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Decorating

All Things Home

Living Room Updates

As much as we’ve gotten done since we moved into this house a little over a year ago, I still have stacks of pictures yet to be hung and bare walls.  It can sometimes take a while to figure what finishing touches each room needs.  I finally took a bit of time this week to tweak the walls in the living room. I already hung my Manet copy on the wall to the right of the large window and I liked how the touch of black tied into the curtain rods… To balance that out, I hung a vintage clock and a pair of family silhouettes on the left side… Jeff held up the silhouettes, so I could get an idea of how they worked before I put the nails in the wall.  While he was holding them in place he asked, “Who are these people?” “That’s your dad and your uncle.”

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All Things Home

plantation shutters

I’ve been “adulting it” since I was 18 years old…meaning living in a place not owned by my parents, paying my own bills, etc.  And, over those 22 years, I’ve learned the things I like and the things I don’t like when it comes to setting up house.  I don’t like wall-to-wall carpet.  I like hardwood floors.  I don’t like fluorescent light bulbs.  I like daylight incandescent bulbs and maybe some halogen and LED.  I don’t like electric stoves.  I like cooking with gas. I also don’t like blinds.  I like curtains and shutters. Ugh…blinds.  Blinds with their tangled cords and dusty slats. One thing I marveled over constantly while in Europe was their ingenious shutter designs that were a part of the house.  They weren’t an afterthought purchased at the hardware store to replace the sheets that were tacked up until something more permanent could be installed.  They folded

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a slice of life

No-Fail Apple Pie Recipe

I attempted to make apple pie many times and it never turned out quite right.  The dough was tough or the filling was runny or there was a big pocket of air under the top crust or the apples weren’t fully cooked, but the crust was burnt on the edges.  I finally threw in the towel.  We’ll just buy a stupid pie since I can’t make a proper one.  Then, I was taught the recipe and all of the secrets to making a perfect, no-fail apple pie. We had just moved to Pennsylvania and a couple had us over for dinner.  For dessert, she served the best apple pie I ever had.  Ever.  After all of my pie-making failures, I was not shy about asking if she would teach me her ways.  And I was learning from an expert.  She grew up on an apple orchard and then owned an apple

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a slice of life

early thanksgiving & a thrift store score

Today was one of those days that I tried to pack in more than was really reasonable, but I managed to get it all done!  I have two Thanksgiving freelance articles due this week and one of them involved putting a spread together that at least looked like a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  So, in addition to styling a shoot, I was baking pie, roasting a turkey with stuffing, and all of the fixings.  I took some shortcuts with pre-made mashed potatoes and by microwaving the green beans, but I still I made a disaster of the kitchen and was running out of light by the time everything was done.  I got the final shots in probably about 15 minutes before it would’ve been too late. I have to hold most of the details for the article, but it’s focused on tips for setting up a buffet-style Thanksgiving meal.  I enjoy projects like

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All Things Home

Instagram Q & A | Home Stuff

A few weeks ago, I invited my followers to ask questions on my Instagram Stories.  I was initially planning on just answering them as they came in, but as I was flooded with over 100 questions, some of them with answers that would take longer than a 15-second frame, I decided these would be better answered in blog posts.  I consolidated ones that were similar and then sorted them into categories – home, business/blogging, art, MMS Milk Paint, & random.  I’ll write a post on each category, answering the questions. Today, I’m answering all of the home-related questions. Are you going to be doing bathroom renovations? Yes!  We are starting on a renovation of our half bathroom next week.  We’re working on that one first because it’s connected to our foyer, which we’re having retiled.  It just makes sense to do it all together.  I’ll be sharing the plans for

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All Things Home

hall/foyer update

Believe it or not, fireplace season has started in Rochester, Minnesota!  My boys love switching the fire on, turning the chairs to face the firebox, and basking in the warmth.  And I love watching them do it. We also had our first snow.  I thought it was just going to be a few flurries, but it snowed almost all day and we ended up with about two inches by the end of the day!  People keep telling me this isn’t usual, but we got snow in October last year as well, so I think they are just in denial. I happen to love winter and snow, so I was enjoying it immensely.  I will admit that there is a small part of me that feels like we only experienced fall for about 2 1/2 weeks.  I hope it will reemerge for just a little longer.  Our leaves haven’t even finished

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All Things Home

rearranging the studio

The very nature of a creative space dictates that it has to be dynamic.  My furniture and belongings are accustomed to being maneuvered and shuffled around, but that’s doubly true for the stuff in my studio.  Each new artistic endeavor or novel idea can put new demands on the space.  It usually starts in stacks and messy corners, but then it has to be managed.  Accommodations must be made, so the new venture has room to live, and be nurtured, and grow. And all of that is a wordy way to say I did some cleaning and straightening in my studio that turned into furniture scooting.  And it was long overdue. This space is my sanctuary, and it’s perfect with its big windows, planked walls, and painted floor.  The issue is that I ask a lot of this room.  It has to be a functioning art and photography studio, and it has

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All Things Home

subtle seasonal dining room

The week after I got back from Europe, summer was still hanging onto Rochester, but it finally released its grasp.  The trees are turning fiery hues at their tips, there is a refreshing chill to the air, and I donned my favorite leather boots in church this weekend. Fall is here. Having missed a week and a half of September, it feels like autumn will be shorter this year than usual.  For that reason, I’m not going to spend too much time or money decorating for it.  I’d rather put our decorating dollars towards the work we’re having done in the foyer (painting and new tile flooring) and my time playing catch-up on work that was neglected during the more relaxed pace of summer. I couldn’t let it pass without some recognition or subtle nod in the home, though!  While out running errands last week, I bought a couple 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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