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Decorating

Decorating

timeless decorating & design inspiration

While I’m always inspired by magazines, I tend to hold onto them for a while and then drop them off in recycling or pass them along to someone else after a time.  Fresh inspiration comes in and there is only so much room for magazines that I’m not likely to revisit as a resource.  But, there is one magazine in particular that has managed to stay in my stash for almost 20 years.  Every time I sort through my magazines and books, I make sure this one is clearly set aside and saved.  I actually thought I misplaced it last year and I started hunting for a replacement., but I found my original copy.  Whew!  The issue that has offered timeless inspiration to me was the September 2002 issue of .  And, even more specifically, the article on the Swedish-style home of the Carlsons. This article was like a pebble

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All Things Home

ensuite bathroom makeover

Do you remember back in the summer of 2020 when we were working on our ensuite bathroom?  Well, I shared the plan and some of the process (you can see the process post HERE), but I wanted to share the final reveal in my book, .  It was important to me that some spaces and the majority of the photos felt fresh to even the most regular readers.  So, I never shared the final photos of our bathroom makeover.  But, now that the book has been out for a few months and the ensuite bathroom is only represented on a couple of pages, I wanted to share the full reveal here on the blog. The ensuite bathroom makeover was a hybrid of DIY and work that was hired out to pros.  And, I did the project management in order to save costs, but I had a great tiler (Matt Grant

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All Things Home

the new living room jute rug & winter mantel

Just a few days before Christmas, I received a for the living room.  I had the white jute rug for about a year and a half and it was showing wear much faster than other jute rugs I’ve owned.  I wrote an initial review about it HERE where I mentioned that the weave was a little loose.  Furniture legs ended up getting caught in the loose weave of that particular rug and the white color started to get a little dingy.  With teenage boys, a dog, and two cats, that wasn’t too surprising. l | So, I decided to go with a natural jute rug and one that had a tighter weave.  Jeff doesn’t generally make comments about decor, but when we rolled this new jute rug out, the , he immediately commented how much better he liked it.  (This is not a sponsored post, but the rug was given to

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a slice of life

Bavarian Pretzels (Bretzels) Recipe

For Christmas, I got a cookbook called .  It’s an excellent book if you’re interested in learning about or improving your bread baking.  As I read through it, I was surprised to see a recipe for German/Bavarian soft pretzels (bretzels.)   These delicious soft pretzels spilled over the German border into France and were adopted by the region of Alsace.  For those who don’t know, I’m a military brat who spent most of my childhood in Germany and soft pretzels were my very favorite thing.  I was excited at the idea of being able to make an authentic-tasting recipe at home, so I made my first batch on New Year’s Day. Over my winter break, perfecting Bavarian pretzels became one of my missions.  I think I ended up making five batches over three weeks and I tested, tweaked, and tasted.  Lots of tasting!  I don’t want to say they are perfect

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a slice of life

parker house rolls

Have you tried the “Parker House Rolls” recipe by Half Baked Harvest?  You can find the printable recipe and all of the details HERE.  I made them last year for the first time and they were so delicious.  My family talked about them as Thanksgiving approached this year.  “…and you’re making those rolls, right?”   “Mom, why can’t you make bread like this for just a normal day.”  And, I must admit, as someone who loves bread and butter, I was looking forward to these at Thanksgiving as well.  I’ll be making them again for Christmas along with some cinnamon buns for Christmas eve. English Scullery Chopper | French rolling pin Last year, I tried making the Parker House rolls recipe a day ahead and putting them in the fridge overnight between rises, but they didn’t turn out quite as well as just making them the same day.  While they aren’t

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crafts

mini advent stocking tutorial | Christmas crafts

Disclosure: This mini advent stocking tutorial is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all words and opinions shared are honest and my own. When I shared my mini advent stockings just a few weeks ago, several people asked me for measurements and more information so they could make their own.  I already have a full set and some extras, but I measured the ones I have, made a template, and made one so I could share a mini advent stocking tutorial.  It’s a little close to Christmas to try to whip out advent stockings, but it would be a fun project to work on over the year with fabric scraps. My set of stockings was originally made by Ann of On Sutton Place and she did a beautiful job on them.  She is so much more precise than I am!  As I was cutting custom tags using the Cricut and other

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crafts

polymer clay ornaments & tags | christmas crafts

Are you ready for another Christmas craft?  I have just a couple more to share this week leading up to Christmas.  I have been wanting to play with polymer clay for a while and after enjoying the salt dough projects, I decided this was the year I would make polymer clay ornaments.  And I definitely enjoyed it!  I have vague memories of working with polymer clay in the past, but it’s been a very long time…long enough for me to say I was starting completely from scratch.  So, I might’ve gone rogue and done things completely wrong, but I just followed the instructions on the clay package and tried not to overthink things. I’m often asked how I get so much done and I think that one of the answers is I worry about doing things, not doing them right.  I have low expectations for my first time doing something

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crafts

custom cut gift tags | Christmas crafts

Disclosure: This post on custom-cut gift tags is sponsored by Walmart.  As always, all words and opinions are honest and my own. I’m squeezing in as much Christmas crafting this year as I can!  Craftiness might even happen right up through Christmas Eve.  We’ll see how long this momentum carries me!  Today, I’m sharing a new crafting toy with you along with some custom-cut gift tags I made to match my wrapping paper designs… I got a Cricut from Walmart! I also bought that beautiful pair of scissors when I was shopping for the grazing platter I shared last week.  (As a side note, my favorite scissors for fabric & paper are forged scissors, but at just under $14, they are half the price and still make a nice crisp cut through fabric and paper.  They’d be a great stocking stuffer for crafters/sewers.)  As I’ve shared before, I’m always impressed

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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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