What a day!

Do you ever have those days that go so fast that you look at the clock and it has been 8 hours in a "feels like" 1 hour time period? Today was that day for us. It was unplanned. Carefree. and perfect! Last night , we had a Gate Lock In (youth group) at church until 6am. I only stayed until 11:30pm, while Andy roughed it until 6:30am this morning. So when the girls got up, I hit up Target with them and just hung out while Andy slept. When the husband got up, I  made scrambled eggs and chocolate croissants from Trader Joes (go buy them! freezer section. amaze-) After chowing down some food, our friends, the Rowans texted us and came over for sledding/lunch....but it turned out to be an all day thing. Which was so much needed for all of us. Our neighbors hung too! We had a sledding party, (the dads handled that) while Jody and I hung with our babies! Then 8 kids piled inside with red faces and runny noses and spent time playing, "swimming", tea parties, chasing each other, warming up by the fire, and having a blast. The kids needed it as much as us adults. We had a couple rounds of roasting coffee at our neighbor Mike's and Luke's amazing Moka Coffee. I made some yummy Cafe Miel's and Americanos. Oh my word, too much coffee! We had a casual supper with 7 littles around the counter for Chef Andy to serve chicken nuggets, fries, apples and black beans! Bliss. No agenda. No organizing. No running errands. It was a great day. Thankful for our friends. Thankful for snow (for my husband's sake and Zion) :) Here are some pix for you! 

My precious Zakiyah having tummy time this morning!

My amazing croissants. Heaven!

Zi and Lila!

Sydney gettin air

Mike giving it a try

Luke rockin it out

Collin getting lots of air.

The kiddos playing on the playground!

Beautiful Sydney!

Luke being backup support :)

The hill.

Luke and Sydney

Sophia and her daddy

Wouldn't be right if the dad's didn't give it a try.

Caroline trying to hitch a ride. She is over this....ha.

Love her hat!!!

Sean and Mike keepin' it real.

Braum getting air!

Zion is living the life! (for those of you that followed my Instagram today, note her hand is ok here) :)

Braum!

Daddy time.

Lila

Zion. Sophia. and Lila cuddling when they came in by the fire.

What a day. I am tired. Have you taken advantage of the weather lately? Do you have a favorite winter activity? Hope you had a great Saturday! Can I just say, I loved it being light out til 7! 

My Hair Product Favs!

I am super excited to share with you my favorite hair products! I get asked all the time what I use in my hair. To be honest, it changes rather frequently! Being a hair stylist it is easy to try lots of new products. It can be an addiction of mine! But, I have been using Awapuhi products for almost two years now and still loving them. They are Paul Mitchell's newest line. They are infused with Wild Ginger from Hawaii. The key is to look for products that are paraben and sulfate free for your hair! Why? Parabens and Sulfate can strip out your hair color, dry out your hair, some say they are led to be carcinogenic. I personally make it a goal to go the natural route whenever it is possible!

1. Awapuhi Moisturizing Lather Shampoo! I love this product so much! It really does lather amazing. It is super rich for your hair. The Awapuhi lines smells amazing! I am really sensitive to scents, that is why the ginger aroma is perfect for me. Ginger helps with nausea. I use a nickel amount for my hair. You want to scrub your hair for a minute with your finger tips (not your nails). If you have a hard time spreading the product, re-rinse your hair in the water to help spread the shampoo.

2. Keratin Cream Rinse. This is really awesome! I love how light weight the conditioner is. I only wash my hair every 3-4 days so this is an awesome conditioner for me without weighing down my hair. I put the conditioner on my mid shaft to ends! I don't use conditioner on my scalp at all! It adds lots of shine and rebuilds your hair shaft with keratin.

3. My first styling product I put in my hair is, Aquage Uplifting Foam! This stuff is killer! Oh my word, does it work! I use a quarter amount on my roots! It is the best root lifter I have ever used! It isn't sticky, crunchy, or heavy. I love how weightless it is!

4. After the foam, I put in my "Old Faithful", Moroccan Oil! Seriously, this stuff is the real deal! My hair quenches for this amazingness! I have been using this product for 5+ years now. It lasts forever! I have a pump on it, so all you need is one pump for your hair. You can put this in wet or dry hair! I prefer wet hair for me. The Moroccan Oil comes in "Light" too. Light is great for fine hair or really blonde hair. The pigment of the regular one is an amber tone and the light is more gold. Why does the oil work so well? It has Argon oil in it from Morocco. It transforms your hair adding omega-3 oils and vitamins. I LOVE IT!

5. Once my hair is dry, I curl or flat iron my hair using the Awapuhi Shine Spray! It is lightweight, adds shine, and looks natural. This is my favorite scent in the whole Awapuhi Collection. It is fab! You can spray this in as a heat protectant or a finisher.

6. I love myself a good hairspray! My favorite of all time is the Awapuhi Finishing Spray. It is a medium-strong hold. I love how it has the ginger aroma. Being a hairstylist, I use a lot of hairspray on my guests, and I have struggled in the past with headaches from hairspray. This hairspray doesn't leave a fog after applying either (pet peeve). It is wonderful.

What are your favorite hair products? Have you tried any of these? Do you have a styling aid you swear by?

Happy Weekend Yal'l!

//mention this post at Tala and I will give you 10% off these products at your next visit//

H54F

Every Friday, I link up with Lauren and show you my top 5 for the week! 

Loving our Breville espresso machine. It has been sitting in our storage room for over a year, missing a part and wasn't working properly. So my awesome neighbor/friend, Mike and my husband worked on it to get running again! (Thanks Mike!)  While my hus bid on the part this past week on EBay and we got it! I love good coffee/espresso drinks. Working from home now, I try not to go out and get coffee as often. I have made some yummy Cafe Miel lattes this week! :)

Snow is the name of the game in Rochester right now! We are expected to get more snow this weekend. It is beautiful though. This is our backyard view. 

I seriously can't get over how beautiful daffodils are! $2 at Trader Joes and I am a happy lady. My husband got me these! So gorg.

 We have started Easter crafting here! I have been browsing Pinterest for ideas! 

We are personalizing our lighting in our kitchen! This is our new drum shade over the kitchen table! Obsessed with this bad boy. I heart West Elm and gift cards that allowed me to get this! IN LOVE! Totally Cass fam. I will show more pix next week of the kitchen updates! Are you doing anything fun this weekend? Working on your home front? We have a Gate (youth group) overnighter tonight! Pray for sanity. ha. Loves.

lil' ladies

Thought I would share some favs off my camera today. I love my girls. They are such a blast. I have been really enjoying observing them play together the older Kiyah gets. I can't believe she is almost 7 months old already! Wow. She is wearing a hand knitted sweater from our friends Etsy shop. Check it!!!! 

It is like muscial chairs sometimes to keep Kiyah happy right now. (teething) She loves her high chair though. Zi loves to play with her when she is in there. Sister love caught on camera.....

Getting our craft on.....celebrating Easter with glue, paper. scissors, glitter, etc. Love. Zi is a crafty one. 

 Favorite smile again. 

Finished product! Love!

Do you have any traditions for Easter time? A favorite project? I would love hear your ideas! 

Andy brought us girls flowers again! He ROCKS!

Lock Love Wednesday!

Can you believe it is Wednesday already?!!! Crazy! I can not believe how much it has been snowing here in Minnesota! I am ready for spring. But I have some fun hair to show to you today! I started Lock Lock Wednesday to get myself motivated to style my hair everyday. It is so easy, for even hair stylists to get in a rut with their hair. I am hoping to inspire you along the way with simple and fun techniques to help you look fabulous! Join me along the way. It will be fun! All you have to do is take snapshots of your hair during the week and link up with me below! (Feel free to grab a Lock Love Wed button on the right!)

I have been doing a lot of updos with my hair in knots/ twists! It is easy. It only requires a little backcombing and bobby pins. My hair was on its 4th day of no washing here! You might think I am crazy, but seriously, most hair does not need to be washed everyday. I have Eufora Dry Shampoo in my hair and Awapuhi Hairspray. I took my hair in 3 sections after backcombing the crown and part. I twisted it in a fun knot and pinned away. 

Kiyah is teething her top two teeth right now and wanting her mama a lot! She is taking 3 naps a day and obsessed with our cell phones. She literally just started grabbing it this past week.My precious babe!

 As you can see, its not perfect....but it is fun and not a pony! 

I have been loving using my flat iron to curl my hair. I use a GHD professional 1" flat iron! It is my Favorite by far! I have used many brands over the years but this tops them all. It heats fast and has beautiful rounded edges. 

 I put in my Matrix Miracle Treatment lotion spray and moroccan oil here. This was a wash day! :) Then I just went through holding my flat iron vertically/ no sections and curled around my head. I always curl away from my face! I twisted my left side and put in a few bobby pins. I like to do this so my hair is less grab-able for Zakiyah and stays out of my face when I am working! I finished with Awapuhi hairspray.

My hair below is a wash day too. I blow dried my hair upside down with Aquage Uplifting Foam and Moroccan oil. I ran a flat iron in some random strands. My hus thought this was a little puffy but I like the casualness of it! 

I am so over the dryness that winter brings. I have been using my deep conditioners every time I wash my hair. I also rinse conditioner with colder water to prevent my hair from getting too dry. Join LLW below by linking up with your post or instagram pix! Use #locklovewed or #locklovewednesday on Instagram! Check back tomorrow for my favorite styling products! Have a blessed day!