Preorder Move Slow & Make Things, and enjoy a collection of thoughtful bonus content created just for you!

Holiday

Exterior

April garden notes

Most of my April gardening work has been tidying up the beds, pruning old blooms off the hydrangeas, raking leaves, and weeding.  Oh, the maple saplings and onion grass have been prolific this year, so pulling them out of the beds has been my primary objective.  Instead of spending a couple of long days weeding, I decided to work in small chunks.  Every day, after my morning walk, I put on my gardening boots and gloves and would fill one bucket, sometimes two.  I worked my way around the house in this manner and just finished the last bed last week.  I know from experience that overwhelming projects can be easily completed in bite-sized pieces, but it still always surprises me.  Jeff has been taking the same approach with trimming bushes and hedges.  He also put weed and feed on the lawn and cleaned up along the curb. When we

Read More
All Things Home

Christmas Kitchen 2025

I’m squeezing in the last room decorated for Christmas just before Christmas Eve.  When I started sharing Christmas content in November, it felt really early, but now I remember why I do!  I end up crunched for time in the last week and don’t have the time to share everything I had planned.  Sadly, I have a few project ideas that I didn’t photograph.  Those will get kicked to next year.  Anyway, I wanted to show you how the kitchen looks this year.  In most ways, it’s very similar to how I’ve decorated this room for Christmas the last few years, but I always make a few small adjustments. Before we get into the pictures, I wanted to share a dose of reality.  A woman from our church asked me this week how I keep my house so pristine all the time.  I had to smile and reveal the secret. 

Read More
All Things Home

Christmas dining room 2025

I wasn’t sure I’d get my dining room decorated before Christmas this year, but I took some time Friday morning to finish it up and photograph it.  Until then, the tree was up, but I was using the table and corners for incoming packages, storing bins of decor as I worked on other rooms, and wrapping presents.  So, I tidied up the mess and finished decorating.  We have our Christmas brunch in this room, so it’s nice to have it ready! velvet curtains | curtain rod | rug | tablecloth | pillows | mural details To add a seasonal touch up high, I put a faux pine garland mixed with an eucalyptus garland on top of the antique cabinet.  To me, it’s an easy surface to decorate that doesn’t interfere with functionality and is well out of reach of the cats. velvet curtains | curtain rod | rug | pillows

Read More
All Things Home

Christmas 2025 Living Room

If you missed it, I shared the details about our 2025 Christmas tree HERE.  In this post, I’m sharing how the rest of the living room looks dressed for Christmas this year.  Here is the view through the doorway from the kitchen… curtain rod | curtains | rug | pillows | sconces | paint color I do need to say that we don’t usually have this many pillows on our sofa!  I learned a long time ago that sofas and chairs photograph better when they are generously styled with pillows, quilts, blankets, and throws.  This is the room where we watch movies and hang out, so the sofa is usually in disarray, styled for comfort instead of photos! Anyway, it is fun to play around with the styling and make the room look nice, even if those pillows will be on the floor as soon as I give the guys

Read More
All Things Home

Our 2025 Christmas Tree

I used to put up our Christmas tree, string the lights, and decorate it all in one day, but I’ve learned I enjoy it more if I do it in stages.  When I’m not pushing to get it all done, I feel more freedom to experiment and play if I want to.  The funny thing is that I didn’t get super creative with our tree this year, even with that extra time.  I just made a couple of very small changes, but I have a lot of ideas for what I want to do next year!  I need to make notes for myself so I remember when I put the tree up, almost a year from now! One addition I made was adding two strands (52 ft, 800 bulbs) of micro-LED/cluster lights to the traditional incandescent lights.  THESE are the ones I bought.  I was so thankful I strung the

Read More
All Things Home

Christmas trees over the years…

As I’ve been working on decorating for Christmas this year, I thought it would be fun to look at pictures of our “main” Christmas tree through the years.  I am now wishing I had done that before I decorated our tree for this year, because I found so much inspiration from things I’ve done in previous years.  I love it when that happens! It was a little challenging to find pictures of Christmas trees from my early years of blogging, but I was able to find trees back to 2011.  So, let’s take a little tour, and maybe you’ll find some new/old inspiration there as well… 2024 Other than a few minor tweaks, our tree is pretty much the same this year as it was last year.  I’ll share a fresh picture of it, though, in its own post.  This tree is the Balsam Hill 8′ Noble Fir.  It was

Read More
All Things Home

copper mold candle centerpiece | Christmas decorating

I was working on decorating for Christmas – draping garland on the tree, putting fresh batteries into the LED tree candles, topping cabinets with greenery – and I got sidetracked, as I often do.  My collection of copper bundt pans hanging from the potrack in my kitchen caught my eye.  Oh yeah, I’ve always wanted to make a Christmas centerpiece out of one of those.  That thought sent me on the rabbit trail of making this copper mold candle centerpiece… antique copper bundt pan | Norfolk pine | LED real wax candles | Miss Mustard Seed wrapping paper | brass sleigh bells  | faux juniper I looked for the best candidate and decided on an antique copper mold I bought in Italy a few years ago.  (It measures 9″ at the widest point, the rim.)  If you don’t have one on hand, you can find vintage and antique real copper

Read More
All Things Home

Christmas momentum

When I’m in the early stages of thinking about decorating for Christmas, before I pull out the bins or lights, faux greens, and ornaments, I usually feel pretty resolved that I’m going to keep things simple. As you may notice if you visit my blog regularly, I’m always busy with something.  When Thanksgiving is over, and the calendar turns to December, I’m already looking forward to the post-Christmas slow-down.  The glorious lost week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when I clear the calendar completely, say no to almost everything, and reserve that time for myself, my family, and rest.  We binge-watch our favorite series, chip away at a puzzle, eat leftovers, and stay in our jammies all day.  Just thinking about that week makes me want to take the ramp-up to Christmas gently. And, in all honesty, I’ve spent over fifteen years decorating and making things for Christmas as

Read More

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.

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

A book about creativity, intention, and making things with care. Sign up to receive updates, preorder details, and exclusive bonus content.

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From original paintings and art prints to Pup Club releases and curated goods, each piece is created or chosen to bring warmth, creativity, and character into your home.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

A handpicked collection of items styled and shared throughout posts, projects, and social feeds. Every product is thoughtfully chosen to reflect a timeless, collected aesthetic.

Recent Video

Spring Posts

Explore the Shop

Explore the Blog

Categories
error: Content is protected.

Pin It on Pinterest