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Decorating
Holiday

Maple Sugar House Cookies & Finding Home Farms

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by .  I’ve known Laura of Finding Home Farms for years and I’m so pleased to officially partner with her family’s business.  As always, all words and opinions expressed are honest and my own.  There is a coupon code at the bottom of this post to help you save on your holiday shopping. We need to rewind back to the very early days of blogging for this story.  Laura Putnam of was one of my blogger peers.  We did blog-hops together and linky parties and met up at blog conferences.  We also were both vendors at the very first Chapel Market in Pike Road, AL.  Laura is actually standing directly behind me in this picture! (Oh man, what a crew!  I’m still in touch and friends with so many of these people.) I even have her book!  It’s DIY Rustic Modern Metal Crafts. At that

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November 12, 2021 11 Comments
All Things Home

Casual Blue & White Holiday Table

Disclosure: This casual blue & white holiday table post is sponsored by   As always, all opinions and words are my own. I have some more fun goodies sold exclusively at to share with you today!   Of course, I’m inspired by classic blue and white color palette.  They are definitely speaking my language.  As I was looking through their home items to decide what to share today, I kept coming back to these playful blue and white dishes.   Most of the pieces I use for my own table settings as well as ones for photoshoots are vintage or antique, which can then be more of a challenge to duplicate.  For this casual blue and white holiday table, I thought it would be fun to use dishes from and other accessories and decor from so it could easily be replicated. that inspired this casual blue and white holiday table… I started

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November 10, 2021 12 Comments
Holiday

pre-lit christmas tree review

I just set up my pre-lit Christmas tree for the fifth Christmas and I figured I would share a review of my specific pre-lit Christmas tree as well as my thoughts about buying a pre-lit Christmas tree in the future.  This post isn’t sponsored, but the Christmas tree was originally a part of a sponsored post for Balsam Hill.  You can read the original post HERE. The prelit Christmas tree I have is the 8′ Noble Fir by Balsam Hill.  It came pre-lit with incandescent bulbs. (These pictures are of my tree from 2020.) To start this pre-lit Christmas tree review, let me state that I think expectations are generally unfairly high when it comes to prelit trees.  I can say this because my expectations were unreasonably high.  The tree can be well made, the lights can be high quality, and the design is perfect, but an incandescent bulb is

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November 9, 2021 52 Comments
crafts

collecting & pressing leaves & flowers

Over the past few days, I have become acutely aware of autumn’s waning beauty and how it will all soon be covered in snow.  We’ve had some unusually warm weather in our neck of the woods, so I’ve done a bit of foraging on my walks.  I don’t always know what I’ll do with the bits that I gather, but I don’t worry about that too much.  I just carry a small bag and gather the things that attract my eye.  I collected pinecones to use for Christmas projects and decorations, some pods and thistles that might be interesting to draw, grasses that can be used for making brushes, acorn caps that can be used as little natural paint pots, sticks that can be brush handles and dip pens, and leaves and flowers for pressing. I also took advantage of a pretty afternoon and got the garden beds in the

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November 8, 2021 18 Comments
Fall

simple fall simmer pot

This week, the temps started to drop and we only recently had our first frost here in Minnesota.  It’s actually come pretty late this year and we haven’t even seen a flake of snow, yet!  But, I am ready for fires, slippers, hot chocolate, and for the house to smell like fall.  So, yesterday, I made up a simple fall simmer pot with what I had on hand. I started by filling a 4 qt. dutch oven with water and then dropped anything in the simmer pot with a yummy, homey, fall scent.  Sliced apples, dried cinnamon sticks (these were out of a Christmas decor bin from last year), fresh rosemary, and a few drops of clove essential oil.  I thought I had some whole clove and all-spice, but I only had ground, so I just used what I had.  It really is hard to go wrong with a simmer

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November 4, 2021 10 Comments
All Things Home

How to Make a Fall Wreath

Disclosure: This post on how to make a fall wreath is sponsored by   As always, all words and opinions are honest and my own.  This post also contains affiliate links. Let’s talk about some fall crafting!  I have a confession…I have had the same artificial boxwood wreath hanging on my door for the past year and a half.  I didn’t even swap it out for a Christmas wreath last year!  I haven’t gone bit with pumpkins or anything else, but I decided to make a fall wreath and share how to make one yourself. For supplies, I shopped on .  Not only does Walmart have a wide array of home products, but they have a , which I’ve shared in past posts.  (You can find some of my Walmart craft projects HERE.)  No matter the time of year, I’m drawn to the supplies they carry that allow me to

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October 27, 2021 13 Comments
Antiques

decorating with antique quilts

I was recently asked to share suggestions on decorating with antique quilts and, since I love collecting, using, and displaying them, I was happy to write this post.  I just needed to round up a few pictures showing how I currently use them in my home and how I’ve used them over the years. When it comes to collecting antique quilts, there really isn’t one place to find them.  I have found them all over including antique stores, antique markets, flea markets, yard sales, thrift stores, and online from and.  (Affiliate links.)  I typically pay between $50 – $200 for a quilt, but most of them are in the $80-100 range.  I am not looking for pristine quilts, though.  Generally look for two-color blue & white quilts that have pretty fabrics, an interesting design, and hand-stitching.  I don’t mind if the fabric is worn, faded, or there are some holes

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October 26, 2021 27 Comments
Decorating

recording an audiobook for a decorating book

When I first saw the mention of the word “audiobook” in my book contract, I was a little skeptical.  I mean, this is going to be a photo-heavy decorating book.  A book that relies heavily on visual examples and, in most cases, is a book that looked at more than read.  I do read some of my decorating books, but I usually look at the pictures and take away what I want from them.  Sometimes I read them if there is a compelling story or if I’m eager to hear the design process and creative ideas behind a space.  But, I confess that I have never bought an audiobook for a decorating book. But, as I was writing the Feels Like Home, I had all of this in mind.  (Affiliate link.)  I wanted to make sure that what I wrote was something worth reading and offered more depth and encouragement

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October 14, 2021 7 Comments

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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