Behind the Scenes with Marionberry Style

Behind the Scenes is back today with none other than the lovely Marion, from the fab fashion blog Marionberry Style. It’s actually pretty inaccurate to call Marion’s blog just simply a fashion blog — because honestly, it’s so much more! In addition to great outfits, she shares plenty of stories about her life in Denver, and they’re often really hilarious (I mean, case in point: check out the cake her friend recently brought to their monthly book club). I had a chance to Skype with Marion a while back, and I’m pretty sure we’d be fast friends in real life. Judging from her BTS, we have a ton in common! Learn more about her, right after the jump!

Petra, Jordan – I read about Petra in a 6th grade history class and I have been dreaming of visiting ever since.
Panchoran Retreat Bali, Indonesia – Linda Garland’s estate in Bali just looks like a perfect place for one of The Bachelor’s overnight dates…
Positani, Italy – Italy is one of my favorite places to visit, however Positani has always been missed.
Machu Picchu, Peru – My girlfriends went here to celebrate college graduation. I was trying to be “responsible” and look for a job so I didn’t go. Now that I’m in my 30’s I realize that responsibility can be way overrated.
Santorini, Greece – Isn’t this on everyone’s bucket list?! :)

The 5 Love Languages – My husband once dated a woman who taught him about these “love languages.” Sometimes, the husband will tell me in frustration that I am not “speaking his love language.” Well that just makes me confused! What the heck does that even mean? Well…I intend to find out this year!
Motherless Daughters – I think I’m ready to learn more about myself in this regard.
The Art of Intelligence – Sounds neat.
The Power of Habit – Love anything that provides insight into basic human nature.

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Expanded family
Still madly in love
Loads of adventure

Planning ahead – This seems weird for me to say since I was a professional planner for 6+ years. That said, I have always been excellent at planning for other people while putting myself last. Lately, this has resulted in the following:
– weekends going by without any trips or getaways + 7pm rolls around and I have no idea what’s for dinner + I look at the calendar and realize it’s my friend’s birthday and I haven’t bought a gift.
– I am working on being more aware and organized. Just as I plan out my blog posts, I need to plan my month ahead of time.

Growing the blog – Putting my honest voice into each post and seeing where it goes next!

I have been thinking a lot about our next home. We currently rent in a high-rise in downtown Denver. Love it…but it’s not “ours.” I want to nest and paint again!

So my name is Marion. I would say about 80% of people who hear it immediately start calling me “Mary Ann” or “Miriam.” So to preempt this error, I sometimes introduce myself as, “Hi, my name is Marion. Like the librarian. Or the cracked out mayor from Washington D.C.” That often helps.

So for my blog, I decided to make my name part of it. Growing up in Oregon, we have these yummy berries called Marionberries. It just seemed to fit.

Victoria with vmac + cheese. :)

No honestly…other bloggers and business women are incredibly inspiring to me on a daily basis. With my full time job, keeping our home clean, grocery shopping, walking the dogs…I love that I can visit my favorite women on-line and recharge my inspiration batteries! I love how so many women bloggers have catapulted their blog presence into a brand + business. What’s more inspirational than that?

This is going to sound weird. But when I considered this question, I honestly think that I am most proud of the courage I summoned to leave an unhappy + unhealthy marriage. I was raised in a very strict Catholic home and divorce wasn’t a supported option by much of my family. With the help of a few incredible friends, I did the hardest thing I’ve ever done and left that life.

I look around my life now and I am truly blessed. I think it’s because of my previous heartache that makes me so appreciative of everything I have now. My husband is my best friend…and to think I may have never known that type of love is scary. So I thank God every day for giving me the courage to life my head up and take that step.

Again…this is going to sound weird…but I feel recharged when I am out doing something active! I relax afterward with a good beer. :)

My first blog post was September 25, 2011. I keep doing it because it forces me to seek out inspiration in my daily life and it has allowed me to meet some pretty incredible women. It’s not always easy…and sometimes the last thing I want to do is take a photo of my outfit! But I love where it’s taken me and can’t wait to see where it goes next!