Another 365 days have passed and what a year it’s been! I’m so grateful to you, my loyal MM subscribers & readers. Together we have taken a trip around the sun exploring new places, imbibing in delicious food & drink, shopping for the coolest fashions and sharing life’s greatest moments. Without all of you there would be no MarlaMeridith.com and with you, life is way more fulfilling. It’s always my great passion to share special moments with you. Your love and support always means so much to me. Cheers my friends to a brilliant year & I very much look forward to embracing 2023 with you by my side! XO
Here’s a few 2022 highlights by the month in pictures…
January
Beginning 2022 we racked up ski days in Telluride & Aspen.
February
March
My new company Mer Rose Atelier was invited to pop-up at the grand opening of Love Shack Fancy Houston.
April
After the ski season closed it was time to party in our favorite sunny spot, St. Barths!
May
June
I felt such great JOY watching my daughter graduate from high school surrounded by her loving family.
July
July 4th we spent in Aspen & I took a wonderful week long painting workshop at my fave Anderson Ranch
August
To celebrate my daughters graduation and our love of travel I took my kids on an epic Italian road trip. We covered 2000 miles (I drove) from Venice to Sicily and many stops in between.
September
We welcomed a new puppy into our home! Now we have four rescue hounds and life is off the hook busy. Gustavia is a sweet boy and adds so much fun to our canine filled world. I drove a few thousand miles to pick up this sweetie at the Carolina Coonhound Rescue in Charleston, SC.
I was invited to a weeklong wellness staycation with Reset Telluride. This invigorating week taught me so much about self introspection, relaxation, health & wellness. We hiked everyday and enjoyed fall in the mountains while dining on delicious vegan cuisine in the company of wonderful, empowering women.
Fall in Telluride is always so beautiful! The months begins with Telluride Film Festival, a wonderful creative escape & the best way to see as many premiers & upcoming films as possible.
October
After several months of art prep, October was a very busy month that had me mostly in Texas (again!) My Mer Rose Atelier collection popped up for 2 weeks in Gina Bowhill’s tent at Blue Hills. It was a wild few weeks & I learned a whole lot! This event was also the debut of my Mer Rose hand painted china collection. It was so well received that I have a new kiln being delivered in January 2023.
November
December
2022 wrapped with the onset of the ski season & lots of time spent in the great outdoors!
3-Ingredient One Pot Barley with Mixed Veggies & Pesto
Impossibly easy. That’s what most of us crave after the Thanksgiving craze is over. Ski season has officially started here in Telluride, CO. between work, getting a few runs in & life’s daily chores time in the kitchen is short & sweet. No matter what’s going on, we still need healthy, delicious, filling meals on the table. My kids are teens now so dinner times are all over the place. The family is coming and going but the fridge needs to be stocked with grab & go food. This 3- Ingredient One Pot Barley with Mixed Veggies & Pesto is a life saver! It feeds a family of four and likely you will end up with leftovers too!
Hello lovelies! Are you planning your holiday wishlists & gift lists yet? I’ve been having so much fun curating my favorite gifts & I hope you love them too. I prefer to organize my ideas by color (the artist in me!) I started with a pink themed post (of course!) with the recently published Must Haves: Pretty Winter Pinks. Hopefully you find these carefully chosen pieces inspiring. I included a few selections from my Mer Rose Atelier collection. All of which I designed and hand painted. I’m offering complimentary customization with all orders. Also favored by so many are holiday themed ornaments & small gifts all available on the Mer Rose website.
I wear the Dior 5-color eyeshadow palette all the time and always get compliments, the colors can be worn very subtle or layered on for lots of drama, all up to your mood. Housewares by the fabulous Gina Bowhill add so much cheers to the holiday table & home. As far as everything else goes on the list I want it all! xo
You’ve likely figured out by now I have a wild crush on the color pink. This beautiful hue features prominently in the design of my website. It’s also the color I wear most often & it’s the color most commonly found on my paintbrush. If you’ve taken a peek at my new artful fashion endeavor Mer Rose Atelier, then you will also see that all shades of pink feature prominently in my art to wear pieces. Pink is feminine and soothing, it’s also empowering, lively and filled with passion. Wearing just a small amount or layering it in a grander scale is sure to make your day brighter. I always enjoy a diverse winter wardrobe, but you can bet something, somewhere will be pink.
Check out these favorites and be sure to tag me on Instagram @marlameridith if you feel so inspired, I would love to see how you style and enjoy these pieces.
How are we already in October?! As always the Telluride Film Festival does not disappoint, this Labor Day weekend festival marks the end of our summer season in the high country. This year the SHOW celebrated it’s 49th year and it was a great success! It was wonderful to see my mountain town come alive to celebrate everything film. The energy leading up to this festival is always astounding. Town transforms into a cinephiles dream as several venues in town (the Elementary School gym, Mountain Village Conference Center, the Town Park ice skating rink, etc) magically transform into professional movie theaters.
I wanted to share what my fest looked like, here’s my take on the ones I saw. There’s always several more screenings I want to see but limited time makes that tricky. The films were diverse & the selection very well curated. Having this level production come to Telluride is always such a treat!
Can’t say I started off the festival with a light film, but this documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns sheds light on how the United States really responded to the rise of Hitler and the war refugees. The film portrays that the U.S. withheld their intervention to the atrocities overseas during World War 2. At times, some Americans turned a blind eye and even cheered on the Nazis for their hideous behavior. The film is certainly an eye opener, showing us a deeper glimpse into this painful part of history. The screening was for Part 1 of this 3 part, 6 hour documentary that is currently available to the public on PBS.
Immediately I was drawn into the visual beauty of this film. This is Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Lelio’s Netflix adaptation of the Emma Donoghue novel. Beautiful actress Florence Pugh takes us on a journey in the Irish Midlands circa 1862. She plays a nurse to an 11-year-old girl in good health who presumably hasn’t eaten anything for more than four months. It’s from here that Pugh and a nun keep 24 hour shifts for two weeks to watch if the starvation claim is true. The story unfolds with magical details, beautiful scenery & costumes and romance. The music is super weird and fabulous, unlike any I’ve ever heard before. I was into the film, but thought the ending was a cop out. Definitely worth seeing but I would have loved a deeper, not so much supernatural ending.
The Wonder will be released on Netflix on November 16th, 2022.
All in all this was my favorite film at the festival this year. Maybe it’s the fact that I had a wild teen crush on actor/producer Robert Downey Jr. Perhaps RDJr. attending the festival in person & chatting about the film was EPIC!! Prior to seeing Sr. I didn’t know the legacy Robert Downey Jr. hailed from. His father, Indie film director Robert Downey Sr. is a colorful, zany character with a no-filter film making style. I knew nothing about RDSr. going into the film, I left wishing I had been friends with him.
The film documents Sr.’s last few months before his death from Parkinson’s. We see the pure beauty & pain of father and son reliving life’s journey in a sweet, sarcastic, honest way. The film is witty, hilarious and heart wrenching. The father son bond (Sr. cast Jr. in his films starting at the age of 5) and the history they shared in the film biz is profound and special. We get to see uncensored banter within the family and an intimate look at Jr.’s attempt to come to terms with his dad’s imminent passing. Clips from Sr.’s films are comical, totally weird, underground vignettes. Sr. directs part of this film which makes it even more endearing.
Netflix purchased the rights to the film, watch for release dates.
The lead in this film, based off the famous D.H. Lawrence novel is Emma Corrin well known for her role as Lady Diana in The Crown. The book of the same name originally published in 1928 was so explicit it was banned in the US & the UK. If you’ve read Lady Chatterly’s Lover or already know about it then the storyline won’t be shocking at all. I’m not going to tell you the plot in case you’ve not heard it before, it’s always best to be surprised by a film. The film is gorgeous, set in the British countryside. & I was absolutely smitten with Lady Chatterly’s costumes. Her dresses were all outfits I would wear, very much reminiscent of the Love Shack Fancy style…a modern take on classic silhouettes.
The film is to be released in theaters in November, and will hit Netflix in December.
When I was chatting with fellow film goers on the lines (a big part of film festivals is waiting on line chatting with strangers) this film was a highlight for many. Women Talking is based off the novel by Miriam Toews. It’s set in 2010 in a Mennonite community. Most of the scenes are set in a barn within this male dominated religious society. This is a timely film, as women’s rights are painfully being stripped away by our government. Riddled with a history of abusive men, the women secretly meet in the barn to figure out if they should flee the community while the men are away. The opinions of the group vary greatly & it’s interesting to see how they react to one another in the struggle to figure out what is best for them all. I liked the film, it’s certainly worth seeing.
This film is a ray of light in a sea of serious films. This documentary was a joy to watch & an inspiring story. I learned so much about the 2003 Mars expedition with sister rovers named Spirit and Opportunity. In the film we watch as NASA creates these two rovers that take on humanlike qualities, the sisters having very different personalities from one another. They are both very easy to fall in love with and it’s exciting to see how the scientists in NASA nurture them. The launch and landing on Mars is a big deal, but it’s what happens once the rovers land on Mars that’s astounding. A must see for fans of documentaries & totally appropriate for kids too.
Amazon Studios will release it in select theaters on Friday, November 4, and streaming on Prime Video on Wednesday, November 23.
This documentary film celebrates the history of famous Abbey Road Studios in England. It’s a musical time travel watching the variety of musicians that recorded there through its 90 year history. The Beatles are how most of us know the studio, they recorded 190 of their 210 songs there. The film also highlights several other amazing recording artists with interviews & views into their recording sessions. The studio walls hold so many stories, late night parties, romantic interludes and wild antics.
The film will premier globally on Disney+ the date has yet to be announced.
This film is not for the faint of heart. I’m giving you a swift warning ahead of time that it’s graphic, disgusting and the theme is cannibalism. I saw an evening screening which made me way more spooked to leave the theater & drive home in the dark. It’s best described as a “coming-of-age romantic horror road film” If you are into blood, guts, gore and an occasional laugh then hit this film up. As I’m into lighter, fluffier, prettier things I honestly could have left the film as soon as I finished my popcorn. If you are into horror give it a whirl, it’s getting great reviews.
Film will be in theaters November 23rd, 2022
Other films to look for, though I didn’t have the chance to see them:
If you frequent this blog space and/or my Insta, then you’ve probably noticed that I’m completely dog obsessed. Check out my pups Insta @PowderHoundsTelluride they love to show off their antics over there. We just up’ed our pup count to five canines. Moose, Bo, Pippin & Indy welcome their new brother Gustavia. “Gustav” is named after my favorite island port town & the capital of St. Barths. Gustav is such a precious boy and the greatest gift to our family.
I grew up with dogs in the home, they were always my best friends, wagging their tails supporting me through everything. In my family we had one dog at a time and I dotted on them. I always tried to be their number one, but my Dad as the main caretaker caught their attention the most. It was my goal to one day have a dog family to call my own, I wanted to be the pack leader when I grew up.
Rescue Mama
I started rescuing hounds 6 years ago and our canine family has certainly grown! The Moose (hound mix) was my first, Bo came next American English Coonhound), then Indy (German Shorthair Pointer, he came with my boyfriend Sean) then Pippin (American English Coonhound) and now sweet little Gustavia (Bluetick Coonhound) Spending my formative years on the East Coast, growing up on Long Island you didn’t really see hounds…ever. As soon as The Moose entered my life I knew I’d be a hound mama forever.
Coonhounds
The vast majority of these sweet, kind dogs are mostly born & bred by hunters in the southern states. Sadly many of these dogs end up being abandoned in the woods, let go to fend for themselves. Coonhounds typically aren’t bred as beloved pets, just for hunting accessories. Sadly, many get lost on the hunt or aren’t wanted for one reason or another . The reality is, Coonhounds make the most amazing, loving family pets. I’ve made it my job to love on as many as I possibly can and I will continue to do so. If you love cuddles then these dogs are exactly what dreams are made of. They love to curl up & press against you any chance they get.
They are very active dogs so having lots of space for them to run is very important. Coonhounds are sport dogs and they must have plenty of exercise in order to behave in the home. Coonies are very smart but also quite strong headed and stubborn. They will listen to directions if prompted with food, otherwise they might just role their hound dog eyes & disobey.
Second Chance & Carolina Coonhound Rescue
I rescued Moose and Bo from our local mountain rescue Second Chance. They were my introduction to hounds and now I’m hooked! My search for more rescue hounds had me stumble upon the Carolina Coonhound Rescue. They are located in Charleston, SC. I watch their Insta daily and seriously I want to adopt every sweet dog they post! They take such great care of the dogs and are very careful about finding them loving forever homes. I picked up Pippin from them in Charleston 2 years ago and my new baby Gustavia as well. It’s a 60 hour road trip from Telluride to get them in SC and I’m so grateful I have made the time to make the trek. Gustav is my first puppy (4 months) and it is such a treat to have this little guy as a baby. The others I rescued at 1 and two years old.
I feel so blessed to have the room, patience and excitement (lots of energy!) to have all of these pups. They offer so much more then companionship, it’s the deepest love ever! XO
Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Brown Butter & Summer Veggies
There’s nothing better then a quick & delicious meal that can be prepared at home in a pinch. Not only is this Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Brown Butter & Summer Veggies swoon worthy but it’s baked in a sheet pan which makes clean up a breeze. This recipe makes the most of store-bought gnocchi, ripe summer veggies and mouthwatering brown butter. It’s easy to fall in love with this dish over & over again. There’s no hard fast rules for the vegetables you need to use, choose what’s ripe, most flavorful and ones that add color to the dish.
The July 4th Edit (Pieces You’ll Love Year After Year!)
The easy breezy days of summer are zipping by & we’ve been enjoying every single moment of each glorious day! Life in the mountains treats us right with bluebird sunny days and green hued hills. Telluride, CO is a special place to live no matter what the season but the summer is short, sweet & precious. July 4th is always so fun & festive here with a small town parade that brings thousands of adoring guests to our tiny mountain town. It’s certainly worth a visit if you’ve never been. Dressing up in red, white & blue doesn’t need to be reserved for this holiday only. When you invest in the right pieces each one can be enjoyed year after year no matter what the occasion.
The pieces I’ve curated for this post are timeless favorites, several that can be worn/enjoyed together and each work well on their own. Happy shopping & happy summer!
This blog post & featured shop widgets contain affiliate links.
Pretty Floral Pool Floaty Is a pool party in your future? Bring this float & enjoy all the fun in the sun.
Mealtime seems to roll around quicker and quicker every day. Admittedly I used to have more time in the day to shop & prepare healthy meals for my family. I’ve been juggling several jobs at once & every minute counts. Meals I can prepare quickly but don’t lack in flavor are of the upmost importance. This 20 Minute Acini de Pepe with Broccoli & Shrimp became a quick favorite in my house. I’m certain it will be loved by you and your family as well.
Happy Mother’s Day beauties! I hope you are all having a wonderful day no matter how you choose to celebrate. Around here I’m enjoying lots of relaxation & time with family & my four doggies. For those of you who have become acquainted with my Mer Rose Atelier brand of one-of-a-kind, hand painted accessories & those who have not…I invite you to check it out! For a very limited time I’m offering a 50% discount on select pieces. It’s time to treat yourself, mom, your grad or that special someone to a purse they will cherish forever! Looking to transform a custom piece? Reach out to me here & we can start the conversation. I look forward to working with you.
As the temps warm up it’s time to think about pretty, flowy, feminine summer dresses. The prints & colors this year are absolutely gorgeous! Embroidery, eyelet, smocking and embellished details make pieces extra special. Say goodbye to the idea of “throwaway” dresses. Investing in favorites is a better idea for your budget & the key to a diverse wardrobe.
I absolutely LOVE the retro vibe of this scallop trimmed floral midi dress. The print is gorgeous & there are self-tie spaghetti straps which are great for mini adjustments.
This wrap minidress in 100% cotton has so many beautiful colors in it which makes accessorizing very fun! The cut of Zimmermann dresses is always spot on & flattering.
This time of the year salads are the go-to meals for a lot of us. The weather is warmer and we crave lighter foods with no loss of flavor. I cannot have enough amazing salad recipes and this Greek Barley Salad is a nice diversion from standard salads. Grain based salads are not only delicious, but they keep energy levels sustained for a good long time as well. If you enjoy Greek salads, then I’m certain you will love this recipe.
When it comes to making your Greek salad the best ever, I always recommend that you choose the best ingredients you can find, for me that means sheep or goat feta and the best kalamata olives I can find.