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Favorite Things

Antiques

favorite things | marmalade crocks

I remember in my very early days of antiquing, I saw a little marmalade crock sitting on a window sill in an antique mall.  I was immediately drawn to it and, at $8.00, it was something I could afford to buy.  I used that jar for years to hold pens and pencils on my desk.  Now, I own at least a dozen antique marmalade crocks, much older and larger than the $8.00 purchase that started my collection. A few years ago, I bought several large lots of advertising pots, including marmalade crocks at a wholesale price.  While I sold most of them at the Lucketts Spring Market, I kept a few favorites for myself. I use them all over my house.  Marmalade crocks hold antique flatware in the kitchen… …knitting needles and crochet hooks in the studio… …scissors, rulers, pens, and pencils as well. And brushes.  Of course, brushes. I

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Favorite Things

feels like home giveaway | for the antique lover with Liz Marie!

For Feels Like Home Friday, I am teaming up with the queen of cozy and my fellow lover of antiques, Liz Marie Galvan!  We’re going to be on Instagram Live Friday, September 17, at 12:30 pm EST/11:30 am CST to chat about decorating with antiques!  I am really looking forward to it and I hope you will join us for that.  (You can watch it HERE if you were not able to make it live.) Of course, we’ll also be talking about books, which are both coming out this fall and feature decorating with antiques… | In addition, we’ll be having a joint giveaway on Instagram!  I know not everyone is on Instagram (sorry), but this was the easiest way for us to team up together for the giveaway.  So, if you’d like to enter the giveaway, you’ll have to do it over on Instagram (details are at the bottom

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Favorite Things

books I’m excited about preordering…

As you may have guessed, I am always trolling for new books to add to my home library!  Just when I think I’ve bought all of the books I “need”, I’ll find another one to add to my collection.  Thankfully for me, new books are being published all the time and I am eagerly awaiting a few that are coming out later this year and early next year.  Since there are some great ones on the list, I thought I would share them here.  Some of them I’ve already preordered and some I will be preordering the month they come out (so I don’t have to spend this month’s book budget on a book I won’t get this month!) But, I want to preorder books I’m excited about.  As an author, I know that preorders are huge for the early success of a book.  I want to support authors who

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Favorite Things

feels like home giveaway | for the makers

Just a note before we get to the giveaway details…  The Feels Like Home Launch Team is still open if you’re interested in joining!  This is the last day to enter (Friday, Sept.3) and then we’ll start having some fun conversations, live events, and awesome giveaways in our private Facebook forum.  Click HERE to join or HERE for more information and answers to FAQs about the launch team. So, I have another fun giveaway to celebrate my upcoming book, .  When I started writing this book, I felt it was important that it wasn’t just a pretty decorating book.  Those are so inspirational to look at, but they can also feel unattainable.  You can see the what, but you’re left wondering about the how.  In the book, I wanted to share as many of the how-tos as I could through tutorials, exercises, and sections filled with tips on everything from

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Favorite Things

feels like home | giveaway for “the design nerd”

If you’ve ever drawn house plans on graph paper, you might be a design nerd.  And, if that’s the case, you’re in good company!  There are a lot of us out there….we geek out on fabric swatches, furniture templates, wallpaper samples, paint decks, mood boards, symmetry, focal points, accents that pop, and statement pieces.  If that’s you, this first giveaway to celebrate the launch of my new book, , is for you!  If you’re not a self-proclaimed design nerd, well, this book just might turn you into one. I think there is this idea when it comes to design that you’re either good at it or you’re not.  Those who would describe themselves as “not creative” wave the white flag and leave the design work to someone else.  But, I believe down to my very bones that design and creativity are learned skills that are practiced and developed.  Yes, there

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Favorite Things

july 2021 favorites

I don’t know about you, but this summer is flying by for me!  I always think it will go slowly as I’m trying to balance working while having the boys home, but it seems to speed things up and we’re going back-to-school shopping before you know it.  Before we get into that, though, let me share some of my favorites from July… Esmé Well, my favorite thing is something I’m thankful for.  One of our cats, Esmé was having neurological issues a couple of weeks ago that had us very concerned.  It started when we noticed the left side of her face was paralyzed.  She wasn’t moving her left ear, closing her left eye fully, or opening the left side of her mouth when she meowed or yawned.  We took her to the vet and they started her on some antibiotics to treat any possible underlying infections that might be

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a slice of life

June 2021 Favorites

June was one of those months with a lot of favorites.  I kept thinking, “Oh, I need to stop and write that down so I don’t forget to share it!”  I sort of love these favorites posts for that reason.  It makes me take note of the things I’m enjoying and I take some amount of pleasure in sharing them with others (and sometimes even getting feedback from people who enjoyed them as well.)  A theme that keeps popping up in early July for me is things are meant to be shared.  So, I hope you enjoy my favorites as I share them with you and I hope you’ll take some time to share a few of your favorites with me. clarkson’s farm Jeff and I started watching Clarkson’s Farm (available on Amazon Prime) on a whim and we absolutely loved it.  It’s funny, it’s heart-warming, it’s informative, and it’s

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Art Supplies

vintage watercolor box giveaway

As I was thoroughly organizing the studio through February and March, I came to the conclusion that one person can only use so many antique and vintage art boxes!  Don’t get me wrong, I am perfectly willing to extensively explore and discover the true limits of the number of art boxes one person can own, but I wanted to spread the love around to those who might want to explore that territory, too.  I currently have two antique oil paint boxes, five watercolor boxes (two English Victorian and three mid-century French), a drafting box, two pastel boxes, and several smaller boxes for pencils, nibs, etc.  What can I say?  I love art supplies and pretty containers.  I will offer no other excuses or clarifiers. The fact is, though, it is important to me to use things I have.  It’s okay if using them means displaying them, admiring them, or actually

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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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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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