{summoning spring}

I love a little color to start of my Monday, don't you?

I've added some lovely spring inspired button blooms to my shop, as well as a new item...

Flower hair pins!

I'm having so much fun making these little beauties. You can snag a pair for only $6 in the shop.

I'm also now offering the option to have my button blooms attached to an alligator clip or a stretchy headband, so the possibilities are endless! This is one of my current faves...

And don't forget about my 100 FB Fans + 50 sales Giveaway! Become a fan of lovesquirrels on Facebook, refer your friends to do the same, and once I reach my 100/50 goal, I'll be giving one of my lovely fans their choice of a button bloom or infant cap!

Hope your week is off to a good start friends!

{almost there}

I'm so excited to show you the progress we've made with our desk space! It feels so much more modern and organized now with the addition of our IKEA Lack shelf and some storage solutions also from IKEA and from around the house...

This $20 shelf packs some amazing organizing potential. We were able to fit two white storage boxes and two white magazine boxes, all from IKEA, along with a woven box for computer cords etc...

I also added my favorite milkglass dish for the hubby's wallet, keys and other miscellaneous tidbits...

This great metal organizer has been hanging around the house for years, but finally feels at home above the desk. It keeps markers and other no-no's away from four prying toddler hands...

 

But I think my favorite new addition are the two Umbra polaroid-esque frames between the desk and the shelf. I picked them up for only $4 a piece at Hobby Lobby. You can also get a set of 9 of them here. They have a magnet on the back and also come with a magnetized tack so you can hang them on the wall. Brilliant!

{and you can also write on them with a dry-erase marker, but for now I like the simplicity of a plain frame to showcase my handsome boys.}

The only thing the space needs now is a new rug...the brown shag just isn't cutting it. Did I mention I'm coveting this one? {Yes....its also from IKEA. You can really furnish a whole house with that place.}

So what do you think? Between the lovely modern-ness of the shelf, tons of organization, and my two favorite faces in the mix, I'm really loving it.

{swoon}

I'm totally drooling over Amy's living room photos...

How cute is that table she is using as a TV stand?!

Love the Vol.25 prints and this whole display just makes me smile...

She scored those adorable accent tables while thrifting! And of course I love the mix of yellow and gray.

I've had my eye on that rug for awhile now and for the insanely awesome price of $20 I think it will have to come home with me next time we make an IKEA trip.

Perhaps for our office area? Updates on that coming soon!!

Be sure to check out Amy's blog!

{freebie}

 Who doesn't like something totally free?!

Well, I'm doing a giveaway friends!

Once my little shop that could reaches 50 sales {4 away!} and 100 Facebook fans, one of my squirrel-loving friends will win their choice of an infant cap or a button bloom! Pretty sweet, huh?

So how do you win?

Become a fan of love squirrels on Facebook. How's that for simple?

Already a fan? Send your friends my way by posting the shop link on your Facebook, Twitter, or your blog. Or all three!

Then just sit back and wait to see if you have won!

To speed up the process you could also make a purchase from my shop, or refer a friend who you think would love one of my items. I love custom orders so if you don't see the perfect little something, I can probably whip up the item of your dreams.

So let's get this giveaway started, shall we?

{toes crossed}

Mr. Ben has this cute habit of crossing his big toes...

I kinda sorta love it.

Then again, how could I not love anything attached to this adorableness?

Swoon.

{love list}

Oh Friday how I love you.

And here are a few other things I'm loving right now {other than Fossil's new handbags...droooool...}

1. This fireplace makeover from Fresh Crush...

Love the extended mantle and the interesting vignette on the left. Make sure you check out her blog for the before shots...so inspiring!

2. New bedding...

My hubby picked out a new coverlet and sheet set for us last week and I love them. He had me at brown with ruffles. The sheets are gray with a pin-tuck detail on the edge. They are both from the Katie Brown line at Meijer.

The boys seem to like it a lot too...

 

Now we just need some fun new pillow shams to add some color and pattern. Any ideas friends?

3. This branch hanger from the Container Store...

Adorable.

4. This print from Gus and Lula...

I sing this to the boys almost every night before bed, so this song holds a nice little place in my heart.

5. This movie...

We recently introduced the boys to Despicable Me, and I don't know who likes it more, them or us! Steve Carrell is the voice of Mr. Gru and his accent cracks me up...like a mix between German, Russian, and ???

These little guys...the minions...are so stinking funny...

And we've been repeating this line over and over again at our house this week...



Check it out if you haven't seen it. It rocks.

Hope you all have a fantabulous weekend!!

{my incredibles}

The boys are in their want to be superheroes phase right now.

Oh...wait a minute. They ARE superheroes!

Thanks to my friend Summer who just happens to make the most adorable superhero capes...

They can totally fly in these things. And lift cars. And be invisible. You get the idea...

 

 

I love the letter appliques, and there is a fun spider web print fabric along the bottom. 

The boys want to wear them all.the.time. 

Want one of these fun capes for your little Mr. Incredible? {I know...they don't actually wear capes in the movie}. Check out Summer's Etsy Shop - Monkey See Monkey Sew. 

She also makes other items like this adorable handbag...

 

And fun, modern pillow covers...

Be sure to check out her shop and tell her Mandy sent you!

{oh fossil...}

Why must you do this to me?

The birds! The florals! The Orla-esque patterns!

Stop it.

Or send me one in every color.

{love}

Some images I love...suitable for a day all about love...

{Images are all linked}

Happy Valentine's Day friends!

{play doh love}

One of the boys' favorite pass times right now is playing with their play doh.

We just clean any crumbs off the floor {not that we ever have any} and let them go to town...

They love to make "spaghetti" with this cool contraption...

Notice how it is all the same weird blue color?

Apparently that is the color you get when you mix them all together. We like to experiment around here...

And we definitely love our play doh...

{practical progress}

It might not be pretty, but we have progress in the laundry room!

If you remember this post, our laundry room was/is in serious need of an organization and aesthetic makeover. I'm happy to report that we are at least on our way to achieving the more practical {and less fun} part of this process.

Over the weekend we assembled our new storage unit from Target. We purchased this...

And here it is in our laundry room...

Ahhhh...the storage!

Right now we are still major diaper hoarders {that is, until the boys decide their potty is more than just a toy to throw balls into and stick their head in}, so of course we have two shelves dedicated almost entirely to those padded #1 and #2 holders.

I used a canvas tote we already had to hold loose diapers and smaller packs.

We currently have sizes 4-6 because one of the boys has what he likes to call a "leeetle butt" and the other has one of the "biiiiig" variety. {Ben's words, not mine}So this tote is a great place to keep all of those different sizes corralled. We also have a few pull-ups in there. Wishful thinking...

On another shelf, we have all of the boys' socks {also in an already owned basket} and their winter/snow gear...

And on the bottom shelf we have a trash can for all of those pesky dryer sheets/lint balls and a tub for our dirty kitchen towels...

{the "cold drinks" tub leads a secret life as a dirty towel receptacle...shhhhh}

Both of these items were also already owned...talk about storage on a small budget!

So there you have it. It might not be pretty yet, but it sure does make going into our laundry room a lot more pleasing these days.

My next goal is to tackle this monster of a clothing rod on the other side of the room...

Yikes.

My plan is to purchase one of these to streamline this corner...

I love this rack because it still has storage on top and on the bottom so we won't be losing much, if any, of the storage we have now. It will also force me to pare down what is hanging on the rack, but I know that with a few wall hooks for laundry bags and reusable totes I can remedy that situation.

Once all of this practical organization stuff is figured out, I can get to the fun part - painting and decorating!

Stay tuned friends...