stories | 17-year-old me travels 6,000 miles
If you missed the first installment about my trip to Russia, you can find it HERE. Our first flight was from Orlando, Florida, to Miami. It was a short flight and a small plane that had me blaring music in my headphones, closing my eyes, and gripping the armrests, pretending I was anywhere else. […]
antique portrait in the kitchen
Remember the portrait I found at the Lucketts Spring Market earlier this year? The one I saw a couple of years ago at the fall market, thought about, wished I had bought it, and then came face to face with it again? The woman in the blue dress with the dog on her lap? Yep, […]
four things | eighty-one
The weather has turned hot again, which is expected since we’re halfway through July and in the thick of summer. Hot, humid weather means I skip my morning walk, don’t stay on top of the weeds in the garden beds quite as well, and generally stay inside except in the morning and evening. I’ve already […]
June Gardening Notes
In my May gardening notes, I shared that I put some compost around my Annabelle hydrangeas in the hopes they would do better this year. I have used Hollytone fertilizer on them in previous years, but that didn’t seem to be enough, and the compost has, so far, seemed to be the ticket to healthier, […]
stories | 17-year-old me goes to Russia
I’ve actually considered sharing some of my personal stories here on the blog before. When I was organizing our house in Minnesota from tip to toe, I came across so many bits and pieces that brought stories to mind. I considered writing a Summer Stories series about some of my childhood summers. But, I didn’t. […]
four things | eighty
I hope all of my American friends had a nice July 4th! We kept the day very low-key, but it was nice to have a long, slow weekend, and I enjoyed watching some of the festivities in clips online. I have spent years in the past going to see fireworks displays, but I find I […]
Recent Blog Posts
Pup Club Prints | fine art prints for dog & art lovers
Thank you to everyone who is trying to subscribe! We had some technical issues, but it’s working now! Also, I decided to offer a big thank you to those who sign up for the first month’s print. Founding Pup Club members will be entered to win an original 8 x 10 commissioned oil painting (animal, still life, or landscape), a $300 value. I am so excited to finally launch Pup Club Prints, a monthly art subscription I’ve been working on
the business of art vs. the art of art
There is an anecdote about Vincent Van Gogh that I’ve heard and even repeated myself. Van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime. It’s often used as an encouragement to struggling artists. If his work, which was so unique, brilliant, and beautiful, wasn’t appreciated, then you’re in good company if you find yourself in the same boat. I’ve shared in my Four Things posts over the past few weeks that I’ve been reading THIS BOOK on the life of
four things | seventy one
We’re in the middle of a mid-April heatwave. This time of year, I will wear a hoodie in protest when summer weather rears its head early, which is sort of ridiculous. I’ve still been making a point to get outside by walking in the morning before it gets hot and then spending about 15-20 minutes filling a bucket with weeds and maple saplings from the garden beds. Maple saplings are my lot in life at the moment, but they are
styling pet portraits in interiors
I received a question a couple of weeks ago about how to style a pet portrait in a room without it looking like a shrine to your dog, cat, hamster, or horse. Good question! I’m so glad you asked. Let’s talk about animal art in interiors and how to make it work with your decorating. First of all, let me say that there really aren’t rules when it comes to style, art, decorating, or aesthetics. I mean, there are rules
Move Slow & Make Things Book Bonuses Available!
I am so excited to share that the preorder bonuses for Move Slow & Make Things: Pursuing the Delightfully Fulfilling Creative Life are now available! If you’ve already ordered the book, thank you! You can enter your order information on THIS to claim your bonuses. If you haven’t preordered the book yet, you can do that HERE. I will be released September 1, 2026, so you still have plenty of time, but I learned through the release of Feels Like
four things | seventy
It’s been my favorite early spring weather. Cool enough for a hoodie, but warm enough to spend lots of time outside. I donned my overalls for the first time this year, and Jeff and I worked together in the backyard on Tuesday. We pulled weeds, mowed the small patch of grass, pruned the hydrangeas, trimmed back the liriope, and cleaned up the leaves. I remembered looking out the window last week and feeling overwhelmed at all of the tasks that
the Gibbes Museum
When we planned our Charleston outing for our anniversary, we were going to visit a few antique stores and then have a nice dinner. My aunt’s proposition changed that, though. We knew we would be transporting two large paintings in bulky frames home, so space would be at a premium. (We won’t mention all of the shells I was bringing home, too!) For that reason, we decided not to go to the antique store. I have a knack for finding
birthday happenings
This weekend, I turned forty-eight. It made me think about all of the birthdays I’ve shared about here on my blog, and if you’ve been with me since the early years, you’ve followed me through most of my 30s and now well into my 40s. Dare I say, almost fifty? We’ve been through a lot together – my boys going from diapers to driving and college classes, two big moves, three different homes, and lots of twists and turns in
four things | sixty-nine
Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s April. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. Wasn’t it just January? With the warmer weather and longer days, I am feeling my usual pull to home and garden projects, but I haven’t had much time with my current workload. Home projects are usually a large part of my work, but with oil painting and writing becoming more prominent this year, they are getting pushed to the weekend and evenings,
criticism & what makes you an artist
I received a critical comment on social media a couple of weeks ago. It happens when you share online, and after over 15 years of posting, I’ve gotten used to it and generally have a healthy perspective. Most of the time, I can shrug off the comment. It’s from a stranger on the Internet, and in many cases, it’s not even about me at all. My inbox, DMs, or comment section is just where someone’s frustration, hurt, or bad mood
madame mére
I finished yesterday’s post about the Uffizi portrait gallery with a bit of a cliffhanger. I didn’t include the setting, though. This was at Isle of Palms a few weeks ago. Several extended family members live near Charleston, so we visit them (or they visit us) while we’re there. So, my aunt interrupted my story about people walking right past a Rembrandt with an intriguing offer. “If you love portraits, I have a proposition for you.” Now, I had no
my favorite part of the Uffizi Museum
We are back in Florence, Italy, in today’s blog post, but this story will circle back to Charleston and then to my house in a beautiful, serendipitous story about art. It started with my favorite part of the Uffizi Museum. Let me start off by saying that I loved most things about the Uffizi. The U-shaped building with light-filled halls was spectacular, and the art collection might be my favorite of any museum I’ve visited to date. It’s big enough
four things | sixty-eight
I didn’t get a Four Things post written last week. There was a lot of catch-up to do after being at the beach for ten days, and my work days just got away from me. As I shared at the beginning of this year, my business is also evolving, and I’m still figuring out how to balance blogging and sharing online with working on my books and painting commissions. I feel like I’m slowly getting into a rhythm, though, and
A visit to Charleston, SC
As it so happens, our anniversary has fallen on the boys’ Spring Break the past few years. That means we’re at the Isle of Palms to celebrate, with access to some amazing dining just over the bridge in Charleston. Jeff and I love finding great places to eat, and we spent a lot of time looking up restaurants owned by famous chefs, Michelin-starred restaurants, and those with great reviews. We narrowed it down to a few contenders and, in the
Spring Break Paintings
Painting really is like any other skill or strength-based activity. If you step away from it, even for a few days, there is a bit of dust to knock off when you get back to it. For this reason, I wanted to try to fit in some painting while I was at the beach. Not only is it good practice in general, but it’s good practice to get better at painting when away from my studio. I feel pretty confident
shell collection competition 2026
The jokes, comments, and ribbing about the shell collection competition started happening the first afternoon we arrived at our rental house on Isle of Palms. I walked out to the beach for our first visit of the vacation and found a small pale gray whelk at the base of the sign at the beach entrance we use most. I posted to my Instagram Stories, “Let the games begin.” There’s always a lot of banter around the competition. My mom accuses
shelling diaries 2026 | part three & “whelk graveyard” map
You can read my 2026 Shelling Diaries Part One HERE and Part Two HERE. Jeff jokingly said we should bring shovels to dig in the whelk graveyard, but then he actually found some decent sand shovels in the garage of our rental house, so it wasn’t really a joke anymore. We were going to visit that spot again and, this time, we were going to do some serious shelling. The morning was brisk, in the low 50s, so we all
King Louis & Sky Miles | IOP Dog Reunions
Each morning, as we walk and collect shells on the beach, there is also a dog party happening. At Isle of Palms, dogs are allowed off their leashes to run free for a few hours each morning, and both owners and dogs take advantage. Dogs are running in the surf, chasing balls, playing with each other, greeting all the other beach-goers (who are there for them, naturally), and jogging alongside their owners. It finally occurred to me in 2024 that
shelling diaries 2026 | part two
While we’ve all been getting lots of steps from walking on the beach. Jeff has been the grand champion with over 24,000 steps each day. (I’ve been clocking in 15,000-20,000.) Since he’s been covering so much ground, we asked him to do some shell reconnaissance for us. He found some gray olives and whelks for me (he’s redeemed himself from his traitorous act earlier in the week ), and some pink whelks for my mom, but he also found a
four things | sixty-seven
It’s Four Things: Isle of Palms edition! We’ve been at the beach since last Friday, so we’ve been going for lots of walks, eating great Lowcountry food, preparing for the annual shell-collection competition, doing puzzles, playing Bananagrams, and visiting family. We always have a grand time, and it’s been a great week. Here are my Four Things… what I’m reading My friend Cheri gave me the book Theo of Golden a few months ago, and I’ve been saving
I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.
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From the very first coat of paint to custom cabinetry, Marian has been slowly transforming her 1970s split-level into a home filled with charm, character, and creative vision. Explore room-by-room updates, clever DIYs, and the stories woven into each renovation project. It’s a work in progress—and that’s part of the beauty.
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Peg & Awl | Small Business Spotlight
There are times when I have fleeting thoughts of quitting the online space. I think about how much time is sucked into the rabbit hole of Instagram or YouTube when I could be doing something more meaningful and productive… But then I think about the beautiful people I’ve met, dear friends I have made, and endless encouragement and inspiration I have found from like-minded creatives and all-around awesome people. I know I would miss that community, and leaving social media
proof of life & productivity
One of the little tidbits I jotted down in my phone and then in my commonplace notebook (a place where I collect quotes, lyrics, words, poems, thoughts, and such) recently was this: “A clean barn has no oxen.” I am going to confess that, as a pastor’s wife, I didn’t know that little nugget of wisdom was directly from the Bible. Well, it is. It’s from Proverbs 14:4. When I heard it, though, it resonated with me right away.
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 2
Welcome to giveaway number two leading up to the September 1 launch of my new book, Move Slow & Make Things. For this giveaway, I’ve partnered with Luxury Brands of America, a US distributor for fountain pens, inks, notebooks, and other fine writing supplies. They carry some of my favorite fountain pen brands, such as Platinum, Waldmann, and Benu. One of the themes I write about in Move Slow and Make Things is buying and using tools and materials that
antique-inspired color charts
I’ve been making and selling color charts on linen for a few years. My first one was inspired by color charts found at an artist’s estate sale. I was so smitten with them when I first spotted them online – the colorful squares in oil framed by age-stained fabric – that I decided to make some of my own. I made small color studies on antique linen and hemp scraps, testing different ways to tape off the squares and apply
Live Painting at Lucketts
This post has been sitting in my drafts for weeks! I know some of you must have been losing sleep because I left you hanging about the Lucketts Spring Market. I will not torture you any longer. Here’s how the afternoon of painting went back in May… After my triumphant antique find and a morning of scurrying from shopping the Lucketts Spring Market to selling paintings, I settled into my space to do some live painting. I decided to do
Move Slow & Make Things | Giveaway No. 1
Welcome to the first of several Move Slow & Make Things giveaways! To celebrate the book and introduce the themes explored in these pages, we’re going to give away products and gift cards that highlight small creative businesses and showcase analog tools and materials that perfectly complement living a delightfully fulfilling creative life. We’re talking fountain pens, inks, journals, heirloom gardening tools, antique-inspired small-quantity clothing, handmade pottery, and more. I’m excited to partner with some of my favorite makers to
Seasonal
Fall
carrot white bean soup & croutons
When my shoulder pain was at its worst a few weeks ago, local friends from our church and community stepped in to encourage and support us by giving me rides to my appointments and bringing a few meals. You have no idea (or maybe you do) how amazing it was to have jars of soups and a “hot dish” (aka Minnesota for casserole) in the fridge just ready to go. I couldn’t cut food, maneuver pots & pans, or even
easy chicken and dumplings recipe
Today was another snow day for the boys and they’ve already canceled school through Wednesday due to the cold. (The high on Wednesday will be -20 degrees F!) So, it’ll be a bit of a tough work week for me! I need an empty house to really focus and reach my maximum level of productivity. But, while we’re socked in with the snow and cold, I decided to make chicken & dumplings. I made them last week to use up
easy chicken & dumplings recipe
Today was another snow day for the boys and they’ve already canceled school through Wednesday due to the cold. (The high on Wednesday will be -20 degrees F!) So, it’ll be a bit of a tough work week for me! I need an empty house to really focus and reach my maximum level of productivity. But, while we’re socked in with the snow and cold, I decided to make chicken & dumplings. I made them last week to use up
creamy potato soup | simple weeknight meal
Both Jeff and I are big soup fans. I discovered my love of soups when our family went on winter retreats to Beatenberg, Switzerland and they would serve the most delicious pureed soups with dinner every night. (This sounds fancy, but I grew up in Germany when my dad was stationed there in the military.) Now that we’re in the thick of winter and I’m working on eating healthier, soup makes a great dinner as well as leftovers for lunches
No-Fail Apple Pie Recipe
I attempted to make apple pie many times and it never turned out quite right. The dough was tough or the filling was runny or there was a big pocket of air under the top crust or the apples weren’t fully cooked, but the crust was burnt on the edges. I finally threw in the towel. We’ll just buy a stupid pie since I can’t make a proper one. Then, I was taught the recipe and all of the secrets to
early thanksgiving & a thrift store score
Today was one of those days that I tried to pack in more than was really reasonable, but I managed to get it all done! I have two Thanksgiving freelance articles due this week and one of them involved putting a spread together that at least looked like a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. So, in addition to styling a shoot, I was baking pie, roasting a turkey with stuffing, and all of the fixings. I took some shortcuts with pre-made mashed
at home
All Things Home
Christmas Kitchen 2025
I’m squeezing in the last room decorated for Christmas just before Christmas Eve. When I started sharing Christmas content in November, it felt really early, but now I remember why I do! I end up crunched for time in the last week and don’t have the time to share everything I had planned. Sadly, I have a few project ideas that I didn’t photograph. Those will get kicked to next year. Anyway, I wanted to show you how the kitchen
Christmas dining room 2025
I wasn’t sure I’d get my dining room decorated before Christmas this year, but I took some time Friday morning to finish it up and photograph it. Until then, the tree was up, but I was using the table and corners for incoming packages, storing bins of decor as I worked on other rooms, and wrapping presents. So, I tidied up the mess and finished decorating. We have our Christmas brunch in this room, so it’s nice to have it
Christmas 2025 Living Room
If you missed it, I shared the details about our 2025 Christmas tree HERE. In this post, I’m sharing how the rest of the living room looks dressed for Christmas this year. Here is the view through the doorway from the kitchen… curtain rod | curtains | rug | pillows | sconces | paint color I do need to say that we don’t usually have this many pillows on our sofa! I learned a long time ago that sofas and
Our 2025 Christmas Tree
I used to put up our Christmas tree, string the lights, and decorate it all in one day, but I’ve learned I enjoy it more if I do it in stages. When I’m not pushing to get it all done, I feel more freedom to experiment and play if I want to. The funny thing is that I didn’t get super creative with our tree this year, even with that extra time. I just made a couple of very small
Christmas trees over the years…
As I’ve been working on decorating for Christmas this year, I thought it would be fun to look at pictures of our “main” Christmas tree through the years. I am now wishing I had done that before I decorated our tree for this year, because I found so much inspiration from things I’ve done in previous years. I love it when that happens! It was a little challenging to find pictures of Christmas trees from my early years of blogging,
Artists’ Guild Notepads
As I’ve been bouncing around the house, alternating between studio work and decorating the house for Christmas, I came upon a stack of the notepads I had ordered and intended to list for sale earlier this year! You know, when you have an idea in mind, you stick the thing in a closet, and then you forget about it? Well, that’s precisely what happened here. I got sidetracked, and the notepads were a casualty of having my fingers in too
Everyday Moments
A Slice of Life
the notesbooks on my desk
I take a hybrid approach when it comes to running my life and organizing my thoughts. I like paper, pencils, and pens for writing down ideas, planning, and managing my day. While old-fashioned notebooks are my preference for most things, I rely heavily on a digital calendar and reminder alarms to make sure I don’t miss appointments, important deadlines, or even mundane weekly chores like putting the trash cans on the curb and changing the pool’s chemical cartridge. (Yes, despite
four things | seventy six
It’s been a full, exciting week. I’ve been walking each morning, caring for the garden beds, working on commissioned paintings, packing prints, and recording some test audiobook samples for Move Slow and Make Things. I’ve also been arranging some fun giveaways as we get closer to the launch, and this afternoon (Friday), I received my first advanced copy of the book! As an author, there are few things as thrilling as receiving the first copy of a book, holding in
four things | seventy five
I had an original art sale yesterday, so I spent the bulk of the day babysitting the sale (answering questions, managing presales, etc.) and packing paintings that sold. I am always bubbling with nervous energy before a sale, so I channeled it into cleaning the house and doing small, mindless tasks, like sprinkling some of the shells I collected over Spring Break around the garden and patio. I was thinking about nervous energy before an event like this as I
four things | seventy four
It’s been a full week. I was called for jury duty, so I didn’t know whether I would have a day of sitting at the courthouse or a normal workday until 4:30 pm the previous day. I got ahead on blog posts and worked over the weekend to be ready in case I was selected for a trial. Well, I never even had to set foot in the courthouse. My number was never called, and then I was released yesterday
growth
Growth doesn’t usually happen in leaps and bounds. It’s something that sneaks up on you; it’s masked by time and embedded in the act of showing up every day. One day, you look up and realize you’ve traveled a great distance, closing the gap between where you want to be and where you were. It was done in increments so small they were barely noticed. You hope for it, catch glimpses of it, and feel like you’re making some progress,
four things | seventy three
It’s been a day of comings and goings. Rosa Jo is staying with us for a few days as my parents visit friends. Our contractor stopped by to open our pool and talk about a few upcoming projects. The refrigerator repair tech was out to make one last-ditch effort at getting our fridge working again (I’ll share all about that in another post). I’ve been trying to work between it all, but this post has taken forever to put together
Explore painting at your own pace—no experience needed
Free Art Classes for the Creative at Heart
While the world slowed down in the spring of 2020, I found connection and creativity by offering live art classes each Friday—just a simple way to share something joyful during uncertain times. What began as a small spark turned into something truly special. After receiving such kind and encouraging feedback, I decided to turn those lessons into a free online course. Inside, you’ll find nine beginner-friendly oil painting classes covering everything from mixing colors to painting a sweet grazing cow. It’s a gentle, joy-filled place to start (or continue) your painting journey.