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I went out last week to a used furniture store and, much like a kid in a candy shop, I didn’t leave empty handed. Here’s my favorite find… …and a sneak peek at another one… They both need some work, but I think I can manage. I’m back in the saddle again.
This seems to happen every year. I take down all of my Christmas stuff and I cannot remember what I had where. It seems like all of the accessories have disappeared over the holidays and I’m left with bare tables. I know things have wandered to other parts of the house, so I’m left looking at my living and dining rooms and I’m at a loss. Does anyone else have this problem? So, I just grabbed a few things and put them out until I can really work on it. Yawn. I’m definitely not a minimalist, so this doesn’t work for me. …and I have a big hole where the Christmas tree was in my living room. Nice cords. I moved the desk that was there previously into my family room and I love it there, so I need to find something new
The winner of the nest painting is Debbie Thompson, who said she would decorate her entire master bedroom around it (that’s what I did with mine!) Enjoy the gorgeous painting. Thanks so much to Laura for offering it up as a giveaway. If you’d like to purchase a painting from Laura, you can contact her through her Etsy shop. After my whirlwind trip to New York City, there is so much I want to share. I started writing a post to share it all, but it just wasn’t coming out. I think I’m still processing everything, but I will say that it was a defining couple of days for me. It truly was a time to get away from my house and the projects and celebrate. It was a time to soak in the unexpected blessings of the road God has led me down. This trip wasn’t about the magazines or HTGV.com
After a whirlwind week of activities and festivities, we dropped my parents off at the airport this afternoon. We got so much accomplished, it’s amazing. I started getting a little teary-eyed today when I saw so many projects complete. I know that’s silly, but some of them have been five years in the making and now they’re almost done. Before I show some progress on the house, I’ll share my latest French chair makeover. I’m really missing working on furniture, but I have a few pieces I’m going to work on in a few days. It was nice to get this chair finally finished. I’ve had it since June, painted it in July, upholstered it sometime in the fall and I finally made the cushion cover and put on the trim this week. Here’s how it started… It wasn’t bad, but it was just a little dated and tired. Here’s
I don’t know about you, but I’m totally whipped. Christmas is exhausting. Fun and definitely my favorite time of year, but exhausting. The kids are over-loaded and tired, the “Christmas Bomb”went off leaving bits of paper and tape and pieces to toys and candy wrappers and crumbs all over the place and I’ve eaten way too much chocolate. I’ve enjoyed the surprises and presents and going through the Christmas story with my boys while we acted it out with the Little People nativity set, the music and the food. This was the first year my boys were really excited about Christmas and “got” what was going on, so that was a lot of fun. I feel like I’ll be able to prepare for it all a little better next year. This year was very much done flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. But, we made it through and we’re blessed beyond measure. After taking
As usual, I was probably doing what no one else in the US was doing two days before Christmas…I was mulching my front yard. I have a special photo shoot coming up in January and, while they’re not coming because of my gardening ability, I want the front of my house to look decent. We divided and conquered and all four of us accomplished a lot today. I even took some time to make a rather pathetic gingerbread house with my boys. It tasted good and we had fun, so that’s what counts. Tomorrow is for wrapping, cooking and spending some time just hanging out, getting ready for Christmas. I did get an early Christmas present, though. My parents have been talking about moving up to PA to be closer to us and the grand kids for a few months and yesterday, they put a contract on a house about 8
I’m still working on my Christmas decor, but here is what I’m up to in my family room… It’s a bit more casual than the living and dining rooms, but it still has a predominantly blue and green color scheme. I swapped out the brown and cream, though, for red and white, so it’s a bit more playful. We ripped out our fireplace recently to make way for a flat screen TV, so we hung our stockings on a pair of shutters that flank a window. I haven’t gotten much done the past couple of days, because we have been watching my boy’s Christmas plays and spending some time with my parents, but we’re getting down to business tomorrow. My mom and I are going to knock out a big shopping list, my dad is going to put drywall over a doorway and
I spent most of the day yesterday working on the decorations in my living room and it was so fun how it all came together. I’m using mostly things I bought last year, found in my yard and craft room or had leftover from my retail space. There’s something in the process of repurposing items that I find enjoyable. It’s that ah-ha moment…”Oh, I can use this ribbon I’ve had for years and put it over this sheet music and tuck in a feather from my friend’s farm and a piece of greenery snipped from my yard! That will look great!” I had a lot of those moments as I pulled out sheet music banners Mini and I had made to use at Lucketts and when I ripped apart an old artificial wreath to give it a new look with fresh greens, rolled sheet music, feathers and glittered leaves. It’s
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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