I had the great pleasure today of grabbing a coffee (or caramel apple cider in my case) with a creative and wonderful woman, Jeanne Oliver. We have never met before. We’ve only had some interaction through social media outlets and friends of friends and her hysterical experience with my milk paint (when it all flaked off of a piece she painted.) I knew her through her e-courses, her photography pinned and circulated around the web and her camera bag and clothes (some of which I have bought.) She was in my neck of the woods on a family vacation and stole away a couple of hours to meet. We hugged, we sat down and that was that. No chatting about the weather and good local shopping. We went straight to the heart of things…our faith, our businesses, our families, our journeys, our struggles, our dreams for the future. Conversations like that are good for the soul. It’s amazing the kind of connections that are formed through this crazy blog world.
Well, I’ve learned that when you meet blog friends, you bring a gift, so I brought Jeanne some ironstone and German glass glitter. She gave me one of her amazing bags made out of vintage fabric.
I know, I know. It’s been like Christmas for me lately. I love Christmas and birthdays and pleasant surprises in general, so these gifts are not being lost on me, I assure you!
Before we parted, Jeanne said something so funny to me. It was something like, “You have got to get an updated profile picture! You are so much hipper than that picture shows.” She meant it in a very sweet and kind way (and that’s how it was received) and I’ve been wanting to update that picture, but was waiting until I hit my goal weight. Anyway, I get home and checked my e-mail and a reader left a comment saying almost the exact same thing! So, until I get those updated shots, here’s a recent Instagram snapshot…
…as you can see, I have a somewhat messy short shag cut and a nose ring. (I’ve also lost over 20 lbs, so my face is a lot thinner.) There you go. The hipper side of MMS!
If you haven’t noticed, I have paid a lot of attention to the inside of my home, but haven’t bothered much with the exterior. It’s not terrible and we have done some work to it, but my window boxes have been empty for a couple of years, I rarely weed and don’t ever plant seasonal plants that would add a bit of life to the front garden. We recently had the driveway paved (it was a disaster before), so that has given me some incentive to dig in the dirt and bump up the curb appeal.
I bought lavender for either side of the steps, some flowering bushes for both front corners of the house, mulch, potting soil and a pallet of natural landscaping stones to make a pretty border.
I also bought a beautiful variety of plants for the window boxes including Swiss chard and kale. I totally monopolized the time of the “garden lady” at True Value as I described my garden and the look I was hoping for. When I looked over my cart, I was actually excited to get home and do some digging and planting. I do feel impatient as I look at my scrawny little bushes, knowing it’s going to take years for them to fill out, but I’ll keep myself entertained with other things as that happens.
One last thing. I’ve decided to sell the upholstered chair in my living room. I love the chair and the fabric (and it’s one of the best upholstery jobs I’ve done), but I don’t really love it in the living room, so it’s time to let it go.
I’m selling it for $325 locally (South Central PA) or I can bring it with me to Pike Road, AL in a few weeks. Just send me an e-mail if you’re interested!
68 Responses
I looove that chair… Coming to CA soon?!;)
Ps… Love the new picture
Love your new picture. Super cute!
You are very hip (and I wouldn’t discount how stinkin cute and hip you are in your profile pic)! 🙂
My favorite non-coffee drink is steamed apple juice and chai. I sometimes have to explain it to the barista. How hip is that?! 😀
If I were anywhere near PA or AL, that chair would be mine!
Oh Marian, the thought of two of my favorite bloggers and creative souls meeting to chat is really exciting for me and I’m sure also for so many of your ‘fans’…! Also, it validates my confidence in my own judgement, lol! That must have been a great time for both you and Jeanne, how great that you both made the time to get together. You and Jeanne share the same generous style of sharing your amazing talents, and most of all inspiring others to go for it and try new things, that no one’s home is perfect and it doesn’t have to be. The answer is making your home the one that fits for your family and your budget and lifestyle and to be comfortable in it. And I agree, a new profile pic is in order to show off your cool new image!!
LOVE LOVE …..your sassy hair!!!
At first I thought your morning title was “…im happier than i look digging in the dirt”! Have a great day!
I love your new look…and don’t wait until you get to your goal weight to take some pictures…You are lovely just the way you are!! Life is too short to wait for things and opportunities…As a “heavier gal” I too used to shy away from photos, always being the one to take the pictures and not be in them…then a few years back I was diagnosed with leukemia and they told me I should “get things in order” – it was then that I realized that my kids wouldn’t have too many photos of me…I don’t make that mistake now no matter my weight!!
It’s fun to have a current picture of you! You are so generous with sharing parts of your life-your business, your home…You are an inspiration. What a great start to an otherwise hard day down here near DC.
You are way too sassy for other profile pic..You look great…post those pics girl!!! You have nothing to hide and I love following you..Have a GREAT day!!
I AGREE! a friend of mine just checked out your blog the other day (after I’ve talked about you so much- you know, as though I really know you)…and her response to your blog conservative photo was, “That is NOT how I had her envisioned in my head!” After meeting you at Lucketts, and seeing your photos from your retailer conventions, I was able to give her a more accurate picture of you-your spunk, fun and artistic whimsey- So, YAY for the instagram photo. You are gorgeous-and the newer photo shows your real MMS colors!
You look AMAZING! Congratulations!! I can not tell you how much I appreciate you sharing your journey professionally and personally! God has used you in myriad ways to speak in my life and I just want to say thank you!!! I look forward to your blog post each and every day!
I do live in PA but alas I don’t have extra money right now, it is too bad, that is gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
well you are INDEED hip!! i love it!
that jeanne is so awesome & one of these days i want to hug her neck, live & in person. maybe she’ll tell me i’m hipper than i appear too!
love your chair. would love it for a photoshoot. but sadly not able to get to the pike road gig!
🙂
That is the most flattering hairstyle for you! Love it!
Very cute ~ hip and stylish and a bit spunky! 🙂
Love the new pic. It’s a bit Meg Ryan! That’s got to be good!
Don’t you love how hobbies and passions turn “strangers” into lifelong friends?
My daughter said the exact same thing when she met you in Havre De Grace to buy your book, and some dark wax as a present for me. She said you were so much better looking and younger in person than you looked in you picture.
What a treat to meet each other! So funny Marian…..I have that same bag….and I LOVE it! But I adore her other fluffy flowers and added that one to my bag instead 🙂 .She is amazing and I have bought so many bags from her.But I love each and everyone! You both are amazing..!BTW love that sweet photo of you.I have seen it on instagram! What a beautiful photo!
xx
Anne
Where did you find the fabric for that chair. Just LOVE it!
You look great – Love the look – Gifts are awesome at anytime of year. Could use one myself – I have a granddaughter who’s b/day is coming up – a little retail therapy and gift giving make me happy too – There isn’t much in the funds for that these days – so can’t wait!
Love the chair – I know it will go to a lovely home!!
way to go Marion! you look so cute and yes very hip!!!
Oh, to be closer to your chair! And love the new pic. The haircut looks fantastic on you!
Marian, love the hair! And what an amazing accomplishment losing the weight. I could use.some of.your motivation. And I love the chair. But what else are you bringing.to.Pike Rd? I am looking forward to meeting you & going. I think it will be crazy fun! Over 500 of us hip gals are signed up & ready to meet you all and shop til we drop. I am sure Pike Road will never be the same. I hope Layla is ready for us all. Haha
you are and look fab, dear lady! coming up on 50, I feel like I have reached the prime, so you just keep getting better~
Oh, I love that chair! I’ve noticed it in your photos. It’s tempting, especially since my parents live nearby and could pick it up; but as of today I am furloughed—-so no treats allowed!
I was surprised to see the outside of your home: it looks smaller than I would have thought from your interior pics. Most of your home must be in the back. It reminds me of what a friend used to say about his VW bug: it’s bigger on the inside than it looks!
We did the opposite of what you did when we bought our home 10 years ago: we concentrated on the outside and then moved inwards. Most of the reason for that was because it was cheaper to beautify outdoors, we could do it ourselves, that’s what most people see, we spend a lot of time outside and it was more fun (than ripping up carpeting and tearing down drywall). I’m sure my priority would have been different if I had a home decorating blog! We did some work inside over the years, but are only now just getting to some major remodels that we now have the money and time for. New bathrooms – Yeah!!
Marion,
When I was looking at your pictures from your last conference I thought you were wearign a nose ring! That is SO COOL! I have been wanting one for ten years, but I have always been to chicken to do it because of being a minister’s wife. I LOVE IT!
Thanks for sharing!
Love your hair in the new photo! Have fun in the dirt! There is something so therapeutic about digging in the dirt and creating a beautiful landscape. Next spring hit everything routinely with miracle grow and that will help things along :). I can relate about the landscape impatience thing….I want to plant and have it look like those gorgeous yards in the magazines that have developed over years and years.
Enjoy the process!
Hi Marian,
you look just great!
And your beautiful eyes just came out of that cute photo!
Yes update your photo profile you look beautiful!
I am sure it was great time for you and Jeanne to met in person! It’s something but just yesterday happened to me to be on her website!
xoxo
Carolina
I feel you need to get a manufacturer to make this chair so we can all have one. Blessings
Love the bag Jeanne gave you!! So pretty! and…you are looking super sassy and adorable. 🙂
Nose ring!!! Look at you!! You go girl…fab fab!! I have a belly button ring…since I was in college and 2 kids later, no one sees it as i can’t wear a 2 piece anymore 🙁 You are inpiring!
Aww, I like both photos…..before and after. Not everyone can get away with such a cute haircut as your’s.
Marian –
You look GREAT (and very hip!)
Lovely bag! How fun to meet someone from Blog Land!
I had not heard of Jeanne and got a chance to check out her blog, Beautiful!
Congrats on the new bag, good luck with the garden and LOVE the new pic!
Hugs!
Kerri
What’s going on in/at Pikes Rd, AL, where’s that? I’m in FL, something I should know an out?
Oh Marion, how wonderfully exciting and delightful! Two of my favorite bloggers together!! That was so very kind of you to take along a gift!! When you were a kid was that a tradition in your family? I know that my mom picked it up when we lived in Germany and has continued it every since. The bag is truly lovely as well! I’m sorry but I am still totally geeking out over you and Jeanne meeting up for lunch!!! Two truly beautiful (inside and out) ladies that I admire and have the greatest respect for!
Do you know what I’ve discovered recently? We share a mutual friend! Missy from My Cottage Charm! She is a in real life friend of mine who I met at a blogging event in Indiana when we moved here 3 years ago. I was so excited when she told me about her feature for TOH!
Love the chair! Too bad I won’t be heading out to your neck of the woods soon. My husband was out there this summer and will be back in the spring but that is probably too long to wait. 🙂
Have a wonderful day!
Marian,
Love the new hairstyle……really suits your sweet face. Also love the polka dots and the colorful necklace. Great photo! I guess it’s true….never wait for the “just right” time to do anything. Also the chair is fabulous, but I’m in North Carolina….too far to drive to get a chair. Hope it goes to a good home.
Have a great day.
Uhhh… i love the chair! I wonder if it would match the new bedroom paint color i just posted about… and you’re sooooo cute in the pic with your little pixie haircut and your nose ring. I always really liked that first blog photo you had too… i thought you looked really cool in it. I love that you have a nose ring too… and are your eyes really that blue??!
Your house is adorable… it is gonna look so so cute when you fluff up the window boxes. It actually looks alot like my house, except i have siding… brick is really so much better though. Maybe you could eventually paint the brick, and then adjust the color of the shutters and door…. wouldn’t that be fabulous! I saw this brick house painted once in this really soft light beigy green, (sounds awful but it wasn’t ) and i remember the doors and shutters were a wonderful color, and it was soooo awesome looking…
Cindy
Love that you met Jeanne Oliver. I love her recourses, energy, and commitment! What a wonderful world blogging has created!!!
Wow these pictures are amazing and i love the chair in the pictures… Great Job, keep posting
Your home is adorable inside and out. I’ve always dreamed of buying a sweet little cottage and fixing it up and now that hubby and I have an empty nest we’ve moved from dreaming to talking about it. Thing is; selling this home we’ve lived in for almost 28 years. Raised 5 kids in this house. We have a door frame with kids measurements from toddler to adult and now the g’kids are leaving their marks. Maybe we could take the door frame with us.
All that to say is; you’re home is so sweet and full of charm and warm memories not only for you and your family but now for your readers. Watching it evolve over these past couple of years has been so fun and inspiring.
I’ve meet up with people I’ve met through Etsy teams and it was always so fun and interesting to meet face to face and share ideas.
I knew you were not only hip, but totally awesome 20 lbs ago and prior to the nose ring! You are the woman we all wanted to be when we grew up! I am about as grown as I am going to get (60’s) but I still have the heart of a child and love, just love to read your book, blog, etc. In a nut shell, you are a huge inspiration to the rest of us. Looking forward to seeing more MMS in the future. And, I have a diamond in my nose that my grandchildren love! 🙂
I think you are great! Your blog is fantastic and I believe you are an inspiration. Now, I have to admit I am NOT into nose rings or tatoos. Perhaps it is my generation, but I’ve seen a lot of older women with holes in their bodies and permanent marks on whatever places. Whatever you feel is “you” go for it. I am more traditional and I believe embellishments are more like earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.
Hi Marian,
I love and would love to purchase the chair, if you haven’t already sold it. I’m in NJ and would gladly drive to pick it up. Just let me know how you would like me to pay.
Thank you for your daily inspirations – you keep it real, sister and that’s what we all (I’m sure I can speak for your readership) love about you.
Ann
Your picture is great! Just wondering….are your eyes blue and green? The pic looks like one is green and one is blue.
They are both blue. It’s just the way the light is hitting them. 🙂
L O V E !
I have as always thought you have beautiful eyes, but today I sat and stared into your eyes and cried. I cried because God has blessed you so much and it is through you that God talks. You are beautiful inside and out, and I have noticed certain messages that I am supposed to be grabbing thru you…today I felt God tell me I can. So Marian, I am going to do it. I will endeavour to leave my bad eating habits behind and try to go more natural and clean eating. I need to lose ALOT, but if I just start with something small, it will grow to something bigger with faith and perseverance. Thank you lovely lady, you are the best! Love you Marian.
Oh, Erin, I wish I could give you a huge hug. Yes, you can do it! I love food, so it was really hard for me to change my eating habits, but I have found healthy foods I love, so I don’t feel deprived. You’ll start feeling so much better and than alone is worth it. I wish you the very best!!
You look absolutely mar-vel-lous. Congratulations on your new healthy life style.
Love, love, LOVE your new pic!! You look AMAZING!!
Wow Marian, I thought it was somebody else, you look so great. I’ve been meaning to say something also about your photo but thought maybe you had reason for not changing it yet. Incredible awesome change, good for you. You are looking great girl. Good for you.
I know how hard it is to lose weight and then keep it off but I have for 3 yrs now. (don’t know how many times I’ve lost weight and kept it off for awhile (2 or 3 yrs.) then go back to being quite chubby for 2 or 3 yrs.. As my friend would say I wasn’ t fat I was fluffy. So far it’s stayed off and I pretty much eat what I want (we do eat healthily, low fat, baked not fried) to try to stay healthy senior citizens. I’ve had a weight problem since I got pregnant first time. I was born with thyroid not working at all and now I don’t have one, haven’t since I was 23. Hence my weight problem if I don’t watch it. I’m hoping I’m thinner now cause I’m older. Not old, older. There is a difference isn’t there? Happy week
Hi Marian,
I had thought you were pretty hip for the way you looked! But now you look more like someone I might know! Which is not to say I look hip any more in the head and face department…..that’s something aging is responsible for.
Anyway, I am a landscape designer and can give you some tips or answer questions. I am not in you climate zone so the plants you use will differ but the principles are the same.
Offhand I would recommend deepening the plant beds under the windows, making them concave in shape, adding a columnar shaped shrub on each side of the steps in that corner the steps make with the house. Some other things to consider would be planting low shrubs where the grass meets the sidewalk to define your space and differentiate it from the sidewalk, and/or creating borders on each side on the entry path.
But I don’t know what your visions for use and style are. I do think it needs some curves and foliage to soften the brick and straight lines.
I Do enjoy your blog!
Let me know if I can be of help,
Laurie
Your house is adorable. I adore cape cods! And I agree about Jeanne’s suggestion of updating your profile picture (not that I have any room to talk, since I don’t even have a profile pic on my blog!) but you truly look so much different. Love the short hair!
xo
jeanne
I will say that I have always thought that your profile picture was lovely, and the longer hair quite flattering.
I live about an hour from Pike Rd., AL. What’s going on there that you will be attending? Would love to check it out if it’s a public event.
Dawn
It’s the Chapel Market, Layla over at the Lettered Cottage is hosting and it looks like some really fun people will be there! Check it out: http://theletteredcottage.net/the-chapel-market-august-update/
Well, I like the old you…..I Think you looked like a very nice woman with a great eal of humour, someone I´d like to meet very much!
Yes, you look hipper now…..but i still prefer the other one….
Love the new pic!!! P.s where is your living room rug from? Love it!
Marian,
Really like your new look. I’m growing my hair long for one last time to really see what it does. I’m 58 so I’m thinking I better do it now as i have vowed to go whatever my natural color is at 65.(?)
I’d suggest adding herbs to your planting beds. I landscape with herbs and therefore always have access to fresh ones for cooking. There’s a great form of columnar Basil that looks like a small bush that I decided to use in pots around my pool area. Only problem was it took forever to grow tall enough to look like little shrubs. You can never go wrong with lavendar. What variety did you planr? My favorite is Hidcote because of the dark purple color. You can use lavendar for many different projects. Plz check out this website for my friends’ Lavendar Farm.
http://www.hopehilllavenderfarm.com/
They have converted a former christmas tree farm into a Lavender Farm. It’s just gorgeous!
I am so excited! I have just ordered my Miss Mustard Seed milk paint for the first time. can’t wait to start painting. Had to wait until I cleaned out the garage to make room for my painting projects. No room for a car again.
If I lived closer to you and come help with the planting!
Wendy
love the look!
I think your new look is great! I love the hair, and in that picture, you remind me of Nicole Kidman. I hope you take that as a compliment. 🙂
I love your blog, and I think you look healthy in your new pic.
You do realize that piercing the left side of your nose tells the world you are a lesbian. Not judging you but thought you’d like to know sweetie. Honestly, the nose ring really doesn’t
suit you. Do something fun with your hair instead.
I was not aware of that, but mine is actually on the right. The image is reversed. Yeah, my mom agrees on the nose ring, but I really love it. I can always take it out when I’m done with it.
I love your hair and nose ring. You really can pull that look off. What she said about the placement of the nose ring and being a lesbian is crap. If I wasn’t 52yrs old I would do it too!
Love the new look and love the website. I don’t read everyday but when I do I sit with a great cup of coffee and enjoy all the daily post and pics.
Thanks for sharing and being you…you have a terrific mom, I can see that by following your posts. I just read how you started…
Cecelia
great pic – fun look. Def hipper 🙂