The Perfect Green-Gray Paint Color Part II

Going through this exercise once wasn't quite enough of a thrill, so I did it again! What can I say, I love excitement in my life in the form of playing with paint colors. The first post about finding the perfect grey-gray continues to receive the most traffic out of all of my posts, so I figured it would be worthwhile and fun to share my second run at finding another green-gray paint color.

This time around I was trying to find a paint color for my full bathroom which has just undergone a pretty hefty renovation. 

I read on a random website via a Google search that if you find yourself purchasing more than 4 samples of paint and are still having no luck it is probably wise to call in the help of a design professional. I have 6 color swatches on each of 2 of my bathroom walls (yes, plural--a few more paint swatches and I could have actually gone for a very unique swatchy-esque look as the final product). I feel like part of the fun of doing this is that you figure out what other colors might not necessarily work in one space but could certainly work well in another. For $2.97 a pop I still don't feel as much of a sting as I did when I bought 4 gallons of Benjamin Moore paint all of which I disliked (a $125ish epic fail). At the present, I'm working on lightening one of those colors (I'm at a ratio of 1 gallon of Beach Glass to 2 gallons of white and it's still not working for me). So, hey, it looks like I'm actually out 6 gallons of paint. Holler at that!

So, what green-gray colors did I experiment with this time around?

1. Pewter Tray by Behr
2. Gray Cashmere by Benjamin Moore

3. Healing Aloe by Benjamin Moore

4. Lime Light by Behr

5. Gray Lake by Benjamin Moore

6. Paper White by Benjamin Moore

(All of these paints were color matched at Home Depot using either their Behr or Glidden testers)

One of my top picks, Gray Lake, was a color I had on my bathroom board. My other top pick was Healing Aloe. Ultimately, I chose to go with Gray Lake. It's funny how much the color has lightened and changed now that it's not side-by-side with the other green-gray colors I sampled. My biggest hesitation with settling on Gray Lake was the fact that it appeared to be almost a powdery baby blue next to the other paint colors. Does it read that way to you in the picture above? This was definitely not the color or look I was aiming for.

Previous experience with choosing paint colors only to find that they are way too dark once on the walls is the ultimate reason why I chose Gray Lake; it was one of the lightest of them all and many of these colors were actually on the lighter end of their hues. It was a tough choice to make. Another $30 down the drain? I hoped not.

Now that I've painted my bathroom I have found that, on its own with the white trim, Gray Lake is very, very light. To my surprise I'm actually extremely happy with my decision! Score! There is no hint of powdery baby blue at all. Plus, the bathroom doesn't get a lot of natural light and I didn't want to make it feel any darker. This is definitely a clean, airy, and fresh color choice. Perfect for a bathroom! Here's a look:

Click over here to take a look at the full bathroom reveal with very exciting before and after photos. I'm still working on the finishing touches and creating more projects for myself (yep, in the bathroom). The fun never ends when it comes to renovations. Seriously.

Also, check out my recent post on choosing a paint color.

-Kristin 

A Gift of Pink and Gold

This past Wednesday was Administrative Professional's Day. A day to recognize the hard work and dedication of those employees who are tasked with keeping the rest of the organization afloat and on track.

Aside from the typical flowers and lunch (clearly both of which were involved), I wanted to do something a bit more unique and on par with my colleague's personal taste and style. I arrived at this decision using the following formula:

HomeGoods + TJMaxx + flowers = lovely gift

Here is what we've got:

And of course, why wouldn't one want to join in on the camera fun and test out the new accent chair that was being occupied?

Really, who's cuter? The stationary or Lorelai? That's a toughie, but Lorelai, obv.

To build up the gift a bit I purchased some tea, a gift card to Panera, and a Bobble bottle (something she and I have joked about before).

For a close up, here is the pattern of the box. The pink and gold ties in nicely with the notepads and note cards. The Bobble and tea also tie in nicely with the floral pattern of the box. I used blue tissue paper to make everything inside pop and to coordinate with the blue flower in the pattern.

And because they are super pretty and make any gift better, I also purchased some lovely pink tulips with white rimmed petals and the vase which is beautiful on its own.

Oh to be good at floral arrangements. Add that to the bucket list.

Overnight the tulips really opened up (which was a huge relief, because sometimes flowers don't make it through the night in our office). They are gorgeous!

Special thanks to the recipient of this gift!

-Kristin

The Art of a Pillow

Current decor obsession = throw pillows.

If changing the look of a room without a spending a ton of money isn't enough reason to love throw pillows (particularly pillow covers), once you get tired of the color scheme or patterns you can just get new covers to create a whole new look anywhere from Crate and Barrel to West Elm.

Presently, I'm particularly fond of throw pillows with geometric patterns and those with nautical/beachy prints.

About a year ago I ordered a few pillows for the bedroom in my first condo from Etsy. One of these pillows came from KainKain's shop. The quality of the pillow's embroidery was great, so I paid another visit to this shop and here are some of my current fave embroidered pillows with a nautical/beachy vibe that I would love to use use in my currently-being-updated living room. The geometric patterned pillows are from various Etsy shops (all sources below).

PILLOW SOURCES

(from left to right, top to bottom)

gray rope / coral rope / gray ikat / navy anchor

coral link / gray coral / navy wave / gray link

navy lighthouse / blue swirl / coral coral / gray coral ii

After some online research into how to best coordinate and display throw pillows, I gathered some pretty helpful information. Some rules of thumb:

• Place geometric prints with solids
• Small prints (of any design) with large prints (of any design) for contrast
• Floral, geometric and/or stripe, and solid makes a good combination
• Colors should coordinate and there should be only about three colors used in the pillow scheme

As for now, below are the two styles of pillows I purchased for my living room, both patterns from the Threshold line at Target and on sale in-store (just under $18 each).

As an aside, I was with my mom when I purchased these pillows among too many other things. I just so happen to really enjoy the current Threshold line, so when I stepped  into the aisle and saw a sea of red clearance tags on a lot of the items, I entered this crazy shopper trance. At one point I had about 3 pillows, a ceramic lidded canister, and an accent table in my arms and just happened to make eye contact with my mom. Her reply out of concern/astonishment was "Kristin Marie!!! Oh.My.God!" This is probably why I shop alone.... Judgement free zone right here!

                         

 

The image above makes the pillow to the left very orange, but it looks more coral in person (to me anyway). The pillow to the right has varying shades of aqua and stitch-work making it super pretty. Now to decide if one more color should be added into the pillow scheme mix in my living room. Navy? Gray? Just white? I do enjoy those embroidered nautical pillows from KainKain.... So many choices!

I must say, the best part about throw pillows is that when you have lost your love for the design/pattern/color of the pillow you can buy a new cover and start anew!

Anyone else down with throw pillows? (Pun intended!)

-Kristin

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

What's tastier than a chocolate cupcake? A chocolate zucchini bread muffin or loaf! It might actually be moister too!

I picked up a few zucchini's at a farmers market at my work, and knew exactly how I was going to put them to use. Park of me even wonders if it's really muffin-y or bread-y as it is super fluffy and moist and not dense or crumby in the least.

I've had this chocolate zucchini bread recipe on hand for several years now, and it's always been a hit.

 Chocolate Zucchini Bread

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups unpeeled, grated zucchini (~3 medium size zucchini)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 8x4" loaf pans.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, walnuts (if you choose), and chocolate chips.

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs then whisk in the vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Stir in grated zucchini.

Add wet ingredients into dry ingredient and mix thoroughly.

Pour batter into loaf pans and bake  for approximately 50-55 minutes. Place a toothpick or tester into loaf, and if it comes out clean the bread is ready.

Tips and Tricks

I chose to make one loaf and 12 muffins and used almost all of the batter. I baked the muffins for approximately 20 minutes (they will take more time than a cupcake). I also considered making this in a bundt pan, but that would have take longer to bake than I wanted to wait (approximately 75 minutes aka 15 minutes too long).

Another good way to determine if a loaf, muffin, cake or cupcake is fully cooked is to gently press your fingertip on its top. If it feels firm and rises back up where you pressed down, it is done. If it does not rise back up, your fingertip essentially goes through it, and/or if feels mushy, it is not done. If you gently move the loaf pan and it jiggles, it is not done. 

For garnish, I used confectioners (powdered) sugar; however, be warned, that it does eventually disappear! 

There's only so much grilled and steamed zucchini one can consume in a season. If you are growing zucchini in your garden this summer, or picking some up at a local farmers market or grocery store, be sure to give this recipe a try!

Enjoy!

-Kristin

*note: source for recipe unknown