Art Gallery Wall

Today I thought it would be fun to show the details on my newly updated wall in my living room! It has been a working progress. Ever since I put our computer in our living room, I have been wanting to personalize this space. With it being our "office area", I wanted it to be fun, inspiring, creative without being too busy or distracting. I love color and fun punches of personal favs. So here is our new gallery wall! 

The top left oval painting is Zakiyah. My friend, Kelly made it for her! I love it! I am so happy with how this space turned out. 

 Here is a good picture of the wall! As I mentioned here, my clock is from Target!

My desk is from IKEA. I would like a bigger one someday. It is not urgent, just a little small for our stuff. The amazing blue chair is TJ MAXX!

I got these Umbra polaroid pictures from my friend Shel a few years back. I love how you can just slip in pixs in the frames. They measure 3.5" by 3.5". The top two are me when I was little. The middle left is Andy and I when we started dating. It was taken at the north shore (MN) in 2002! The middle right is Andy as a little boy.....hilarious. The bottom is Andy snakeboarding back in his glory days. ;)

 This is sketch I did on a plane ride 5+ years ago, when we were coming home from Mexico. We had taken the youth to a orphanage to work for a week or so. I love it. It is my life now! I am so blessed. I love how it says, "dancing in the kitchen with my Nova". Which is Andy's nickname, and now our daughter, Zakiyah's middle name. 

I also love using clip boards to hang art. Easy to change up. Fun and casual. 

This is Andy with his dad and bro. Love. I think our girls look a lot like him!

Here is Zakiyah at one week old. So precious. Photo taken by Michelle Fagan. 

My sister, Chelsea just gave this picture to Zakiyah for her baby dedication! I love how the commandments are perfect for little ones. The colors and background are so happy too! 

I got this sketch on Etsy a couple of years ago for Andy' birthday. I thought it would be fun to give him random art over the years. We don't own a mini van, however, we have discussed how we approve of the Volkswagen Van. It definitely tops the Coolness factor for car-life. So, I gave this to Andy, stating this is the only van we will ever own. 

I just finished this hoop art this past weekend. I found the quote on Pinterest! It says, "Everything you say to your child is absorbed, catalogued and remembered." Amen. Good reminder for me to keep it together! I used embroidery floss, fabric, and felt. I stretched duct cloth on the hoop.  It was super easy, cheap, and inspirational for me as a mother! 

I gave this art to Andy this past Valentines day/birthday. I got the PDF of the "I love everything about you" on here. I water colored it then mod podged it on some duct cloth. I painted the duct cloth first then mod podged on the paper. I painted on the flowers/ arrows/ hearts after the mod podge dried. I used some sharpie marker to define the flowers and arrows. I used this walnut circle frame from my Grandma Cherie. I think it turned out great. 

My cousin, Brit sent us this fabulous Cass Street picture. She goes to college at University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse and stumbled upon this sign in her town! She surprised me with real mail and printed this for me! I love it and I love her! She rocks!

This is a pix of my girls! Kiyah was a couple weeks old here and Zi was 2.5 yo. Precious ladies.

Our friends gave us this "love will save the day" sign for a gift when they got married. It is perfect! 

Zion Leilani at 1 yo. Photo taken by Fagan's. Her eyes sparkle in this picture. Stunning.

My BIL and SIL took this picture at a local apple orchard. I love how happy Z is here. She was 1.5 yo. 

I am working on making my desk more happy. I brought down this tray from our bathroom. It is West Elm, candle is Aveda, faux greens are Pier One, and Cass Fresh glass is a beer in Korea. We have some glasses from our friends. The owl paper is Target. 

Do you have any gallery walls you are working on? I seriously have 8 in our house! Never too many! Have a great day! 

GLITTER mouse pad and garland Tutorial!

Glitter is everywhere right now! I am a big fan of it! I have been looking for a new mouse pad for about a month now and didn't find one that I loved. Then I saw some homemade ones on my pinterest board here and here. I liked the idea of using materials I already owned! So my love for mod podge was the winner again! 

Materials needed: 

Mod Podge (I used Glossy for more shine!)

glitter (mine was $1.99 at Michaels)

a brush

Cork board (I used a round cork board that I had for absorbing water for my plants.) You can cut a piece to your liking. square. rectangle. circle. oval. I liked using my planter cork board because it was thick! 

First step: put a even layer of Mod Podge down on the cork. 

 Sprinkle a heavy layer of glitter everywhere on top. 

I let it dry for over 2 hours. Then I put 2 top coats of Mod Podge on it to seal it! Allow full amount of time to dry in between layers. It is ready to use as soon as it isn't tacky! EASY!!!!

I liked doing 2 layers of Mod Podge, so it would be more smooth!

Finished Glitter Mouse Pad! I think it looks Fab. Glitter. Red. Sparkles. PERFECTION.

Next, I made some glitter garland! I love all of the banner garland that is everywhere. I am pretty sure I have 4-5 of these in my house! Addicting.

Materials needed:

Glitter Scrap paper (I used cardstock from Hobby Lobby)

Scissors

Ribbon

double sided tape

cardboard/or something to make the stencil

my paper!

I took some cardboard and made a stencil. I just free handed it. I traced out all of my garland pieces before cutting.

 After cutting the shapes out, I folded them in half.

I found some old rose ribbon to use! I think it is fun and vintage like!

I used double sided tape on the card stock to hold it in place. 

When making the garland, I chose to make 5 of them. I like using odd numbers. 

Finished product. I wanted to hang it on a mirror on our mantle. 

So cute!!!! Love it!

H54F

Can you believe it is Friday already? What a week! It has been crazy in our house this week.....everything from colds/teething/migraines/work/eat/lack of sleep/10+ inches of snow...You name it, it has happened! I am excited that my family is doing much better, health-wise! We are really looking forward to the weekend! Lots planned...Let's get this party started! Every week, I link up with Lauren and show you my week in review with pictures! 

I decided to break out my Red Wing Shoes for work this week! I love red. I love Red Wing (hometown roots, yo) and I love a good loafer! I rocked them with my gap jeans! Holler.

We celebrated the girls feeling better by going to the gym and swimming! This was Kiyah's first time in the pool here! She loved it! She is wearing Zion's hand me down Gap suit. I love it!!! Sister love never gets old to capture! Zion also started gymnastics this week. It was fun to observe her actually being shy. Never happens! 

I am slowing starting to vamp up my home with spring! I made the glitter garland this week! I will post in the next few days my DIY Tutorial for you! Super easy! My friend, Kati gave me the beautiful daffodils too. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I got the blue jar from an antique store. The toile vase and platter is from my Grandma Cherie! The blue birdies are from my sister Cara. I painted the canvas last fall to add some color in our living room.

I have been following Elsie's blog for a couple years now. She posted this picture this week of her bedroom. She hand painted it. I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D. I am now dreaming of doing something fun in our bedroom! Oh the possiblities....... (this photo is from Elsie's instagram)

Check back later this weekend for a tutorial on my garland and new mouse pad I made with GLITTER! Love the glitz. 

Don't forget to subscribe to my BLOG to win free hair products. There will be giveaways monthly! (It is on the right side under "Followers". Click on "join this site" and it will walk you through it. That way you know when there are new posts up on TalaHairLife. 

Have a fab. weekend! xoxoxo

LOCK LOVE WEDNESDAY

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! 

In the above pix, I back combed my hair as usual. I then took my hair in 3 sections and twisted them into a knot. I used bobby pins to hold it in place. I then curled a few hairs around my face.

Here, I just took some day old curls and back combed my hair. I just took 3 sections at my nape and twisted them up super quick and pinned. I left it asymmetrical to do something different.

My 3 year old gets to be apart of LLW today! I took her hair in three sections making pony buns. She is growing her hair "yong" long right now so this works perfect with keeping her hair up and not falling down. cutie pie.

I curled my hair away from my face here. I had washed it the day before and blow dried with Awapuhi Hydrocream Whip, so my hair had a lot of body! I used hairspray to give it hold. 

How are you styling your hair? Do you have any tips for us out there? Link up below. Grab a LLW button on the right side of this post and share it on your post or blog. Post your pix of your hair on Instagram and use #locklovewed or #locklovewednesday 

Have a great day! 

Cass Cakes

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved pancakes! I used to spend the night at my Grandma and Grandpa's and we would often times have apple pancakes! Yum. So it only seemed natural to continue the tradition in my family. Andy and I partake in this glorious meal at least 1/2 times a week. Praise! I have tried many recipes but this one has become our recipe! Our fav! Our speciality. CASS CAKES!  I was originally inspired by good ole Pioneer Woman for her pancakes but have tweaked them along the way. Pioneer Woman uses sour cream in her pancakes, but we use greek yogurt. We opted for a fluffier and a more healthy version..... I would double the recipe if its for 3/4 adults. 

Cass Cakes:

1 cup of Greek yogurt ( I use plain, honey, or nonfat. whatever you prefer)

7 T. flour (we use 1/2 WW and 1/2 AP)

1 T. sugar (we use cane sugar)

1 t. Baking Soda

1 t. Baking Powder

1/2 t. salt (we use Kosher)

2 eggs

1 T. vanilla

mix with a spatula the white ingredients. in a seperate bowl stir the eggs and vanilla. add the eggs/vanilla to the other ingredients. stir in the eggs until they are mixed in. then pour the batter on the griddle. I use a 1/4 cup for measuring the cakes. We are a big fan of maple syrup with our cass cakes. I always serve them with butter/ warmed up syrup. You can add bananas, blueberries or apples to the batter too. Hint: When I use apples and bananas; I put them in the batter while on the griddle. 

all the ingredients

mix together the white ingredients

stir the eggs and vanilla

add egg mix to the white ingredients

stir in until evenly mixed

pour batter on the griddle

when bubbling, flip the cakes

ready to eat

Your welcome! They are the best!!!! Happy Tuesday folks! Thought I would share with you some cuties below. They were apart of the Cass Cake action today. Yes, Kiyah is wearing Christmas jammies in March. But, hey, its a storm out.....it's allowed in MinneSnowta land. 

I am lovin'

I am lovin' a couple things in my living room right now that I had to share with you! Our living room is like living in a studio apt. Everything happens in this room. It is the central hub for my family of 4. We love spending time in this room. We intentionally do not have a TV on our main floor. So this room is the room we play, eat, talk, gather, build forts, cuddle with our girls, go on the computer, rest, and enjoy life! I recently added a few things that I wanted to share with you! I love myself a good ETSY purchase. I just got these pillow covers on there. I got the geometric triangle one and the quote one! Aren't they cute? I love the geometric shapes that are trending right now. The quote says, "Let us lay in the sun and count every beautiful thing we can see." 

As I mentioned in my H54F, I have been creating a new gallery wall in my living room too! It is by my desk. I love it! I went outside the box and didn't just keep the pictures at eye level. I dropped it down and went for more of casual look. My sister, Chelsea talked me into doing it. I will post more this week on the details on the gallery! It has a lot of meaning to our family. 

Are you creating anything new for your space? Did you do anything fun over the weekend? I wanted to mention that I am going to start doing a GIVE AWAY monthly on the BLOG!!!!! If you start following me (under "followers" on my right side bar) I am going to give away a free hair product every month! Join! It will be fun!!!! I will be announcing  the first give away on March 30! Spread the news. Check back tomorrow for my favorite hair products and why! Happy Monday!!!!