{Labor Day Sale} New Invitations Added to The Barrtique | Fall Themed Invitations

Happy Labor Day Weekend Everyone!! & Of course, Happy College Football Weekend! Love that background noise, love watching College Game Day in the mornings, and love the Fall feeling weather -- too bad it's still in the 90's here and too bad my hubby is working a 13 hour shift today. Hoping to get to that Fall weather soon to make football days feel that much better!! :)

To kick off Labor Day Weekend, there have been some new items added to the Etsy shop {shown below} - some Fall inspired invitations to suit your fall showers and celebrations :)

This weekend only (throughout Labor Day), shop at The Barrtique and use coupon code HOORAYLABORDAY to save 15% off your order!




















Enjoy!

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Be sure to check back here on Monday! To celebrate Labor Day week on Becoming The Barr's, we will be giving away a free pair of our very favorite FRESHLY PICKED moccasins!! {your choice of color and size - a $60 value}

Home Tour Series {Nursery/Toddler Room} | coral, teal/turquoise, and gold nursery decor

In our historic 1922 built home, it's no surprise the rooms are tiny and the closets even tinier. But the character, charm, and coziness make up for it ten-fold. Glass knobs and built in glass cabinets make me a happy girl! Antique shops right around the corner might make me even happier. Oh how I love the rare times I get to take an hour to go peruse the antique shops for perfect little treasures to fill our home.

Coming up on this little space of mine will be a little series of our home tour. First up, the nursery/toddler combo room. Yes, they will be sharing and yes, we might be a little crazy. Wish us luck :)

For now, enjoy the photos -- much of the items are from either the antique shops, leftover from E's first birthday party , Target/Hobby Lobby or DIY'ed - just how I like it! I even busted out my sewing machine to make linens for the room - now that's a big deal for me ;)

It's a bit random without a real theme to it - but it's more of a soft palette mixed with a few pops of teal, turquoise and coral (which looks like hot pink in these photos?!). There are a few vintage touches mixed with modern patterns. Again, very random. I made the prints throughout the room and may be adding them to my shop soon (and still trying to figure out the perfect print or photo for that blank white frame).

That lamp was bought at Goodwill before having E and I revamped it (as shown in this post) and have now since revamped it again ;) That Goodwill lamp is seriously getting its $7 worth.



I made the light coral/peach blanket on E's bed which has gold swallows on it, and if you know us well, you might know about the swallow necklace I randomly put on the night before finding out I was pregnant with her and continued to wear throughout my whole pregnancy. It was pretty significant to us (J got the swallow tattoo in honor of this) and now she gets to sleep with them every night :)



The garland/banners were made using scrap fabrics and lace, some leftover from E's first birthday party and some leftover from items I made for the room.



The bookshelves throughout her room are actually picture ledges from Wayfair.com. They were actually cheaper when I bought them a month ago than they show now, plus a coupon code. So if you plan to get them, just wait a little :) They also sell them at Ikea, which we now realize we should have made a visit to before moving since we don't have the hate-to-love mega store here.

There's our wonderful blue frame, also used in E's first nursery, and the birdcage mobile was a little DIY project. I made the changing pad cover and crib sheet from fabric at Hobby Lobby. Oh how I am SO happy to have my Hobby Lobby back!! It's been too long.

We will be putting baby girl's initial in that gold frame above her crib when she's born :) And a little gold bird in the bird cage. It's such an amazing thing trying to picture your sweet newborn laying in their peaceful little crib before they arrive. Can't wait to see that tiny baby :)

That's E's little glitter gold bow in the small blue frame on the wall. She wore that often when her hair was first long enough for bows, and even wore it on her first Halloween with her Tinkerbell costume. We love it :)

These pink carnations were placed at the greeting area of Aunt Kathy's funeral, in honor of breast cancer awareness. Always gotta have a little auntie touch -- and she loved decorating just as much as I do :)

I had a lot of fun putting this room together - definitely the most exciting room to decorate in the house!

Hopefully it creates a setting for both of my girls to fill with love! I know they would be just as happy in any room we create for them, even without vintage touches or pops of color, but now the room just has an added touch of love to build memories full of all of us reading together, cuddling together, and having little dance parties as E most definitely loves to do! Bring on the memories :)


Link up

'My First Book' Series Review | Best Baby Gift!

It's no question that promoting early literacy leads to a lifetime of positive benefits. Now, let me preface this by stating that I'm not saying the younger children read, the better off they will be in life (in my opinion!). Every child learns at a different pace and reading will come with time. BUT, promoting literacy and understanding the connection between listening, recognizing, and interacting with all aspects of books/reading/writing in general in the early stages of life can only help encourage children to further their literacy development and fascination in all things book related as they grow!



I think I've made it known here, or at least those of you who know us, know we LOVE books! I have read to E since she was born. I'd point out things in books I knew she had no understanding of, but thought if I started then and kept going, surely it would make an impact at someee point! At 21 months now, I love watching her sit at her several reading stations throughout our home and flip through books while I wonder what she is thinking as she skims through each page.



So anyway, when award-winning author Sophie Helenek gave us the opportunity to explore her book series geared at babies and tots, we happily jumped on it and I was thrilled to receive them in the mail! Sophie is a kind and adventurous momma (yes, she was the youngest French woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest!) AND a Mom’s Choice Awards® Gold Recipient, who is seemingly on a mission now to promote early learning via her fun and interactive picture book series.

The My First Book series, which includes Fruits, Shapes, Sky Wonders and Musical Instruments, is a series of books full of colorful pages created to encourage babies' imagination and desire for learning. Or, at least it surely does just that with my little one!





E has such a fascination with these books. The moment I opened up the mail while she was eating lunch, I sat down next to her and we started flipping through. I had never gone over musical instruments with her before (being that hubby and I are not very musically inclined) and after going through the book once, she had almost all the instruments down. The next day, my husband went through the book with her and she pointed out her current favorite page and said "Trumpet!" while making the most hilarious sound possible, and he was amazed. She also sticks her hand out and pretends to play the violin when she sees that page. And I crack up.

Yes, I'm a momma who is just enamored of her child's innocent love of learning and think everything is just the cutest that comes out of her mouth!



She's just about got the shapes down, however we're struggling with colors around here! She knows the color words (and for some reason, saying "yellow" is her favorite) but actually recognizing the colors is the main thing we are working on with her these days. These books are perfect for that, as each page shows an image in several different bold colors, where I can ask her to "show Mommy the yellow star," or the blue, red, etc. In every book, whether Fruits or Instruments, we can also go over colors at the same time, so surely I love it!



E's loving the Sky Wonders book and has gotten pretty good with it, aside from thinking the crescent moon is a banana -- but hey, we're workin' on that! Ha :)





Looking at the books has helped her recognize so many items and she's already increased her ever-growing vocabulary just from flipping through them. She can now recognize the difference between a pineapple and an apple, and can hand me the correct book depending on which title I ask from her.





She's getting pretty good over here, folks! And I'm so excited to have this series for her little sister on the way! The black and white images will really pop for a new baby and slowly introducing the pages to our newest little one will make me a happy momma - even if she isn't quite learning the items yet..it's a start and we have to start somewhere! This series is the perfect place to start - and makes a wonderful gift for moms-to-be, brand new babies, and growing tots alike.



So run on over (or click on over) to get yourself or your favorite new momma a discounted set of the My First Book series!! Just use this link to save 10% now as a Becoming the Barr's reader!! :)

It's never too early to promote literacy development in your favorite little reader's life! Do them a favor and encourage them as early as possible -- imagination sparks creativity and intelligence every day in all of us, right!?

my fears on taking on 2 under 2 | + jacksonville beach maternity photos

With each new change comes an adjustment period, always. No matter who you are.  It's a learning curve where you first must understand the changes, then happily welcome change, and then the hard part -- incorporating those changes into your everyday life until they just become natural.



Well, this is my current stance on looking forward to taking on the wonderful challenge of being a momma to 2 under 2 (at least for a month and a half, E will still be under 2!) I am simply elated to meet our sweet new girl, and at the same time a tad fearful of the new responsibility that will take quite a bit of adjusting.





After having E, it was the most incredible feeling in the world being a new mother. There just aren't words to describe the feeling of meeting your very own bundle of love. Staring at her, cuddling with her, taking note of every detail of her pretty little features -- everything about that aspect was pure, pure joy.



But, it was also tough. It was an adjustment. Getting used to taking care of that beautiful little bundle 24/7 and being the only people fully learning to understand this sweet girl was not a walk in the park. Nursing was a tough journey for us (that we luckily got through and continued on for 14 months), but in the beginning, it was hard. Losing sleep, feeding baby girl, learning the cries, and one of the hardest parts - still taking care of myself. I had a somewhat tough recovery, mixed with finding time to shower, taking medications at the proper times, making sure I was eating meals, and cleaning up pump supplies, bottles, and the usual household upkeep -- it's all apart of the wonders and joys of new motherhood. It is so true that the cuddles and sweet moments and being the one to soothe your baby fully trumps the rougher aspect of parenthood, but they still cannot be overlooked because those struggles are real.

You see new moms post pictures online of their little beauties and all the good times they're having, but you're missing those behind-the-scene midnight, 3am, 5am, 7am wake up calls, diaper blow outs, mommas crying from nursing pains, labor and body recovery, and worries of whether or not they are making the right decisions, etc. It's alll a part of parenthood and I believe it's the case for everyone!



My fears are not that I will not be able to do it. They are just that combination of getting ready for a big life change and how smooth or rough the transition to 2 little beauties will be.





With one, I was able to lay peacefully while attempting to nurse, and stay quiet while she napped and I could go and take care of myself and (attempt) the house in the little downtime there was. This time around, I try to envision those nursing sessions with a toddler grabbing my hand saying "All done, mama?! Get up! Come on!" as she does anytime she comes in to wake me up or get me up from doing work at my desk. And getting upset when I have to tell her "No" more often than I do now. And I question my ability to keep up with our home while said toddler spews her toys throughout the house and I have less time to make sure she's cleaning up after herself and me running behind cleaning up what she's missed, and prepping her meals and mine and pumping to have an adequate supply for baby, and then cleaning up after all that prep. And the times where I'll have a crying newborn in my arms with a tired, crying toddler at my hip. Yup, those are my fears. And I'm just reminding myself they are all normal new mom fears that will soon become a thing of the past to look back on.





I'll get through those times. Somehow! They may be pretty rough or they may even go smoother than I envision them to. But no matter what, I'll feel so blessed just to have my sweet babies, and all the "Peeease & Thank you's" and "I love you, Momma's" will continue to make every single ounce of motherhood worth it all.



I'll look back on this post, look back on my fears, and look back on the times where I have a newborn and a toddler and remember it all as a distant memory once it all becomes natural, as all big life changes eventually become. I'll miss those crazy times and want them back, no matter how stressful they become. Because even with the stress that comes with change, beauty comes with change too. Changes that make life seem grand. Just as we wake up now to begin our daily routine and it all just feels right, that will come soon enough with a new little girl to make up another truly amazing part of our lives. No matter the situation, it will just become a part of my life that makes up me and my memories and I'm looking forward to all of it!



But mostly looking forward to J, E, and I meeting that sweet girl that will turn our lives upside down in the most AMAZING way possible. We can't wait to stare at her features and watch her sweet faces and embrace new parenthood all over again! I'm not sure there is anything more wonderful to look forward to! 2 under 2 -- we got this, right...?

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...and this seems like an appropriate time/place to insert one of my favorite songs (which I've quoted on here before!) We'll make this place a home for baby girl as we continue to make it a home for ourselves, and as long as we're rolling down this unfamiliar road together, then yes, I do believe we got this!

Hold on to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along

Just know you're not alone
'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble—it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone
'Cause I'm gonna make this place your home

Thank you to my hubby for taking these photos and for being so patient with E and I, even if we get a little bossy at times ;) 

We <3 you!