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Decorating

All Things Home

revisiting tucker resist chambray fabric

When I was hunting for pictures of my French dining chairs to share their makeover all in one post, I found myself admiring old pictures of my blue and white curtains I made out of fabric by Waverly.  Would I want to revisit that fabric again in our next house? I fell in love with this fabric over ten years ago.  Tucker Resist Chambray is a fabric pattern that is a reproduction of a fabric used in historic homes in Williamsburg.  So, of course, when you put blue and white together in a historic pattern, I am going to be a fan.  The pattern initially was offered in two different fabric options – a linen blend, and an outdoor-friendly fabric.  For my curtains, I ordered the outdoor version of the fabric because it was less than half the cost.  The fabric also was thick and had a nice drape to

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Holiday

salt dough ornament molds

Too soon?  Yes, of course, it’s too soon for Christmas posts, but I am starting to think about Christmas projects and decorations.  I really enjoyed making things for Christmas last year and I would like to do more of that this year.  I sold the salt dough ornaments I made last year because I was pretty sure they wouldn’t fair well stored in a hot container with our other household belongings, so I will definitely be making more of those things year.  I wanted to get some new molds and I decided to shop for them before the Christmas-shopping rush. Remember these?  You can find a recipe and tutorial for making these “gingerbread” salt dough ornaments HERE. You can purchase the windmill mold and the bird & flower mold HERE and HERE.  These sold out pretty quickly last year, which is why I am sharing them now. I also made

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All Things Home

the chesapeake house & federal style

As I’m sharing decorating books and pictures that inspire me as well as some of the things I’ve purchased for our future home (which is still just a daydream), I’m often asked about the decorating direction for our next home.  The simple answer is, that I won’t fully know until we select the house.  I believe in working with a house, really listening to it, and melding my vision with its best features.  I don’t like to forcefully impose a style on a house that is completely at odds with what it was originally designed to be.  The longer answer, which I will expand on in this post, is that I am feeling drawn to a more traditional style.  I’m especially smitten with architecture and decor that showcases federal style.  As with all architectural and decorating styles, the federal style can encompass a variety of features and aesthetics and it

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All Things Home

curated traditional home tour

When I first started working on the book , I knew I wanted to shoot some local Rochester homes.  My friend Cheri’s home was a no-brainer.  But I was hoping for at least one more house that I could photograph.  I ended up finding that house in an unexpected way and I thought I would share this curated, traditional home tour with you. I had been on the hunt for a settee, small sofa, or daybed to fit in the alcove in our master bedroom for a couple of years when I finally tripped across a wonderful antique daybed on Facebook Marketplace… You can read more about the daybed HERE and the cushion I made for it HERE. I messaged the seller right away and set up a time to pick it up later that day. As we drove through the neighborhood, following the GPS to the seller’s house, I

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All Things Home

how to sell things when you move/downsize

As I shared about selling things to get ready for the move here on my blog and social media, I have been asked by many people about the avenues I’m using to sell those pieces.  I’m at a bit of an unfair advantage since I do have an established follower/customer base, but I sold things in many different ways and can offer some tips that might be helpful to anyone downsizing, organizing, or getting ready for a move. Here are the platforms and venues I used to sell and get rid of all of our stuff… facebook marketplace & craigslist I put these together because they both serve as online classifieds, primary to a local community.  You can ship things that are sold through these (and similar) platforms, but the logistics of online payments and shipping might not be something you want to dive into and there is more opportunity

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book reviews

decorating books I kept with me

As I was packing away my , I knew I wanted to keep a few out to read, study, and look to for inspiration and ideas for our next house.  In case you missed it, we sold our house in Minnesota and we’re moving back to the east coast.  (You can read about that HERE.) We don’t know where exactly, yet, but we are moving to be closer to our parents, who are split between Raleigh, NC and Gettysburg, PA.  So, we’re looking to settle somewhere between the two. Jeff is still looking for his next position in ministry and we will buy a house once he finds the place he feels called to.  Until then, I’m just dreaming about what our next house might be and thinking about the kind of pieces I’d want to put on my wishlist to furnish that new home.  We sold over half of

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Tips and Tricks

wrapping tips for moving or shipping breakables

This is maybe the most random blog post and tip video I have ever made, but as I am moving, I was asked to share packing and wrapping tips and I always view questions as a great source of inspiration for the kind of content I should create.  (In case you missed it, HERE is a post about why we’re moving.)  Also, I’m spending most of my time wrapping and packing these days, so I don’t have much else to talk about!  We move in a week, so this season is almost over.  Whew. So, one of my special talents is being able to wrap things very neatly in tight bundles in newsprint. I know…don’t be jealous of my giftedness!  I became aware of this gift as I watched other people wrap things in newsprint paper and it ended up being a crumpled mess that came undone easily.  My superpower

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a slice of life

mexican lasagna bake aka burrito cake recipe

I love recipes that are…quick to make, can be made in one pot, are easy to adjust to different food preferences, and are delicious!  Such is the case with this Mexican Lasagna Bake.  It’s a fusion of layered Italian lasagna with Mexican (well, Americanized Mexican) flavors. And it is so good.  When Marshall first saw it he said, “That looks like a burrito cake!”  So, of course, we have to call it “burrito cake.”  When he tried it, he pretty much claimed the leftovers for himself, although I did sneak a couple of slices for a quick lunch. I followed a recipe card that came with my Ninja Kitchen Possible Pan but adjusted it so it would suit our family’s flavor preferences. For the vegetables, I used three red peppers, one large sweet onion, several small tomatillos, and a bag of frozen sweet corn.  I also added a can of

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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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