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a slice of life
a slice of life

how I’ve lost 30 lbs

I shared in a blog post and a few times on Instagram that I’ve been working on my health and fitness behind the scenes.  A bunch of people have asked if I would share what changes I’ve made, so here are the details… If you’ve followed my blog for a few years, you know I’ve shared things I’ve done along the way to lose weight and get/stay in shape.  I’ve done P90x, Insanity, Whole30, and WW to name a few.  I’ve been a yo-yo dieter since I was 15 years old and it’s done some damage to my self-esteem and how I view myself.  I dieted when I didn’t need to diet, saw myself as fat when I wasn’t fat, deprived myself of food, and abused myself with exercise. I was at a pretty balanced and healthy place at the end of 2019 and then my eating and exercise went

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July 31, 2024 33 Comments
a slice of life

small business spotlight | meanwhile back on the farm

Disclosure: Meanwhile Back on the Farm sent me a few of their products to share on social media, but I really love their brand and story and wanted to write a blog post featuring their family-owned small business.  Both my mom and I have shopped from them as customers as well.  There’s a coupon code for 15% off at the bottom of the post, so don’t miss that! Since I’ve moved back to the East Coast, it’s become a regular thing for my mom and me to go to the Lucketts Market in the Fall and Spring.  It’s our special girl’s day out.  The fall of 2022 was our first time attending and, before I went to the event, a woman from my church told me, “You have to visit Meanwhile Back on the Farm.  They’ll be there as vendors and I know the owner. Say hi for me!”  So,

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July 23, 2024 8 Comments
a slice of life

a personal project, hungryroot review & discount code

Disclosure: I have partnered with Hungryroot to review their products on my Instagram grid and Stories.  This post is not a part of that partnership, but I wanted to share it with my blog audience as well.  Use code MISSMUSTARDSEED40 to get 40% off your first Hungryroot order, which is the biggest discount currently available! There is a personal project I’ve been working on behind the scenes for a few months.  In January, I went to my primary care physician for a yearly check-up and to follow up on a few lingering issues.  The issue at the top of my list was my heart.  I had been experiencing arrhythmia for a couple of years, but it was becoming more noticeable and intense at times.  My heart rate was often pretty high and racing at unusual times.  After brushing it off for a couple of years, it was time to look

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July 17, 2024 23 Comments
a slice of life

when plans change

As you might conclude from over 4,000 blog posts, in addition to books and articles, I don’t usually struggle with writer’s block.  But, every once in a while, I sit down to write a blog post, and, even though I have drafts ready, a healthy list of potential blog post ideas, and photos waiting to be used, it just doesn’t happen.  The drafts aren’t what I want to share on that particular day, the post ideas require too much lead time, and the photos aren’t inspiring.  Sometimes I can push out a post on those days because I buckle down and do the job, but on a few rare days, I realize I need to let it go and work on other things.  So, that’s what I did on Wednesday.  I worked on some other writing projects, finished an oil painting, cleaned up my e-mail inbox, and took some pictures

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July 12, 2024 15 Comments
a slice of life

blooms and roots | encouragement

I’m going all in on the hydrangeas in the backyard around the pool.  I’ve planted mostly limelight hydrangeas because they are such reliable bloomers and, in my experience, seem to be pretty easy-going as long as they have enough water.  So, I’ve planted some traditional limelight hydrangeas as well as a Little Lime hedge around the patio and A/C unit.  I also added some phantom hydrangeas to fill in the back corner because I got them for $12/each.  I am excited to see them all in a few years when they’ve really had the chance to mature and fill in.  The ones I planted last year are already growing and looking healthy and happy. Because so many people suggested it, I have started watching Gardener’s World.  I’m just going to embrace being middle-aged fully and watch gardening shows in addition to buying rain gauges and feeding the birds.  In one

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July 1, 2024 19 Comments
a slice of life

summer shoe shopping with Walmart

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all words and opinions are honest and my own. Just as I take a splurge and save approach when it comes to decorating my home, I apply the same philosophy to my wardrobe.  I like to splurge on pieces that make a statement or will be a real cornerstone of my wardrobe. I then like to add pieces that are budget-friendly and low-risk so I can wear them without fretting dirt, spills, stains, wear, and tear, and paint drips.  It’s been known to happen.  There might be an assumption that the splurge pieces always end up being among my favorites, but sometimes it’s the save pieces that I wear most often.  Several of the budget-friendly pieces in my wardrobe have come from Walmart. Since there were so many cute styles to choose from, I decided to do some summer shoe shopping

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June 26, 2024 4 Comments
a slice of life

lessons from a whelk

I’ve already shared about my love of collecting shells that look like they have a story to tell.  I like ones with holes, imperfections, and shells that have been repurposed by new owners like coral, barnacles, and bryozoan colonies until they were deposited on the beach. My sister-in-law called them wabi-sabi shells. One such characterful shell is this whelk. The points are worn off, smoothed by the friction of sand and water over time.  There are holes as if the surface had been slowly eaten away.  I also love that it’s a blue-gray color, which is my favorite kind of whelk.  The thing that really set this shell apart for me, though, was the way it grew.  Instead of the growth lines being smooth and uniform, an easy transition, there is a jagged line where the growth seemed to be knocked off course.  It almost appears as if another shell

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June 24, 2024 13 Comments
a slice of life

bird bath happenings

I don’t have a lot of garden memories since I spent the majority of my childhood in military housing apartments overseas, but as I’ve shared before, the garden memories I do have are from my Oma and Opa’s garden.  We lived with them when I was very little and my dad was on a hardship tour in Korea for the Army and during some summers when I was older.  My Opa loved gardening and birdwatching.  He loved animals in general and we often referred to him as Dr. Doolittle.  I don’t know if I’ve shared this before, but my mom had a menagerie of unusual pets growing up like a pony (they paid $25 for it and drove it around in the back of the station wagon), squirrels, a goose, a raccoon, turtles, birds, a goat, snakes, a white rat named Pedro, and dogs and cats, of course.  My mom

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June 18, 2024 32 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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