I’m CRAZY about this guy! I’ve seen this “guitar face” a lot in the past week while Jason was preparing for a big gig.
Did you notice I got a new phone? It has a much better camera than my old RAZR.
Phone Photo Friday
07/30/2010
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Great Grandpa Carl
07/14/2010The reason we went to Naples for vacation is because Jason has such fond memories of a vacation his family took when he was 7 years old to visit his great-grandfather Carl Ludwig Ahlbrandt.
From his obituary: “Mr. Ahlbrandt was president of the Carpenters Union Local 1641 from 1968 to 1975. He also has the honor of becoming the director of apprenticeship, State of Florida, Division of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship. He and his students built the Carl Ahlbrandt Building of the local carpenters apprenticeship school on Enterprise Avenue in Naples. It was designated as the last school built in the United States by an instructor and his students.”
Here’s their mint green ranch the way Jason remembered it circa 1989:
There was a lime tree and a mango tree to the right of the house and pineapples growing on the left side. Coconut and palm trees lined the property. The house was a 0.5 mile walk to the beach. We put his address in the GPS and found the empty lot where his house once stood. It was sad to see it gone.
Jason spent a lot of time walking around the yard remembering. Mourning the house a little bit. The lot is for sale so we called to inquire about it. Way out of reach. But we can dream … Maybe someday we’ll buy up that lot and rebuild a mid-century modern home here.
The mango tree was nothing but a stump in the ground but the unkempt lime tree was still here. Jason picked the one and only lime off of it and took it with him.
Naples still has a large majority of it’s original mid-century homes. That makes it even harder to see that this one is gone.
As an artist, entrepreneur, gardener and go-getter, Jason feels a special connection to his great-grandfather. For me, it was a neat experience to get to know Carl a little bit through photographs and stories and by walking around his former yard.
We tried with no avail to find the building that was named after Carl. Apparently, there are several buildings around Naples and Marco Island that he built or helped build but we didn’t have a list of those addresses. Next trip. Next time.
5 Comments | Art, Art: mid-century design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason | Tagged: Carl Ahlbrandt, Carl L. Ahlbrandt, Carl Ludwig Ahlbrandt, Florida, Naples | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Birthdays are Fun!
06/24/2010Actually, 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!
Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: crafts, Art: fashion, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason, Family: Me | Tagged: birthday gifts, books | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Seven
06/14/2010Seven years. Today is Jason’s and my 7th wedding anniversary. Something feels significant about this one. I’m not sure why. Maybe because of the 7 year itch. Maybe the Biblical significance of the number 7.
We decided to celebrate yesterday (thank God because I’m actually sick today–which is why I’m posting so late.) I didn’t have my camera so sorry, no pictures. We had a romanic date – a picnic dinner (Buca di Beppo ToGo) at the park while listening to the Nashville Symphony.
[Warning … much sappiness to follow:]
I feel very blessed to be Jason’s wife. He’s an incredible man—thoughtful, sensitive, hard-working, talented, funny, handsome, creative, loving, faithful, sweet, protective, optimistic, passionate. On top of all that he loves to garden, cook and keep a clean house (don’t be jealous!). And of course, we share a love of mid-century modern design and vintage collectibles which means we get to enjoy our hobby together.
Jason, thank you for being my husband. I love you more than anything in the world! This has been quite a year…
I loved being with you as you stepped faithfully into the world of being a fully self-employed musician. It’s been a great time of stretching and learning to trust God completely. He has never let us down. I loved being able to encourage you and pray you through that transition.
I loved watching you become proud “Uncle” Jason when our closest friends had babies. I loved witnessing your heart melt over and over again each time you held little Ben or Mikaelyn. I know you’ll make an awesome daddy and seeing you in that “uncle” role makes me so look forward to that day!
You hate this picture with the rainbow umbrella but I think you look sexy! I loved having you by my side through way-too-many social engagements and family get-togethers this year. Do you ever wish we could just sneak off and be alone for a few weeks? (Seriously, though, we love all of our friends and family!)
I loved hunting through estate sales, thrift stores, antique stores and yard sales with you searching out diamonds in the rough. We found a lot of good ones this year!
I loved working on our master bathroom renovation with you. (OK, I didn’t love every part of it, but I’m glad we did it ourselves and I think we make a pretty awesome team.) I appreciate how hard you worked, often spending several more hours after I gave up and went to bed. It was always a nice surprise to wake up and check out how much progress was made overnight.
I loved working in the garden with you … but mostly watching you work in the garden. But thanks for teaching me how to love and take care for plants, for making our yard beautiful and for accepting requests to plant whatever I want — raspberries, daisies, blueberries, zinnia etc. — even though you do 95% of the work.
I loved how you dropped everything during and after the flood so you could focus all your energy on helping our friends. I loved how you never once complained about how tired you were or your lose of income and work time. You are a good friend and I love that about you.
I loved watching you play guitar on stage, at church, at home and even by the campfire. (And I love how you stand on your toes when you sing!) I loved watching you change into a supporting role of lead guitarist, producer and engineer whenever necessary to help grow the careers of other musicians. I love your heart to serve others and your humility to honor others above yourself.
Obviously, I could go on and on about how much I love you and how much I love being your wife and the great privilege it is to be by your side through this life. Thank you for seven wonderful years. I’m looking forward to the next 70!
PS. Also, thank you for being the designated meat griller, spider killer and jar opener. You’re my hero! And, I’m glad I’ll always be the wife of your youth. 😉
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Coming Home
06/07/2010The 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.
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
TN52 Yard Sale Booty
05/25/2010(ya know, like pirate booty)
On Saturday we got up at the butt crack of dawn and headed out to the TN 52 Yard Sale extravaganza with Leila and Jeremy and Jason’s mom. It’s 95 miles of yard sales; I think we probably hit 10-20 miles of it.
We found all kinds of different mid-century modern and vintage treasures and managed to spend the rest of the profit from our own yard sale the weekend before. I’ll let the pictures do the talking but I’ll just say I’m most excited about the chair I spotted from the street as we were driving past one of the last sales and the owls – just because I think they’re adorable. Oh, and the tea and coffee canisters, too. It’s so hard to choose a favorite!
It seems like everywhere we go we find Homer Laughlin Co. Gold Cortez (or Sheffield Granada Green) pieces. (above)
9 Comments | Art, Art: mcm thrift store find, Art: mid-century design, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends, Family: Jason | Tagged: mid-century, tn 52, yard sale | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Our Garden – May 2010
05/20/2010May is a beautiful time of year. I feel so blessed to have such loveliness around my home and my wonderful husband who loves to garden (and is teaching me to love it too.)
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Eating Out: Zumi Sushi
03/09/2010
Introducing … a new blog column called Eating Out: modern dining with a mid-century budget! Jason and I love a good date night, however we don’t like to spend a lot of money on such things. The idea of Eating Out is to report on a new-to-us or trusted favorite Nashville restaurants and share how we made it fit a budget that would make our grandparents proud.
Zumi Sushi
2119 Belcourt Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212
Dinner for two: $21.30 + tip
Cuisine: 2 waters with lemon, 2 house salads, 2 miso soups, a Black & Gold Roll, and a Pacific Queen Roll.
Impression: I was pleasantly surprised after reading a mediocre review several months ago. Order at the counter and wait at your table with a number a la Pei Wei or Jason’s Deli. The servers were friendly and checked on us frequently, taking away dishes as soon as we finished our soups and salads. The rolls were quite delicious. We especially like the Black and Gold (named for Vanderbilt U. I’m assuming?) which was a white tuna roll lightly fried in tempura (so it’s warm) topped with crab salad that—despite looking exactly like fancy shredded cheddar—was delightful! The Pacific Queen was a very interesting pairing of yellow fin tuna, avocado, mango and cucumber. We didn’t care too much for the sweet poke´ sauce but it was lovely with soy sauce. Each roll came with 8 hearty pieces. Soup and salad were both inexpensive and generous portions. Presentation was beautiful!
Cost Saving Tips: Drinking water saved us $4 right off the bat. If you’re buying alcohol when you go out, there’s an obvious money sucker. Don’t be a sucker. Part of our reason for checking out Zumi was a bogo (buy one get one) coupon from a fundraiser book I purchased last fall. The book cost $20 and we’ve already saved at least $60 using it.
Come again? We’ll definitely be back for more of that Black & Gold roll.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Waking Up
02/18/2010My husband is a professional musician so in his circles of influence he’s always discovering new music and graciously sharing it with me. Yay! … or is it me stealing it out of his iTunes library?
Regardless of how it was acquired, I am listening to some new music from One Republic today and LOVING it! Their newish album Waking Up is only $7.99. It’s kind of a funky neo-soul rock and very creative. That’s the best this non-musician can describe it!
But don’t take my word for it, have a listen:
One Republic – All the Right Moves
I already loved the song but I was really pleasantly surprised by the beautiful video! Sound quality is poo-poo though.
One Republic – Everybody Loves Me
Not actually a music video but you can listen at least. Sound quality much better.
Leave a Comment » | Art, Art: music, Family, Family: Jason | Tagged: music, One Republic | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Concrete Shower Pan Goes Down Smooth
01/26/2010Last weekend we tackled the most intimidating part of the bathroom renovation (in my mind, at least): pouring the concrete shower base. I’ll just show what we did through pictures. And of course I use “we” very loosely here.
Shower all cleared out and ready to go.
Mixing up the concrete mix and water in our pitiful, rusty old wheel barrel. (See the broken wood handle?) I was going to do this part but it turns out my arms are too weak. Each bag of mix was 60 lbs dry.
I prefer to watch this guy in action anyway. I’m excellent moral support.
First bucket full of concrete gets placed. That float is named the Task Force.
Second bucket down. Creating a slight slope toward the drain was very tedious. And important. Jason and his task force can handle it.
The consistency is like wet sand. Not as liquidy as I had imagined.
Four bags/bucketfuls down. 240 lbs. More of the very meticulous smoothing and creating a slight grade toward the drain.
Some days I am very grateful to be married to a perfectionist. Another half a bag to finish it off and get that slope just right. (4.5 bags of sand mix, 270 lbs, 4’x5′ base at 1-1.5″ thick in case you want details.)
All done. Just needs 24 hours to dry. Phew! The whole process only took 3 hours but was very labor-intensive. I’m so glad it’s done. Thank God it all went smoothly. Now on to finishing the rest of the tiling … another update coming soon. I HOPE!
Keeping up with our progress?
1 Comment | Art, Art: bathroom renovation, Art: interior design, Art: mid-century design, Art: modern design, Family, Family: Jason | Tagged: bathroom renovation, concrete shower pan, master bathroom, tiled shower | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
myMCMlife.com 