Cass Casa Decorations // Holiday edition

I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my Christmas decorations! 

quilt topper from my Grandma Cherie with some favs.

kitchen decor.

love my bunting from Jody! 

Jesus' birthday is here!

My parents made this big Santa for me!  Love our entry way….. our basket is filled with our Christmas books!

Zakiyah hanging out! 

Love my kids artwork……

My Aunt Jane gave me these village pieces when I was a kid! Zion loves them!!

a painting I made this holiday season.

kissing ball.

bathroom decor.

Hope that you have a lovely Christmas! Wishing you a season filled with joy and making memories! I am praying for all of you that are struggling through this season. I know that Christmas is not the easiest time for everyone. Praying for peace and comfort……… Merry Christmas! 

Stocking Stuffers GIFT GUIDES

I love a good stocking Stuffer!Sometimes, it can be overwhelming picking items to put in that stocking of yours; so I created some guides for you:  For HER, For HIM, and for KIDS! Enjoy!!!!!

1.We love these gingerbread recycled crayons! They have a great variety of shapes to pick from! Ninjas, fortune cookies, gems etc.
2. I love the simplicity of the Magic Clip Fairytale Princesses! They are small and fun for little girls to play with. The clothes literally just snap on!
3. I think Crayola twistable colored pencils and crayons are the best invention for kiddos!
4. Last year, my daughters got these from their Aunt Katie and Uncle Mike! I love them!!!!!! Every pair of Toms you buy, they give a pair of shoes to someone in need! They are so stylish and fun for kids to wear.
5. Mix match socks  are brilliant! My kids are always wearing mix matched socks anyways, might as well be intentional! I love the concept for kids and adults!
6. Jelly Cat stuffed animals  are based out of London. They are my fav! I love the quality of the stuffed animal and they make the cutest ones to pick from! We have the lamb and tiger! My daughters love cuddling up with these!
7. nail stickers are a great idea for your little fashionista! Brilliant. No painting necessary!
8. My girls love having bubble baths. I love throwing in practical gifts into stockings! This one is my fav!!!! Natural and great for dry/sensitive skin.
9. flash cards are always a hit with kids! There are soooo many fabulous ones out there! They are great for education purposes and make great art in kids rooms!
10. This circus train is just tooooo cute! I love it!!!!!! Great for playing or displaying on a shelf. I can just picture my kids pulling this around the floors in our home.
11. cars/trains/planes are so fun to collect! I love the design of this one!

1. I have been wanting the naked 3 palette, as soon as I heard about it! I have had the naked 2 palette for 2 years and it is my favorite for eyeshadow! This one has more rose gold tones!!!!! I want!
2. My Hus and I love the quality of Penzey's spices. It is crazy how much of a difference it makes using these verses grocery store ones. An idea for you is to buy a gift set and split it up for stockings! Our favs are Chinese Cinnamon, Northwoods seasoning, Pasta Sprinkle, Garlic Salt, and Sweet Curry.
3. I love fun calendars! Etsy is my go-to for buying these every year. I love supporting artists and having fun "art" in my home throughout the year!
4. Mrs. Meyers Candles  are the best ever! I buy them at Target usually! My favorite scent is "lavender"!  I love the holiday scents too! They are soy based and burn amazing.
5. This Arrow stamp is stinkin' awesome! I love rubber stamps! The ideas are endless. I love arrows right now! Soooo Fun!
6. slipper socks are the best! Are these not the cutest? The button and details on them are dreamy. I would live in them!
7. One line a Day journal  is a great gift for someone that wants to log kid quotes or use it for a gratitude journal. Simple and resourceful.
8. I always love buying the holiday collection by OPI for my hair clients! Nail polish makes a great stocking stuffer for all the ladies! My favorite brands are OPI, Essie, and Zoya!
9. I am a HUGE FAN of essential oils! I have been using them for 10 years now! I am really sensitive to scents and I love that they are pure and natural. It is crazy how many things they are great for! Sickness/Perfume/Stress/Medicine etc. I sell/use DoTERRA essential oils. My favs are Citrus Blend, Elevation and Lavender! They are amazing!!!! You can drop them in your water, put them on directly, diffuse them to have your room smell, use them to heal warts/eczema/deodorize etc. I use them every single day!!!!!

1. How cool is this wooden wallet? I love the clean lines and design of it!
2. Starbucks city mugs are a favorite of our family! They are so fun to collect and are worth quite a bit of money after a few years!
3. This is perfect for the photographer in your life! Let's face it; we all use our phones for our camera more than we want to admit! You might as well have a good lens on there!
4. Good hair products make a huge difference for men! My favorite is the Mitch line by Paul Mitchell. I sell it at Tala! Smells amazing and produces good results.
5. Aveda Shave Set is a great idea for a man that grooms his face on a regular basis. This kit is perfect for him to use, helping his face to stay moisturized and clean!
6. Who doesn't love a fun chocolate bar? These are our fav! Typically, all grocery stores have great options for chocolate at the check out!
7. If you live in a state where there is winter, Scarfs are a must!I like the classy look of this one!
8. Moleskin notebooks are a great notebook for journaling/taking notes/making lists.

9. IPad Stands are a fun idea for anyone. How many times have you tried resting your ipad on a random object hoping it doesn't slide? I love any wood accessory for tech! 

10. wooden sunglasses are too cool for school! I love this company!

Do you have favorite GO-TOs for stockings? What is your favorite stocking stuffer that you have ever received?  Please share below!!!!!! 

GIFT GUIDE for HIM

I know that it is Lock Love Wednesday, but I thought I would switch it up today and share with you another gift guide! I created a Gift Guide for that man in your life! 

1. This is my husband's favorite briefcase! It is modern/simple and has the hard case to protect your gear! 

2. comfy clothes are a must for guys too! Pick something in their favorite team! 

3. A manly journal….. need I say more. 

4. Double walled tumblers are the best for coffee/tea. They keep the your bevy a lot longer than most! For those hot summer days, it keeps your drink cool too! 

5. This magazine is fresh and resourceful. The essays and photography are different than all the other magazines out there. I am a big fan of magazine subscriptions! 

6. the endless possibilities for dates and/or initials you can put on this. love. 

7. IPad minis are a computer/kindle/ipod/game all in one! Brilliant. 

8. Musical instruments are fun for gifts. Harmonicas. Guitars. Drum boxes. or Ukulele!

9. I love handmade art and especially if it has meaning. State art would be fun to give. Whether, it is vacation you went on, or where you are from, or went to college…… It is a nice and playful.

10. For the Techy in your life- Get them this dock! My Hus is the king of putting his glasses, keys, wallet and phone on the counter, this would be perfect to solve the clutter situation.

11. Living in Minnesota, Snowboard hats are a must! 

Do you have any fun ideas for that man in your life? I would love to hear some of them. Happy Wednesday!

Gift Guide for Toddlers!

I have been having so much fun putting together these gift guides for you! If you missed my other guides, they are here and here! I thought I would share with you a toddler (girl) list with you today! I had my 3.75 year old in mind while creating this guide! 

1. Puzzles are the best! It has been fun graduating from board/wood puzzles and having fun with more detailed ones! I love the Djeco puzzles for the design and quality!
2. I love how cuddly pillow pets are.
3. Adorable- make your own- family set by seedling
4. This campfire/s'more set is perfect the toddler that loves the outdoors!
5. The endless possibilities with this set of ABC's are perfect for that child in your life!
6. Kids Made Modern crafts/art supplies are my favorite! Target has nailed it again!
7. I love jammies! Two piece sets are great for potty trained children!
8. Wooden strollers "Prams" are just too cute for words! I love how cute they are!!! I may have gotten Zion one for Christmas!!
9. I can't handle how precious these knit dolls are!
10. Dollhouse furniture is so much fun for the littles!

Do you have any favs for that toddler in your life? I am always looking for new ideas! Please share in the comments :)

GIFT GUIDE for your 1 year old!

I put together a great guide for that one year in your life! My daughter, Zakiyah is 15 months old and I had her in my mind when I created this list! 

1. Oh my word, I love this series of board books! The simplicity and modern art is amazing! I would love this Christmas book for my Kiyah Nova!
2. One of my clients from Germany, got me a puppet from Trullala,  and my girls love playing with it! You can't go wrong with puppets for kids!
3. My friend, Misty, got me on to this amazing invention! Silcone labels for that bottle/sippy cup! Dishwasher safe! They are worth every penny!
4. I love the Baby Stella dolls. I got one for Zion when I was having her sister! I would love to get one for Zakiyah! They are made really well and super cute too!
5. My favorite headbands are the vintage inspired/turban ones! I love this Etsy shop!
6. I love rocking horses for kids! Endless hours of fun! This site has great ones!
7. My girls live in leggings! I can't get over the quality of organic leggings out there. I love this shop!!!!
8. I can imagine my daughter filling this cart up with everything under the sun! I love Melissa & Doug toys!
9.  I am a huge sucker for all the cute wooden toys out there! I love The Land of Nod and Oompa as a site to shop for these goodies.

Do you have any favorites for that baby? Please share!!!! I love new ideas and resources!!!!

Check back tomorrow for another Gift Guide!!!

Gift Guide for HER!

Christmas season is upon us! When did that happen? I thought I would share with you some fun treasures that I love right now! 

1. I love cake stands! Any kind. Any color. I love this one!
2. I love Smart Wool socks! Especially, living in MN, they are a must!!!
3. Oh my word, these rings!!!!! I love the stacking rings concept and this site has an amazing variety.
4. Lisa Leonard jewelry is my fav! I love the idea of a charm bracelet that represents the year. You get a charm delivered every month to add to your bracelet! Brilliant. They are on sale right now too!
5. The best candle ever!
6. A girl can dream. I love my Classic Kitchen Aid, but this one is amaze!!!!
7. I love HEXIS and these pillows are divine.
8. One can never have enough art! I love Etsy for great art at an affordable price.
9. This scarf is a statement piece if I ever saw one!!! WOW!

What is on your list? Check back later this month and I will have a few more wish lists put together!

Christmas Round 2

Christmas has come and gone. I am in the slump of missing the holidays. It brings me such joy planning and organizing traditions for our family of 4. I love how magical the holiday is. We started some new traditions this year....hoping to bring the magic and celebration to our home annually during this wonderful season. 

Some traditions: 

- Read Christmas stories daily from post Thanksgiving-Christmas. We read a Advent book every night at bedtime with Zion/Kiyah this year. We will bring it out every year. 

- Go Christmas light looking/ do a Scavenger Hunt for Christmas lights. We went with our friends this year and had Christmas lights in the van and everything. We made popcorn "pop-pop" and got yummy holiday drinks and Hot Chocolate for the toddlers. It was Zi's first and she loved it. She said, "Dis so yummy Mommy. Tank You." We cruised around for almost 3 hours looking for blue icicle lights, manger scenes, Rudolph, Mickey Mouse, Santa etc. It was a blast. 

- Make Jesus a birthday cake- this year we made Cake Pops on Christmas Eve.

(watching the movie with my girls....)

- Buy the girls Christmas jammies and a new Christmas movie to watch. This year we bought Santa Paws, it has been playing too much in the Cass Casa. 

- Make cheesy potato soup on Christmas eve 

- go to Christmas Eve service at our church.

- For gifts we did a new thing...The girls got 5 gifts from us: something they need, want, wear, read, and homemade. I thought it was a fun way to keep the gifts thoughtful/simple. 

- For the last gift, we put a string on the tree that Zion had to follow through the rooms of our house to her big present. We hid a bike in the bathtub:) She loved it. 

- Decorate the girls room for the holidays. 

- pick out gifts (toys the girls have) and give them to a friend. "It is better to give than receive".

- and of course, there were lots of crafting and baking around here. What are your traditions?

Zi/Ki on Thanksgiving...so presh.

 our little buddy.

making Reindeer art with Kiyah's feet.

Zion making a Christmas tree with her hands.

the finished product.

 I caved and let the girls meet Santa. We have the best Santa in our mall. I used to do his hair back in the day. Zion told him, "I want Dora and Kiyah wants Barney." well, right. :)

Christmas eve pix of our family. I loved the girls dresses....I got Zion's last year at Gap-Clearance. Kiyah's is from TJ Maxx to match sister pie.

headbands are Etsy.

Jammies.... the girls playing in our bed on Christmas eve. love.

got them monogrammed plates on Zulily. the best.

Zi holding her grandma dolly.

 Zion and I got new hair pretties.

Christmas day we headed over to Red Wing for some celebrating with my family. We had a great time with good food and relaxing. The grandkids couldn't wait to open their gifts. Aunt Chels got Kiyah a matching bag from LL Bean like her sisters. I love these.

Andy and I got my parents "pop phones" for their IPhones. They are retro and great.

On the 28th, we headed over to Stevens Point to hit up some Cass time. We had Lasanga and celebrated Uncle Mike's bday. It was fun. Zion, once again, loved the presents.

Katie and Zi.

Grandpa Jim

Unky Ryan and Grandma with the girls.

Zion was pumped to get dvd player for our car rides. Halleju-. I am happy.

We are blessed. Blessed to have our Savior. So thankful for having Jesus in our lives.
Blessed to have a healthy family and amazing parents/sibs on both sides.
Blessed to be able to celebrate freely Jesus' birthday.