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a slice of life

Travel

tips on shelling

As I’ve shared before, my favorite thing to do at the beach is to hunt for shells.  I’ve been shelling since I was a little girl, helping my Oma hunt for olive shells at Long Beach, NC.  When we cleaned out her attic, we found several five-gallon buckets filled to the brim with shells she had collected.  She definitely passed that along to me and combing a beach is the first thing I’ll do when my feet hit the sand.  As I was sharing about shelling in my Instagram stories, I was asked if I’d share some tips on shelling, so here they are… tips for shelling | make sure it’s permitted The first step to shelling is to make sure it’s okay to pick up and keep shells from that beach.  When I shared the shells I found on Instagram, I received some questions about that as well as

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summer

isle of palms | part one | the house & the beach

This trip was supposed to happen last year in celebration of my parent’s wedding anniversary.  I remember in February of 2020, when I spent a few days with Shaunna at her parent’s condo in Florida, thinking how much I was looking forward to a week at the beach that summer.  I wouldn’t call myself a “beach person.”  I don’t like the grit of the sand and the sticky saltiness of the ocean.  I’m fearful of animals that might be lurking around my feet and powerful waves and currents.  I break out in hives if I get too much sun and I turn bright pink and feel nauseous in too much heat.  I am not a good candidate to be a beach lover.  But, I do love it and I find it restorative under the right conditions.  If I can enjoy the beach when the sun isn’t too intense and the

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Favorite Things

my favorite period drama miniseries | part 2

I wrote a blog post about my favorite period dramas miniseries a few years ago and it was such a popular post that it was worth adding to the list.  Period drama miniseries are my absolute favorites, especially the ones based on Jane Austen and Charles Dickens novels.  I will give any of them a try, though.  Here are some that weren’t shared on my list last time or have been made since then… little women This adaptation of Little Women was about to come out on PBS when I wrote my last list and I really loved it.  I know I’m not alone in feeling a little sad and frustrated by some of the turns the story takes, but I feel like this series addressed those very well while staying true to the novel.  It’s definitely my favorite version of Little Women.  I also love the music! all creatures

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Favorite Things

April 2021 Favorites

April just flew by for me, but it was a good month full of favorites.  It was my birthday month to boot, so I got lots of fun goodies.  Jeff and I are at that stage in life when we enjoy just getting some extra spending money so we can buy what we want.  I don’t know what bit of camping gear he might like and he doesn’t know which antique art supply I’ll be smitten with!  So, I did a little shopping for myself with some money from my used art supply sale and with my birthday money and bought an antique drafting box and a Victorian watercolor box.  Those are just two of my favorite things in April… birthday watercolor box As I said, this was one of my favorite things in April and it’s continued to be one of my favorite things.  I had acquired a Victorian-era

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a slice of life

cute swimsuits for all shapes

We’re going to something a little different today and dive into the incredibly uncomfortable world of swimsuit shopping!  I promise, though, I have found the absolute best swimsuits and, if you’ve never tried on a , you’re going to thank me for this post.  I also want to say up front that this post is not sponsored in any way, shape, or form.  It was prompted by my own need to do some swimsuit shopping for an upcoming early-summer trip to the beach with my family and has the best selection of cute swimsuits for all shapes and, more importantly, all preferences for how much skin you want to show! (This was taken in February 2020, the last time I went to the beach for a creative retreat with Shaunna.) Swimsuit shopping has always been an anxiety-filled experience for me.  Even when I was at my smallest and fittest, I

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Favorite Things

March 2021 Favorites

Before we’re into May, I figured I should share my favorites from March!  As I was working on this post, it felt like March was a world away.  What happened in March?  What did I do?  Why is it so hard to remember??  I usually try to jot down my favorites as they happen, so writing a favorites post is easy, but I obviously failed to do that for the month of March in 2021.  These are the favorites I was able to scrape together… antique shopping with my mom | visiting family Well, this one was easy and obvious.  It was such a joy to be able to drive back east to visit Jeff’s family in North Carolina and my parents in PA.  We hadn’t been out there since 2018 and it’s been way too long.  The main highlight was getting to see everyone, of course, but I also loved

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Favorite Things

Home Stories | book review

Now, I have to confess right from the start that I am a little bit bias about this book.  Months ago, when it was still in the works, I was asked by Kim to write an endorsement, which I gladly did.  I had a chance at that time to peruse the book and I absolutely loved the premise, so I was so excited when I received my hard copy last week and had the chance to enjoy it in printed form.  The book is Home Stories – Design Ideas for Making a House a Home. On the back of the book, it reads, “Every room has a story worth telling: Learn how to create rooms filled with warmth, meaning, and your own unique story of home.”  And this book does a beautiful job of balancing practicality with inspiration and realistic ideas with the concept of intentionally telling your story through

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Antiques

back home & another antique watercolor box

Despite a trip to the ER after a day in the car (my youngest son has a stomach bug or severe car sickness and needed fluids), we had a wonderful trip out east to visit our family.  We made our first stop in North Carolina to visit Jeff’s parents and his sister’s family before we drive up to Pennsylvania to visit my parents.  We spent a ton of time in the car, but it was all worth it so we could see family.  We hadn’t seen Jeff’s parents since December 2019 and my parents since last summer. I took a break from writing here on the blog, but I did sneak some painting in.  Painting outdoors from life (known as plein air painting) is such a challenge for me compared to painting in the studio.  I struggled through this one and didn’t love the end result, but it was a

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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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