scenes around the Cass Casa

I feel so redundant with my attitude of this weather. 

I am trying really hard to stay positive and count my blessings. 

I thought I would share with you some of my favorites around our house currently.

Spring is in our home. 

Just waiting "patiently" for it to arrive outside :)

I have been adding happy colors everywhere. 

I love April!

My 3 yo giving attitude. She is a hilarious one.

I love green on my girls! Love this jacket on Zakiyah, it is Zion's hand-me-down. 

Finding inspiration in my decorating books! Love looking through them from time to time. I also love my vintage runner underneath them. It makes me smile.

I picked up these purple flowers at Trader Joes. Do you know what they are called? Any care instructions for me? I put them in a pot from Anthropologie. I heart it.

I love my paper flowers from West Elm. So delicate and happy. I have 3 total.

I painted my mirror this past weekend cream and sanded it down. I used a gold sharpie on the stitching. 

My spring mantel! LOVE! 

Bunting- made with Fabric Shoppe fabric

Feather- Target

clear vases-random.

Paper flowers- West Elm

blue birdies- TJ Maxx

aqua/red vase- Anthro

bird cake stand- Macys

pot- Anthro

Mirror- Target

Yellow art- me

Everyday Zion gets her dolls dressed. very important. love the routines.

My baby is almost 8 months. She has been wearing her teething necklace for 5 days. and has slept 4 nights in a row- 11 hours. Is it a hoax? a gimmick? I am willing to try anything. She loves her rice cake num nums right now! 

We take off for Disney in a week! We made a count down and taped it on the wall with washi tape of course. It is sneaking up on us fast! I can not wait to see Zion's excitement when we get there. 

Eating cuties like no body's business.

I love bowls/trays to hold items in my home. I have them everywhere. They make me happy.

My spring nails make this mama happy. I am lovin' these colors this spring. 

What are you doing to fight the cold front? Do have any favs this spring? Happy Monday!

H54F

Happy Friday everyone! For my non-Minnesota friends......it is currently snowing here and is under 30 degrees. I am so depressed. I really want SPRING! I know that all of us are complaining but it is time. Moving on.....

We had a great week here. Last weekend, I had a girls day with my mom and two sisters in Minneapolis. We hit up Anthropologie, West Elm and Mall of America. It was fun! We were bridesmaid dress shopping for my Sis, Chelsea! Let me tell you. it is hard to find a dress. I had fun being child free that day. Minus having to find random places to pump, like storage rooms in restaurants or a ladies lounge where there is 4 teenage girls looking over at me. I felt glorious. Ha. DEDICATION. I made sure to text my hus pix of my environments while he was back home with the lil ladies. 

I love ANTHRO knobs. The possibilities.....

Girls days require two things:  Coffee drive thru and Bubble Tea. YUM!

I gave an awesome bridal shower yesterday at my church for our friend Brianna. She is marrying my husband's assistant youth pastor, Jorden. We had a tea party theme. Scones. Tea Sandwiches. Fruit. Devonshire cream. cupcakes. Iced coffee and of course Tea! It was so cute. I will post pictures tomorrow! We used vintage linens. spray roses, tea pots, cake stands and seeds for decor!

I have been wanting Euro Pillow shams for a while now. Having memory form pillows are the not the best for sitting up in the bed. I scored these at West Elm for $9.99. PRAISE. I love how they are more southwestern/african. They fit right in. Do you like? 

Here are some favs from the girls this week. It is so fun having Kiyah sit up when we grocery shop. I love how she looks at her sister. 

Princess time all the time. She was asking me what kind of a princess I wanted to be. Zion lives on the stairs. She climbs up and down all day. She sits. Lays down. reads. plays. puts dollies on there. She is so funny. 

Happy Winter. Barf. ;) Hope to have some sunshine soon. 

Loves. 

(Linking up with Lauren and Jeanette)

Gilly Hearts Nails!

How many of you have a nanny that makes nail polish? No joke, our amazing nanny, Noelle has an online business and custom makes nail polish! You must check it out! She is crazy talented and makes the best nail polish. My girls are spoiled. Noelle watched the girls yesterday and brought Zion (3 yo) a custom purple glitter nail polish with pink hearts in the polish. PRESH! Zion loved it. The polish stays on great and is so fun for spring. Painting nails is a weekly activity for Zion and I. It is so fun to change our nails out with the seasons. It is definitely one of my favorite mother/daughter activities to do. Check out Noelle's instagram where she shows her crazy art on her finger nails or her Shop to order yours today. She has a sale going on right now! 

I am not getting paid for this post, just wanted to show you Noelle's product! 

Do you see the cute hearts? I love it!!!!! It makes Zion feel so special!

 My little model hands! She is so cute. Thanks Noelle for loving our girls! You are the best! xoxoxo

Happy Tuesday!!!

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party for Zion

What a weekend we have had! It has been non-stop party time here at the Cass Casa! I can not believe that we are in the midst of 3rd birthday party festivities! It goes soooo fast raising kids. How is it possible that our precious, fun-lovin, crazy, loud, giggly, beautiful Zion Leilani is turning THREE!?! 

She is obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake right now! It is funny how fast kids can go through "favorites" with toys/cartoons/characters etc. For about two months, she has been loving watching this fabulous show. I secretly approve, considering it was a favorite of mine in the 1980's. So naturally, we had a Strawberry Shortcake party. It was her first friend party that she has had. We kept it small for numbers. She invited her lil friend/neighbor over, her cousin, 3 other friends. 5 was plenty! I can't get over the work/time that goes into these. But, I must admit, I love a good theme! It brings me so much JOY planning the details for my little Zi pie. So yesterday was the day for the p-a-r-t-y. I thought I could share with you the highlights from the celebrating. 

Andy made this image for us and we put it in a frame for the front door. Zion chose the colors for the strawberries. 

Zion chose her birthday outfit yesterday! It was all gap. She wore the dress for Christmas this year too! She is sooo cute! We got up early and did the prep for the party. She wanted to help me make strawberry shortcake too! 

We made my favorite recipe from America's Test Kitchen! It is amazing!!!! I used organic cane sugar and 1/2 w.w. flour though. SOOOOO good.

We made a punch for the kiddos: pink lemonade, strawberry lemonade, apple juice and frozen pineapple! so delish!

I got this amazing banner that says, "celebrate" a few years ago in Red Wing at a boutique. I love it. We bring it out for special events. I left my mantel decorated from V day.

ok- So I am obsessed with the new craze! Chalkboard Banners! I love them! Oh my word, I love that you can customize them for everything! My BFF, Jody gave them to me for a gift! She is going to sell the fabric in her shop on ETSY. You can order it like any fabric and cut it how ever you want. Andy and I cut it like flags. I used a hole puncher for the hemp to go through. So easy. I am excited to use it for many other things in the future. I think I am going to keep it up for awhile! 

We wrote:  "Zion is 3". I drew strawberries too!

We hung the banner over the dining room window! 

Isn't this table so amazing?! I love the colors! I could stare at it all day. If only toddlers appreciated it. ha. I got fabric from Jody for the scrap banners. I used two kinds of strawberry fabric, (this and this one), an old receiving blanket, and dish towel that was stained. I cute them into random strips and tied them on a green ribbon that I had. 

Some roses in a bud vase from Crate&Barrel on a vintage colander from my Grandma Cherie. The crystal cake stand is from my Aunt Jane. 

Zion filled the jars with pink marshmallows and strawberry licorice. 

I layered the buffet table with vintage doilies from my Grandma! I love all of them. I thought it was Anthropologie like to layer them. They have a lot of meaning to me. My grandma used to make these when she lived with her best friend when she graduated from high school. 

Zion and I found this tin at Goodwill for $2! holler. Napkin holder it is!

I used canning jars for the punch/cupcake liner lid/cute straws! I love the look. They are resting on a vintage tray. 

 The kids had a blast drinking out of them. So grown up....

 The party was from 11-2. Here is Z with her buddies. She was sooo excited for her party.

I hit up Target dollar section for the party favors. I filled them with Strawberry Shortcake stickers, suckers, strawberry gum, strawberry fruit strips, strawberry applesauce, crayons! 

We got the frames at Michaels for a buck! Andy filled them with a strawberry graphic to color. I love having craft time at parties with kiddos! 

Everyone arriving....

Beautiful Lila Grace! 

We started the party with the Strawberry craft. I had color crayons/pencils/markers out for options. The kids were so proud of their artwork! I got the chevron laminated fabric from the fabric shoppe as well. It is 2 1/2 yards! No sewing necessary! Perfect for spills/art work and meal time. Plus It is fun and festive.

Zakiyah and I! She is teething right  now, which means she is held a lot! 

Showing us their works of ART.

Crazy faces.

a jumping shot!

After craft time-- we moved on to lunch time. Toddler style. 

pigs in a blanket

sweet potato fries/ french cut fries

fresh fruit

black bean chips

punch

I picked up 30 plates and bowls from Valentines clearance last year at Target! They are perfect since Andy/Zion's birthdays are in Feb. I love using them instead of disposable ones. It just makes sense going with the heart theme for them.

Zion was so sweet and prayed for the meal! She thanked God for her "Strawberry Cort-cake party" and her friends......<><

All the kids loved playing with Zakiyah! She is loved by the little people. 

I love how toddlers get so excited for presents! It is hilarious how they practically sit on each other's laps for gift opening. Zion got some fun presents! Sticker doll house, memory game, dance pad, puzzle and Strawberry Shortcake decals for her room! 

After gift opening, we had Strawberry Shortcake! My sister, Chelsea stopped by to help! 

They loved the treats! 

Ironically, Zion has always been allergic to Strawberries. But yesterday, we tried it out and so far so good.....praying it has passed. So she had blueberries and pineapples on her dessert. She loved blowing out her "3" candle too!

The hus gave all the kids Strawberry Shortcake tattoos after cake. It was a hit! The cousins loved them! Love my Ryder:)

Showing us his sleeves! 

My friend Jody, just had this precious bundle! Levi Pratt.....Love him! He is one week old. I love newborns. 

 Zion with our neighbors! They are buddies. Such a blessing to have amazing neighbors. We are blessed!!!! 

Kiyah is 6 months old now! How is that possible? She was all festive for the party. Zion had me where a birthday dress too! So fun.

What I learned? 3 hours is plenty long for a toddler party! Plan ahead. Kids like structure at parties. Breathe in the day and enjoy! I love watching the joy it brought our very happy Zion! She felt so special having a little party with her pals. Happy Sunday ya'll.