Remember the days when you were young and it was time for back to school shopping? I definitely didn't have a wealthy upbringing so I learned to work hard for the things that I needed and wanted. I worked nearly full time at the local Dairy Queen and waiting tables at another restaurant most of high school as soon as I could drive.

Back to school shopping was always one of those times where I could reward myself for surviving the grease and late hours of the food industry all summer long. There's a long list of things to get for my son for back to school so we'll be busy doing that this week. Even though I'm not exactly going back to school in the same sense as before, I'm working towards my agree online, I still think that should allow for some sort of clothing upgrade haha. New PJs maybe? jk.


 

One thing I came across while back to school shopping was that you can now create your own Vans!! I was the girl in high school with the doodled on classic slip on Vans, so this spoke to me and I was so excited to share! I'm also particularly in love with those floral ones. Ugh, I'm such a sucker for a pair of Vans or Toms!



 Tom's has their shoes on sale thru tomorrow and is also doing free shipping on orders over $25.
Save 25% automatically on selected items at TOMS.com! Valid 8/19 through 8/26.



The best thing about fall is that all the new products come out and sales and specials along with them. Not to mention, the previous seasons items head to the clearance racks where they know me on a first name basis lol.  For example, Modcloth is having a 70% off sale! I'm pretty thrifty so most items from Modcloth are out of my budget, but I always look forward to their end of season sales! I hope you enjoy shopping these great brands as much as I do!

Conrad made it to his first day of 1st grade great (aside from getting toothpaste all over his shirt and I not noticing until we are in the parking lot resulting in a last minute spit shine before getting out of the car lol!) and he was super excited because his best bud is in his class again this year. Here's to another great year!

Much love!
Kat

If you have a kid going back to school than you know that those couple weeks or week before school you realize all the habits you've picked up over summer like staying up late, sleeping in, skipping breakfast, eating dinner late or even the scarier ones like not brushing your teeth until 1 PM. I can't tell you how many times we've be walking out there door around lunch time and my 6 year old will say "Mom I haven't brushed my teeth yet!"  We've been BAD. I hope I'm not the only one.

I've realized that there are several happy and healthy habits I want to pick up starting this new school year.

1. Getting up early.  

I am very bad about snoozing until the very last minute. In turn we do not get a good breakfast and we're all stressed and rushing around to leave. This is no way to start the day off! I want to wake early enough to have time to get ready, have a cup of coffee and breakfast together. To start the day off excited and ready to kick its butt. Maybe even get a 30 minute run in before everyone wakes up.

2. Preparing lunches (and dinners) ahead of time.  

It's been far too easy to swing by the fast food place or gas station and grab something unhealthy simply because its convenient. Our bodies and wallet will be much happier if we can throw that habit out the window. I have all kinds of great lunch ideas for my son and I lined up.

3. Going to bed early. 

My son is usually in bed by 10 or 11 during the summer so we'll have to get in the habit of him going to bed early.  He's almost as crabby as I am in the mornings if he hasn't slept enough.  As a creative/night owl type, it's really tough for me to get to bed before midnight. I'm usually most productive in the wee hours of the night or at least binge watching a tv series late into the night. I'm not 16 anymore, this is not okay haha.

4. Being Healthy & Happy

A huge focus for myself and my family these days is trying to get healthy. While my son can snack on fruits and vegetables all day, I'm very picky in that department. It's a texture thing. I want for us to be more active and eat healthier. My boyfriend plays soccer twice a week and I was doing very well while I was playing soccer this summer but there just aren't enough hours in the day now to stick with that for the upcoming season. Conrad however has decided he wants to start doing karate of some sort. I think if we can at least find something active that we enjoy doing we'll be ok.  It's too easy these days to plunk down on the couch after working 8-5 in the office and at the shop until 7 or 8 at night.

All of this will hopefully lead to a life that is much more simple, happier, healthier, and less stressful.

Do you have any bad summer habits or just habits in general that you feel like getting rid of? How have to managed to tackle yours in the past? Share share share!

Much love!
Kat

Last week I posted on Facebook and Instagram a very simple "4 Ways To Wear A Vintage Scarf" mini tutorial. I couldn't believe the amount of likes, comments, questions and shares I received!  And thinking about all the wonderful and lovely people that I've been meeting in my shop and online,  I've realized something. Just about everyone loves vintage clothing, accessories and home decor but half the time they think "I love that dress, but I just don't know where/how I'd wear that" or "I love that cute vintage hat but I don't know what I would wear it with."

This made me want to start a new feature on my blog and of course I got overly excited.   All through high school and even today my friends would tell me "You can pull anything off" or that they love what I'm wearing but they could never pull it off themselves.  My secret to pulling anything off? NOT CARING whether you can pull it off or not and embracing the fact that you love it. Also being selective and knowing what works with my body. So I'm here to tell you, just because it is something different or a bit out there, doesn't mean that it can't work for you.

 I'll be sharing my tips and tricks for styling vintage pieces for YOU and making things you already love bring out the best in you. All cliches aside, you CAN rock vintage clothing and believe me, people will want to know where and how you got it. [insert your kind referral to my vintage boutique] I kid, I kid.

 Now I'm not saying that you should run out and buy the most unflattering item of clothing or over sized Tiki man statue (think Honey We Shrunk Ourselves) and rock it. But know your body and let your gut speak to you.

Many people don't realize that there are tons of tweaks and simple adjustments to turn a vintage dress into a modern piece of every day wardrobe. You don't have to look like a 50's housewife or hippy to rock a vintage dress. They can be every day fashion for the office or just running around town.

This is an open call for questions. Please comment or email me at howdy(at)gypsybeard.com with your questions and I'll address them personally and on the blog. You can also Tweet me or comment on Instagram or Facebook and I will gladly answer.


Thanks for stopping by!
Kat

I apologize for all of the photos but I can't even begin to say how excited I was about doing this shoot. A couple months back my son and I went to check out their show in our town and I decided it would a good chance to take some cool photos. Well I ended up talking with two of the guys who were local and one thing led to another. It was a blast. We adventured around the down town area around my shop (some places I would never have gone alone) and I think it turned out super cool.

They had me cracking up most of the shoot and one of them had quite a bit of experience being photographed so it's always fun when you can really let loose and do your thing with people who also enjoy being photographed.

Hope you like them!

Kat

A few weeks ago we did this fun shoot on the back patio before the shop opened. I was super excited to do something cool with the space and it ended up being a huge success I think! We knew we wanted a bit of a circus theme and her mom worked really hard on her cute top hat. Happy first birthday to my sweet niece Lydia! We have a weekend full of birthday parties with my son's and hers both taking place.


Happy Friday everyone!

Here's a little round up of some Instagram photos from last weekend grand opening! It was such a blast! I met a lot of wonderful people and we just had a plain old good time! We had some yummy food and a fun Photo Booth area set up! You can check out more photos on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook using hashtag #gypsybeardstudio . If you came last weekend or picked up some pretty vintage please share your photos with the hashtag to join in on the social media party!

Back to work now! =)

Kat