Farmhouse Glam Paint Colors | Sherwin Williams

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a sneak peek or two of the progress of our living room re-do. You may have also seen the utter disaster the rest of our downstairs is as we have been working in this room which literally takes up half of our main floor. So far we've painted the walls, ceiling and half the trim in the living room. We hope to finish the trim and start and finish the dining room this weekend, before tackling the kitchen.

I've found that I really like painting! When I'm working on a section, it's literally all I can think about. It can be a little hard for me to turn my brain off from time to time, but this task allows me to just zone out of everything else and focus on the literal task at hand.

I'm calling our look farmhouse glam for two reasons: 1. Our home has a bit of a farmhouse-y vibe to it. White, front porch, soon to be installed black metal roof, big yard with a fence, etc. But I'm not 100% committed to the Jo Anna Gaines farmhouse look, especially through the whole house. And CJM likes some color throughout as well. 2. I need just a little bit of glam and sparkle in my life, which we're incorporating through the gold metal accents, some soft pink velvet pillows, and faux fur throws/rugs. So #farmhouseglam it is!

I found a color scheme on Pinterest that was under the farmhouse glam kind of category and we both really liked it. Once we decided on the right gray for our home {Repose Gray}, we re-evaluated the suggested colors and decided it was a little too mix-y match-y for us, as well as being a little too warm. We like a bit of a cooler, cleaner color scheme. So we swapped out the navy for the Iron Ore color of our accents {it's not black, but a super dark charcoal color} and the mantle and banisters have just totally popped!

When CJM suggested painting the kitchen pink, I was honestly so surprised. But we have white cabinets that we have no plans to change, and have wanted to update the counter tops and tile to a white/marble-y look for a long time so it just seemed to make sense! We have a long ways to go, but working on these projects have been fun! I'll share more as we progress, but wanted to kind of document the process from start to finish, and this is the suggested paint scheme as of right now.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram to get even more behind the scenes!

Living Room Re-do

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We've lived in our house for almost two and a half years, which is kind of hard to believe. Time passes so much faster the older I get, plus we are always having a lot of fun in our community and traveling to other places too. But lately I've been feeling like I needed a change.

My family moved ever 18-24 months or so for most of my life, and I think that schedule is almost ingrained in my body. About six months ago, I just got the desire for a blank slate or a new house or something. After looking at a few things we decided to just stay where we are and make some changes here. You can always paint a wall after all, and our house is really the perfect size and location for us right now.

We've found a color palette that we're going to use to repaint the whole house {with just a few minor tweaks}, and we decided to get a few new pieces of furniture to really make the whole house feel fresh. CJM and I went to look at sofas on July 4th and fell in love with basically the first one we saw. The clearance center had multiples but they were on reserve for an interior designer who ended up wanting them all. Our living room is too narrow to have a sectional but I'm always feeling like we need more seating so we've decided to go with two matching sofas facing each other.

CJM really kicked the whole process off with a new coffee table, and I just ordered two slip covered Farlov sofas from Ikea {not linkable, so similar product is linked in the shopable image above}. They come in next week I cannot wait! In the meantime, I've been spending my evenings before bed perusing Amazon and Pinterest for all things home decor and curating the new look. You can check out our semi-current look here {we've changed the rug/curtains/a few pillows and things since then, but overall the feel is the same}.

But now, here comes the hard part. The new gray. The one in the color palette we're using is really a little too dark {SW Light French Gray}, and the lighter suggested version is Sherwin Williams Eider White. My SIL loves Agreeable Gray and I hear great things about Repose, too. So we're trying them all!

After getting two samples from my local SW store, I painted two sample sticker squares and stuck them on the wall. I realized those weren't the right colors, but didn't want to buy two more huge samples from SW {what's the deal with that anyways? Home Depot has like tiny samples that are true samples; these are like quarts!} and have to paint things to hang, etc. etc. While browsing Pinterest, this thing called Samplize popped up and I clicked! It's pre-painted sticker samples that cost less than $6 a piece! Perfection. I've order two other colors and they should arrive today. I'm super excited to hang all four colors together and finally pick the perfect gray.

Easy Fall Foods | Crock-pot Chili, Low Carb Pumpkin Muffins, Semi-homemade Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Do you save certain recipes for certain times of year? I know I was waiting all September for it to finally get cool enough to make a pot of chili! Once October hit, I was ready to break out the pumpkin foods--I don't like pumpkin drinks though.

I served a big pot of chili just last week to some of my Junior League ladies. We had a little potluck night with the exec girls as we went through boxes and sorted event supplies. Everyone brought a little something, and it really made for a nice and easy fall get-together that you could replicate!

We had chili and baked potatoes with all the toppings, cornbread muffins, and a few different desserts to round it all out. Afterwards, the girls were asking for my chili recipe so I wanted to share:

Crock-pot Chili:

1 lb ground beef (or venison if you've got a freezer full like I do!)
2 16 oz cans of Bush's Best Chili Kidney Beans Spicy Chili Sauce
2 16 oz cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of sweet corn
1 10 oz can of Rotel Hot Diced Tomatoes With Habaneros
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
1 mild chili seasoning packet

Cook the ground meat with half of the packet of mild chili seasoning (especially if venison) until well done. Drain. Add with rest of ingredients in crock pot. Cook on high for four hours, or low for six to eight. Serve with sour cream and Tillamook Mexican 4 Cheese Blend.


Another fun fall recipe is my favorite easy "healthy" pumpkin muffins. Easy, because no measuring. Healthy, because they're much lower in carbs and sugars than regular muffins but just as delicious!

Low Carb Pumpkin Muffins

1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin puree
1 box of Pillsbury sugar free yellow cake mix
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional, but I mean, come on)

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Grease muffin tin. Bake in regular muffin tin for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Makes roughly 16 muffins.

And if you're looking for something not so healthy, but oh so delicious, my friend Kim shared an easy "semi-homemade" pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe that was easy and fun to make! I honestly felt so accomplished after rolling these up and baking them successfully. And they made the house smell too good!

Semi-Homemade Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

3 packages of crescent rolls (4 rolls per container)
1 15 oz can of pure pumpkin puree
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

Lay dough on lightly floured surface, pinching together the seams. Mix pumpkin, brown sugar, and spices. Spread with half of the pumpkin mixture, and sprinkle with cinnamon to taste. Tightly roll lengthwise, and slice into 2 inch sections. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8oz block of cream cheese, softened
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla
4 tablespoons of melted butter

Mix ingredients thoroughly with mixer. Add milk by the tablespoon if you desire a thinner, more glaze-like texture. Ice cinnamon rolls quickly after removing from the oven while still warm.

There is enough frosting and pumpkin puree mix to save and make a second batch for your neighbors or next weekend!

Share your favorite recipes in the comments so I can try something new this weekend!

Fall Home Decor Ideas

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I may or may not have had my fall decor out since the end of August. I justified it by saying we had a football game almost every weekend in September {Hail Southern!} is true, but it really just makes me happy. Plus, doesn't the house seem to stay cleaner when there is some festive decor out and about?

I don't really love the traditional fall colors of orange, yellow, and red inside my home since so much of my home is a neutral color like gray, white, and brown. So I try to find some pieces that bring in a more rustic, fall vibe without being orange leaves, pumpkins, and scarecrows everywhere.

I ordered these buffalo check pillow covers from Amazon, and I'm so glad I did! I actually ended up buying a second set to have more pillows in this pattern! The 20 inch case fit my over sized pillows perfectly. I'm sure I'll leave these out at least through Christmas since I incorporate the buffalo check in to my main Christmas tree as well. The quality was great with these--very thick and you couldn't see through the fabric at all. They're a woven material that doesn't stretch though, so be careful when putting the pillows in!

I really love this neutral fall wreath, too. I have one similar that I picked up at TJ Maxx last fall. The white pumpkins and sunflowers really make this for me. I think these colors really pop on my blue door.

A few other Amazon favorites include my two favorite fall candles: Nest's Pumpkin Chai and Bath & Body Works' Marshmallow Fireside. The combo together is fabulous, and I truly believe the Pumpkin Chai is probably the best pumpkin scented candle ever. I also like these decorative galvanized buckets to sit the grocery store mums in. They add a little bit to the front porch which is nice.

TJ Maxx is also a great stop for fall decor, and I picked up these ceramic pumpkins this year. They have tons of sayings, sizes, and colors, and make the cutest little collection! What are your favorite fall decor items?

One Year Here

One year ago today, we closed on our house here in Dublin. This was one of many firsts: buying a home, living together full-time, moving somewhere to create a life as a married couple. While it was 'home' for Christopher, my heart and my home is all over the East Coast and I was expecting a move to a small town in South Georgia to present some challenges.

While there were a few along the way {The Great Flowerbed Flood of 2017, and Hurricane Irma just to name a few} the move was surprisingly smooth. I'm not sure that I've ever felt as at peace about living somewhere as I do here. And while a lot of that has to do with my husband, a lot of it also has to do with the people here. I've lived a lot of places, and people are not universally accepting, kind, or excited to get to know the new person. Usually there is some hesitancy and distrust of those coming it to a tight-knit community that causes the transplant to rescind and not make further attempts at developing connections and relationships.

I've never felt more universally accepted and liked than I have here in Dublin. I've met so many people who are genuinely interested in me, my husband, our lives, and in making a deeper connection. I'm not sure I've ever lived somewhere that so many people are as deeply rooted in their faith and are actively living it out. The people here are kind, and inclusive, and loving.

While we have a short list of shopping and dining options {Target will never happen here, y'all.}, we have a growing and thriving downtown community that I'm proud to work in every day. I've been included in an amazing Bible study group with some wonderful ladies that I wouldn't have met if one person hadn't taken a chance and asked me, a virtual stranger, to come over for dinner. And I feel so blessed to live in a community that values family, my marriage, and our commitment to each other.

I've learned to value the little things more, thanks to living in this small town. Even though my mother cries every time she has to make the almost five hour drive to see me and I have to Amazon my face wash each month, I appreciate the fact that it takes me five minutes to get pretty much anywhere any day of the week. I love the fact that we have 52 official St. Patrick's Day events that start in February...and don't expect to find a green bow for sale anywhere after Valentine's Day. I love that my in-laws are just down the road. I laugh at the sheer number of parades we have that makes it feel like I'm living in my very own Stars Hollow. And anytime we go somewhere, I'm always ready to get back home.

So here's to here, and a great year. Cheers to many more.

Christmas Kitchen

I love the slightly vintage vibe of our kitchen Christmas decor. Most of it is Dollar Spot finds from Target! Each year they have just a couple of cute dollar items that really end up all working together. Funny story about the Christmas Countdown on the stove: bought that three of four years ago from the T, and could not find chalk anywhere! Ended up finding some right before Christmas, and then have continually hid it from myself such that I find it throughout the year but never in December! So no Christmas Countdown for us...

Tartan & Buffalo Check Christmas

Two words: tree collar. With the recent inclusion of our newest addition, Miss Marble the Kitty, I have quickly learned how absolutely necessary this Christmas decor item is. While the one I really wanted sold out {Hearth & Hand problems, thanks Target}, after fishing the cat out of the tree on multiple occasions, I was half tempted to just go to Home Depot and buy a galvanized tub to sit the base of the tree in. Side note: while writing this, I had to pluck her out of the curtains. The curtains! 

I really didn't love how my main tree turned out last year; it never really felt complete. And this year, I decided I wanted to incorporate a traditional Christmas tartan ribbon in our main tree because it's extremely close to CJM's family's tartan. To somewhat mute the red {I love red and green, but not so much in my house}, I incorporated a beautiful, wide black and white buffalo check. Our tree topper? Big bows with a rack of deer antlers tucked into the top from CJM's first hunt of the season. I guess I'm officially a South Georgia girl now!

Mixing metallics is something I love doing with jewelry, so I incorporated that trend into the other decor throughout the living room, too. Gold balls in the garland with silver stockings hanging nearby, more ornaments in a silver Reed & Barton bowl on the coffee table, and a mix of silver, gold and white nativity and Christmas figurines on the sideboard as well. It's one of my favorite spaces to be this holiday season.

Cozy Home

Why is it always true that you "need a vacation from your vacation?"

We went out of town last week for a wedding in Biloxi, Mississippi, and between that and the busiest work week of the year topped off by my birthday, I'm tired! But so thankful to have a cozy home to relax at when I get the chance.

I actually put out my fall decor during Hurricane Irma...something about hurricanes makes me want to clean and get everything pretty. I didn't add a whole lot of new fall items this year since I'll be doing a major Christmas overhaul, but it was really fun to find new locations for some of my sparkly fall faves. Follow along with my mini fall tour starting in the kitchen, going through the dining room, and ending up in the den.

Kitchen

Dining Room

Living Room