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a slice of life
a slice of life

Top 10 Vacation Moments

I’m back! What an awesome vacation.  I did hop on my computer here and there to make sure everything was happening that was supposed to be happening, but a lot of places I visited didn’t have bathrooms or grocery stores for miles, much less internet or cell phone.  That was sort of nice.  Anyway, I know you don’t want to read post after post about my vacation, so I thought I would compress my vacation into one top ten post.  I will be sharing some other snippets, but interwoven with the usual home decor stuff.  So, here are my top ten moments… 10 – Watching storms roll in… I’m a person who enjoys thunderstorms, anyway, but they are really magnificent in the mountains and so unlike those we have in PA.  Each storm is so isolated and it blows in, hits with force and moves on.  Each afternoon, you can

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August 28, 2013 81 Comments
a slice of life

P90X Results

I did it!  90 days of P90x.  Whew!  It was tough, but I really enjoyed it and I am very happy with the results.  I’m going to say upfront that I am not affiliated with P90x or Beachbody (the company that makes these workout videos) and I bought this program on my own, because I wanted to get in the best shape of my life and lose weight.  This is just something I’m doing and I wanted to share an update and p90x review on my blog. You can read more about my get-fit journey HERE and HERE. What is P90x? It’s a DVD in-home workout system that focuses on strength training with some yoga and cardio thrown in.  It takes 90 days to complete the workout schedule and you change things up each month. Why did I decide to do P90x? I love a challenge and, if you can’t

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July 2, 2013 No Comments
a slice of life

raspberriesgallery

I did it!  90 days of P90x.  Whew!  It was tough, but I really enjoyed it and I am very happy with the results.  I’m going to say upfront that I am not affiliated with P90x or Beachbody (the company that makes these workout videos) and I bought this program on my own, because I wanted to get in the best shape of my life and lose weight.  This is just something I’m doing and I wanted to share an update and p90x review on my blog. You can read more about my get-fit journey HERE and HERE. What is P90x? It’s a DVD in-home workout system that focuses on strength training with some yoga and cardio thrown in.  It takes 90 days to complete the workout schedule and you change things up each month. Why did I decide to do P90x? I love a challenge and, if you can’t

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July 1, 2013 122 Comments
a slice of life

Victories, Defeats & Christmas in April

I’ll start off with the victories.  I made it through the first block (4 weeks) of P90x.  I can already see and feel improvements in my fitness and have lost some pounds and inches.  I’m going for walks with my family and teaching my six year old how to play tennis. I’m finding some balance, so everything isn’t about blogging, antiques, home projects, writing and photography.  It’s been great and is a real victory. Now for the defeats.  More active time means more time away from the computer, e-mail and the blog.  That means I’ve been dropping the ball on some things and getting overwhelmed with everything I have to accomplish over the next few weeks.  It means my inbox is out of control, my wood floors are a little fuzzy and the Legos don’t get picked up at the end of the day. Tonight, I visualized a gymnast on

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April 24, 2013 43 Comments
a slice of life

Minimizing Miss Mustard Seed

As I mentioned in THIS POST, I’m making some changes in my life to be healthier and lose some weight.  I owned up to gaining 30 lbs since I started blogging.  I didn’t gain weight because of the blog.  I gained weight because I didn’t make my health a high priority. That changed last August when I kicked processed foods to the curb and became a vegetarian.  Some of you have asked for more details of what I did and what I am doing, so I thought I share.  Remember that I’m just sharing my decisions and my experience.  I know food can be a touchy subject (see the thread about baby carrots!), so you have to ultimately make the decision of what’s best for you and your body. I watched three documentaries that changed the way I viewed food.  Food Matters, Forks Over Knives and Hungry for Change. (They

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April 16, 2013 86 Comments
Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint

Trip to Petaluma

Back in December, I took a whirlwind trip across the continent to the beautiful town of Petaluma, CA.  One of my Milk Paint retailers, Genevieve of Gracefully Worn, invited me out and she certainly rolled out the red carpet!  It was an amazing trip.  It started out with a super early flight from Virginia that got me to San Francisco about 9:00 am their time.  We went straight from the airport to Gen’s church, where I taught two workshops.  I had some time to change, take a few bites of food and then it was show time. I cannot thank Gen and her team enough for all of the special touches they worked on to “Mustardize” the space.  There were sheet music garlands, custom stamped tags with my logo, German glass glitter and a huge chalkboard listing all of my products they were selling.  It was a little overwhelming and

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February 3, 2013 23 Comments
Balance

getting off the merry-go-round

In my business I’ve had to make some tough decisions.  The hardest thing for me is to say no and to set limits.  I want to fly as high as my wings can carry me and I don’t want to be limited by things like sleep and time to crash on the sofa to watch a movie.  I love my work and I love being productive, so it’s hard for me to sit, be still and rest.  It’s hard for me to see the great potential in something and then say no to it and make a clear decision to not pursue it. Well, after about a year of going back and forth about it in my mind, I have made the difficult decision to leave The Old Lucketts Store as a vendor.  I know, I know.  It’s Lucketts!  How could I leave Lucketts?!  I know I don’t need to

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December 31, 2012 No Comments
Antiques

A bit of France in Petaluma

Sorry I’ve been quiet the past couple of days, but it’s been a whirlwind that started when I woke up Tuesday at 3:00 am to get to the airport to fly to San Francisco for a day of workshops and book signings.  It ended last night when we arrived home about 11:30 and crashed in bed.  I have so much to share about the workshops and the people I met and how it gets me choked up  when my eye catches a huge chalkboard with my name on it and a table full of my paint and products under it.  But I’ll get to all of that another day. Today, I want to share about the hotel I stayed in.  As we drove into Petaluma, CA from San Francisco, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the rolling green hills, age-old cypress trees and quaint row houses.  I haven’t been

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December 13, 2012 No 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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