Shop til you drop

I love a good consignment sale. 

Back in Charlotte, I went to all of the consignment sales at the beginning of the season to shop for Sophie. Here in Louisville I'm still learning which ones are worth my time, since my time is a little less these days. Little Treasures is my running favorite. Even though I really prefer girls clothing options to boys, I was still able to find some really cute jumpers for the little dude. I spent a grand total of $72 and walked away with all of this loot! We have anchors, watermelons, giraffe and smocks... all gently used (but already awash in Dreft and hanging to dry in my laundry room!) and all for the price of one brand new smocked dress.

Not only do I revel in the thrill of the hunt and being frugal, I'm also happy to lend a hand to the environment. According to this lady, it takes 1/3 pound of synthetic fertilizer to grow enough cotton to make ONE new cotton t-shirt.

Kicks and seaweed

Sophie finally has some new kicks from Kixx. Embarrassing as it is, it took two trips to the store to pick out one pair of insanely adorable Pedipeds. If we can look at the trips as teaching moments, Sophie now knows and can tell you the difference between her "boots" and her "shoes." Ah, little girls. Have I mentioned how smart she is?

Or have I mentioned what a good eater she is? Over the past week we've had some new foods that seemed to please the pint-sized palette: Grouper, black beans, hummus, baked tofu, and... seaweed. Yes, the weed from the sea, lightly salted and baked to a crisp. She loves it.

It's about 10am on Monday and I'm blogging... to which you might be asking, how I do this with a one-year-old who naps only once a day? Yes, today is a two nap sort of day (as was yesterday). Some days I guess we'll still need two; and if the social calendar allows, we will go with the flow.

Back to it being 10am and I'm blogging... I should be working out at the Y (where Sophie would be crying the entire time) or doing P90X in the basement. Or sewing. Or taking pictures. Or cooking. Or reading the other 24 books I now have only 9 months to complete. But folks I'm a little in the dumps. I can't seem to brush my shoulders off. The Social Network had me up all night Saturday wondering if I am living up to my full potential; and I haven't been able to pick a side of that fence to sit on. Not that I have some great computer programming ideas I've been sitting on or an application in to Harvard... more like: am I using my God-given talents, challenging myself and/or making a difference in this big 'ol world? (Not one to sit on big decisions, I booked a photoshoot and am *this* close to opening an Etsy store! Hopefully brighter days on the horizon.)

I hate goodbyes and we had one this morning. Yaya flew in for the weekend we had some good food, good times and beautiful weather.

This one is a keeper... going into the Three Generations Frame :)

I love a good sale

You want Bathing suits? Kid shoes? Toys? Infant gear? Diaper bags? Maternity clothes? Smocks? Furniture? Bedding?

Consignment season is about to kick off again. For all of my lovely Charlotte mommies, here are the sales I've been able to dig up so far. Get out your calendars (and you checkbooks) :)

February 23-24
Posh Kids Consignment Sale
9009 Bryant Farms Road

February 24-27
Tot Trade Charlotte
Cabarrus Arena, North Concord, NC

February 26, 2010 7am-1pm
Holy Comforter Weekday School
2701 Park Road

February 26, 2010
Charlotte Multiples
7:30am - 2:30pm
Metrolina Tradeshow Expo

March 2-5
For Every Season
Trader Marc's Expo, Fort Mill, SC

March 3-6
Upscale Wee Sale
2225 Dave Lyle Blvd, Rock Hill, SC

March 11-13
9am - until
KidzExchange
Metrolina Tradeshow Expo

March 17-19
Kat's Kids Sale

Saturday March 26, 2010
Covenant Presbyterian Preschool Children's Consignment Sale
1000 East Morehead Street

Cowmooflage

Cowmooflage almost hijacked and destroyed our otherwise perfectly good Saturday.

Sophie has been in the bucket car seat since, oh, birth. It's about time we move her to big girl seat and I've been doing copious amounts of research to find the *perfect* one. Graco, Chicco, Eddie Baur, Safety First, Evenflo, Sunshine Kids, Britax... I mean, with so many choices, it's hard to say that one is truly better than another. But, we narrowed it down to three based on safety ratings, mommy forums, and friend recommendations.

Did you know that the CDC and the AAP are now recommending that children up to 2 years old be rear-facing in car seats (or when the weight/height capacity of the rear-facing convertible car seat is reached)?

To get to the story - we settled on Britax. They have a local distribution warehouse and they'll even help you install the seats in your car. So when we picked out a Britax model, all we had to do was select the color. Cowmooflage, naturally.

I was in heaven. I mean it's adorable, right? Well, Bryan didn't exactly share my vision for our children riding in a cow-print car seat for the next five years (that is assuming we have another, and presuming that other said offspring is a boy). Boo-hoo. I think it's safe to say that the "discussion" that ensued was a little heated. We each had such good defense that we had changed each others' minds by the end - I wanted to exchange the seat and he wanted to keep it.

Needless to say, the Britax in Cowmooflage that rode all the way home with us will be going back this week - still in it's original box - and being traded in for a more neutral pattern. And our marriage is still in tact. Win-win.

Sophie: a love story

A couple of tired balloons danced across our front porch this morning as we filled out a collective neighborhood police report. And for the record: it's still breaking and entering even if the door was unlocked. But that's another story because you are here to read about my little stink's first birthday! During which, I died and went to cheese heaven. Get ready to live.

These are the most adorable invites I had designed by this store at Etsy. There of course was a theme, and it, of course, was giraffes. Ever since Sophie got her little mitts on a Sophie the Giraffe, it's sort of been our mascot. I found that party planning is easier when you have a theme anyhow.

My alarm went off at 6:30am to start the oven schedule (first time for everything - I don't bake and I don't make lists). To back up a step, I realized Friday night that the drawer below my oven is... another oven. So I didn't have to walk food to the neighbor's house to bake!

With the exception of our missing family that all live miles away, we had great representation of our closest friends which we've adopted as our Charlotte family - and Sophie's extended family. Words cannot express our gratitude for these people taking time to come share a toast and a cupcake to celebrate one of Sophie's monumental 'firsts.' Let me just say that the mood inside was way more cheery than the weather outside. Right before we did the whole Happy Birthday routine, giant fluffy snowflakes began to fall. It was such a beautiful and perfect moment I'll never forget (click - sound of mental picture taking). So I've painted the atmosphere, right? Let's get down to business of photos. Here Sophie is with Aunt Heidi taking in her first snowfall.

Bryan made a short and sweet little toast (that I didn't know he was thinking of doing) and we lit one candle and sang Happy Birthday to our sweet baby (this is where I thought I might lose it). She did not cry one tear, so I decided I probably shouldn't either. She took everything in stride, typical Sophie fashion, and then poked at her cupcake for a few minutes. I fed her a bite and the game was on. I think she sucked every sugar morsel from her little fingers and then she and I shared a second cupcake a little later.

Happy Birthday, So-so!

I think she likes cupcakes.

I wanted to get a picture of Sophie and some of her friends that came to celebrate.

This was one of the funniest.

Sophie and Whitney - mutual adoration!

Let's talk about food. My sweet friend Cassie helped me plan the menu for the big day - she is good at this, I am not. I whipped up everything from scratch except for the rolls and the gingerbread. Phew. We had Parmesan thyme crackers, baked ham with rolls, macaroni and cheese, caramelized onion dip, gingerbread cookies with frosting, a champagne bar and some amazing cupcakes. The cupcake batter was from a box, but with the help of dear Helen, I made the icing from scratch.

The spread.

Off the hook cupcakes and toppers.

Champagne bar.

About to start on cupcake #2.

I was worried that I would tear up and cry all day (happy/sad tears) over my baby growing up, but I held it together. One of the sweetest moments for me was when Bryan brought Sophie down from her nap all dressed up for her party. She was wearing the dress I had made for her which I hadn't even tried on her yet. He even had the barrette in her hair that I had set aside for the day. What a proud Papa, he seriously melted my heart (for the thousandth time).

Birthday giraffe dress and table runner: Made with love by Sophie's mama.

Birthday giraffe hat: from this Etsy store.

Birthday invites: designed by this Etsy store and printed at Costco.

Giraffe 1st birthday cupcake toppers: from this Etsy store.

Damask napkins, pink plates, champagne flutes etc: Party City.

Cupcake icing recipe, courtesy Helen Mundy: whip 1 box of cream cheese until creamy, add 3 cups confectioner sugar and 1/4 cup granulated sugar and combine. add 2 tubs cool whip and keep mixing. add 1/2 of your favorite candy bar crushed, grated or pulsed in food processor (I used a Symphony bar) and use the other 1/2 to top cupcakes. It was seriously ridiculous.

Got jokes

Sophie's got jokes, just so you know. She has this new forced fake laugh that she does at the most random times. It also accompanies her throwing clothes or toys across the room. Hysterical. I die.

Other things that made me smile today:

1. I bought a pair of skinny jeans (insert Sophie's fake laugh that sounds more like Count Dracula).

2. I caught a glimpse of myself in a window at SP mall and realized I'd look a lot better if I had taken 4 minutes to iron out the fold marks of my pants (that have been folded in a Tupperware bin since, oh, March 2009).

3. Cooper was flat WIPED out after a day at doggy day care yesterday. He was a funny sweet boy today.

4. I was making fun of the lady in front of me in the mall (in my head) for not cutting the strings that held the nice pressed box pleat in the back of her new jacket. Then I got in the car and took off MY new jacket, and I found said strings. Ha!

5. Sophie devoured a cup of lima beans tonight. Lima beans. She never ceases to amaze.

6. My kitchen is being taken over by pink. It started in the corner by the fridge. It's spreading. Rapidly. And it will be gone after her party this weekend!

Thanksgiving at Gmom and Gdad's.

Review: Charlotte's VanLandingham Estate

Mom and Dad's December date day review.

Picture perfect and tucked in the heart of Plaza Midwood, the VanLandingham Estate is (in my opinion) Midwood's best kept secret! I say that it's a secret because Bryan and I lived down the street from the VL for 3 collective years and never stepped foot inside until last weekend.

We were supposed to have a picnic lunch, but it's so flipping cold here in Charlotte that they opened the house to picnickers. We were given a private suite upstairs complete with a lit fire, a picnic basket of BBQ, fresh lemonade, a bottle of wine, and among other things - a book of love poems. It was fun, quiet, romantic and just a nice change from the usual. Truth be told, I purchased our surprise date day through Groupon.com so we got it for a steal. If you purchase directly through VanLandingham, they have several different menus to select from (none of which include BBQ!).

Anyone in Charlotte looking for a last minute Christmas gift - I HIGHLY recommend!

We giggled our way through some poetry:

But mainly relished in the fact that we were warm and alone in a 100 year old B&B:

Magic beads

"Cute necklace! What is it?"

Sophie has been sporting her Baltic Amber beaded necklace off an on (more 'on' than 'off' the last few days because I'm convinced that her top teeth are coming in) and people ask about it all the time! I heard about the amber necklace through a local mommy network and wanted to give it a shot. Baltic Amber is said to provide natural pain relief and soothing analgesic support during teething, and some people swear by it.

My most recent experience: Sophie only napped 1.5 out of her usual 4 hours of daily naps the other day and she was really grumpy. I put her necklace on her for bedtime and she slept 14 hours peacefully. (**Wearing at night is not recommended or endorsed by any of us at Sophie en Sophie.)

Baltic Amber contains the highest concentration of succinic acid in nature and has been used around the world for centuries to reduce inflammation. In wearing the amber close to the skin, the wear-er absorbs the acid that is released from the beads. Supposedly the lighter the beads in color, the more succinic acid it contains. With so many recalls of products these days, a lot of parents are in search of a homeopathic remedy for the effects of teething. Baltic amber calms the babes without resorting to drugs!

The string is knotted between each bead - should one come loose, they will not scatter. The proper length for your child is loose, but they should not be able to put the necklace in their mouth. Amber necklaces are for wearing; not for chewing!

Have you tried it?

Obsess much

I sort of have a new obsession. Let's call it shopping for Sophie. Better yet, let's call it finding bargains for Sophie.

First up is Smocked Auctions. That is where I found her adorable Thanksgiving turkey smock. They don't have a website or pictures you can browse. I literally had to stay up on the computer one night to "bid." This dress would have cost $75 full retail. I got it for $30! Smocked Auctions does not let you name your price, you simply have to the be the first to comment on the photo posted with "sold, email, and size." I was SO stoked I won this one!

Next up is Zulily. I snatched up an adorable Castles and Crowns jacket for next year. Retail would have been over $50. I got it for under $30. No picture of that one, it's hanging in her closet already though!

Another Facebook favorite is Lolly Wolly Doodle. They have great sales and some really adorable clothes. Then **sigh** there is Etsy. You know you can find almost ANYTHING on Etsy? I've gotten lots of cute birthday things from this website... another longer post after the big day!

Now these weren't a bargain, but who can resist Tiny Prints? Merry Christmas and happy shopping from the Barbers!

Taking back my kitchen

A few weeks ago, a herd of fruit flies descended on my kitchen. Gross. I tried catching them with vinegar, leftover wine in a bottle with a paper funnel, a banana peel in a bowl wrapped tightly with saran wrap... nothing seemed to help. Finally, we left town for a solid three days. I cleaned the kitchen, fridge, microwave, dishwasher and sink from top to bottom, and I'm happy to say that I've reclaimed my kitchen from the grody fruit flies.

I've also resumed cooking for Bryan and I, and making Sophie some yummy yummy baby food. She loved my butternut squash soup that I modified from this recipe. I actually roasted the butternut squash for another meal a few days prior and I added about 1/4 cup of cream cheese to the finished product. Delicious.

I entered Sophie in the Baby Gap casting call. The babies were supposed to be wearing denim, here she is in her cuteness, and in one photo: her jeggings.

Date day

This past Saturday, our neighbors offered to keep Sophie so that mom and dad could get out of the house for a few hours. I had grand plans for our date which completely fell apart the day before. However, sometimes there is nothing better than spur of the moment fun! Bryan and I went to a new restaurant in our neighborhood called Bistro La Bon. The Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberry sauce were out.of.this.world. The waitress said that people come back for them; and she was right, we'll be back.

Then we were off to Oktoberfest! We volunteered with a vendor - our friend Adam who works for Oskar Blues, a brewery in Colorado. We poured beer for an hour or so and got the backstage tour of the other breweries. I have to say this was my first beer fest (we've only been to wine festivals before) and I walked away with a new appreciation for craft beer

Sunday we watched a little football and headed up to Concord Mills. Sophie was a riot in the BCBG dressing room while mommy tried on dresses for an upcoming wedding. She played in the mirror, crawled all around, threw her puffs everywhere... she was happy as long as she wasn't in the stroller. Then we used our Citipass book to seek out some ice cream. We landed at Elizabeth Creamery for the first time. Baby loved some chocolate ice cream!!

Oktoberfest.

Little cuteness playing with Cooper.
I really just needed a picture of her in this adorable pumpkin hat!
And ps, Janie and Jack's website is 30% off Oct 1,2,3 if you enter
JJFAMILY at checkout!


Having fun in her crib after a nap!



Patiently waiting for more ice cream.

So long, summer

And the bathing suits were hung by the front door with care... in hopes that the summer just wasn't quite over yet. (Soon to be replaced by stockings, mittens, toboggans.... phew!) I believe we are entering into the two weeks of the year that Charlotteans quit complaining about the weather; which I am thankful for for two reasons. 1. Fall in the Carolinas is magical and 2. I'm tired of people complaining about the weather. For me, fall equals football, festivals, winter vegetables, fires and hot chocolate, to name a few. But still, the end of Sophie's first summer is bittersweet. We checked a lot of things off of the proverbial list this summer: trips to the beach, swimming lessons, pool parties, park swings, long walks, music class, and I'm a little sad that she'll never wear those cute little swim suits again! On our last day of summer today, Sophie and I went to get a pedicure. She was a great lap baby smiling and playing with the remote for mommy's massage chair - it was a nice trip out of the house!

All good things must come to an end, so, farewell summer and hello fall! Speaking of cute little get-ups, you should see some of the steals I picked up for Sophie during this season's consignment sales around town. I got some Christmas smocks that are to die for and a pair of Chatti Patti pants from an overstock sale. Admittedly, I also picked up a little designer number for myself which will finally force me into some leggings, yes, the trend that started two years ago (sometimes I'm slow on the uptake). :) The best kept secret in Charlotte might just be the Wallace consignment sale, hosted in the basement of a sweet piece of real estate in South Park. It's not advertised, no website, pretty much word of mouth. They had some adorable clothes that Sophie will be wearing next winter, because I missed the part about all the clothes being 12mo and up. I'm also 85% sure I was shopping along side of the adopted mom of Carly from "Teen Mom."

Our furbaby Maddox is doing swimmingly well! She got her stitches out yesterday and the Dr said she looks great. For anyone who is equally obsessed with their animals as we are, click here to find out more about the TTA procedure Maddox went through. We still have six weeks of leash walks ONLY, starting at one block at a time, then four weeks of supervised off-leash-backyard-fun before being pronounced successfully recovered (12 total weeks of hell, I mean, fun).

So the dearth of blog activity in no way reflects a dearth of real life activity around the Barber household as of late. Sophie is now NINE months old and has some new stats to go with it: 18lb 4oz (48th percentile) and 28.5in tall (75th percentile). She has some new tricks, too. Her Papa very recently taught her to make a great Indian sound - using her palm over her mouth while making a sound. I don't know if I can describe it well, but you get it. She also replies to us with "Bleh!" We say one word like "Blue" she replies, "Bleh!" We say "Green," she says "Bleh!" Soph is clapping and crawling like a pro, and she loves to take two toys and hit them together AND you can find her drumming and pulling up on everything.

I'm still making all of her baby food with one exception... when I figure out to make Gerber Puffs, I will have hung the moon. New foods she is loving (all organic, of course!) - kale soup with roasted veggies, steel cut Irish oatmeal, blueberries, turkey, spinach and potatoes. She still isn't fond of avocado or peas but I'll keep trying.

Nine months... I love her more than words can say.
This is the back to school September version of her monthly pic!

Here is my peanut rocking in her great-grandmother Sophie's
rocking chair from when she was a baby!


Well, if mommy can't dance for the TopCats, at least she can dress
up her baby. (If you don't know that story, ask me some time.)



Playing in the water bowl (she wedged herself between it and the wall
so she wouldn't have to work so hard at standing and she could
focus on splashing). My girl!


A little afternoon reading. I guess clearing out the bottom shelf
just isn't enough anymore.
And, Sophie, Theresienstadt is a little mature for bedtime reading so put it back.

Random thoughts Tuesday

Far too many jumbled thoughts in this brain of mine right now, and I can't seem to make sense of putting them all together. So we'll go list form for once.

• Ever wondered how sticky baby rice cereal is? Open a brand new box and turn it upside down, sprinkling generously over hardwoods. Vacuum, mop. Repeat.

• Concord Mills had a lot of deals to be had this past weekend. And I had all of them.

• I sort of miss working. The best sales job ever had me jet-setting all over creation, meeting in the war room with CEO's and other important folks and helping them communicate to investors. Blissful memories.

• Thunder and lightening storms do happen in North Carolina and they can be taken in from the comfort of our front porch!

• We've got some new wheels coming our way. No, not a fancy new car (drats!), but new wheels for the Baby Jogger. Great customer service. Four stars. ****

• I still misspell pallet (pallette, palette, palet) even after working in transportation for over a year.

• We have a lot of visitors and several trips coming up that I'm really excited about! We have flights, a rental car and I FINALLY booked a hotel for Maui this winter. Now to book all of the excursions.

• I'm going to put away my Thanksgiving pants for good, I'm really committed to losing some weight (having a workout partner ((Rach!)) in the 'hood should help!). This means that I will be saying goodbye to the momiform, which I still haven't divulged much on in this blog. Momiform = ponytail + stretch pants + old tshirts (shower, brush teeth, repeat).

• Date nights, even on week days, are fantastic.

• S'mores, even made in the oven, are fantastic. Actually, maybe better because I don't have to run around the campfire yelling "white rabbit!" to keep the smoke from stinking up my hair.

Victory day

We celebrate victories in the Barber household, even small ones (like poopy diapers, finishing green beans, a trip to Costco without any crying). Today we had two victories. The first being a trip to the baby drop-off at the gym without any tears! I asked the care-givers to play with her instead of strapping her in a bouncy seat. When I came back (only 15 min later - I told you, small victories), they had placed a playmate in front of Sophie; a seven month old boy and the babies just kept looking at each other and turning their heads.... frickin adorable. Of course, she cried the whole way home (mom! you took my friend away!).

Victory number two was a home run on some adorable items from Bella Tunno... sale goes on til 6pm if you haven't gotten anything! By entering the code VICTORY in the discount area, I saved 40% off the following precious accessories:

Gotta love the little headband... when Sophie has a head full of hair this will be cute!

A wipe-able placemat on one side and a re-usable chalk board on the other!

For the artist in Sophie...

To protect her little head from the sun... I heart paisley and zebra!

And a smaller third victory... mama lost 2lbs!

Bella Tunno 40% off SALE!

Too good of a deal not to share!!

Bella Tunno is a "Neccessory" (necessary accessory) line of baby products that is locally owned an operated here in Charlotte, NC. (((They actually made the aforementioned headbands for Ellie Potvin.))) You can find baby bibs, binkers, changing pads, hair accessories, burp clothes, play smocks... etc. in fun fabrics and patterns. Their adorable diaper bags just started selling at Nordstroms and the Gap, too!

Tomorrow, July 1 from 12pm until 6pm the entire website is 40% off when you enter the discount code VICTORY when you check out. Some supplies are limited, so purchase early if you are interested!!

And while you're here..... sign up as a follower or leave a note!

MY FAVE OF THE DIAPER BAGS: