A Big Girl Room

It's about time to get started on Avery's big girl room. I. am. so. excited.  The room we will be moving her to has two twin beds with stark white Ikea bedding and dark wood cut-out headboards with a matching set of furniture.  Oh and let's not forget the chocolate-brown walls I will not be sad to part with.

I've see-sawed a few times between color schemes for the new look, but have finally landed on light pink/white/royal blue/brass.  Below are some images I put together from which I'm drawing inspiration...

1/ Amie Corley's design for this little girl's room is a big inspiration for me.  The layout will be almost identical, as Avery's room will have matching twin bed and headboard sets on each side of the window.  I also adore her gallery wall here.   Already got and "A" for Avery:)  

{Style Me Pretty}

2/ So, so happy "brass is back"!  Almost all of the original fixtures are still in this house.  And guess what? They are brass!!! Door knobs, switch plates, hardware in the bathrooms.  You name it.  We are going to keep it.  Partly in tribute to the house, and partly because I just love the look.  I've been scrounging thrift stores for good brass items, and let me tell you, it's everywhere!  {RecyleBuyVintage}

3/ We will need a chair, but because space will be an issue, an overstuffed glider like what we have in the nursery is just not going to work!  I want something pretty and interesting.  Comfort does not have to be the deciding factor here since I figure we will do most of our reading at night in her big girl bed.  I almost scored one on Craiglist this morning for $20 that looked very similar to this one, but I was about 30 minutes too late...  {Wisteria}

4/ Gallery wall!!! Don't you just love a good gallery wall?  Especially in a kid's room, I think.  I've been collecting frames for quite a while now, so I just cannot wait to get the wall painted and start arranging/hanging.  A little bit eclectic like the one pictured here is a must!  This big girl room by Nicole is so precious...

{Me Oh My}

5/ Blue and white.   These colors are trailing through my house, and I would be remiss to leave Avery's room out!  I think the royal blue tones will pair very nicely with the light pink and stark white bedding. {via Pinterest}

6/ I've chosen Verbena by Sherwin Williams for the walls.  We will sample it before painting, of course, but we will end up doing something very similar to this shade if not this one itself.  Now that we know we are having another girl, I'm not afraid to go all out girly!

Of course, Emily is a genius and will be helping me pull this altogether in style and under budget.  Did you know she's open for business? 

Pinning and Pining

One of the many things I love about fall is the food: chili and soups, comfort food, anything with pumpkin...  I've got so many recipes I want to try! Here are some of my most recent pins from Pinterest that I'm keeping in mind for menu planning, starting with what I'm making tonight.

We aren't vegan, but this looks delicious and healthy...

{Vegan Quinoa & Sweet Potato Chili}

I've never made spaghetti squash, so it's on my mental list of things I must try this fall. And it's from Martha Stewart...

{Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Herbs}

French onion soup from Delicious Shots:)  Praying for a really cold, cold front so I can make this one...

{Onion Soup}

I've already made four batches of these muffins from Mary Beth in the last few weeks, and I plan on making at least five more. She brought them over when we moved into the neighborhood and I just can't get enough!!!

{Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins}

I will say (and so will Taylor) that Pinterest has enriched our lives when it comes to what we're eating.  I've had very few recipe fails, and it's really helped me keep track of my favorite online recipes.

Follow by food board Eat, and please feel free to share any of your favorite fall-ish recipes with me! I love a good recipe swap:)

Kitchen Inspiration

We are currently in the process of updating the kitchen in our new house. No major reno, just updating the "look" to make it our own.  Throughout this process, I have heavily relied on Pinterest to help me decide what I really like.

Here are a few of the kitchens/pictures that have inspired me and steered my choices.  It is clear that I love a bright, white kitchen!  I'm also loving white granite or marble countertops, as well as the white subway tile backsplash...

{1} via Pinterest {2} via Pinterest  {3} GianiGranitepaint.com  

{4} via Pinterest  {5} Apartment Therapy

As for our kitchen, we've already made major headway.  Here's a peak at what it looked like before we did anything to it...

{Images via Zillow}

The layout is amazing- just needs some zushing to make it work for us until we replace countertops and appliances down the road.  I'll share pics of our progress very soon!  Here's a link to my "Kitch" board on Pinterest if you'd like to follow!