My older daughter just turned five a few weeks ago. Sometimes I look at her and just can’t believe how big she is. From the way she carries herself to the way she speaks–and the attitude that flows so freely from her already! It’s obvious that my baby isn’t a baby anymore (tear).

The older she gets, the more often stomps her way down the hallway and shuts herself up in her room (I know, it will only get worse) to demonstrate her individuality and give a metaphorical middle finger to my husband and I. Each time I make my way into her room to discuss her latest tiff, I can’t help but notice how woefully underdecorated it is (yes I just made that word up).

So now while she sulks, I find myself poring over photos of kid’s bedrooms…

Samantha’s room is purple (actually, it’s almost the exact same color as that second photo). This is not about to change–not only because I don’t have the time or patience to do it, but because Miss Thing is not big on change. She’s fine with beautifying, but don’t you dare move her pencils from the spot she keeps them in. Because of this, I’ve decided to focus on artwork for her walls for the time being.

The color of her walls is light and airy and a little whimsical. I think art that plays off of that would be perfect.

I love this print. First of all, blue is her favorite color and this shade will work nicely with her walls. It’s also fun and playful, which is what I’m looking for. Plus, if you know her, you know this print fits her Type A, grab the bull by the horns and boss everyone around personality. 😉

I also love the idea of dreamy photography and I absolutely adore this set of prints! Not only is she a huge fan of carousels (what little girl isn’t?), but the colors are perfect and it’s something that wouldn’t get old too quickly.

This one is also super dreamy–and it features Cinderella’s castle. Sam is obsessed with princesses and Cinderella is definitely one of her favorites so this could be perfect.

While we’re on the subject of princesses…

I couldn’t really go wrong with anything Cinderella themed…

or princess in general for that matter. Maybe a grouping of different princess prints would work? Wild and Free has a bunch of cute and simple Disney princess prints available.

She’s also been really into Rapunzel since Tangled came out. She loves reading different versions of it at bedtime.

She’s also a huge fan of Princess and the Pea–in fact, for Halloween this year she wants to dress up as a princess and she wants her new sister to be the pea (can we say slight adjustment issues?).

She’s actually into just about any fairy tale or folk tale. She loves books, just like mommy and daddy.

Maybe a print that reflects her love of books and reading would be cute.

Or a quote from one of her favorite stories. I’m always telling her I’ll eat her up I love her so and she’s always pretending to hate that I say it.

If we’re going with inside jokes, I could always go with a nesting doll print. My family always jokes that my mom and I are like little Russian nesting dolls and that Samantha is the next doll in our set. This set of three dolls would be perfect!

What do you think? Where do you look for decorating inspiration?

One of my best friends and I have decided that the definition of brunch is breakfast eaten with a dessert.

For us, it usually means whole wheat french toast with strawberries and whipped cream and a side of well-done bacon followed by a delicious piece of pie (we usually get two different kinds and end up picking at both).

She sips her coffee and I sip my mint tea while we listen to the endless chatter of my always talkative five-year old. It’s fantastic!

While we generally have brunch between breakfast and lunch, the most important part of it is that it’s a decadent combo of yummy breakfast food followed by a sinfully delicious treat (at least according to us!).

With this essential piece of info in mind, I’ve decided to invite my mom over for brunch tomorrow, giving me a rational excuse to eat french toast and a sweet treat side by side.

The Food Network’s Ellie Krieger has an awesome (healthy!) french toast bake recipe in one of her books:

Ingredients

• 1 large whole wheat baguette
• 4 whole eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup low fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 cups sliced peaches (I usually substitute berries)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Spray 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray
2. Slice bread into 1/2 inch slices and arrange in a single layer in the pan
3. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla in a small bowl and pour mixture over bread
4. Toss peaches with lemon juice and 1 tablespoon brown sugar, scatter on top
5. Combine remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top
6. Cover and refrigerate overnight
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (while trying not to drool too much at the smell)

She also has a Blueberry Almond French Toast recipe that’s similar and sounds equally delicious!

Now I just have to decide what to do for dessert!

Brownies? Cupcakes with vanilla frosting and coconut? Some of those  yummy popsicles I’ve yet to try?

The possibilities are endless, but I’m too hungry to decide right now!

If you have any delicious dessert ideas, leave them below!

On a sticky summer afternoon there aren’t many things that are more refreshing than a fruity, ice-cold popsicle. These iconic treats totally embody summertime fun.

In our house we always have apple popsicles ready to go for when our bottomless pit of a daughter wants a little treat. We just pour apple juice into an empty ice tray, cover it with tin foil and make tiny slices that we can slide mini-popsicle sticks from our local craft store into. Quick, easy, cheap and healthy, she even requests these mini-pops for dessert!

But while they are perfectly acceptable to a five year old, mommy needs a little something more to satisfy her craving (ok, a lot more).

I saw an awesome popsicle post over on A Cup of Jo a few weeks ago and I’ve been drooling at the thought of these yummies ever since. While I haven’t had the chance to try them out myself yet, I’ve been collecting mouth-watering popsicle recipes that I need to try. Here are a few:

avocado popsicles via A Cup of Jo

greek yogurt berry popsicles via A Cup of Jo

chocolate cheesecake popsicle via Shine

strawberry coconut popsicle via The Tomkat Studio

These big girl popsicles would actually be great to serve at a summertime party. The Tomkat Studio has some super cute (and free!) printables on their site that you can dress your pops up a with if you’re feeling fancy.

If you have any delicious popsicle recipes, please share! I’m on the hunt for good ones!

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of both DIY and repurposing otherwise unwanted things (aka upcycling). Combining the two and saving money in the process is enough to make me salivate.

That’s why I’m sort of obsessing over the idea of shipping pallet furniture right now.

Super cheap (just run over to Home Depot and ask if you can take a few off their hands!) and relatively easy, it’s the perfect way to add a unique piece of eco-friendly furniture–that is sure to be a conversation starter–to the rest of your decor.

The key is adding details that dress up the wood so that your friends and family have to do a double take to realize what it’s made out of. It will make it so much more rewarding!

Here are a few of my favorites:

I love that the pallets have built-in storage space. It makes it that much easier for those of us who weren’t shop class superstars (that would be me) to create something really functional–without pesky trips to the ER.

Related articles from around the web

•  5 Uses for Wood Pallets in the Home
• DIY Vertical Garden From Wood Pallet
• DIY Succulent Pallet Table

I love smoothies. I could drink them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and never get sick of their refreshing yumminess.

It doesn’t matter what time of year it is. There’s just nothing quite like starting off your day with one. During the summer they cool you down. During the winter they allow you to feel like you’re sitting poolside (even if it’s just for a second!).

I’m particularly fond of homemade smoothies, since you know exactly what’s going into them (and since I have no desire to ask the guy at the smoothie stand in the mall for an Orgasm).

My go-to is strawberry coconut. I throw some frozen strawberries and coconut milk into the blender (sometimes I add a little Greek yogurt) and I’m good to go without thinking very much.

As much as I love my signature combo, sometimes a girl needs a little change. Real Simple recently had an awesome smoothie feature. I’m not gonna lie, I totally squealed when I saw it.

From run-of-the-mill mango to a spinach, grape and coconut concoction, these recipes most certainly piqued my interest.

I think I’ll try this one next:

Raspberry and Nut Smoothie

Ingredients: