Last weekend Jason and I had a couple of opportunities to go scootin’ with our buddy Leila. It was so fun! So, yes, now we want one of our own. Again.
Phone Photo Friday
04/30/2010
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Happy Birthday Mama!
04/28/2010Today is my mama’s birthday. As I was growing up, she was an example of selfless love and generosity that I hope I can someday model for my own kids. Thank you for being such an awesome mom. I love you!
This picture is of my big sister and my mom when she was about my age back in the mid-70s. Love that lamp! Oh, and I certainly remember that orange, brown and gold knit afghan!
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Weekend Update – part 2
04/14/2010The Laren Brumley/Waterside show on Friday night was just the start of a wonderful weekend. We took a mini-vacation Saturday-Sunday with Laren and her husband Jeremy. First we went to IKEA Atlanta where we picked up a few things for our master bathroom renovation and met up with their friend Branton.
Exciting purchases, I know. The HULINGEN trash can (wrongly priced on the website … it’s actually $19.99) and the MOLGER mirror. From there, the five of us headed to Hiwassee State Park for a little camping adventure.
We set up our tents and cooked weinies* over the fire, baked beans and s’mores. We had a talent show featuring magic tricks by Branton (who J&L had talked up to us) and guitar by Jason (who J&L had talked up to Branton) and some singing by Laren (who we already knew was awesome).
•weinies = Louisianan for hot dogs
Sunday morning Jeremy and Laren cooked up a mean breakfast of buttermilk biscuits, scrambled eggs, fried weinies, pancakes and coffee. These two know how to CAMP!
We loafed around for a while after breakfast and then packed up and went out to explore the beautiful Hiwassee River in Cherokee National Park.
The guys — Jason, Branton and Jeremy — spent some time contemplating the meaning of their lives and the majesty of God’s creation.
Actually, they were all watching Laren and wondering which one of them was going to have to jump in and get her if she falls in. Jason was the first to say “not it.”
She didn’t fall in. Instead she found a big rock and took a nap.
We all did some more loafing around …
And searching for the pretty river rocks.
There were so many different colored rocks. I don’t know if I’ve ever really looked at river rocks like that before. Red, blue, green, orange, yellow, black, white. Gorgeous rocks! It’s amazing what you see when you take time to really stop and enjoy creation.
There’s nothing quite like a refreshing weekend getaway!
1 Comment | Art, Art: Cooking, Art: God's creation, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: camping, creation, Hiwassee, weekend | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Weekend Update – part 1
04/13/2010
Friday night Laren Brumley played at the Curb Cafe. She’s a super talented singer/songwriter and I’m honored to consider her a great friend of mine and one of the most interesting people I know.
Seriously, check out her music. Her voice is amazing and totally not what you’d expect by looking at her! Laren’s style sounds a bit like Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse. You can find her on myspace, facebook and iTunes.
Jason’s band Waterside backed her up. And then the guys played their own set.
Good music and a good time!
Heard any good new music lately?
1 Comment | Art, Art: music, Family, Family: Extended Family and Friends | Tagged: Curb Cafe, Laren Brumley, music, Nashville, Waterside | Permalink
Posted by mahlbrandt
Lucy-Lu-Lu
03/16/2010
I apologize in advance for the light blogging and/or lack of blogging the next few days. I hate to neglect my blog but I’m currently up to my ears in freelance work (which is in addition to my 9-to-5er) and I need to take a little hiatus. While I’m treading water, please enjoy this picture of my adorable sweet fuzzy-bear dog, Lucy. Or Lucy-Lu-Lu as our friends like to call her. She needs a hair cut. This picture was taken 2 weeks ago. She can hardly see now. Sorry baby!
Lucy and I love daylight saving time. Now it’s still light out when I get home around 6:00 and we can take walks in the evening. It’s good exercise for her and good stress relief for me! I can’t believe all this fuss people make about losing an hour of their precious sleep. Seriously people? Your sleep is that important to you that an hour changes your world?! Oh, don’t get me started! Love ya’ll! Be back soon!
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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
Rockin’ Baby Party
03/03/2010The theme of the baby shower my sister-in-law and I threw on Sunday was a Rockin’ Baby Party. BR, the mama we were showering, used to play bass in Jason’s band and her hubby is a musician too. (How rare in Nashville, I know …) I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.
Excited parents.
Soon to be big brother (on the right) got some presents, too.
Adorable little girl helped BR open some presents.
I’d really like to get a better camera. I blame my bad photographs mostly on my camera.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
A Weekend Recap
03/02/2010“Some weekends are so busy, I can’t wait for the week to start.” – Jason
We kicked of the weekend by having some friends over for a late dinner. Jason grilled some chicken (I love being able to grill year-round!) and I made PW’s baked lemon pasta. It was a delicious hit. Late dinner led to late night chattin it up with good friends.
Saturday morning I kissed Jason goodbye and headed off to a PJ breakfast baby shower. Brilliant! (Was that your idea, Jenna?) So fun to sit around with a bunch of my favorite ladies in our comfies eating waffles and quiches and watching our friend unwrap lots of adorable little girly outfits.
I spent Saturday afternoon preparing for baby shower #2. Making a bunting banner. Baking a guitar-shaped cake. Cleaning the house. Arranging the table and furniture.
Saturday I had a girls night with my sister-in-law and our good friend while our husbands were all out on the road. It was fun to watch a chick flick – He’s Just Not That into You. I have to say, it’s kind of a depressing picture of marriage and dating these days, though. Definitely makes me appreciate my marriage!
Jason got home sometime in the middle of the night Saturday and was up and gone to set up at church before I woke up Sunday morning. I was a couple minutes late but the service was great. Something is about to explode. It’s so exciting! People are so hungry for more of God’s presence that no one wants to leave.
I did eventually scurry out so I could get back home to finished prepping for the Rockin’ Baby Party. Bake artichoke dip. Tie balloons to the mail box. Give directions over the phone. Set out chips, salsa, guacamole, hummus, crackers, pita, sushi, guitar cake, punch. The party was a hit and I hope our friends were blessed. I didn’t think to count but I’m pretty sure that’s the most people we’ve ever had in our house; definitely the most kids we’ve had running around at one time. Lucy was a great vacuum gobbling up all of the cake and crunched chips that the kiddos left behind.
Fun weekend but we were pooped! We were both asleep by 10pm on Sunday night which is extremely rare in this house. Phew!
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Posted by mahlbrandt
Phone Photo Friday
02/26/2010
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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.
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Posted by mahlbrandt
myMCMlife.com 