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a slice of life

a slice of life

favorite home projects of 2018

As I’ve been looking back over the past year and the projects we completed, I realized we have done a lot!  2017 was about getting settled, listening to our house, getting to know its style, and learning the way it functioned best.  It was also about tackling the immediate issues, like an aging water heater, broken garage doors, and turning the sunroom into a finished studio. This year has been about making the homes ours…or at least parts of it!  Even working at a pretty good pace, we’re not going to get the entire house done in a year.  We focused primarily on the main floor since that’s where we spend most of our time. Here are my favorite projects we completed in 2018… Installing Hardwood Floors I knew I wanted to do this before we even bought the house.  There was 13-year-old, beige wall-to-wall carpet in the dining room

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a slice of life

tale of two throws

I’ve bought two throws in my adult life that have taught me lessons. The first one was a blue knit throw I bought shortly after Jeff and I were married.  I had spotted it at Bed, Bath, & Beyond and was determined we needed it for our apartment.  He was not convinced.  I vividly remember us driving to the store, my heels dug in, trying to assert my independence and him fuming, not knowing how to handle this head-strong 20-year-old he just married.  I walked through the aisles, grabbed the throw, and clutched it tightly as I took it up to the checkout to pay for it.  Jeff protested and I only clutched the throw tighter, insistent that I was going to “win”. It was our first real fight and a strong dose of reality, forcing us to confront the fact that life lived with someone else was going to be

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a slice of life

contentment without conditions & health without strings

During my time off (and even squeezed into the hectic weeks before Christmas), I did a lot of pondering, writing, and planning.  I’ve been reading old notes and taking new ones.  I’ve been thinking about my past successes and times when I was settled into a sweet spot in life and business.  I’ve also been looking at my failures and areas of disappointment to learn and grow from them.  As I’ve marinated on all of these things and how I want to approach the new year, two words kept rising to the top – contentment & health Two words that are often thrown around lightly, but when dissected, they are well-rounded and robust.  They encompass a lot and require a lot. When I think about being defined as a contented, healthy person, I am filled with a sense of wholeness and calm.  And I know those are the two areas

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a slice of life

hope was born this night

It’s become a Christmas tradition for my extended family and talented people who work for Mustard Seed Interiors and their spouses to sing a Christmas song for you.  Last year was our first Christmas in Minnesota, away from family and anyone who worked with me, so trying to perform a song on our own seemed a little sad. Instead, I wrote a post about Christmas past and how we found joy in the leanest of times. But many of you expressed that you missed it and honestly, I missed it, too!  It was a fun way for us to fellowship together and wish all of my readers and followers a Merry Christmas! We’re once again alone for Christmas, but the Parsons’ Family Band pulled it together enough to bring you a song. It’s not polished or professional.  It’s just a couple of parents singing with their kids in their living

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All Things Home

HGTV Dream Home Tour

Disclosure:  This post is sponsored by the   As always all opinions are honest and my own (and I would’ve written this post with or without the sponsorship!) From a young age, I would dream about houses.  I would style my dollhouse and rearrange the furniture more than I played with the dolls.  I would draw houses in church and floorplans on graph paper at the desk in my bedroom.  And as a teenager, I loved going with my parents and grandparents to look at model homes and show houses.  I can’t even remember why we did that other than to occupy a Saturday, but I soaked in all of the clever decorating ideas, thoughtful choices in the floorplans, and the combinations of furnishings and fabrics. Having the opportunity to tour the 2019 HGTV Dream Home this year in Whitefish, Montana, brought me right back to that place.  I was invited by

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a slice of life

nuts & bolts

I was putting together my list for Christmas brunch (flank steak, cheese for the cheese grits, fruit and gelatin for Rosa’s Fruit Salad, etc.) and I realized that I hadn’t even thought about making nuts and bolts this year!  It’s one of my favorite Christmas-time snacks and the season almost passed without me making a batch! Nuts and bolts started in our family with my Oma (also named Marian).  I have memories of her sitting in front of the stove, stirring the snack mix in a large roasting pan.  The smell of butter, season-all, and Worcestershire sauce would waft out of the oven and creep through the house before the door was closed again.  I could hardly wait for it to be finished and cool enough to eat.  I often wouldn’t wait and would snag a few pieces from the roasting pan while the mix was being stirred. She would

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a slice of life

the creative’s s-word

S-t-u-c-k. The s-word dreaded by creatives all over the globe. And there is good reason for dreading it.  You’re humming along, in a creative groove and then you come to a complete halt.  Your mind is either blank or so cluttered with non-fun, creativity-sucking things that there is nowhere for a spark to catch.  Man, I hate being stuck! As we’re creeping towards Christmas and I’m already looking forward to taking a long break, I have to admit that I have been feeling a bit stuck creatively.  I’ll sit at my easel and flip through books and ponder what I’ll paint next without putting brush to canvas.  I’ll sit at my computer and distract myself with window shopping on Etsy or watching news bloopers on YouTube.  (Some are a riot.)  I’ll set aside focused time to work on a specific project only to find myself uninspired, sitting in front of

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a slice of life

just a few gift ideas…

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your friends and family.  In the spirit of thanks, I need to take a quick minute to say thank you!  Whether you’re brand new, you just hop on here once in a while for a tutorial or specific information, or you’ve been following my journey for years, thank you for reading my blog and for joining me on this journey.  This blog would be just a very time-consuming journal without you! I am not a rabid black Friday shopper.  Maybe I should be.  Maybe I’m missing out. I might troll the internet to see if something I wanted to buy anyway is on sale, but I’m not going to wait in line for doors to open, so I can race to get the latest and greatest deal. For those who are like me and take Black Friday at

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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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