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Antiques
Antiques

latest antique & vintage finds

Over the weekend, I felt the urge to get out of the house and explore a bit.  My mom and I have hit a few local stores now and then, but with renovations happening and lots of work to do, I’ve been home a lot lately.  I needed to go to the grocery store to get some fresh produce anyway, so I decided to drop in a few thrift stores first.  On the way, I remembered an antique store Jeff and I visited when we first moved here that is just a few minutes from our house, so I stopped in there first. It’s a store that is a bit hit or miss with some booths that feel more thrift-store-ish and some booths that have nice antiques.  I ended up finding a few great things for my kitchen, though, which is what I was looking for.  I was specifically looking

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June 20, 2023 20 Comments
Antiques

Antique European Mould Rack

When our kitchen renovation plans were in the very early stages, I had in mind that I wanted to find an antique plate rack.  I have always been drawn to them, especially since I have an extensive collection of ironstone and dishes.  There’s always a chance I’ll find one at an antique store or market, but I was combing Maria’s shopping and van-loading pictures as she took shopping trips to Europe to fill a container to ship back to the US to sell online and in her California-based shop, Dreamy Whites.  I spotted this pretty pine rack on her Instagram stories one day, circled it, and texted her the picture. Several weeks ago, before the kitchen renovation even started, a huge box arrived unexpectedly at my doorstep.  Maria is incredibly generous, so it’s not unusual for packages to arrive when I haven’t ordered anything from her.  I opened the box,

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June 19, 2023 37 Comments
Antiques

furniture follies

A couple of weeks ago, on the high of shopping at the Lucketts Spring Market and finding some great pieces for our kitchen, I spotted a charming pair of chairs on Facebook Marketplace.  Right away, I got those butterflies when I find something special.  They are unique, and adorable, and would be so perfect for our kitchen.  I double-checked the measurements and thought they would be perfect.  So, I arranged to pick them up the next evening. As soon as I saw the chairs in person, though, I knew something was off with the measurements.  What I thought were nicely-sized kitchen chairs were very small in scale with straight backs and shallow seats, and they were so light I could easily pick two up at a time.  If I could figure out the logistics, I could probably carry all six at a time. I knew looking at them and sitting

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June 8, 2023 46 Comments
All Things Home

Lucketts Spring Market 2023 recap

On Thursday afternoon, my mom and I set off for Northern Virginia to visit old friends and spend a day at the Lucketts Spring Market.  Throughout the weekend I thought, this is why we moved back…  So I could go to Luckettts again.  Just kidding!  It’s so we would be close to family so we can do things together and be there to support one another. We were invited by Chris Tigges to stay at her bed & breakfast and wedding event, Zion Springs, on Thursday evening so we would have a quick 30-minute drive to the Lucketts Spring Market in the morning.  The Clarke County Fairgrounds is almost exactly an hour from Hagerstown, so we could’ve made that drive pretty easily, but this makes the event more of a treat for us.  And, staying at Zion Springs is a treat. We stayed there during our last Lucketts Spring Market

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May 22, 2023 34 Comments
Antiques

Lucketts Spring Market 2023

I feel like I’m going home in a way!  The Lucketts Spring Market was a big event in my business for almost a decade and it’s so fun to be back.  I’m just going as a shopper on VIP day, which is a lot less work than being a vendor!  In case you have never heard of Lucketts or you need a refresh (or just some interesting backstory about gritty entrepreneurs), let’s rewind. The Old Lucketts Store is an antique/home decor/everything store that probably never should’ve been a success.  It is an 1800s general store/boarding house in a one-stoplight town on a pokey two-lane road in the farms and vineyards of Loudon County, Virginia that will never, ever get foot traffic.  At the time the old building became an antique store in 1996, Loudoun County was still mostly cornfields.  It wasn’t the bustling DC suburb that is one of the

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May 11, 2023 13 Comments
Antiques

favorite things | concrete garden accessories

Most of the things I love as an adult can be traced somewhere back to my childhood.  Such is the case with concrete garden accessories.  My Oma and Opa had concrete planters, a bird bath, and a bench in their yard in both of the houses they lived in when I was growing up.  And most of those pieces were passed down from their parents.  I remember sitting in the grass and using that bench as a counter for all sorts of creative outdoor activities.  I would make mud cakes to serve at an imaginary restaurant and line up small stones to make patterns.  I didn’t need much to entertain myself! When we cleaned out my Opa’s house after he passed away, I really wanted to take the bench and birdbath, but they were just too heavy and my van was already loaded.  We left them with the house, but

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April 11, 2023 27 Comments
a slice of life

my 45th year

I have been sharing here on this blog since I was 31 years old and today I turn 45.  If you’ve followed me since the early days of blogging, you might remember my boys streaking across photos in diapers and little addendums to my posts about the funny things they’d say.  Now, both boys are in high school and my oldest just got his learner’s permit.  Oh, the passage of time and I’m definitely feeling it today.  Not in an arthritis-in-my-joints kind of way, but in a way that reminds me the time we have is precious. This year, I told Jeff that my birthday could be low-key.  I’m getting a kitchen for my birthday.  And, it can be rightly argued that I got three 1800s ironstone cake stands for my birthday. But, then I confused him a couple of days ago by saying that I want to make a

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April 4, 2023 95 Comments
Antiques

the white art supply cabinet

As we were preparing to move from our house in Minnesota, I decided to sell the green art supply cabinet I was using.  Selling my art supply cabinets seems to be a tradition when I move.  I also sold THIS ONE when I moved from PA to MN.  They are usually big, heavy pieces and it makes more sense to find a new one that is just perfect for my new creative space.  I shared about my trip to Ekster Antiques when I spotted this amazing cabinet for sale, but I haven’t really featured it in my studio and shared how I am using it now. I realized this when I was taking pictures of the completed painted studio and the cabinet just looked gorgeous!  It was always a little underwhelming against the half-painted minty-green wall, but now it really looks lovely.  This piece still might get stripped or a

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March 27, 2023 21 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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