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a slice of life
a slice of life

Packing for Paris & Lucca

A few nights ago, I woke up in a panic.  I had a very vivid dream that I was leaving for Paris that morning and I only had 15 minutes to pack!  I have been excited about the trip, but it always seemed like something that was happening in the distant future.  It was now three weeks away and that dream was the jolt I needed to start seriously getting ready for it.  I’m not actually packing the suitcase, yet, but I am starting to try on outfits, make lists, firm up the trip details, buy sight-seeing tickets, and make some final purchases. I thought I would share some of the things I’m packing, since that’s been consuming my time the past couple of days.  First off, in case you missed it, I am going to the province of Lucca in Italy for a creative retreat, so everything for that

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August 22, 2018 107 Comments
a slice of life

annoying project day

I’m sure I am not alone with it comes to not quite finishing some of the more annoying and easily overlooked parts of a DIY project.  When I am really focused and disciplined, I’ll pin myself down and force myself to finish that last bit of painting or put in that final piece of shoe molding.  But there are other times that I want to move onto to something higher impact than installing a small piece of quarter-round that’s hidden behind a door or painting the 1 1/2″ strip of trim around the screen door. There are a couple of larger, alluring projects I’m excited to start working on, so I decided to use those as an incentive to finish some of the annoying things that have been languishing on my to-do list.  I can’t start something new until I completely finish those projects.  I called it my “annoying project

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July 31, 2018 34 Comments
a slice of life

one year ago today…

…we moved into our home in Rochester, MN! Moving into the new house was like standing at the top of a summit after a long, hard climb and an even longer time of preparation, planning, waiting, and praying.  After months of uncertainty, we had arrived at our destination – a new job in a new town in a new part of the country.  Everything ahead of us was new and exciting, but also daunting.  There was so much to do!  Not just in the house, but there was the entire process of settling a family into a new area, which isn’t done easily or quickly! After a full year, though, we feel almost completely entrenched.  There are still a few lingering loose ends and to-dos, but overall, we are Minnesotans and are embracing it. The obvious thing for me to focus on in this post is the transformation of the

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July 24, 2018 86 Comments
a slice of life

cherry picking

I hope you had a lovely fourth of July!  We invited some friends over from our church and then watched fireworks from a vantage point near our house.  It was low key, but everything July 4th should be…burgers, corn on the cob, macaroni salad, sparklers, and friends. Other than that, I’ve been doing some projects around the house, like finishing the front garden, helping Jeff with organizing the garage (he’s building shelves and then I organize), trying to fix/install a new doorbell (which has been more challenging than one would have thought), making multiple trips to Home Depot for materials and supplies, and working on an unexpected, totally not-fun project that popped up on July 3. If you follow me on Instagram Stories, you know I had a funky smell in my van and came to learn it was emanating from a dead mouse.  I know!  I absolutely could not

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July 6, 2018 52 Comments
a slice of life

tuning into what’s real

A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to go to a private island located in Rainy Lake in Canada.  It’s a island owned by our pastor’s family and he invited us and another family to spend a few days there.  I was looking forward to the fellowship, enjoying nature, watching the boys experience something more wild than suburbia, and, maybe most of all, I was looking forward to unplugging.  I didn’t even pack my computer and that may be the first time that’s happened since I started my business, which is a little sad, admittedly. This island had minimal electricity, though, so a computer was pretty pointless.  I didn’t even know if I’d have cell service, so I thought I might be completely off the grid, but I did end up having decent reception.  Despite that fact, I stayed off my phone and gave my full attention to

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June 28, 2018 37 Comments
a slice of life

making ourselves at home

Before I get into today’s post, I want to encourage you to visit one of my friend’s websites.  Laura Dreyer is a talented artist and creative business owner (she is the creator of Little Clay Land), but is also a long-time friend and the designer of my logo and lot of the branding that became the cornerstone of my professional look.  She is publishing a series of interviews by creative entrepreneurs and mine is posted today. As a part of the series, she is including hand-drawn lettering of the creative’s business.  Here is the one she did for me… Anyway, just a little light reading, if you’re interested! A part of what makes me feel not-at-home somewhere that isn’t my home is that I don’t have a place for everything.  That might sound like a stupid and obvious statement, but hang in here with me.  I end up being a

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June 26, 2018 37 Comments
a slice of life

summer activity | fun with food

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Blue Apron.  As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own.  (Oh,, and the first 50 readers to sign up will get $50 off their first two weeks Blue Apron, so you might want to stick around.) Our vacations are behind us and now the bulk of the summer is ahead of us.  This is the first summer where my sons aren’t going to a day camp (or we’re not moving across the country), so we’re going to need to find lots of things to do to fill the long days.  Of course, the usual pastimes are on the list – playing with friends, swimming at the pool, outings to local parks, fishing, and bike rides.  But we’re also hoping to sneak in some learning, work, and other enriching activities. One of those enriching activities we did this weekend was cooking a

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June 20, 2018 29 Comments
a slice of life

May 2018 Favorites

We are finally back home!  After 10 days of driving across the country and visiting our family on the east coast, it’s so good to be back home.  I was planning on hitting the ground running and getting right back into my normal work routine, but the backlog of mail, laundry, cleaning, and things that needed to be done was overwhelming and it took most of my day and energy.  I sat last night in front of a blank screen and just could not make a post happen. Now, I’m mostly caught up and ready to write again. First of all, our trip was awesome.  We had a great time with Jeff’s family and celebrated the completion of his Masters Degree.  The boys played with their cousins and kicked off summer at the pool.  I had lots of quiet time to sketch and paint and lazily pass through each day

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June 6, 2018 44 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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