The BeautyCounter Fall/Holiday collection has launched and these products are only available until they sell out. I have a feeling some of them will sell out quickly because they are amazing sets! I LOVE this collection and am excited about the fun new products they are offering this year! These sets make great gifts (think teachers, in-laws, hostess, etc) or stocking stuffers.
My daughter was diagnosed with severe food allergies when she was eleven months old. She is anaphylactic (body goes into shock) to both peanuts and eggs, and we have to…
Hi! I’m Becca Brown. I’m 37 years old and live in the suburbs of Georgia, with my husband, Michael, our four kids (10, 9, 6, and two), and two dachshunds. I was an elementary school teacher for nine years before becoming a stay at home mom and then foster momma to 14 kiddos so far, over the past five years. Michael and I have had a heart for adoption since we first met and after three difficult pregnancies and a miscarriage, we thought adoption would be our route to a fourth baby. We started on the journey to learn about adoption options, and this ultimately led us to our journey with foster care. We became a certified foster family in 2013 and have fostered 6 kids long term and another 8 kids through respite in that time. We were also blessed with the best surprise ever when we found out we were pregnant with our little Berkeley, and couldn’t imagine this life without her.
We will continue to follow God’s plan in our journey with foster care and hope that this will one day lead to the adoption of another little boy and our family will be complete. If this journey has taught us anything, it has been to never say never and that God’s plans are way bigger than ours!!! Our work through the past five and a half years has become our mission as a family and that mission has led to our family Bible Verse, Luke 1:37 NIV: “For nothing is impossible with God.” This is how we continue and will continue to love every child we meet through foster care.
I started my Instagram account @Beccabrownliving over three years ago, as a creative outlet to share my hobbies and passions. I love DIY and home décor, so I thought it was fun to share my projects and get inspiration from others. What I did not expect was the community to embrace me so openly and for me to find a place of so much support! My followers and the friends I’ve made through Instagram, inspire me daily and I love this aspect of my life! I have met so many unbelievably talented people and have enjoyed opportunities to collaborate with some really cool brands. I feel like my Instagram community has given me the gift of an identity outside of just my family, a voice to my passions and missions, and confidence to be unapologetically, me.
As I’ve grown, so have my passions and I felt a blog would be the best place to “house” all the things I share and experience! I will share healthy lifestyle tips as a coach for The FASTer Way to Fat Loss, my favorite safer beauty products as a consultant with Beautycounter, affordable fashion, and just my every day struggles and wins as a wife, mother, and woman. I am ready to get sharing ALL THE THINGS!!!
I was interviewed by my friend Rachel @Crateandcottage last year and she wanted to know my top three decor tips. So here they are…
My three décor tips are pretty simple:
Buy or make things that you will love in more than one space in your home. That way, if you want to change things up, you can always move or repurpose the décor you have and not keep spending money.
Learn how to “shop” your home. This goes perfectly with number one. You don’t always have to buy new things to decorate your home. Sometimes, moving something you love from one room to another, is the only change you need! I do this all the time. If I get tired of a chair or a the décor on a shelf in one room, I just rearrange it, or move it to a different room and it breathes new life into that space without costing anything.
Less is More! I’ve gone through all kinds of decorating phases, including sticking way too many things on a table to try to make it look just right. Sometimes, just a few key pieces, can make a space look much better!
My daughter was diagnosed with severe food allergies when she was eleven months old. She is anaphylactic (body goes into shock) to both peanuts and eggs, and we have to be diligent in reading food labels for EVERY single piece of food that goes into her mouth. We have been doing this for the past eight years and reading labels for her allergies has become a norm to all of us.
I have also learned to check labels for those specific ingredients in her personal care items (shampoo, toothpaste, body wash, body lotion, sunscreen) and have recently started to think about how I will need to do this as she adds make up and more hair products to her routine. What’s crazy though…. I never considered looking at the other ingredients in these products. I’ve just focused on scanning for the dangerous ones and then moved on not realizing that although her harmful allergens aren’t in the product, there are certainly still others in there.
Well… let me tell you about the eye opening (literally) experience I had in May of 2018. I had been gifted a very popular eyelash growing product and was so excited to experience the growth of full and long eyelashes. I used it immediately, and for two weeks, I fought through as my eyes itched and burned and got so red that I couldn’t even wear my contacts. I figured I just needed to tough my way through it because those eyelashes would be worth it in the end. Right?
During this time, I had started seeing posts and stories on Instagram about a company called Beautycounter, (I knew a little from a friend that was selling it and had also said I should try it), so I decided to look into it. I was shocked when I read about the lack of regulation in the personal care industry and even more floored that not a single law has been passed in this industry since 1938! Why had I never considered looking at the ingredients of the products I had been using on myself or the rest of my family???? How could I have spent the last eight years reading every single label for potentially harmful ingredients, and not really ever considered looking into all the other ingredients?
Because… I just assumed that those products had to be regulated and screened for safety to be sold in the United States market to men, women, and CHILDREN!!! I looked into the eyelash serum that was irritating my eyes, and realized that it has Isoproply Cloprostenate (among other questionable ingredients) in it that can cause some very concerning side effects (including ocular irritation and inflammation). I was DONE.
I was on the phone that day to my friend Amelia and by that night, I had joined Beautycounter as a consultant, because I knew I wanted to be a part of a company that is on a MISSION to get safer products into the hands of everyone; including my family! I also wanted to join a team that is driven to advocate and educate others. It has been a year, and I’ve used almost every product and am so proud to represent the company I love and believe so much in! The products are beautiful and high performing and there really is something for everyone.
I feel confident as my kids grow older that I will be able to provide them with safer options for their own personal care products.
You can check out my website, the company, and all of the products here:
I love Cyber Monday, because I love shopping from the comfort of my home in my pjs and slippers! I’m sharing some of the best deals I could find on products we own and love and/or on products with amazing reviews!
AMAZON: There are some amazing deals on Amazon! You can check them out here.
I hopped on the Instant Pot train last year, and am so glad I did. I use mine at least once a week to make a meal under 30 minutes!
One of my very best friends! She listens and cleans the floors for me, so I love her. The Roomba vacuum is a must if you have hardwood floors like we do on our main level.
This is the best deal I’ve seen on the indoor NEST camera! We use this as our baby monitor but also have another in our basement for when the kids are down there playing.
The kids each got a Fire HD7 Kids Edition last year for Christmas and we have really enjoyed them!
BEAUTYCOUNTER: My one stop shop for all things personal care because they are SAFER and high performing! I want to look and feel beautiful without worrying about the harmful ingredients I am putting on my skin. They are currently offering 15% off site-wide with FREE shipping on orders over $50. There are some exclusive products just for Cyber Monday and the Holiday Collection is stunning! Shop all HOLIDAY here.
The Countermatch Line is my favorite Skincare line! It has technology that adapts the moisturizer to your skin’s needs throughout the day!
The Overnight Resurfacing Peel is my current can’t live without product! I use it every other night and have seen amazing results with the brightening of my skin! I am excited they are offering a travel size option!
My daughter was diagnosed with severe food allergies when she was eleven months old. She is anaphylactic (body goes into shock) to both peanuts and eggs, and we have to be diligent in reading food labels for EVERY single piece of food that goes into her mouth. We have been doing this for the past eight years and reading labels for her allergies has become a norm to all of us.
