Snowmingos.

I fear it is not going to get warm and stay warm this summer. So.  I am going to go with the flow and try and find these cute snowmingo's for my front yard. I live in a 50's rambler which make them quite appropriate. Now to find a bush for them to peek out from....

Meet Laverne & Shirley.

With that I must go garage saling.. as it is Saturaday and the Linden Hills garage sales are on! 

Wish me luck!

Alyssa

Last night's storm.

As you know if you live in Minnesota we had a storm last night the produced the most amazing clouds. Here are the 3 best of the ones I took. I tried to get the lightening but was only that lucky in once shot. I missed the amazing ones by mere seconds. boo. :( 

 The little rambler on the left is my cozy urban home. 

Hopefully next  year it will be my spacious cozy urban home. 

That is another story for another day however.

What fun! A let down though in the rain department. 

Alyssa

Pinterest find of the day. Shoes. Fabulous Shoes.

    Every urban, suburban and country woman out there needs some fabulous shoes. Their own dream outfit. Today these are mine. Yummy. I don't know when or where I would where them but I love the bold graphic. Could you imagine these with with the perfect little black dress and emerald jewelry? I will admit to drooling right now. As I sit here in my pajamas.

        

The shoes. By Prada.

(The link is the link provided by Pinterest.. 

but alas I could not find the shoes on their blog. :( boo.)

 The dress.

The jewels. Thank you Angelina for modeling them for me.

My dream outfit of the day. Now to decide on real life issues. To shower today or not to shower. 

Alyssa

Hi, my name is Stacy and I'm addicted to home decor blogs....can I be saved???

Tonight as I sit here with a gas leak down the street and a tornado watch until midnight, I have to come clean. It's my dirty little secret. It takes up hours of my time and leaves my husband feeling neglected. I'm seriously trying to "fix" my need to seek out SUPER fabulous decorating blogs and read them non-stop. Once a week or so I hope to post some of my favorites on here so that you will also become addicted. I'm sorry, but I must be selfish. I need others who share this compulsion so that we can form a support group. So, my friends, I will share with you a current favorite! It is called 33 Shades of Green. The link I have just given you is for my absolute favorite room in this very stylish young woman's home. Please look through her whole blog and see for yourself.



You will see things like this:

And this:

And this:

Oh, and THIS!

I really love her sense of style! Now go see the rest of her stuff for yourself!

P.S. She also has some really wonderful and easy recipes!

Happy surfing....see you in therapy!

Stacy

Rocking Chair Heaven

    Well, I have a new pastime to add to my collection of blog reading, crafting, blogging, reading and sewing. Pinterest. (I first discovered this on Young House Love.. and am now seeing so many people I know in the Pinterest world that I am surprised it took me so long to hear about it.) This website allows you to "pin" images to boards. Similar to a cork board only with this, later when you click the image it will take you to the site where the image came from. Ahha! So, if it is a product you love, but cannot buy yet or a room you want to emulate but won't start construction for a few months you now have a place to save it and come back later. Genius. 

  Well, that leads me into my actual post.. because while scrolling through all the amazing images on Pinterest... I found this rocking chair. Amazing. I need to figure out if this chair is indeed in production as I truly must own this. This rocking chair is absolutely scrumptious. Imagine sitting in this on a day with a thunderstorm, reading a book and snuggling with your honey. Let's add a big cozy blanket, perhaps something cable knit to this. I am starting to doze off in my happy place just thinking about this. :)

    The designer is Markus Krauss based in Hamburg, Germany. The name of the chair is Sway

Well, I am going to go back to my dreamland for the day. 

Alyssa

RUN don't walk to buy this...

If you know me, you know that I like to clean. Don't mistake this with liking to pick up the house...in no way do I like "picking up." I like the actual process of getting things clean. Since Alyssa and I both house a small zoo at each of our homes, I am concerned about keeping things pretty sanitary. I have 3 cats and a dog and if I could get them to wear shoes while outside or in the litter box, believe me...I would! About 5 years ago I became pretty obsessed with using environmentally friendly cleaning products. I worry about my husband and I...but I also worried about our critters. I have never liked PineSol or other harsh chemical cleaners. Mostly because I cannot stand the smell. I have switched over to all environmentally friendly products and they clean just as well as regular cleaners. I won't lie...there are times when using environmentally friendly products require using more elbow grease but I am okay with that. The only thing I cannot give up is bleach, and I only use it once a week or so to bleach my sink. Otherwise I have switched over to peroxide. You do know that it's the miracle cleaner, don't you? Swish it in your mouth while you are in the shower a few times a week and it bleaches your teeth for CHEAP. However, my favorite thing about it is that you can use it on your carpets or rugs and it does not take the color out...only the stain!

My new find (within the last few months) is this:

I cannot tell a lie, I am addicted. It is what you must run to buy! I use the Grassy Mint on my body (yes, it is for body and home!) and the Pomegranate Acai for my home. Clean your floors, bathroom, kitchen and everything that needs cleaning with this. Your house will smell amazing and when you buy it they will donate 10% of the profits to support Seeds of Peace. You clean while teenagers from opposite sides of conflicting countries learn how to come together and talk instead of being enemies. It's a win-win situation! You can buy this at your local co-op. If you don't have access to a co-op, I know that Whole Foods also carries it. It may seem pricey at $13 for 34 ounces, but you must remember that it is super concentrated! If you are unable to find this soap, another product I like is this:

I may be partial to this brand because it was created by a Minnesota woman. I have oodles of respect and admiration for her because she was one of the pioneers of yummy smelling cleaning products. You can even find these products at Target these days and they are reasonable. About $7.99 for a 32 ounce super concentrated bottle of it. You won't regret buying this.

I will leave you with another eco-friendly cleaning tip: Go buy a cheap spray bottle. Fill it with two cups of alcohol and one cup of warm water. Be sure to mark the bottle "window cleaner" and go clean every window in your house. Just don't do it when the sun is beating on the window...you WILL get streaks. Been there done that. This stuff is cheap and works great! Beats Windex.

Happy Washing!

Stacy

You can buy this on Etsy. If you'd like to get one for me, I prefer mine in grass green :)

Mother's Day Margarita. Yum.

Need I say more?

Happy Mother's Day! A quick and easy place card project

Well, this year we had the Mother's Day festivities at our house in the form of a brunch. I did not have a ton of time to do a lot of the cute little things I normally would have wanted to do, but I did get in this one little project. The idea came from the Creature Comforts blog... and the following is my take on this little cutie.

My version are used place cards holders...

 I started with white paper and a giant punch. I clicked off fourteen of the shapes..  Then added the names... and a little water color to the edges for some life... Just call me color happy today!

 Next I used double stick foam tape on the back of the blank tag added a tooth pick and adhered the front name tag to the front...

 

 The finished little cuties... now for their home.

A place to sit with a healthy little treat for everyone...

Ps.. the little dish is from Pottery Barn. Clearance.Yay. 

Happy Mother Day to all the fabulous mom's out there. 

Alyssa