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a slice of life
a slice of life

restoration home

Since I’ve been about as productive as a sack of potatoes, I don’t have new and exciting things to share.  Unfortunately, the dining room trim did not magically install itself and weeds did not pull themselves just because I willed them to go away.  New paintings didn’t appear on my drying shelves and blog posts did not manifest while I was binge-watching Wolf Hall.  But, I have made a good dent in my watch lists and fell down a Tudor-era rabbit hole in the process!  Since I know many of you love the same things I do, I thought I would recommend a show I’ve been enjoying – Restoration Home, available on Amazon Prime. I started watching it because of another show – Old World Homes on Max/Magnolia.  I watched the first episode and was completely charmed by the stories of how historic homes were saved and reclaimed as residences

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September 18, 2024 31 Comments
a slice of life

why I read multiple books at one time

As I’ve shared before, I pretty habitually have a stack of books sitting in my studio at any given time.  I try to stay tidy and keep the stack under control, but I keep adding to the stack and it gets comically high again.  Sometimes it’s because I’ve acquired new books and they’re in the stack waiting to be read.  Most of the time, however, I pull a few books off the shelf on subjects I want to digest and rotate through the stack when I have time to read.  I’ll grab a couple of books and look through them in the evenings or take one or two with me to an appointment.  Once I’m finished, I’ll put them away and inevitably add more.  When one stack starts to overflow into two, I’ll force myself to narrow it down so I have a reasonable book buffet to pick from.  In

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September 10, 2024 12 Comments
encouragement

redefining what it means to be bad at something

One theme that often comes up in e-mails, comments, and messages from blog readers and social media followers is being good at something.  I get all sorts of comments in that vein…  I’m not good at that.  I can’t do that.  I’m bad at that.  Is there anything you’re not good at?  That last question always makes me smile because, of course, I’m bad at a lot of things.  My typical answer is always “plenty.”  I just don’t write about those on the blog, make tutorials about them, or share about things totally out of my scope of abilities on social media.  Sharing my failures is very different than sharing something I’m bad at.  Sharing something I’m learning and growing in is also different than sharing something I’m bad at. I’ve actually given this a lot of thought, mostly in how I can offer encouragement to those who struggle to

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September 4, 2024 15 Comments
book reviews

Taschen Book Sale

One of my favorite publishers/booksellers, Taschen Books is having a huge sale, so even though I typically don’t post on the weekends, I thought I would share some of the titles in my own library that are on sale.  Their books are always a feast for the eyes with gorgeous photography, and high-quality paper, and many of their books are enormous coffee-table style books that I love pouring over.  They also have a huge selection of books on art and design.  Most of these books are 50% off, so it’s a pretty sweet sale for my fellow book-lovers…  (Just a warning before you go browsing – Taschen carries “adult books” as well and not all of the covers are censored.  I search specific categories to try to avoid those titles.) I bought The World’s Most Beautiful Libraries at Costco a few years ago and it is a little slice of

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August 31, 2024 6 Comments
a slice of life

walmart Free Assembly launch favorites try-on | part two

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all words and opinions are honest and my own. This is part two of the try-on I shared last week from the new Free Assembly launch from Walmart.  You can find that try-on HERE if you missed it and are looking for some cute and very affordable dresses that look flattering on a midsized body.  I ordered a bunch of clothes to try, so I split the try-on into two parts so the post wasn’t ridiculously long!  There were just so many clothes that caught my eye and the prices were so good that I kept adding more to my cart.  (Click on the graphics to shop these Walmart finds and more on the LTK app.) Lee’s Slimming Straight-Leg Jeans | Levi’s High Rise Skinny Jeans | Levi’s Signature Skinny Pull-on Jeans | Lee’s High Rise Utility Pants | Silky Bow-Neck

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August 20, 2024 16 Comments
a slice of life

say yes to the invite

Remember the small business I highlighted a few weeks ago?  Meanwhile Back on the Farm?  If you missed that post, you can check it out HERE. Well, the owner of the business, Heather, mentioned in a direct message that we should get together sometime when she’s visiting her mom in PA.  While her mom lives in a different state than I do, we’re only about 15 minutes apart.  Heather did something rare in this day and age and followed up on that offer just a few weeks after she extended it.  She would be visiting her mom in a few days and invited me to lunch at the farm where she grew up.  I’ll admit to having some hesitation in accepting the invitation this week.  I have a lot of work on my plate, the boys are still out of school and we still need to get our back-to-school shopping

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August 15, 2024 16 Comments
a slice of life

Free Assembly midsize dress try on

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all words and opinions shared are honest and my own. There are times when I’ll do one of these fashion posts for Walmart and I’ll find a few things that would be fun to add to my wardrobe, but when I looked at the new Free Assembly launch, I found so many things I loved.  I mean, the number of boxes coming to the house was pretty comical.  I had to tell Jeff it was for a partnership so he didn’t give me a sideways glance.  I loved the colors, the fabrics, the silhouettes, and the classic styling.  I decided to try on a bunch of things so I could show them to you and give them an honest review.   Since I got so many things, I’m breaking up the reviews into two posts.  In this one, I’m sharing a line-up

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August 13, 2024 17 Comments
Food & Fitness

easy vegetable-forward meals | part one

As I shared in THIS POST, I have been eating whole foods and walking at least three miles daily to improve my overall health. So far, I’ve lost just shy of 30 lbs, but as I also shared, I am striving for a goal lifestyle, not a goal weight.  The process is the goal and the results will be whatever they are. As I’ve shared some snapshots of what I’ve been eating (because people asked), I decided to share some of my favorite veggie-forward meals that are in my normal rotation.  I don’t do meal planning, but I do make big batches of things that we can eat off of during the week.  Here are some typical staple items I make weekly… Chicken patties (recipe HERE.)  I make these because they don’t dry out like chicken breasts and they are a protein that reheats well.  Jeff gets a little tired

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August 8, 2024 18 Comments

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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