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a slice of life

a slice of life

my 45th year

I have been sharing here on this blog since I was 31 years old and today I turn 45.  If you’ve followed me since the early days of blogging, you might remember my boys streaking across photos in diapers and little addendums to my posts about the funny things they’d say.  Now, both boys are in high school and my oldest just got his learner’s permit.  Oh, the passage of time and I’m definitely feeling it today.  Not in an arthritis-in-my-joints kind of way, but in a way that reminds me the time we have is precious. This year, I told Jeff that my birthday could be low-key.  I’m getting a kitchen for my birthday.  And, it can be rightly argued that I got three 1800s ironstone cake stands for my birthday. But, then I confused him a couple of days ago by saying that I want to make a

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1970 home renovation

how we’re paying for our renovations

Every once in a while, I get the question, “How are you paying for your home renovations?”  I appreciate the honesty and openness of a question like that and I’ve often wondered that myself when I see people sharing one major home renovation after the other online.  I grew up learning that you don’t talk about money and you certainly don’t ask people about it, but I think there is a benefit from sharing with discretion.  While I’m not going to get into all of the cost breakdowns and how much we’re spending on each project or overall, I will share a peek behind the scenes.  As with all things I share, I hope this will encourage and inspire you. How we’re paying for our renovations is a three-part answer… We read and went through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University years ago.  We followed the steps, got out of debt,

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a slice of life

overwhelm & order

Yesterday, I worked on the things on my daily list to get done (I try to limit it to three big things, which you can read about HERE), but then I found myself shuffling around, a little lost at what to do.  There is just so much to do.  Do I paint more?  Do I clean?  Do I start on a new project?  I had hit the point that often happens when there are a lot of projects or events happening at once.  Overwhelm.  There’s so much to do that it seems like the best thing to do is get back in bed. So, after some floundering, I went to my go-to method for dealing with overwhelm – creating order.  All of the mess and stuff everywhere needed to be put into order so that it didn’t look and feel overwhelming.  In truth, while we do have a lot of

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encouragement

challenges & opportunities | encouragement

One thing I paid attention to when we were house hunting in Minnesota was light.  What kind of light came into the house?  Would it have mood-boosting sunny rooms that the camera loves?  The house we ended up purchasing had so much light.  Too much at times, in fact.  But, I basked in it and enjoyed it thoroughly.  None of the homes we looked at during our Maryland house hunt had good light.  They were all older homes with smaller windows, surrounded by mature trees and landscaping.  I am pretty optimistic when looking at a house, though; I felt we could brighten up the 1970s home we purchased.  Of course, it felt dark.  The curtains were drawn and shades were pulled in all of the rooms since it was summer and the house was empty.  There were other things that closed the place in like overgrown bushes in front of

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Art

testimony to practice | encouragement

It wasn’t a formal commitment or challenge explicitly set out, but I decided after Christmas that I wanted to try to paint and/or draw every day.  By every day, I mean most days, regularly.  And, with just one or two exceptions, I have been at the easel and/or in my sketchbook every day.  Some days, it’s just doing a few sketches on the sofa when we’re watching TV in the evening. Most days, though, I take the time to work at my easel, so I can consistently produce oil paintings to sell the originals and provide digital copies for commercial clients to make prints.  Even in these few weeks, I am feeling the momentum and seeing improvements. Over the weekend, when I was taking some time to paint a still life, I noticed the paint caked along the edges of my easel.  It reminded me of when I first bought

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a slice of life

waiting well | encouragement

I’ve had this blog post sitting in my head for weeks over the summer and then in my drafts for months.  It felt so personal and different from what I normally post here, so I kept it as my own.  But, during our season of waiting this summer, so many of you shared your own stories of waiting – waiting for news, waiting for health to improve, waiting for things to turn around, waiting for peace, waiting for the return of joy, waiting for a season to be over, or for one to begin. I have to be honest and confess that my ability to wait was tested this summer more than it ever had been before.  The waiting started to feel like an intense itch and I didn’t know how to get relief.  I felt like I needed to lay on the grass in the sun or throw something

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encouragement

my top three tips on getting things done

As I share the things I do each day, I’m often asked how I get it all done.  This has been a question that’s been asked and answered many times over the years, but it’s always worth talking about.  I think it’s natural to look at the work produced by someone and wonder about their process, routines, habits, approach, and mindset.  We’re always looking for that secret sauce recipe that seems to work well for someone else and just might work well for us. While I don’t have any secret sauce recipes to share today, I hope I can offer some encouragement by giving you a glimpse at how I approach my work. If you’ve followed me for a few years, you know I’m someone who thrives on productivity.  I just enjoy working, having something to show for my time, and creating.  I’ve been that way since I was pretty

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a slice of life

walking again

“Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.”  – Henry David Thoreau As some of you know, I broke my foot back in May.  While it was a frustrating inconvenience during packing and a move, over time, I found the greatest loss for me was not being able to go on my daily walks.  Yes, it’s exercise and working towards a 10,000-step goal.  Yes, it’s taking Sebastian out, enjoying the sunshine, and getting some fresh air.  But, it has become an important part of my creative process over the years.  And I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I was able to start going out on long walks again. I’m slow (we’re talking a sad 25-minute-mile), but I am walking again and it feels amazing.  I use my time walking mostly to listen to audiobooks and podcasts about creativity, creative work,

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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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