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Decorating

a slice of life

Basil Pecorino Corn Recipe

I shared this picture of one of our Plated dinners a couple of weeks ago on Instagram and a few people asked for more details on the corn side dish.  This Basil Pecorino Corn was so delicious and easy, that I decided to make it again with the summer’s last corn and share the recipe.   Hello dinner… #platedpic #dinner @plated A photo posted by Marian aka Miss Mustard Seed (@missmustardseed) on Aug 28, 2015 at 3:11pm PDT   Ingredients three ears of corn 1/8 cup grated pecorino cheese 1 T mayonaise 1 clove garlic coarse kosher salt pepper fresh oregano, parsley and basil Cut the kernels off three ears of corn and saute in a pan with a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, for about 3-5 minutes or until corn is tender. I always use Kosher salt out of a little salt crock when I cook.  I

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All Things Home

living with raw wood floors

Back in November of last year, I had finally worked up the DIY gumption to sand down the oak hardwood floors in the front of our house.  Once the work was all done, I decided to live with raw wood floors for a while. The polyurethane finish I had applied only a few years earlier was peeling off, taking the dark stain along with it.  I could literally peel it up in sheets with my fingers…like cheap nail polish, which might be fun when you’re 13 and bored in algebra, but it’s not fun when you’re an adult and it’s happening to your floor. I knew it would be a miserable, dusty, messy, move-all-of-the-furniture, kind of job, but I talked Jeff into it and we got it done.    I had no idea what finish I was going to apply, so I decided to move the furniture back and wait until

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All Things Home

dear reader | to the one who’s afraid of color

Dear reader, I understand this one. You’ve been burned by colors before.  You tried to take a walk on the wild side and ended up wasting a day and a gallon of paint and all so your walls can look like the side of a school bus.  And your disappointed.  So, you have to spend another day and another gallon of paint to get things back to a comfortable, safe beige or white. Or perhaps you were talked into a colorful upholstered piece or a rug and you ended up with buyer’s regret.  And now the only question is which shade of brown… So now, your world is neutral.  Beige, brown and white.  And it’s not because you love neutrals, layered with rich textures, curated with a discerning eye.  It’s because you’re afraid to pick anything else. How can you end up with a home you love when you’re making decisions like that? So,

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All Things Home

decorating dilemma | wonky windows & neutral blahs

In this decorating dilemma post, we’re actually dealing with two issues… I know the first one is very common…  getting stuck in the world of neutral blahs.  We’ll circle back to that one in a minute. The second dilemma is a less common, but I’m sure many of you can still relate.  I know I can! You look at a home and fall in love with the cathedral ceilings and the alcove with the arched window.  And then you move in and get settled and realize you have absolutely no clue how you’re going to make window treatments work in that space.  A space that is so unique that you can’t buy off-the-shelf window treatments for it.  So, you’re watching TV with a beam of sunlight coming through that beautiful arch right into your eyes. source unknown So, we’re going to address these two issues in Kim’s space today. Here

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All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | slipcovered armchair

If you saw the Craig’s List wardrobe makeover yesterday, you caught a peek at the slipcovered armchair… As I’ve shared before, sewing is not my very favorite thing ever in the world to do.  I do it out of necessity, thriftiness, and the desire to customize. Such is the case with slipcovers.  Unless I wanted to eat up our entire budget having this chair professionally slipcovered, I needed to do it myself in order to give Megan a cute and comfy armchair for her office. I got it done, but I did drag my feet.  This chair was staring me down for a while.  I told Megan that and she said she was glad it was staring someone else down for a change! I know how that is.  Something languishes in your stash and you know it can be really great, but you just don’t want to deal with it.

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All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | Craig’s List Wardrobe Reveal

After lots and lots of painting, the Craig’s List wardrobe we found for Megan’s office makeover is finished! And, here she is.  The beast herself… Megan came to the studio yesterday to help us with the final coat of green on the outside (a custom mix of MMS Milk Paint in Boxwood, Lucketts Green and Mustard Seed Yellow) and the interior in Linen. Kriste and Megan also worked on cutting and hemming the curtains.  We’re just going to hang them on clips, so they just needed a double hem on three sides.  We’re going to hem the bottom in the room, once the curtains are hanging, so they hit the floor at the perfect height. This morning, my dad came over and installed some shelves in it, so it can be functional for storage. He screwed 1 x 2 supports along the back and some scrap pieces of wood on

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All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | part 6 | the craig’s list wardrobe

When I met with Megan initially about her space, she was really leaning towards built-ins for storage.  Something similar to the ones in our home office, with a desk, lower cabinets and upper cabinets.  As I thought through the space and how she uses it, I felt like a large cabinet would be more functional for her.  We talked about it and agreed.  It was not only more economical, but it would ultimately address her storage needs better. I immediately started scouring Craig’s List and checked out a few local antique stores.  I found a perfect wardrobe with a bead board back and everything, just like the one I sketched out in the plan.  My dad sent the owners an e-mail to see if it was still available.  A couple of weeks passed and we hadn’t heard anything, so I moved on. Bummer! I kept looking and didn’t find anything close.

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All Things Home

Megan’s office makeover | desk chair slipcover

Remember the “Franken-chair” I made out of two broken desk chairs for Megan’s office makeover?  Well, it has a new dress. Here’s what it looked like before…   The base is from the chair on the left and the seat is from the chair on right. And the slipcover is made out of Megan’s old cream cotton curtains! We’re replacing them with a pretty green buffalo check that works with the farmhouse style Megan is moving towards, but relates to the traditional style (and other greens) in the rest of the house. I am planning to make a small pillow for the chair, but threw one in there for the pictures.  Ha, a little not-so-subtle branding.  Actually, a very sweet reader made that pillow for me and it was the only one in the studio that was the right size.     The ties in the back are decorative, a little

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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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