Spring Decor Must Haves For Your Coastal Home

By Kendra

Spring Decor Must Haves For Your Coastal Home

Are you ready for spring? If you love to decorate for every season, here are some beautiful coastal decor ideas to refresh your home for spring. Home is where the heart is, so if your heart is longing for the beach than is post is for you! Giving your home a spring refresh does not have to be expensive. Add simple touches like a fresh floral centerpiece, seashells and summer lanterns to brighten up your space.

This post contains affiliate links, see my full disclosure here.

I’m patiently counting the days until spring. It’s one of my favorite seasons, I live in New England where it seems winter never ends with our endless snow storms and cold grey days. Here comes the sun! The best time to start decorating is about 3-4 weeks before Easter. With the warm weather approaching, you’ll want to start get rid of clutter and start spring cleaning.

Spring Decor Ideas

Decorate With Flowers

Create a beautiful floral arrangement and use it as a centerpiece in your dining room or on your living room coffee table. Flowers add a bright, fresh pop of color to any room. If you don’t want to use fresh flowers try buying and affordable faux floral arrangement and use them in your favorite vase. Add them to a hanging wicker basket or mason jar for a beachy look. Also add floral accents to colorful vases of different sizes and scatter them throughout your home.

Another great idea is to add colorful seashell planters to any space in the home for a coastal feel. You can find this item buy clicking on the link or image below.

Blue Conch Ocean Series Ceramic Base Serial Set

Add A Gallery Wall

Make any room feel larger and brighter with a coastal gallery wall. Arrange your favorite beach vacation pictures or coastal wall art in beautiful neutral frames with a white border. Add fairy lights to display your favorite photos and add visual interest to the room.

Add A Large Piece Of Scenic Artwork

Freshen up your bedroom by adding a large piece of scenic artwork above your your bed or favorite wall. Artwork can bring together the elements of a room by being a focal point, adding color inspiration, and harmony and more. Use coastal scenes of ocean waves in pastel colors to create a peaceful and restful retreat.

Use Natural Elements

Natural elements such as seagrass baskets, coral, and light oak furniture brings the beach indoors creating a calming relaxing environment and a touch of serenity. Using mirrors on your walls can not only reflect the natural light to create a brighter space, but can also make your space look and feel larger.

Create A Seashell Display

Upgrade the coastal feel by displaying your tiny treasures using large glass jars, baskets and bowls. They are great for all seasons and coordinate beautifully with fresh flowers for spring. The perfect look for a coffee table or side table.

Use Decorative Lanterns

SANDALS® All-Inclusive Destination Wedding Packages

Lanterns are great ways to store and display your favorite ocean themed decor. Add sand, seashells and flowers for a fresh look for spring. Fill with colorful starfish and attach a lantern swag to the top of the lantern or add a faux floral wreath to the base.

Decorate Your Porch

Display a seashell wreath, add a bright striped door mat and surround with planters filled with bright matching flowers for a nautical look.

Paint your porch ceiling haint blue and add lots of bright cheery flowers and coastal pillows.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed these spring ideas, all of the beautiful images in this post are credited to Pinterest. Visit the blogs shop or click the image below to see all coastal style throw pillows from my Amazon curated collection below. Have a very happy spring!

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Posted in: decor, Home, Spring

Blog Recipes Yummy

The Best Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

By Kendra

Classic Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

***This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, when you make a purchase. Please, see my affiliate disclaimer for more details.***

Warning: You won’t be able to stop eating these classic peanut butter cookies. This is one of my favorite cookie recipes! They are easy to make and only take about 10-12 minutes to bake. This recipe yields about 4 dozen and the prep time is only 15 minutes. You will need to chill the dough for about 1 hour. Total prep time is 1 hour and 25 minutes. The cookies will be soft and chewy once cooled but are most delicious when served warm with a glass of milk. Servings: 24

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
1 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Cream butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar and white sugar together in a bowl, then beat in eggs.
In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt then stir into butter mixture.
Place dough in refrigerator for 1 hour.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets. Flatten each ball with a fork.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until cookies begin to brown.
Serve while still slightly warm, Enjoy!

Love chocolate and peanut butter? Add another level of flavor by dipping half of this cookie in melted chocolate!

I hope you love this recipe, if you are a peanut butter lover like me, see my recipe for Peanut Butter Brownies! Don’t forget to Pin this recipe!

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Posted in: Peanut Butter Cookies

Blog Home Decor Lifestyle

11 Beachy Aqua Kitchen Finds From Amazon

By Kendra

11 Beachy Aqua Kitchen Finds From Amazon

Did you know that aqua is latin for water? The name is no coincidence with the color. The color aqua soothes your soul and creates an instant sense of home and belonging, but also has the calming effect of the beach. It’s the perfect greenish blue hue for coastal home decor.

This post contains affiliate links, see my full disclosure here.

It’s no secret that I am completely obsessed with the color aqua. Aqua is the color of the ocean. It’s the perfect calming beachy blue that reminds me of all of my favorite beach vacations. It’s also great for coastal kitchen decor. I love to create mood boards in my free time, plus I love Amazon so I am always on the lookout for the latest coastal home decor finds.

You can add subtle touches of aqua to your kitchen collection, or something like a large buffet or furniture piece for a pop of color to brighten up a beachy kitchen.

Click on the links below to find the items on the list.

I hope you enjoy this post, for more ideas see my blog post How To Decorate With Aqua.

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Posted in: Aqua, decor, Home

Blog Recipes Yummy

Hello Bunny Easter Cupcakes

By Kendra

“Hello Bunny” Easter Cupcakes

These delicious homemade vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting are perfect for an Easter celebration. They are best served the same day of baking, but will remain moist for up to 48 hours when covered in a sealed container. This recipe can be made with all-purpose flour instead of cake flour, but the texture will be coarser and cupcakes will be as tender. I highly recommend using cake flour. This recipe yields 15 cupcakes, prep time is 1 hour, and bake time is 18-20 minutes.

This post contains affiliate links, see my full disclosure here.

The bunnies are made of marshmallow fondant, but if you don’t want to make homemade fondant you can cheat by using peeps! (I recommend making the fondant a day ahead.) See this handy YouTube video below I found for the easiest fondant recipe.

You Will Need

The highlighted items are linked, you can click on the links to find the items on Amazon to make Marshmallow Fondant for 15 Bunnies

Easy Marshmallow Fondant

Homemade Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups cake flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
½ cup milk room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a cupcake pan with liners, set aside.
In a bowl, sift or whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat until creamed and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until incorporated and smooth.
Add half of your dry ingredients to butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Add half of milk, again stirring until just combined. Repeat once more, adding remaining dry ingredients, and remaining milk, stirring until just incorporated.
Portion batter between 15 cupcake liners, filling about halfway full.
Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a wire rack to finish cooling
Next, prepare the buttercream frosting while cupcakes are cooling.

Easy Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
3-4 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a large bowl, add room temperature butter and beat until creamy, about 1 minute.
Add confectioner’s sugar and slowly mix until ingredients are fully combined. Then, whip at high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla extract and heavy cream, then whip until fluffy, another 1 to 2 minutes.
Separate frosting into several bowls and add food coloring, then add to piping bags.
Pipe buttercream frosting with a onto cupcakes, then pipe a small circle of chocolate frosting in the center.
Place 3 small jelly beans into chocolate frosting.

Fondant Bunnies:

Roll out chilled fondant and cut shapes using mini cookie cutters.
Draw faces on and let dry.
Shape bunny hands by adding a tiny bit more fondant.
Place jellybean into bunnies hands, then place into the center of the frosting.
This will hold the bunny and jellybeans into place.
Place cupcakes on you favorite platter and surround with plastic Easter eggs or real decorated Easter eggs.
Enjoy!

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Posted in: Desserts, Easter, Spring

Blog Home Decor Lifestyle

3 Beautiful Coastal Inspired Mood Boards

By Kendra on February 16, 2022February 16, 2022

How To Decorate Coastal Style

Do you love decorating coastal style? If so this post is for you! It’s a favorite for many home owners because coastal design incorporates natural elements from scenic beaches and coastlines. Anyone can bring coastal design into their space just by using the right colors. First, You’ll want to start with a perfect paint palette of blue and white to create an light, open and airy home design. Next, add natural elements such as seagrass, seashells, natural wood, jute, and rattan to complete your coastal decor.

This post contains affiliate links, see my full disclosure here.

Ready to see this look come to life and get some inspiration for your own home? Below I have created 3 beautiful coastal inspired mood boards to help you design a blissful and breezy getaway in your home. Coastal style is all about that feeling of peace and fun that you get from being near the water. Regardless of whether you live near the coast, your home is your sanctuary. So why not create your own cozy seaside inspired getaway?

Whether you choose to hire a team of interior designers or plan to DIY your own coastal style, a classic beachy living space is attainable. When I started renovating my new home, I would search for hours online looking for the perfect beach inspired home decor. I wanted to find beautiful, yet affordable items. Pinterest is a great website to start saving and planning ideas. Remember to save these pins to your boards!

Coastal Inspired Entryway

Did you know that Amazon has amazing furniture and coastal home decor? You can find each of the items on the boards listed below to find the items. Just click on the links below to see the items pricing. Many these items come in different sizes and colors.

Deco Wood Shell Inlay Mirror, 32″

Oneinmil Console Entryway Table 60′”

Seaside Coral Statue

Artificial Peony Flower Arrangement

Deco 79 Glass Vase

Sea Horse Candle Holder

Cotton Rope Storage Basket

Bundle of Beachy Sea Glass Books Decorative Books

Set of 2 32″ LED Seashell Lamps

Coastal Inspired Bedroom

Create a calm restful bedroom retreat, click on the links below to find the items.

Woven Basket Rope Storage Basket

Kaylee Spindle Accent Chair

Modern White Wood Nightstand

Sylvie Beach Scene with Waves

8 Piece Reversible White Queen Comforter Set

Coastal Modern Contemporary Style Table Lamps

Capri Coastal Coral Border Aqua Indoor/Outdoor Rug

Sagebrook Home Antique White Wall Mirror

Decorative Coral Sculpture

Beach Cottage Throw Pillow

Escape Throw Pillow

Coastal Inspired Home Decor

Add these items to any room in your home to create a gorgeous seaside aesthetic. See all items below.

Amanti Wood Framed Wall Art Print Coastal Egret

Coastal Living Escape Newport Accent Arm

CosmoLiving Large Round Natural & White Dip-Dyed Seagrass Baskets

Nearly Natural 7ft. Paradise Palm Tree

Natural Jute Round 6 ft Indoor Area Rug

I hope you enjoyed this post, remember to save this beachy paint palette below. For more inspiration see my blogs post 10 Dreamy Beach Cottage Rooms.

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Posted in: Coastal Style, Modern

Blog Lifestyle Recipes Yummy

25 Beachy Sugar Cookie Ideas

By Kendra

Ready for summer and missing the beach? Get inspired with these 25 “beachy” sugar cookie ideas! They are perfect for any nautical themed party, kid’s birthday party, pool party, or beach wedding. Sugar cookies are my favorite! What I love is that they are not only delicious, but they can also be cut & decorated into any shape.

This post contains affiliate links, see my full disclosure here.

The secret is to start with a great recipe. See my blog post Buttery Soft Sugar Cookies with Easy Royal Icing to get started! Not a fan of baking but you still love sugar cookies? You can purchase, find baking inspiration, tutorials, and fun creative ideas from these talented cookie bakers by clicking on the links to their sites below!

25 Beachy Sugar Cookie Ideas

Nautical Celebration

1. My first favorite nautical design is from sugardotcookies.com. You can order these custom made sugar cookies right from their website.

2. Love these beautifully decorated nautical cookies with floral accents from cookieconnection.com.

3. I Love the aqua colors in these beautiful seaside custom cookies from lesbiscuitsjosie.com.

4. These sugar cookies with lobster & anchor designs from getcreativejuice.com are great for a nautical themed birthday or seafood bake party!

5 These nautical anchor sugar cookies from angelicamademe.com are almost to pretty to eat.

Summer Beach Party

6. Celebrate Fourth of July with these navy starfish & seashell cookies from sunnydaysweets.com.

7. Aqua and purple are a great color combination for these starfish & flip flop beach themed cookies from sunnydaysweets.com

8. You can find these cute and cool sunglass cookie cutters on Etsy!

9. This baking kit perfect for a Teen’s beach themed birthday party from globalbelly.com.

10. Who’s ready for a summer party? These awesome cookies can be found on whoosbakery.com.

Summer Pool Party

11. Make a splash at your pool party with these amazing cookies from cookieconnection.juliausher.com

12. Love the beach balls and flip flops in this cookie batch from cloughd9cookies.com

13. These cookies are perfect for a surfer themed pool party from giveacrafteracookie.blogspot.com

14. Relax poolside with these hurricane glass & flamingo cookie cutters found on Etsy, perfect for a tropical themed pool party!

15. Have the best pool party with the cutest cookie treats from jennycookies.com.

Beach Wedding Ideas

16. Say ” I do” with these pretty sandy starfish and seashells cookies from cookielicious.co.nz are perfect for a beach wedding.

17. Say ” I Love You” with heart shaped cookies from ibakeyoubake.com perfect for a seaside wedding or bridal shower.

18. Starfish and lighthouse cookies are perfect for a nautical bridal shower from weddingomania.com

19. Love these delicate pastel coastal cookie designs, perfect for a beach wedding from Nancy Heggemeier on Pinterest.

20. These gorgeous cookies are perfect for and ocean themed wedding found on thebearfootbaker.com.

Coastal Kids Birthday Party

21. These pretty sea life cookies from theicedsugarcookie.com are perfect for little girls birthday party.

22. This Summer Beach Sandcastle Cookie Cutter Set from Etsy is perfect for a kids birthday party at the beach!

23. Check out this Under the Sea cookie decorating tutorial from summerssweetshoppe.com perfect for babies 1st birthday party.

24. No time to bake? Order these beautiful custom mermaid baby girl 1st birthday cookies from natsweets.com

25. I love these cute cookies from lifesabatch.com, they are perfect for baby boy’s beach themed birthday party!

I hope you enjoyed this deliciously creative cookie post! If so don’t forget to save, pin, & subscribe!

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Posted in: dessert, ideas, summer

Blog Home Decor Lifestyle

10 Beautiful Beach Inspired Kitchen Ideas

By Kendra

It’s no secret that I absolutely love coastal home decor. I’m currently renovating my own kitchen coastal style, so I thought I would share some of my favorite beach house kitchen designs. The beach always gives you the feeling of being calm and relaxed. The tranquil colors of the beach such as the light aqua sky, beautiful sunsets and deep blues of the ocean evoke the feeling of the beach throughout your home. Below are my top 10 favorite beachy kitchen designs, check out the links to their sites for more coastal inspiration.

This post contains affiliate links, see my full disclosure here.

10 Beautiful Beach Inspired Kitchen Ideas

You can never go wrong with a classic white kitchen. I love the clear crystal pendant lights, and touch of green and aqua added to the backsplash that also matches the island chairs.

2. I love the clean look of this kitchen, the pendant lights and navy striped counter chairs.

3. Teal, turquoise and light aqua bring the colors of the ocean into this home creating a light and breezy feel to this kitchen.

4. The light beachy sand painted walls, dark navy island, and pendant lights remind you of deep ocean blues.

5. Painted teal cabinets and natural wood uppers give this kitchen a beachy feel, note the rattan pendant lights.

6. I love everything about this deep blue coastal design from Pottery Barn.

Image credit: Pottery Barn via completelycoastal.com

7. Love the crisp white, natural wood and light greenish-gray backsplash in this subtle coastal kitchen design.

8. This modern coastal style kitchen features beautiful aqua, crisp white and beachy grey hues.

9. I love the light and dark blues in this nautical inspired kitchen design.

10. Love the look of this coastal chic modern kitchen design featuring white cabinets, black countertops and dark backsplash.

I hope these looks inspired you. You don’t have to live at the beach to bring seaside style into your home. For more coastal decor inspiration see my blog post 25 Beachy Knobs & Pulls On Amazon.

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Blog Recipes Yummy

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

By Kendra

Do you love blueberry scones? You don’t need to run to your grocery store or local bakery to enjoy delicious scones fresh from the oven. These light and fluffy blueberry buttermilk scones are simple to make, and the best part is you don’t need to get out of your pajamas to enjoy them. All you need are a few ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, and you can enjoy mouthwatering scones in about 30 minutes.

***This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, when you make a purchase. Please, see my affiliate disclaimer for more details.***

It’s winter here in New England and one of my favorite things to do is bake! I love to wake up first thing in the morning and turn on the oven to warm up the kitchen, especially on those extra chilly mornings. This weekend I decided to try these delicious blueberry scones. Their wonderful smell fills the air as I wait patiently to take take them out of the oven to enjoy with my morning coffee.

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons dry buttermilk powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tablespoons coarse brown sugar

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, dry buttermilk powder, and salt together in a medium bowl, then add the blueberries.
Whisk together the melted butter, vanilla extract, and 1 cup heavy cream in a small bowl.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and lightly knead until smooth for about 1 minute.
Divide the dough into two balls. Roll out each ball into 1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick disks. Brush the tops of the disks with the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream, then sprinkle with the coarse brown sugar.
Cut each disk into six wedges. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 12 to 16 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool, Enjoy!

If you like this recipe share it! For more breakfast ideas see my recipe for Easy Breakfast Quiche, & Banana Pancakes with Coconut.

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Posted in: Blueberry, Scones

Blog Recipes Yummy

Sweetheart Valentine’s Day Cup Cakes

By Kendra

Attention Chocolate Lovers! Are you looking for Valentine’s Day baking inspiration? Make these easy Sweetheart Valentine’s Day Cup Cakes for your sweetie to show how much you love them! It’s also a fun treat to decorate with the kids. It’s made from a box mix which means you can make so many different variations of this recipe. The frosting is made from and easy two ingredient chocolate ganache recipe.

You can also use any flavored frosting, the cupcakes will still taste decadent and delicious! Also see my latest Valentine’s Day post 10 Delicious Sugar Cookie Decorating Ideas for more inspiration.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links; should you choose to make a purchase using said link, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

I also recommend these handy 12-Pack Freshware Silicone Heart Baking Cups from Amazon for perfect the heart shaped cup cakes. Click the image below to find the item.

Freshware Heart Reuseable Silicone Baking Cups 12 Pack

Ingredients for Cup Cakes

1 box Pillsbury Moist Chocolate Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 stick melted butter
1/4 cup oil

Ingredients for Chocolate Ganache

8 oz (1/2 lb or about 1 1/3 cup of ) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Sweetheart Valentine’s Day Cup Cakes

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare silicone baking cups with light cooking spray.
Blend cake mix, eggs, milk, oil and butter in a large bowl.
Beat with a mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Place baking cups on a cookie sheet and fill.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 29 to 33 min.
Insert toothpick in the center of one of the cupcakes to check and see if it comes out clean, if so cupcakes are done.
Cool 10-15 minutes before removing cup cakes from the silicone baking cups and place on cooling rack.

Prepare Chocolate Ganache:

Add chocolate chips to a medium size bowl.
Bring heavy cream to a simmer on the stove top, stirring occasionally.
As soon it simmers, remove from heat and poor over chocolate chips, swirling the bowl to make sure all chips are covered.
Pour over the cooled cupcakes.
Decorate top with sprinkles, & Enjoy!

I hope you have fun making this recipe! It’s great for anytime you need a quick sweet chocolate treat! Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Posted in: Chocolate

Blog Home Decor Lifestyle

25 Beachy Knobs & Pulls On Amazon

By Kendra

Looking for beachy knobs and pulls for your kitchen & bath renovation or furniture upgrade? Look no further, I have created this list of my top favorites that I found on Amazon. I love the look of coastal style, and adding these tiny elements of beachy hardware will elevate your home decor.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links; should you choose to make a purchase using said link, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

I’m currently in the middle of my own kitchen renovation and thanks to the pandemic, I find my local home improvement stores have been low on supplies due to supply chain issues or out of stock. If you plan on renovating, see my blog post The Ultimate Kitchen Renovation Guide.

I decided to turn to Amazon to find most of my home decor supplies because I no longer have to drive and go searching only to find out it’s out of stock. I love Amazon Prime because you can still get 2-3 day shipping, plus their prices are competitively low compared to the big box stores! Just click on the images below to find the items.