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a slice of life

a slice of life

good & perfect time

Timing is an interesting thing. If you have read my blog for a while, you may remember that we put our house on the market almost exactly three years ago.  We had seen a local farm that was for sale and we were hot to buy it!  We got our house ready and listed it with high hopes of selling it quickly. Well, it was on the market for three months and not one person even called about it or looked at it!  Not one.  It was the strangest thing, like no one could see our listing, but us.  And as people were NOT looking at our house, the house we were interested in, that had been on the market for over six months, sold.  We found a couple other farms we liked and, basically, if someone wanted their house to sell, Jeff & I just needed to want to buy

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a slice of life

cleaning out my closet…

Even though we’re not sure where and when we might be moving, we’re making a point to purge things we no longer use, love, or need.  It’s the perfect time of year to do that sort of thing, anyway, but we’re taking it to a new level. I cleaned out my closet a few weeks ago and was able to fill three large bags with things I either never wore or wasn’t wearing any more.  And I’m not even a big shopper with a lot of clothes!  I don’t know how I accumulated so many things.  Well, I somehow managed and it was time for the purge. I had a few pieces from Anthropologie in those bags, though, that I felt were a little too special to put in the yard sale pile.  Two of them are brand new and one was only worn a few times.  Ebay is the perfect

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a slice of life

Friday art date

I’ve shared about my friend, Katie, who is an amazing artist with formal training.  Well, we had an idea to sketch/paint together once a week on Friday afternoons.  Life has gotten in the way a few times, because we’re both busy, but each time we have gotten together, it has been so amazing.  Last time, we were just sketching an egg.  This time, we were sprawled out on the floor, painting landscapes in oil.  It’s rushed and disorganized and we make it up as we go along, but it’s two friends spending time together doing something we love.  It’s good for the heart. So, I’ve been wanting to get into oils and I have never used them.  It made me laugh when we both pulled out our supplies.  Her paints are well used and her palette is seasoned… All of mine were brand spanking new in stark contrast. Well, mine will

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a slice of life

the great wall

It’s been a couple of weeks since I put up my first post about my trip to China.  A part of it is that I’ve been busy, but another part is that I’ve needed to process it for a while. When people ask how my trip was, I struggle with it a bit and let out a hesitant, drawn out, “Good.”  It’s not that it wasn’t good, but good is such a small word that doesn’t even begin to capture the highs and lows of the trip, the experiences gained, and the things I learned about yourself as I was taken outside of my comfort zone.  But, when some person at church asks me in passing, “How was your trip?”, they probably don’t want a 4 hour answer.  So, I say, “Good.” Now that I’ve been home a few weeks and have had time to digest it all, I feel like I can share

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a slice of life

39

Today starts the beginning of the last year in my 30’s. I had a busy work day, but came home to my boys waiting for me on the driveway, fists full of “wild flowers” that they tossed on the sidewalk to mark my entrance. (Jeff pointed out that they were weeds, but let’s called them wild flowers.) And I walked in the house to the Happy Birthday chorus, cards, presents, and lemon cream cake. And I got what every woman who turns 39 wants… a sweet, tweed-covered Fender tube amp for my electric guitar. That’s right. Rock on. Oh, and I have gotten some furniture done this week!  Frenchie number one is done and I’ll be working on its partner in the next day or two.  I also have a few other pieces in the works. And PS, this fabulous blue linen dress is from .  When I posted a

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a slice of life

onward

    There is a season for everything. And we’ve been through a lot of seasons together over the eight years I’ve written this blog.  When I first hit the publish button, my kids were in diapers, my husband was a full-time youth pastor, and I was a stay-at-home mom, taking a stab at starting a business to help buy groceries. God blessed this business beyond anything we could’ve imagined.  It enabled Jeff to transition into a part-time associate pastor position a couple of years ago, allowing him time to work towards his Masters degree as a full-time student.  And now, that season is coming to an end. Jeff only has a few more classes to finish in order to complete his degree, so he has started applying for full-time pastor positions.  We don’t know exactly where or when, but we will be moving to whatever church we feel God is calling him to.  We hope

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a slice of life

caring for my longer hair

When I posted my updated profile picture a few weeks ago, I received many comments that were along the lines of, “Oh my gosh!  Your hair!!” I’ve had my hair mostly short for the past few years.  Every couple of years, I would get it into my head that I would grow it out, but then I would get impatient.  I would also realize that I really didn’t know what to do with long hair!  My hair tends to grow like a lamp shade and styling it would take forever.  So I would retreat to my familiar short, choppy haircut. I think it’s trolling through hairstyles on Pinterest that finally convinced me to grow my hair out and stick with it.  I’ve been growing it out since last October and just at the beginning of 2017, it seemed to go from a shoulder-skimming bob to mid-length overnight and I’m now enjoying

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a slice of life

beijing | day one

Whew!  Well, I’m back in the US and it’s so nice to be back with home with Jeff and the boys, to sleep in my own bed, and to eat familiar foods again.  What an amazing trip, though.  Truly a memorable life experience in so many ways. It was so much that I’m still processing it and I’m sure I will be for a long time, but I did want to share some pictures and stories from my trip, even though there is no way that they can do the experience justice.  I will try, though! So, my mom, Debby (my licensing agent), and I first flew to Beijing to do some sight-seeing before taking the high speed train south to Minqing (pronounced Min-ching), in the province of Fujian, where I would be working for a week. Oh, I need to insert that our entire trip was planned with the assistance of

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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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