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Holiday

All Things Home

Christmas Master Bedroom 2016

Friday was a productive day working at home.  I had a lot of little things I needed to catch up on and check off the to-do list and I wanted to get some more Christmas decorating done.  So, I bounced between doing things I needed to do and things I wanted to do and was able to make some nice progress in both categories. One thing I completed was the Christmas decorating in our bedroom.  I used to only decorate the living spaces, but I’ve come to love bringing a little bit of the decor into the bedrooms as well.  I don’t go overboard, but I like adding some fresh greenery and a few decorations. I *needed* to get our bedroom decor done, because that is where our advent calendar is! The advent calendar is one of my favorite Christmas decorations.  My blog friend, Ann Drake (On Sutton Place), made those

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All Things Home

Noble Fir for the Living Room

I decided to get two Christmas trees this year. I have done just one large one the past few years, but I was really looking forward to Christmas decorating this year, so two trees seemed fitting! I got a 8.5′ Fraser fir for our family room from a local tree farm and I partnered with Green Valley Christmas Tree farm to get a 7′ Noble Fir for my living room.  I was excited to get a tree variety that I couldn’t get locally, so I picked the Noble Fir for that reason. I have ordered a lot of things online – bathroom tile, toilets, rugs, etc, but I have never ordered a live Christmas tree.    It arrived at my door Monday evening, in a long box.  It took me a second to realize, “Oh!  That’s the Christmas tree!” I popped the stapled end of the box open and there was

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All Things Home

christmas decorating begins & other things

The past couple of years, I have reserved Christmas decorating for myself and my family.  I shared what I did on my blog, but I wasn’t doing things just to blog about them. I needed it after years of Christmas going until February (due to photo shoots), circling back again in April (for freelance projects), and making an early appearance in September (for retail.)  By the time December rolled around, I was, quite unfortunately, weary of Christmas.  I have always loved the Christmas season and decorating for it, but having it so intertwined with work sucked some of the joy out of it.  (Sort of like the years I spent working at Disney.  It’s a magical place, but it becomes slightly less so when you see the underbelly of it all.) The past couple of years have really helped bring back the joy.  Kriste & I “played hooky” from work

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All Things Home

a goat bell for a horse

When I was out shopping last week, I found a little goat bell.  It was inexpensive, I think $4.00, so I picked it up.  I initially envisioned using it as a Christmas decoration, with some evergreens, etc., making it into a small wreath. The leather was really dry, but a little Hemp Oil hydrated it and made it pliable again. As soon as I finished photographing the bell, a thought hit me…  I bet this would fit on my rocking horse!  How cute would that be? And sure enough, it’s a perfect fit. I will add some live greens to make it a bit more festive for Christmas, but I love it as it is, too. Some things are just meant to be… For details on the horse and how I painted it, check out THIS POST.

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All Things Home

Faux Fur in Winter Decor

Faux fur has been in decor for a while, but I have to admit that I was never really drawn to it.  The main reason, and this is probably a little silly, is that it always looked and felt Muppet-ish to me.  You know what I mean?  It felt matted and like polyester, not sumptuous and silky. Well, I’m finally coming around.  Either faux fur has come a long way or I’ve finally been exposed to the good faux fur that’s been out there for a while. When I was looking at dog beds for Sebastian, I surprised myself that I was drawn to the Ivory Alpaca Faux Fur Pet Bed from Pottery Barn.  It just looked so inviting!  Jeff joked that I was shopping for a dog bed for myself.  What else do I have to base the buying decision on except for what I think will look comfortable? And it’s soft

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All Things Home

White & Wood Winter Table | $100 HomeGoods Giveaway

The Farmhouse Holiday Decor Series is back and today I’m sharing a winter tablescape.  I’m not quite ready to break out the Christmas decorations, especially since I use a lot of fresh greenery, but I like the idea of a festive winter table to fill in that decorating gap. This week’s “theme”, a holiday/Christmas tablescape, was sponsored by HomeGoods, so I drove out to the nearest one with my mom last week to stroll the aisles and pick up some goodies.  Now, when I go to HomeGoods, I need to carve out at least a couple of hours.  There is no “popping into HomeGoods real quick.”  That just isn’t possible for me.  It may be because I don’t live very close to one, but, more likely, it’s because it’s a place I need to really comb through to make sure I don’t miss anything. I had a few things unrelated to this post that

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a slice of life

marinated skirt steak recipe & an All-Clad giveaway

The pot rack in my kitchen might be the one thing in my house that we installed a week after we moved in 10 years ago and hasn’t moved an inch.  It’s never even been under threat of being moved.  I love, love, love my pot rack.  That’s an odd thing for me, because it’s not an antique, but it is so functional and I honestly like having all of my pretty pans and copper pots on display.  Yes, we’re here to talk about All-Clad pans, but I’m also here to share a marinated skirt steak recipe. And yes, I use my pans.  Not all of them, but I use most of them. Most of the pans I’ve picked up here and there at discount stores and even yard sales.  (I bought that gorgeous antique copper bunt pan from a German woman at a yard sale in Florida for $25.)

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a slice of life

baked potato soup recipe

I shared a couple of weeks ago that I made a full-fat, no-skimping-on-the-good-stuff baked potato soup recipe as a treat.  I love creamy soups and casseroles, but I don’t make them very often anymore, because they are just so calorie-laden. But it was a dreary day and both Jeff and I were in the mood for soup.  A  loaded baked potato soup recipe that I used to make came to mind and I couldn’t shake it.  So, I bought the ingredients and made it and it was every bit as sumptuous and velvety as I remember it. The blue & white dishes were from . I got this particular baked potato soup recipe from a friend about 12 years ago.  When I left the corporate world, I was a stay-at-home wife for a couple of years.  I didn’t work, didn’t have kids… it was a glorious two years!  I just relished

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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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