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a slice of life
a slice of life

classic navy & white wardrobe rebuild

Oh my.  Let’s go completely off the rails here and talk about clothes.  It had been over two years since I went out to an actual store to do some in-person clothes shopping.  I have ordered a few things online, but they were mostly sweatpants and t-shirts, which is my default when I don’t have anywhere special to go.  When you’re doing everything online, why do you need to bother with things like nice jeans, cute shoes, and structured jackets?  I’m sure I’m not the only one who had dressy clothes languishing in their closet.  But now I’m going places and I realized that some of the clothes weren’t fitting well or I just wasn’t excited about wearing them.  Moving was a great time to do a closet clean-out and, as I did with my furniture, I just kept my favorite things.  Some linen dresses and tunics, a yummy green

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July 27, 2022 12 Comments
Travel

the VA lake house

Where in the world is the Parsons’ family this week?  It almost sounds like we’re off on some great adventure, but we’re really just bumming around staying with family and in homes that are open to us!  I suppose that is an adventure of sorts and we are trying to make it feel like that.  We had the opportunity to stay in my cousin’s lake house for about a week and it has been such a treat.  The house itself is cute and comfortable and I’ve enjoyed sitting on the dock watching the swans, people floating by on kayaks and the clouds.  It’s been peaceful, restful, and felt like a bit of a vacation from all of the car trips. We are now heading back to Raleigh, NC for a few days before we head back north to Pennsylvania, but before we leave, I thought I would show you our

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July 18, 2022 18 Comments
book reviews

the reader’s corner | used books

When we arrived in Raleigh last week, my mother-in-law started going over potential outings.  She shared the names of a few thrift stores she thought I might want to check out and she mentioned that my niece, Lizzy, could give me a comprehensive tour of the best-used book shops in the area.  Well, I perked up at that!  Lizzy and I have always had a lot of interests in common from theatre to crochet.  Now, we share a love of poking around used book stores to build our personal libraries.  We chatted about what kind of books I look for (art, design, decorating) and she knew just the spot to take me – The Reader’s Corner. I was actually so distracted at the thought of all of those used books that I forgot to bring my cell phone with me, so I couldn’t take pictures!  The one above was sourced

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July 12, 2022 13 Comments
a slice of life

May & June 2022 Favorites

I didn’t get around to writing my May favorites for obvious reasons.  I broke my foot on May 1 and then spent the entire month hobbling around packing up a 4,000 sq foot house.  It was a lot and I was just trying to get through it, not make mental notes on things I really enjoyed.  But, I did manage to remember a few things I really enjoyed and decided to combine them with some favorites from June. May and June are like a tale of two months.  May was frenzied and exhausting.  June was relaxing, quiet, and slow.  It was staying in a small house that didn’t need much from me and I could just focus on recovery and rest.  Of course, I still did work, but I welcomed writing and painting after all of the packing!  It felt restful and I could work at a slower pace.  We

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June 28, 2022 18 Comments
book reviews

decorating books I kept with me

As I was packing away my , I knew I wanted to keep a few out to read, study, and look to for inspiration and ideas for our next house.  In case you missed it, we sold our house in Minnesota and we’re moving back to the east coast.  (You can read about that HERE.) We don’t know where exactly, yet, but we are moving to be closer to our parents, who are split between Raleigh, NC and Gettysburg, PA.  So, we’re looking to settle somewhere between the two. Jeff is still looking for his next position in ministry and we will buy a house once he finds the place he feels called to.  Until then, I’m just dreaming about what our next house might be and thinking about the kind of pieces I’d want to put on my wishlist to furnish that new home.  We sold over half of

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June 20, 2022 27 Comments
a slice of life

the waiting place | encouragement

I’ve always loved the book   It’s not often that a children’s book is so poignant, timeless, and relevant through many seasons of life.  I have revisited this book many times and have gifted it to people in times of transition or new chapters.  In all of the silliness, rhythm, and rhyming, it is so good.  So, as we end one chapter in our lives, I have been thinking about excerpts from this book…specifically The Waiting Place.  If you’re not familiar with it, here it is… The Waiting Place By Dr. Suess Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for the fish

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June 9, 2022 40 Comments
a slice of life

uncertainty & possibility

“How’s Jeff’s job search going?” “Have you figured out where you’re going to move?” “Have you bought a house, yet?” These are the questions I’m asked almost every time I see someone, speak to someone or text with someone.  I don’t mind it at all.  I would ask the same thing if I had a friend who was moving.  But, the answer has stayed the same. “We don’t know, yet.” When I can see the expression on the inquisitive person’s face, I usually see something that resembles a cringe in one form or another. It might be eyebrows raised or a sympathetic look of surprise.   And I don’t mind those reactions, either.  I get it and there are moments when I catch myself cringing.  I joke with Jeff by saying in my best Mrs. Bennet impression, waving an imaginary hanky, “Oh, whatever will become of us?!” When one woman asked

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June 6, 2022 58 Comments
a slice of life

moving day 2022

Yesterday was tough.  Moving out days almost always are.  But yesterday was already full of final packing and a string of appointments at the Mayo Clinic for Calvin.  (It’s a part of his regular check-ups and T1D care.) I tried to reschedule those appointments when I realized I had double-booked us, but we couldn’t get in until August and these appointments are a top priority.  So, we figured out rides (I can’t drive with my broken foot) and had the tight day planned out.  Calvin and I would be at Mayo and Jeff and Marshall would be at the house doing some final packing before the movers came. We initially scheduled the movers for 8:00 am, but they asked if we would be willing to have our moved bumped to the afternoon with a 1:30 start time.  That actually gave us a little more time in the morning to do

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June 1, 2022 37 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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