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a slice of life
a slice of life

April 2018 Favorites

We’re already 10 days into May and I realized I haven’t shared my favorites from April!  Well, let’s take care of that right now.  Here were some of my favorite things… AVIARY Launching Aviary was pretty exciting and definitely a highlight… THE PORCH  I turned 40 years old (eek) in early April and we didn’t have any special plans, but some of my new friends fixed that and whisked me away for a girls night out to dinner at The Porch.  It was an amazing dinner including sinfully delicious offerings like Proper Fried Chicken and Cold Mac & Crack.  It was so fun and such a great way to spend my first birthday in Minnesota. If you’re ever in Rochester, do yourself a favor and eat there. HOWARD’S END This was a new period drama miniseries that showed on Starz in April.  While it’s not my favorite story, it was

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May 11, 2018 23 Comments
a slice of life

sleep number bed review

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Sleep Number®.  As always, all words and opinions are my own. If you remember, back in December we went to our local Sleep Number store in Rochester, MN, to select a new mattress and foundation.  Jeff and I have very different mattress preferences and this had led to one or both of us not loving our mattress.  It would be perfect for me, but too soft for him.  We would try a firmer mattress, but it still wasn’t as board-like as he wanted and I would pad it with as much memory foam as he could stand, so my hips wouldn’t ache in the morning.  If you have this problem, you know just what I’m talking about. Anyway, as I shared in THIS POST, both Jeff and I went through the full in-store Sleep Number experience to discover our preferred Sleep Number setting and

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April 18, 2018 69 Comments
a slice of life

a confession, pantry organizing & salad jars

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle has been a challenge for me.  We’ve been through P90x and Whole30 together.  I’ve shared my successes and I’ve shared my failures.  For those of you who have worked hard, lost weight, and gained it back, well…  I’m right there with you. I haven’t even wanted to write about it on my blog, because it’s a big, embarrassing, failure. Why, oh why, can I not get it (and keep it) together in this area of my life?!? My weight crept up a bit over the past couple of years, but I have gained over 10 lbs since I moved.  And I’m really feeling it!  I’m tried of looking at a closet of clothes and wondering what will fit.  I’m tired of dreading shopping for clothes.  I’m tired of being out of shape when I

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April 10, 2018 81 Comments
a slice of life

my favorite period drama miniseries

I’ll just put it right out there.  This post is a complete change of pace. A few weeks (months) ago, I mentioned my love for period drama miniseries on Instagram stories and I received a bunch of requests to share my favorites.  So, I started a list and I finally hunted down all of the images and details to share with you. Since this is a long post, I just share a little blurb about each one and a thing or two that I love (my favorite moments).  Some of them will sound cryptic if you’re not familiar with the story, but my “thing” can be like a little Easter egg to hunt for as you’re watching the series. Oh, and most of these can be found on Amazon Prime, Netflix, or one of the Amazon add-on channels, like Masterpiece or Acorn.  Series that can’t be found in any of

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April 9, 2018 204 Comments
a slice of life

March 2018 Favorites

Can you believe it’s already April?  Can you believe we just had a snow storm that dropped about 8″?!  Over Spring break?!  Can you believe I just turned the big 4-oh and I have joined the ranks of the middle-aged?  Yep.  That’s what’s going on. Before we get too far into April, though, let me share some of my favorites from March… Creative Getaway I’ve already gushed about my creative getaway, but it has to make my favorites list.  It was such an amazing time…restful, inspiring, rejuvenating.  It was awesome all-around.  The weather was perfect and I enjoyed walking through the surf looking for shells as I listened to podcasts and audiobooks.  It was a time to focus just on myself and my business and where I wanted to head in this next decade of my life.   It was awesome and I already am looking forward to the next

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April 5, 2018 31 Comments
a slice of life

quality ingredients = better dinner

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Blue Apron.  As always, all words and opinions shares are honest and my own.  And, you might want to stick around, because there is a special offer for my readers! It’s always a happy day when a Blue Apron box arrives at my door.  Even though I selected the meals, I know the box is full of chef secrets – techniques and flavor combinations that I’m about to learn.  It’s not just a box of ingredients.  It’s not just a reprieve from the weekly dinner routine.  It’s a hands-on, independent-learning culinary school delivered to my door.  And, as someone who loves to learn and nurture a variety of interests, that is right up my alley. I’ve shared about Blue Apron a couple of times before, so what can I share that is new? I’ve already said how much I like learning new recipes and

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March 28, 2018 20 Comments
a slice of life

late to the greek yogurt party

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by .  All words and opinions are honest and completely my own. Truth.  When I was asked if I would be interested in working with (pronounced fa-yeh), a Greek yogurt company, as a sponsor, I had to pause a minute and think about it.  Hmm…I don’t know.  Is it good?  Well, the only way I could find out was go to the store and buy it myself.  I’m not a big yogurt-eater.  Well, let me clarify.  I used to eat a lot of yogurt years and years ago, but I bought the stuff with artificial sweeteners and a bunch of unidentifiable ingredients.  When I made an effort to clean up my eating, I ditched those.  Jeff and the boys are much bigger yogurt eaters than I am, so I would just buy whatever they requested. But, if I’m going to write a blog post, I

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March 21, 2018 62 Comments
a slice of life

the big three

When I worked in the corporate world (can you even imagine that?), I would keep a running to-do list on a legal pad.  Each day, I would work through the list until it was “quitting time” and, whatever was left on the list would get transferred to a fresh piece of paper as the start of my to-do list for the next day. That method worked well when my job was over the minute I left the office to start my commute home.  I was never nagged by what was undone.  My work very rarely came home with me. Since I started my own business, I’ve used the same method of keeping a running to-do list.  It seemed like a good business practice. Here’s the problem… my running to do list made me feel like there were never enough hours in the day and like my work day couldn’t end

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March 20, 2018 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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