Florida Vacation Instagram Round Up

I haven’t done a round-up of my Instagram photos in a while.  When I started to put all the photos together for this post yesterday I had almost 20 pictures!  So I decided to break it up into 2 posts.  First, I’m sharing all my Instagram photos from our time in Florida.  Next week I will share everything since I have been home.

at the beach

swim suit top, beach

at the beach

I absolutely love going to the beach!!!  It is one of my favorite things to do!  My family lives in Tampa, which is a very short drive to St. Pete beach.  One day we went over to the Don CeSar, which is a beautiful hotel on a beautiful beach!  We laid on beds on the beach, sipped pina coladas while the kids ran and played.  It is one of my favorite days with my family ever!

Swimsuit Top | Cover Up | Beach Bag (keeps selling out), also love This, This & This | Hat | Sunglasses | Sofia & Caleb’s swim suits are from Target

friends

Mine and Jaclyn’s friend, Christian, is a personal stylist and fashion blogger.  We got to spend a day shooting outfits for our blogs.  We had such a blast!  It was so much fun to share ideas about blogging, photography and fashion.  Christian is an amazing stylist and I love her blog!  If I ever have a piece that I can’t figure out how to style I always ask her.  She is never stumped or out of ideas!

You can check out her blog here at christianblairstyle.com.  You will become addicted!

My outfit: Dress | Shoes | Bag | Hat | Full post Here

pool pizza floatie

swimsuit cover up

We spent most of our days at the pool.  We would sleep in late, have breakfast then slowly make our way to the pool (around 1:00).  It was a very relaxing vacation!  Which is my favorite kind of vacation!!

Pizza Pool Floatie | Swim Shirt Cover Up | Lace Shorts (similar) | Swimsuit Top, also available Here | Hat

easter morning

I was so excited we were in Tampa with my family for Easter.  Living across the country from my family there are very few holidays we have gotten to spend together over the years.  The Easter bunny knew we were in Florida and to hide candy at Grandma’s house for the kids ;)

The kids were so cute and sweet looking for candy.  If Caleb found 2 pieces of candy right next to each other he would give one to Sofia.  They are both so sweet and kind to each other, it was the calmest Easter egg hunt I have ever seen.  It was not that way when I was growing up!  It was a huge race and competition for my siblings and I.  We would run around like psycho’s getting as much candy as we would!

morning coffee by the water

There was this delicious coffee & cafe right across the street from where we were staying.  It was so nice getting coffee and walking along the water in the morning.  The views are beautiful and the sunshine is perfect!

Top (sold out), similar Here | Sunglasses | Hat | Earrings

kindness is cool

One of my favorite parts about blogging is getting to talk about something that I really believe in!

Bullying is a real issue!!  I actually didn’t have a full understanding of how big of an issue it is until I shared on snapchat that my daughter, Sofia, was having issues with some girls being mean to her at school.  The outpouring of stories was eye opening.  I literally sat one night for 2 hours reading so many stories and cried the whole time.  I hate it so much that people and kids are mean!!  I really don’t get it either.  It takes so much more effort to be mean and cruel.  It’s easier to just be nice! (kinda ironic the issue at Sofia’s school happened after I posted this picture to Instagram)

This company Fox & Trove has started a mission ‘to change the world by teaching kids to be kind and brave’.  I am so excited about their mission!  As a mother I have always taught my kids to be kind, respectful and to show love.   Rather than having a message of anti-bullying they have a message of pro-kindness.  Which is exactly what I believe in!  If every parent with young kids would focus on teaching their children to be kind and brave, then bullying will significantly decrease with this next generation.

Fox & Trove is a local company to me.  They are having summer camps and started to hold assemblies at the local schools this fall.  They are a great company to get behind and support and to adopt their mission.

My outfit: Jacket | Top | Jeans | Shoes | Full post Here

Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree

I’ve always wanted my house to feel like it’s bursting with Christmas joy.  Every year I try my hardest but it falls short of amazing.  I’m not very talented in home decor and all the details that takes something simple and makes it gorgeous.

BUT… my Mom is!!!  She is in a small percentage of people who has vision and is able to make anything look beautiful.  I have no idea how she does it!  When she came into town I asked her to help me with my tree.  She kindly put my existing ornaments on my tree and told me it looked pretty.  I know that means it actually doesn’t look good at all and she is being very nice.

So I told her I want to scrap everything and start over.  And she was in charge, she can do whatever she wants to make my tree beautiful.  We went to Hobby Lobby and Crate & Barrel.  I walked around with a shopping cart as my Mom and sister threw stuff in that I needed.
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First Snow Fall

sorel torfino snow boots

Sorel Tofino Boots / Puffer Vest (similar) / Zella Leggings / Chelsea28 Turtleneck Sweater (on sale, more colors here) / Old Navy Scarf (sold out), similar herehere / Hat (more colors) / Mittens

The first snow fall is always so magical and beautiful.  We woke up to a gorgeous winter wonderland.  The kids played outside all day, building snowmen and making snow angels.  I went outside and played for a little bit.  After about an hour I had my fill and came inside.  The snow looks so much more beautiful from inside while sipping hot chocolate.

This new style of Sorel boots is so amazing!  They are slimmer and not bulky at all, which makes them very easy to move around in.  These mittens I’m wearing are fleece lined and sooooo warm!!  They are a must have for winter.  Perfect Christmas gift!
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Living Your Life

priorities

“I don’t have time” really means “it’s not a priority”

I am a big believer in prioritizing my life and spending my time and energy where it is most important.  Every month or two I sit down and think about what is the most important to me.  Then I analyze my life to make sure I am spending my time and energy in the correct place.

Without having these honest conversations with yourself it’s easy to get busy in life and go thru on “auto pilot”.  It’s easy to say your kids or your spouse is the most important to you, but are your actions showing it?  Actions always speak louder than words.

I make a conscience decision to put my kids and husband first before anything or anyone.  This means if I want to spend quality time with my kids instead of cleaning my house, I do it.  And if someone shows up at my house and sees it dirty, I don’t care because I know I spent my time where it matters most to me.

For me, this means having strict boundaries with my phone.  My phone can be a huge distraction if it is at arms length.  I always put my phone away during family quality time; this includes all meals, bedtime, after school and any time I want to give my family undivided attention.  During date nights with my husband I only check my phone in case the babysitter called, and for nothing else.
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My Life on Instagram Lately…

So much has happened over the last month, time has just flown by.  I can’t believe it’s the end of June already!  I’ve had many fun and exciting things happen recently.  First being we got a new addition to our family, a Shih Tzu puppy we named Phoebe.

shih tzu puppy

She has been so much fun!  She is the fluffiest cutest puppy ever!  I flew down to Tampa to get her from a breeder.  My sister got Phoebe’s brother and my brother and his family got Phoebe’s cousin.  We all picked up our puppies on the same day.  It was so cute seeing them play together.  Both of my kids just adore her!

rachel barkules youtube

Another new and exciting adventure that has happened is I made my first YouTube video.  I have been thinking about the idea and wanting to do it for months.  I of course was really nervous and felt awkward.  Filming myself is something that is completely foreign to me.  But after doing it I really enjoyed it and plan on making more videos for you in the future.  You can check out my video here.
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