Order Move Slow & Make Things, and enjoy a collection of thoughtful bonus content created just for you!

All Things Home

All Things Home

working with your house

Every home has a personality.  It might be quirky, conservative, playful, regal, humble, sleek…  The home brings something to the table.  While there are some homes that need to be stripped to the bones and entirely reworked, most homes just need for you to cooperate with them – let them be what they are and bring out their best qualities. As I’m working on this new home, first of all, I’m falling more in love with it every day.  I was admittedly a little disappointed that buying an old house wasn’t going to happen at this season of life, so this house felt like a compromise.  A really good compromise, but a compromise none-the-less.  As our family and belongings have populated the space, I have come to realize I was selling this home short…misjudging it simply because it was young. One of my wise readers put it well, “All old

Read More
a slice of life

settling in

The past couple of days have been a whirlwind.  We’ve been bringing stuff in from the trucks, cleaning, unpacking boxes, making daily runs to Home Depot, and getting to know the neighbors.  We’ve fallen into bed exhausted each night and creaked out of bed each morning, but multiple times a day, we press the pause button on the crazy and marvel about where we are.  Not just where we are physically, although that’s still a little surreal, but where we are in the journey of this life.  It’s a sweet place and I’m trying to soak it in. On the first day of unloading the truck, we found the box with the painting of Eulalie in it.  I was anxious about how she traveled, so we unpacked the box on the spot.  The painting was in perfect condition.  I carried it right away and leaned it on the mantle in

Read More
All Things Home

but first, toilets

Warning: This post contains pictures of toilets that some readers may find disturbing.  Reader discretion is advised.   If you know me at all, you know I am bursting to break out some paint in this new house!  But I’ve learned from a few moves that a place feels more like home once the toilets are cleaned to my satisfaction. Sooo, before we talk about all of the fun stuff, I’m going to share about these toilets!  Yep.  A whole new house to blog about and we’re talking about toilets. This house has hard water and it’s been vacant for a while, so there was an ugly build-up in all of the toilet bowls and who knows when they last had a good scrubbing.  Our last house had hard water as well, so I learned how to clean it up lickety-split and I thought that would be helpful information for

Read More
All Things Home

sharing my “honey holes” | west & south

Since I am moving out of the South Central PA area, I am sharing some of the shops, co-ops, and antique malls I frequent as I’m getting ready for an antique market or online sale. This isn’t an extensive list of all of the amazing shops in my local area, but these are the ones on my regular shopping circuit.  (I just needed to add that disclaimer, because I know some great shops are left off this list!) I shared those east & north of Gettysburg HERE and today I’m sharing the shops that are west and south… WEST Fayetteville Antique Mall, Fayetteville, PA Fayetteville Antique Mall is a little hard to describe, because it is four different buildings and each one is different.  I like two of the buildings and those are the ones I hit, but I don’t go in the other two, because they are mostly crafts

Read More
All Things Home

sharing my “honey holes” | north & east

First off, thank you so much for all of your comments on my “moving story“.  I especially feel so loved by those in Minnesota who have welcomed our family to your gorgeous state.  We are really looking forward to moving there and I hope to befriend some of you.  I need some shopping buddies and friends for “art dates”! I know you’re all dying to see the house and I’m dying to share it, but I’m going to wait until the keys are in hand and it officially belongs to us.  That is scheduled to happen next week, so it won’t be long. While we’re all waiting, I thought I would share something many people have been asking me to share – my favorite shopping spots in the South Central PA area.  Since I won’t be hitting those up any time soon, I can dish all of the details! I’ll break

Read More
All Things Home

sketching tips & tools

I have had such a great couple of days of recuperating from weeks of packing. Sunday, I crashed.  My head hurt, I was congested, and I just couldn’t do much of anything.  Jeff let me sleep in.  My sister-in-law pampered me with a healthy breakfast.  And everyone gave me some time to just lay in bed and rest.  By the afternoon, I felt like I was coming around. Today, I got to sleep in again, had time to catch up on work stuff, and Jeff gave me a chance to drive around and do a little shopping.  I bought a few small things, but the point was more to get out and start to refill my creativity well. And it was awesome.  I bought a few magazines and books to digest later. It’s still going to take me a while to get back into some sort of a groove, but I

Read More
All Things Home

hostess kit | free mrs. meyers

I introduced you to Grove Collaborative just a few months ago and I wanted to share that they are running another FREE Mrs. Meyers Kit promo for new customers!  If you missed it last time, now is a good time to join. I’ll admit that when I was first introduced to Grove Collaborative, I was a little hesitant to sign up to receive cleaning, household, and beauty products on a subscription basis.  I had memories of the old CD and book subscriptions I used to sign up for.  Remember those?  You could get 8-10 books or CDs free (or for $.99/each) and then you’d have to order a certain amount of products in two years AND you had to keep checking “the box” noting that you didn’t want to receive their CD/book of the month?  Of course, I would forget and receive some random CD that I didn’t want and would have to go through the

Read More
All Things Home

the bird painting

Hello, all!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend.  We were able to take a break from packing to have a cookout with some friends, which was a nice diversion.  I am so ready to just have everything on the truck and be done with it!  There is still more left to do and we’re down to the nitty-gritty, which is the worst part of packing, in my opinion!  It’s almost done, though.  I’ll share more about the logistics on our move in tomorrow’s post. Until then, I thought I would share more detail on a piece I get a lot of questions and e-mails about – this bird painting… It is an original painting that I purchased from a charity auction at my sons’ school about three years ago.  I got in a bit of a bidding war for it, but I still only paid around $40, which I thought

Read More

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.

next art sale

August 13th, 2026 at 1pm EST

NEW ONLINE ART COURSE

Paint a Pet Portrait You’ll Love

Learn to paint pet portraits in oils with confidence, even if you’re a beginner. In this new course, Marian will guide you step by step through creating expressive animal portraits filled with color, personality, and your own artistic touch. Join the waitlist to be the first to know when the course opens.

Now Available

Move Slow & Make Things

A book about creativity, intention, and making things with care. Sign up to receive updates, preorder details, and exclusive bonus content.

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From original paintings and art prints to Pup Club releases and curated goods, each piece is created or chosen to bring warmth, creativity, and character into your home.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

A handpicked collection of items styled and shared throughout posts, projects, and social feeds. Every product is thoughtfully chosen to reflect a timeless, collected aesthetic.

Recent Video

Fall Posts

Explore the Shop

Explore the Blog

Categories
error: Content is protected.

Pin It on Pinterest