Swinging into Spring

03/17/2015

On March 5 we had a snow storm that brought 2-3″ of the dreaded white stuff. I don’t ever recall getting snow accumulation in March in the 10 winters we’ve lived in Nashville. On the bright side, I got to work at home more than usual this winter. And of course, Alianna loved it and was sure it was Christmas all over again.

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It was too stinkin’ cold to play outside that day so Ali brought a bucket of snow inside and played in the tub until it melted.

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One week later the temps were in the 60s and we were playing outside with no coats. A few budding flowers have been spotted. I can’t wait until everything really bursts into bloom. Spring is so breathtakingly beautiful here. And of course, I’ve been looking forward to Spring for another little/big reason this season. AccuWeather already has the extended forecast up for my due date. It’s currently looking like April showers and upper 60s. (Seriously, how can they predict the weather a month in advance? Crazy…) I’m so thankful for the longer daylight hours in the evening brought by Daylight Saving Time and I’m trying to get some more exercise with evening walks, lots of playing outside with Ali and eating meals on the back patio whenever possible.

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Feeding the chickens one of their favorite treats: black oil sunflower seeds (birdseed).

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Homemade Orange Julius popsicles. Mmm!

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Look! Dresses and no socks!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Snow Day in Nashville 2015

02/19/2015

Yesterday we woke up to a dusting of real snow. I would have been happy to hide indoors all day but Alianna was so excited to make a snow angel. I couldn’t resist her enthusiasm, plus the chickens needed water, so I bundled us both up in lots of layers and we spent about 20 minutes outside playing.

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She could have stayed out much longer but I was worn out! Our buddy Jaron lives right around the corner and his mom was under the weather so I took Ali over to play with him. I lasted 45 minutes until my toes were frozen and it was time to head home. As much as I despise this weather and want to pack up and move to Florida, I really did enjoy watching Ali playing in it.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Iced In

02/17/2015

We’ve been iced in since Sunday night. The forecast was originally for 3-7″ of snow. Instead we got 1/2″ of ice and sleet. The trees look beautiful and also pitiful. I’m concerned about the number of plants we’re going to lose. We’ve had ice storms in Nashville before but in the 10 years we’ve been here, we haven’t had one that lasted this long. Usually it’s melted within a day but the temps are not forecasted to go back above freezing until Saturday. Yikes. I’m trying to enjoy being stuck at home and not go stir crazy. I will not admit to the amount of cartoons Ali has watched in the past 24 hours.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Snow Day – December 10, 2013

12/24/2013

I’m not a fan of snow and cold—I’m still bitter from all those years living in the snow belt in NW Pennsylvania—but who could resist the joy and wonder of a toddler exploring the freshly fallen snow? This stuff is pretty rare down in Nashville so I bundled her up and we headed out to play before breakfast.

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Ali’s reaction to tasting an icicle: “Mmm…tastes like popsicles from the ‘frigerator!”

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And then by the afternoon it was all melted. Thank God!

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I’ll be away for the next week or so enjoying the holidays with my people. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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Posted by mahlbrandt

The Best Time to Buy a Winter Coat

01/30/2012

…is probably the end of the winter, right? Much to my mom’s dismay, we’ve managed to get through the winter thus far without a winter coat for Precious. She has a giant snowsuit that my mom bought her but we’re tired of wrestling with it to get her into the car seat, especially since the majority of her van rides are under 10 minutes. Next year, however, Precious will be a toddler, a year a half old, the age/size of Ladybug (hard to believe!)…and she’ll need a proper winter coat. Since she’s growing an inch a week (it seems), I decided to hunt down a unisex, warm, hooded coat that Precious can wear next year and we can reuse for our future kids. It was surprisingly difficult to find a unisex (ie. boys) coat that was all one gender-neutral color…yellow, red, black, green, gray, brown. After a small bit of research, I decided on London Fog. I was pleased to find this artichoke green jacket on sale for just $18 and free shipping. Score! (Extra bonus: It came the NEXT day!)

It’s 2T size so it should be perfect next winter. And, she can even wear it for the last month of winter this year, too. Happy, Mom?

As someone who lives in an artichoke colored house and loves artichokes on pizza and pasta, I do with this “artichoke” was a little more yellowish green like the website images and a little less hunter green. I’ll just have to dress it up with a girly hat and mittens next year.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

January Spring

01/31/2011

This weekend was January Spring! What’s January Spring, you ask? That’s what Jason and I call the weekend we seem to get every winter, usually in January, where we get a preview of spring and a respite from winter. This past Saturday and Sunday were sunny with highs of 65º. A glorious change from all the snow we’ve had in Nashville this year. (We had 4.5 inches in December and I think it’s been more than that in January.) I left the doors hanging open hoping to lure the warm sunshine into the house!

Here’s a little weekend recap:

Friday night I had dinner with my parents and we saw 127 Hours. It was intense and disturbing so be forewarned if you go. It is inspiring to see how Aron Ralston went through what he did and survived. Talk about a will to live.

Saturday I had the privilege of snapping some last minute maternity pictures of my brother- and sister-in-law. More on that later this week. After that: grocery shopping, lunch outside, a Vanderbilt – University of Arkansas basketball game, and a movie with friends.

Sunday Jason got home—if you’ve been reading this blog for the past 6 months you know how much I love homecomings!—and we enjoyed the warm weather with breakfast outside, weeding the garden (Jason) and a walk with Lucy. After that his family came over to hang out for the evening. We ate tortilla soup and berry delight and played Apples to Apples. Jason and I topped the night off with catching up on the past couple episodes of Modern Family. It was a wonderful weekend!

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By the way… sorry for the unannounced blog hiatus the past couple weeks. I was feeling uninspired after weeks of cold, snowy winter and decided I needed a break. Five posts a week is a big time commitment and though I enjoy it, sometimes I feel like I put too much pressure on myself. So I’m back. I’m not sure if I’m 5-days-a-week back, but I’m here.

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Snow Day

01/10/2011

Nashville got hit with another major snow storm — the third this winter. And by major snow storm, I mean we got about 2 inches. Thankfully, my office was closed today. I am fully equipped to work from home but since they only allow me to work from home one day a week, I figured, ah screw it. Instead I’ve been cleaning the house, doing laundry and dishes, watching TV,  sketching ideas for the garden and home, and soon I’m going to tackle a sewing project I’ve been putting off for months. Maybe I’ll even cook dinner. It’s been a very nice snow day. 🙂

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Posted by mahlbrandt

Good thing we had bread and milk

01/12/2010

We had a “snow storm” last week in Nashville. Thank God it’s just about all melted away now. I may be a former Pennsylvania girl but there is a reason we moved South; I can’t handle this cold! I recognize those clouds …

It’s all about the layering. Seriously, for the past 5 days I’ve been wearing 2 pairs of socks, tights/leggings under my jeans and sometimes 5 or 6 layers on top (tank tops, t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweater, 2 zip up hoodies …) Have I mentioned I HATE being cold??

Because it’s a novelty and this is the most snow Nashville has seen in the 6 winters we’ve been here, I did take quite a few photographs. I guess I can appreciate the beauty of it a little bit.

The frost on my car windows when the sun shines on in the morning is particularly charming.

There is a joke around these parts that anytime there are flurries in the forecast, everyone runs out to the grocery store to stock up on bread and milk in case they’re snowed in for days. It’s true – avoid gas stations and groceries stores!

I’m very thankful for the new down puffer coat I got for Christmas. Thanks Mom.

Cute rain boots – zero insulation but 100% water proof.

Ok. I’m ready for summer now. Bring on the heat!

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Posted by mahlbrandt