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a slice of life
a slice of life

Summer Outfits with Walmart

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all opinions are honest and my own. I’ve worked with Walmart here on the blog for several years, sharing things from their home and craft department, but this time I was asked to share items featured in their fashion department.  My days mostly consist of painting, working on my house, gardening, writing, cooking, and taking pictures…so I’m not walking around the house all dolled up.  I’m not sharing my OOTD (outfit of the day) because it’s pretty reliably sweats, a t-shirt, and Crocs.  I do put some jeans on when I go out and I’ll wear tunics and dresses to church, but I’m just not and never will be a fashionista.  But, then I really thought about it and I know that there are many people like me out there and we still need to wear clothes!  We still buy clothes

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June 21, 2023 21 Comments
a slice of life

summer bedding with Brooklinen

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Brooklinen.  I have partnered with them for years and love sharing about their products.  As always, all words are honest and my own. Brooklinen is having their big 20% off Memorial Day sale now through May 31, so it’s a good time to buy new sheets, bedding, and towels. One place that has been a haven for Jeff and me (and the kitties) during all of the renovation work has been our bedroom suite.  Other than the boy’s rooms, it’s the one place in the house that isn’t acting as storage for displaced items from the kitchen, dining room, and foyer.  It’s on the opposite side of the house from the kitchen, so it’s also been isolated a bit more from the noise and dust.  And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate having a comfortable bed with fresh, soft bedding to sink

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May 25, 2023 10 Comments
Art

my recent favorite art books

Earlier this year, I tried to paint a few landscapes and they all ended up being wiped off the panel.  I felt like I had completely forgotten how to paint a landscape, which was strange because that’s where I started.  I think it had more to do with the fact that I was growing in other areas artistically.  The light in this house had pushed me in a new direction with my still-life paintings and I could see how much I was improving.  When I switched over to paint a landscape, it would feel flat and forced and I wasn’t happy with the results. So, I dove into studying and practicing.  I’ve been reading books, observing nature through photos and sketching, and I’m taking a few new art classes focusing on the landscape, trees, and skies.  (I took or am taking online classes from Erin Spencer, Julie Davis, and Scot

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May 3, 2023 7 Comments
Art

my birthday art supply bag

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m always dabbling in new things.  I like to learn, grow, and find new ways to express my creativity.  I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember.  You may also know that I take a lot of art classes and read many art books so I’m learning a variety of techniques and styles from various artists.  I tend to lean towards being tighter and more traditional in my work, both in decorating and art, so I like to expose myself to creators who are totally free spirits.  They slosh around their paints with abandon.  They scribble and play and end up creating something that I find myself attracted to.  It’s not really my style or the kind of artwork I want to make, but it’s a kind of play that can help loosen me up a bit. So

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April 17, 2023 10 Comments
Art

best art book series | for beginners

You may have noticed that I like my books.  Art books, specifically, are my favorite with design and decorating books as a very close second.  I have amassed quite a collection over the past few years and I have most of the books in my library listed in my Amazon store HERE.  With 357 books on the list, though, I know it can be overwhelming to find the book recommendation you’re looking for.  Since I’m asked with some regularity, I thought I would do a few posts with my top books from specific categories.  Today, I’m sharing the top ten books from my collection that I picked for beginners. This was really hard to narrow down because the book that is best for you depends on your interests, what mediums you want to study, which subjects you want to draw or paint, how you learn, and your starting point.  So,

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April 6, 2023 9 Comments
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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April 4, 2023 95 Comments
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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March 30, 2023 44 Comments
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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February 28, 2023 42 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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