Just Across the Way

05/10/2011

Sorry for the lack of blogging yesterday. We’ve been busy, y’all! Buying a minivan, painting our kids room, demolishing and retiling our fireplace, fixing up our pergola, going to our LAST foster parent certification class… Lots going on but I haven’t had time to go though photos and write up blog posts about it yet.

Here’s a funny story. When I looked up on Google Maps where the Department of Children’s Services office was located, I was surprised to see it was right by the apartment we lived in when we first moved to Nashville. (Our address was 1000 1st Avenue North, Nashville, TN. Cool, huh?) Last night during our last class, I looked out the window behind me and realized our apartment was RIGHT THERE. Right across the parking lot. I could practically see the door. How strange is that?! I feel like something in my life should have been coming full circle at that point but I’m not sure what.

I’m not shocked that I never noticed the DCS office. We lived in that apartment for 7 months and never realized we were within walking distance of the Farmer’s Market and Bicentennial State Park.

I loved living downtown. I’m so glad we did. We live about 4 miles from this apartment now which is the perfect distance for us. At this point, it would be nearly impossible to give up our house with our own 4 walls and roof, our yard, our garden, our patio, our neighborhood, our washer and dryer…

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Ding Dong…

05/02/2011

…the witch is dead!

Maybe it’s all the recent devastation of tornadoes that’s been on my mind but for some reason that song popped in my head last night when we go the news that Osama Bin Laden is dead.

(Image source: •)

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Phone Home Home Phone

04/27/2011

When I first found out that we have to have a land line home phone available for our foster children to use, I was excited to go out and find a retro one like this. It’s $40, looks like it’s mid-century but it’s all new digital technology:

Then I remembered these really cool clear trimline phones from the early 90s that light up when they ring. My big brother used to have one but I searched my parents house and it’s no where to be found. I read here that Urban Outfitters was selling them last year for $28 but they’re not available anymore. Boo.

Then, we talked about it in class with an experience resource parent and realized that we should get one with a speaker phone. And while we’re at it, you can get a pretty fancy digital cordless phone for less than $20. So much for retro-cool.

Anyone have any suggestions for land line phone service? It costs $25 a month to add phone service to our AT&T Uverse internet service. Not a huge chunk of change but it still seems like a waste of money to me. Requirements are requirements, though.

Help me out here, readers. Do you still have a home phone? If you have a cell phone, why? How much do you pay a month for service?

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Do You Know About Publix?

02/07/2011


(Source: •)

Back in the days when I lived in Erie, PA (from age 10 to 20), I was blessed to have a great grocery store called Wegmans nearby. Despite the poorly planned brick floors in the produce department, I loved Wegmans for the bakery, huge selection of teas and fresh produce, diverse international section, quality generics, good prices and the bulk candy section. Moving to Nashville, TN in 2004 required that we find our new favorite out of the unfamiliar grocery store chains. Which brought us eventually to Publix.

Except for the legendary bulk candy section, my favorite tea and the cart rattling brick floors, Publix has everything that Wegmans had. And actually Publix brand products are even better. The quality seems the same goodness to me but the packaging is beautiful, minimalist, and I believe greatly influenced Target brand’s recent redesign. Publix is quickly making me forget about Wegmans.


(Source: •)

I call this blog My Mid-Century Modern Life because there are many aspects of my life that are modern (which I love) and there are many aspects of my life that are reminiscent of my grandparents’ generation (which I love). Sometimes the modern and mid-century collide into a beautiful blend (homes, fashion, graphic design). Publix is an excellent example of the mid-century modern meld.

Publix brand is fresh and clean. It is high tech and modern in every way that a grocery store can be. But it also has the charm and class of a different era. The decor has some vintage mid-century imagery but what I’m really talking about is the employees. From their retro aqua aprons to their exceptional customer service. Publix employees are genuinely friendly and kind. They often ask if we need help finding anything. I have had real conversations with the woman behind the produce counter and the man behind the seafood counter about where I got my hat, our cookout plans for the weekend, the photo shoot I just had with my very pregnant sister-in-law, a hot sauce that goes great with fried catfish. It’s as if they actually take pride in their jobs and truly like people. To top it all off, they always offer to help me out to the car with my groceries which involves a chatty grocery bagger pushing the cart our to my car and loading all the groceries into the trunk for me. I usually decline unless it’s a nice day and I know they’ll enjoy getting some sunshine. Someday when I’m wrangling kids, I’m sure I’ll take advantage of this offer.

(Source: •)

Publix exemplifies how mid-century values can set a modern supermarket chain apart from the rest.

What about you? Do you know of any other places with great customer service that reminds you of a simpler time? What’s your favorite grocery store?

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Posted by mahlbrandt

I Can’t Find My Phone

01/06/2011

When I read what Rachel (my fellow Watkins alum) over at Benign Objects, wrote about I Can’t Find My Phone, I added it to my Bookmarks Bar. I figured I’d never make use of it since I rarely lose my phone, but lo and behold, the night of the Nashville Christmas Parade I hopped in the car and realized I didn’t have my phone. In the process of putting on warm layers for the cold night, it had been buried in a heap of clothes on my bed. I was in a hurry so I popped open my laptop, clicked on the link, typed my number and hit “HELLO?” Problem solved! Now, I must do my duty to pass this useful link on to you: ICantFindMyPhone.com

Save it. You never know when you’ll need it!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Chickens and Goats for Christmas

12/15/2010

Want to get something unique for the hard-to-buy-for people on your list?

How about a chicken? Or a goat? Not for your family members, per se, but in their honor for a family in need across the world. Goats are pretty remarkable animals as they can live in almost any climate, they reproduce quickly and they give plenty of milk for a family. $60 buys a pair of goats. Not in your budget? A pair of chicks costs $11. Visit ChickensAndGoats.com for more information.

They don’t just donate animals. For $115 or $133 you could donate an electric sewing machine or a rickshaw to provide someone with a tool to make a living and provide for his or her family. Pretty cool, huh?

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Our Little Focus

12/01/2010

I took a picture of our car. While we were in Pigeon Forge in October amidst the beautiful trees I had an impulse to take a photo of our car. We’re not car people and we’re not in love with our car; it just needs to get us where we’re going. So, we didn’t really have any intentional pictures of it.

This little green Ford Focus has taken us on a lot of journeys; about 150,000 miles worth. She was Jason’s and my first big purchase (read: first big loan), six months after we got married. This car drove us from Erie to Nashville and back many times before our move in 2004. It drove us up to my parents house in Pennsylvania for holidays, to my sister’s wedding reception in Philadelphia, on vacations to Virginia Beach, Hilton Head Island, Cincinnati and many a day trip to Atlanta. The weekend of this photo it took me halfway across the state to spend a much needed 3-day weekend with my husband. It has carted many friends and family members around to work, to church, to homes, to stores, to the airport and back. It’s carried amps and guitars, groceries, lumber, straw bales, 100s of pounds of rocks, loads of IKEA purchases, packages, luggage, dogs and moving boxes. It’s had it’s share of problems through the past seven years but our little vehicle has been good to us.

In the season of thankfulness, I’m extending some gratitude to our little engine that could:

Dear Green Meanie,

Thanks for running strong these seven years, for carrying us and our treasures all over the place, for stopping on a dime and taking off fast, for not quitting us even after two hit-and-runs, for turning sharply enough to parallel park in one try, for chugging along despite your bolted-up rather than truly fixed back windows, missing lug nut cover, cracked and dented front fender, dashboard stickiness from many a drink spill, and overdue oil changes. You’ve been the setting for many kisses and fights and important conversations. You’ve been sung in, slept in, kicked, washed infrequently, snowed on, rained on and hailed on. You’ve been worth ever payment we made, the chili cheese fries we ate in celebration of paying you off, and for every dollar we’ve paid for repairs and maintenance. Yes, you’ve been a good little car.

This year you got a new battery, a new alternator, a new driver’s side mirror, a new fender, new tires, new brakes and some other new parts I can’t remember the names of. Now, please accept this long overdue tune up as a token of our appreciation … and continue on for the next seven years!

Sincerely,

Your Drivers

 

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Wise Words

10/27/2010

“Let my words, like vegetables, be tender and sweet for tomorrow I may have to eat them.” —seen on a chalkboard wall in SouleMama’s kitchen

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Posted by mahlbrandt

MIA

10/19/2010

Sorry I’ve been missing this week in the blog world. I’ve been sick. I’ll be back … soon! Meanwhile, here’s a picture of my sweet baby Lucy:

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Wise Words

10/13/2010

“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” – Brennan Manning

 

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