Pinspiration: Halloween Edition

Well, I know it's pretty early, but I just can't wait any longer. Right now is just one of my favorite times of year! I absolutely love fall. Want to know what I love a little bit more than fall itself? You guessed it, Halloween! I seriously collect decor ideas year round for this fantastic holiday. This past year Nick and I were in the process of a life changing move from Traverse City to Southfield, so I didn't get to decorate or celebrate Halloween at all. *sad face* There were a few other things that trumped carving pumpkins, like, unpacking all of our belongings and trying to settle in to this crazy new routine before Harper was born. Wow, time flies!

When I am looking for decor ideas, I try to keep a theme in mind. This year I have chosen to go with a more modern and minimalist approach. Don't get me wrong, I love in-your-face decor, but I know we're going to be super busy with the move again this year, and I don't want to stress myself out by biting off more than I can chew with decorations. (P.S. I've come to the very sad realization that we will most likely NOT be in our house by Halloween. Which means, another year without decorating. *saddest face ever*)

Anyways, I wanted to share some of my current favorite decoration ideas.

House 36

Nadia from House 36 has quite a few great (and cheap!) ideas to decorate for this holiday. I love the idea of swapping out some pictures around the house for creepy images of skulls, bats, spiders, etc. Really inexpensive way to make the home feel festive without going overboard! Can you even go overboard with Halloween decorations? I don't think so! Also, that striped candle, just a plain white one with electrical tape on it. So great!

House of Earnest

Erin from House of Earnest gives a simple DIY to create a creepy display out of a branch and some dollar store items. You could even wrap some books that you have lying around in black construction paper, or, better yet, brown kraft paper, for an even more natural vibe. I am also planning on putting some black branches in the vases I painted white.

in the fun lane

I really love how Holly from in the fun lane did a monochromatic theme for her Halloween decor. Very chic, if I do say so myself! While I will probably got a little lighter on the faux crows, I think they way it comes together looks so polished. If you check out her post you'll see some better pictures of the plates that are hanging on the wall above the mirror. They have what I'm assuming are vinyl decals on them. Super simple plus, once they could be swapped out if/when you got sick of them, but lets be real, I wouldn't ever get sick of those beauties! 

Pretty basic ideas, but they're inexpensive and very simple to DIY which is perfect in my book. Don't be surprised if a version 2.0 of this post makes it's debut in a few weeks once we get closer. 

So, what did you think? Do you have a favorite Holiday where you go "all out" with the decorations? 

Let me know in the comments below!

XO Sam

Pinspiration: Kitchen Edition

We posted our kitchen mood boards last week, so I'll continue to ride on that same thought train and share some of the inspiration photos that helped create those mood boards.

We've been trying to find as many images as we can to draw our ideas from. We want to make sure that things will "work" the way that we imagine they will. Placement of the sinks, appliances, peninsula (maybe?), etc. So, it is nice to see what other people have done. Here are a few of the kitchens that I've been drooling over on my Pinterest board. 

source: here

P.S. Holy cow! Check out those BEFORE pictures! 

Better Homes and Gardens

I love the pop of color on the peninsula! Nick and I have tossed around the idea of paining the seating side of the peninsula (if we choose to install one) a bold color. Probably a peacock turquoise.

source unknown

source: here

As you can see, I've done a pretty good job sticking to my original design idea of white cabinets, light countertop, and dark flooring. I try to look at different color schemes as well, to get some variety, but I always find myself going back to this one. It is just so bright and airy. Which I think is an important aspect for a room where we'll be spending a lot of time. 

Maybe when the time comes I'll go out on a limb a little bit and take a chance with some more bold colors?

Do you have a "safe" color scheme that you find yourself drawn to? 

XO Sam

Pinspiration: Living Room Edition

Earlier today I posted a link to my Pinterest boards. 

If you checked them out, you probably noticed a few of my inspiration boards for the new house!(I've only been pinning to these boards for a few weeks now, so they're still a little empty. Bear with me for a bit while I continue to add to them!)

The main floor living room has windows looking out into the front of the house. It is connected to the main hallway with the main staircase and you can see into the breakfast nook.(Do you think I could have said "main" any more in that past sentence?) 

We're thinking that it will probably be used mostly for when people come for a visit, and possibly to lounge while dinner is cooking. We don't want to put a TV in this room, because I just hate it when I drive by a house and can see their TV through the front windows. No thanks! 

Not that we're fancy or anything, but I think we want it to be more of a "formal living room" maybe a little more "put together" than the basement family room? At least in my dreams that's how I picture it. Yeah, sometimes I dream about our new living room. 


Anyways! These are some of our current key inspiration pieces for this new space!

Art Collage Wall

White Washed Fireplace

(Source unknown)

Benjamin Moore Paint Palette 

I'm really thinking that the whole vibe of the house is going to be pretty cool, calm, and collected. Maybe then my life will start to reflect that? Eh? Really though, we're just very drawn to the cooler tones, like blues, greys and some greens, rather than warm ones, like yellows, tans and reds. We don't have a master color palette, yet! But once it's been created I'll definitely share that as well!

XO Sam

If you want to watch my inspiration board continue to grow, check it out here. 

Hashtag Mold Problems

We had our home inspection done on Monday August 5th. Everything came back with relatively good results, except there seems to be a serious mold problem. A dangerous mold problem. Ugh! 

Thankfully the foundation is solid and this was the only major problem that surfaced.

We are really itching to get it remedied, but because it is a short sale we can't even get quotes for the repairs until the bank has accepted our offer. 

It's only been two weeks since we put our offer in, I think, and we're told it takes at least thirty days to hear back from the bank. 

This is only the beginning of a very, very long process.

There isn't going to be much to post about until we hear more from either the seller's lender, or our real estate agent. 

I'll be back later to share some of the inspiration that Nick and I have been accumulating via my Pinterest boards!

XO Sam