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Decorating

a slice of life

potato corn soup with dill

I am an unashamed soup lover.  I don’t know why anyone would be ashamed of that, but I definitely am not.  I think my love of soup started when we went to a family conference in Switzerland and they served the most wonderful pureed soups.  I had no idea what was in them, but I loved every bowl.  I wish I had the recipes for those!  Anyway, I also love that I can make one big pot of soup over the weekend and we have quick, healthy, and easy dinners ready to reheat.  Today, I’m sharing a new favorite -potato corn soup with dill. This soup recipe came from a weekly special soup we get from a local market.  Jeff stops into the Food Co-Op pretty regularly just to scope out their soups.  He loves their chicken artichoke soup and clam chowder.  My favorite is the potato corn soup with

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Art Supplies

back-to-school supplies for mom

Back-to-school is such an exciting time.  We make sure the pants are not high-waters, everyone gets a new pair of shoes, and we get to go shopping for pens, pencils, notebooks, and hand sanitizer.  But, we also need to take a minute to acknowledge that it’s such a hard time for moms.  The house is so quiet and clean and there isn’t anything to do but sit around and be sad until your kids come bounding home from school, ready to eat a snack the size of a meal.  It’s just a really rough time and moms deserve some consolation goodies to fill up that quiet, clean hole her kids leave in the house all day. When we get the boys’ supplies ready for back-to-school, we take an inventory of things we already have and then shop for the things that aren’t crossed off the list.  Moms are exempt from

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Artistic Endeavors

start where you’ll start

There’s a popular saying, “Start where you are.”  I’d like to tweak that a little bit.  Start where you’ll start.   That has been the answer I’ve given several different people over the past few weeks who have asked me a variety of questions. “We just moved into a new house and I’m not sure where to start decorating.  Where do you suggest starting?”   There are a few different places you could start depending on the house and your situation.  Obviously, time, finances, and the bandwidth of life all play into working on a house.  So, here are a few possibilities… Start where it’s easiest – the room feels like it would take the shortest amount of time to finish.  You already have most of the components of the room and finishing it would be relatively quick and low cost. Start where you have the clearest vision.  Sometimes we know exactly

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Decorating

feels like home | preorder bonus two | renter’s guide

It’s Friday!  If you have already preordered the book and collected the first preorder bonus I announced (the free high-resolution original art download), then you may have snooped around and discovered the second preorder bonus that I’m highlighting today – a bonus chapter!  It’s the Feels Like Home Renter’s Guide. While there are a lot of ideas in that can be applied to spaces that are rented, I felt compelled to write a bonus chapter specifically for renters.  Yes, you can rearrange furniture, hang art on the walls, add lots of yummy layers, and textures, but there are limitations when you’re renting.  Having been a renter for many years as an adult, I know from experience and was bursting at the seams to paint a wall when we bought our first little townhouse. I grew up in rentals, though.  It actually might be one step down from a rental, because

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All Things Home

painting light switches

For those who have asked about painting the light switches, outlets, and trim in the same color as the wall in the basement family room, this post is for you!  Before I ever put a roller on the wall, I envisioned the walls and trim painted the same color.  The rest of my house has white trim as a frame to blue/gray walls or wallpaper/starched fabric, but I want this room to have a Gentleman’s Library sort of vibe.  I’m sure that many gentleman’s libraries have white trim, but I imagined this room with moody blue walls and trim.  There are a lot of different finishes and colors happening in the space right now and painting it all one color (but different sheens) will remove those visual distractions. As an aside, if I thought we were going to live in this house “forever”, I would want to clad the walls

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All Things Home

basement family room makeover | antique cabinet

In case you missed it, I wanted to let you know that the Feels Like Home book launch team is still open if you’re interested in joining!  You can find all of the details HERE, but in a nutshell, it’s free, it’ll be lots of fun, and you have a chance to win lots of goodies!  You can sign up HERE if you’d like to join and help me promote .  (Just a note to answer a question in the comments.  You do not need to have a public social media account in order to join.  We’d love to have you in the group to get your feedback on the book and there are other ways to support Feels Like Home, like leaving a review.  Please join if you are interested.  You are welcome!) Late last week, I made some more progress on the basement family room.  The work has

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All Things Home

GAP Home at Walmart

Disclosure: This blog post is sponsored by Walmart.  All words and opinions expressed about the are, as always, honest and my own. Did you hear/see that has collaborated with on a new home decor line? As a long-time lover of GAP’s classic style, I was excited to see the products in this collaboration.  GAP’s timeless aesthetic and signature blue & white color palette are definitely on display in this collection and, best of all, it’s paired with Walmart’s affordable pricing. I purchased for Calvin’s bed, but I also bought a from the collection.  If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you know that I love dishes and particularly stoneware.  I was interested in seeing modern take on these tabletop staples. First of all, the dishes are sturdy and beautifully made.  They have a raw edge that gives them more of a handmade feel.  Each piece has clean lines, so

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Decorating

painting a vintage dough bowl

I’ve had this vintage wooden dough bowl for a few years.  My mother-in-law gave it to me when they were cleaning out Jeff’s grandfather’s house.  She thought I would like it and she was right.  It is a practical size and shape and has a pretty patina.  I’ve always thought it would look pretty with some blue paint on the bottom and, so I finally pulled it out and painted it a couple of weeks ago.  I was in a mood to work on a project and this was one that’s been on the to-do list for far too long. Here’s how the vintage dough bowl started…  I love how wooden pieces wear over time. Can’t you see some color on the bottom?  I adore primitive wooden bowls and trenchers wearing their original milk paint, but they are always so expensive.  This is a nice way to get that look

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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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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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