch of salt in the recipe.

I made these as a surprise for Jason so hopefully he’s not reading this. (Are you, babe?) They came out pretty freaking good. I hope he likes! 🙂

Here’s the recipe/directions if you want to make some of your own:

Pour 2 cups sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, 1/2 cup milk and 1 stick of butter into a saucepan. Heat to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 4 tbsp peanut butter, 1 tsp vanilla and 3-3.5 cups of oatmeal. Drop spoonfuls onto a wax paper or foil and allow to cool. Enjoy!

2 Comments | Art, Art: Cooking, Family, Family: Jason | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt

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