I am lovin'

I am still dreaming of the day I get to attend or be apart of New York Fashion Week. I think the buzz and craziness of it all would be a blast! As us Minnesota folk are in the midst of winter wonderland, I am dreaming of spring. New looks. New color. 

Fresh.

Vibrant.

Radiant.

Casual.

Bold. 

Those are some words that I am loving right now for things that I have been drawn too. 

 The ombre' hair style is still popping up everywhere. 

I love the simpleness to this girls makeup. The 5 minute face. I like the warmth they picked for her cheeks and lip. Less is more.

Braids. Braids. Braids. I have been obsessed with these for 6 years now. Ever since Jessica Simpson and Nicole Richie started the craze. I can't get enough of them. There are so many variations. I still can't get over how many of my clients don't know how to braid. I should teach a workshop on it. So many versions.....I love this updo. 

Love. Messy. Kept.....and obsessed with her purse. 

THis is a great alternative to the barrette or a pony. very bohemian.

Leather. Red Lips. Black sunnies. Starbux. need I say more. PERF.

My current hair inspiration! Length. Color. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. (See ya in 3 years) I love the denim, boots, leggings and scarf too. 

I have been obsessed with color blocking. Bright/ Neon colors for a couple years now. I can't get enough of the statement it makes. I am a lover of bright and cheerful clothing. Between the structure and lines that are in the clothes and the colors mixed with blacks and green. I heart it all. 

City life. Just like a Rochester stroll. Ha. But I adore the red jumper with the ankle boots. 

This outfit is the most like me! I love the polka dots and the mint pants. Gap has some right now that I have been lusting over. I love it. Flats and pearls are always a staple. 

What styles are you liking right now? Do you have a favorite color for 2013? 

(all images are from my Pinterest boards or google) 

Morning life.

One of my favorite part of our home is how the sun shines in the mornings. Our living room just glows. Yesterday morning, the girls and I were doing our normal routine. coffee. play. exersaucer time. checkin email. driving in the purple van. playing beauty shop. having a tea party. I grabbed my camera and thought I needed to capture this moment. 

Someday I am going to miss this.

Someday I am going to want to have pandora Hillsong kids radio on.

Someday I am going to miss my daughter wearing a summer dress in the winter.

Someday I am going to miss sitting under a table riding in a pur-po van waving to our neighbors.

Someday I am going to miss the sister cuddles and giggles. 

Someday I am going to miss the clutter of my living space with too many plastic toys.

Kiyah loves this thing. It is the grand central hub for her entertainment. Sister is teething. She cut two teeth around the new year and I am impatiently waiting for round two to hit the Cass casa. I have had about a 5 days of sleepless nights and an abnormal dependent baby girl. 

 If you notice random items on the floor, they are everywhere. Zi is an organizing, pile making, sortin machine.

To think that one month ago, Kiyah just looked at the toys on this thing. Now she is a master! 

Z sister love. 

Kiyah is all cuddles. She is hilarious. Her new thing is giving me hugs all the time. She just crashes into my chest. It is my FAVORITE! She is such a ham. 

She was squawking here! 

Zion always is laying on her and giving her big hugs! saying, "hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi" over and over. Occasionally, she switches it up and says, "kiyah kiyah kiyah kiyah". It is the BEST. Kiyah loves her Zi.

Now, we have arrived to the Tala Hair Studio. Zion is obsessed with beauty shop. She is a natural. My newest employee:) She is laying back in the salon chair here getting her hair washed. I shampooed her hair for her. 

"Mom, wanna pay hair shop. I need a blanket to cover me up. I get Haiwr on it."

"Mom, wash it."

"Mom, gotta do this."

"Mom, buckle this."

Post blow dry! Isn't she a beauty?

Mudroom // Before and After

Over the weekend, I decided to get going on our mudroom. It has been a hot mess since we moved in and driving me CRAZY. We have lived in our house for over 2 years now and I am getting so sick of the the beige walls in every room. They are painted, "flat" and show every knick and scratch. I decided to go to Sherwin-Williams for paint. They have HGTV paint colors that I adore. I used them in our basement and dining room already. Here are some before pictures of the disaster zone. 

This room is our catch all. The white door is our garage door. The mudroom is the perfect size for having a central hub for our coats/bags/shoes etc. We are going to have to be creative with how we use the little wall space for organizing considering we have 4 doors and a closet door in this room. The doors go to the bathroom, kitchen, laundry room and garage.

As you can see, I struggle with organizing in this room. We definitely need some shelving and hooks on the walls to eliminate the floor clutter.

View looking into kitchen.

Closet and garage door view. I decided to go with Silver mist by HGTV for the mudroom color. I love it.  It is the perfect mix of gray/silver/blue. It is relaxing and has a brightness to it that I was look for. Here are the after pictures.

Doesn't it look great? Ignore the smoke alarm......we have to get a new one. This one is not working properly.

I rehung the shelf that I got at TJMaxx to the right of the kitchen doorway. I love this shelf. It holds our keys/gum/letters and other odds and ends. I love that it has numbers on it.

Here is the angle from the corner by the closet.

Looking into the kitchen. I want to put some shelving/hooks to the left on the doorway. 

Looking at the garage door. I got the mirror a decade ago at TJMaxx and the knob hook is from there too. We use it for my purse and Zion's backpack. I got the basket on the floor at TJMaxx too. The shoe mat is from Lowe's and the rug is a cheapie from Target.

I want to paint or mod podge the mirror something. I am not feeling the black leather anymore. Any ideas for me?

The backpack is PotteryBarnKids from Grandma and Grandpa. Isn't it so cute?

Here is a snapshot looking into the mudroom from the kitchen. I was really excited to finally hang up the growth chart that Andy surprised us with last Christmas (2011). He wrote out the scripture, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew^[a] you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 

He painted vines on it and we paint a feather every time we measure the girls. Zion is a red color and Zakiyah will be a navy I think. The wood spilt a touch when we drilled it in so I have to touch it up. But I love having it. It is so unique and has a lot of meaning to me. I love homemade gifts. So now, I have to get a new light.  I must get something more fun. I will be shopping clearance to find one.

H54F.....my life in pictures.

H54F--high five for friday. This is my first week of linking up with Lauren at  frommygreydesk for my weekly top 5 in pictures! Fun, right? Enjoy!

I have a secret! We painted our mudroom! I will share the details this week! Stay tuned.

Zion is turning 3 this month! Can you believe it? We found this beauty at Goodwill and are super excited about it! She is in love with Strawberry Shortcake! I am having a blast organizing her party. I will make sure to share all the deets with ya soon!

I heart juicing! It is so good. I have grown to LOVE it. I have been trying to juice at least once a day! This one is cucumber/carrot/celery/apple/ginger/lemon/kale/spinach juice. I try to make enough for 20-24 ounces! YUM.

 My lil' ladies. So CUTE! Zion picked out their outfit here. She wanted to match! Kiyah is full of hugs/smiles/giggles lately! Love 'em...

Have you joined the new craze? VINE app for the iphone. FREE! I love it. It is similar to instagram but it is videos. People are sooooo creative on there. I am liking it a lot. Come join the club, yo.