I'm sitting here pinning beautiful, dreamy Valentine's Day inspired things today. I'm thinking about the idea behind the day and brainstorming how to style an upcoming Valentine's Day themed photo shoot. I'm thinking about making Valentine's Day card printables for the blog.Yes. My mind is constantly racing with ideas, inspiration, colors, textures and about a million other things.  All of you can relate to that right? I hope so. haha! Anyways... I came across a blog with pretty Valentine related printables in lovely calligraphy and watercolor styles and I was just overcome with the melancholy that so plagues hopeless romantics like me. What I wouldn't give to just receive a love letter that is handwritten and thought out by someone who truly cares for me and all of my flaws.

Fit & Happy where have you been? I've been slacking lately! Truth be told I've been insanely busy with school starting back up and launching the new Gypsy Beard web site! Also, I been getting swarmed with questions and new design clients, which is so so exciting! This is my busiest season to date and it's only January! Anyways, in case you've missed it, each Tuesday I'm writing my goals and recapping the previous week's goals in my journey towards mental and physical health/happiness. You can find the previous posts here.

So here's a recap on my recent goals and how well I followed through.

- Incorporate Goals Into A Daily To Do list. I cannot tell you how much this helped! For the most part, every goal I make that doesn't get accomplished is because I forget to pursue it! I set an alarm on my phone for several important tasks such as the days I want to work out, plan meals, set aside time for painting or music etc.


-Studio / Shop Room I made small progress here. But there's still a lot to be done. Ideally, I'll have a full functioning photography studio that I can break down and reassemble quickly.

-Continue To Make Healthy Food Choices I caved again and have eaten fast food a few times since I quit. :-( I regretted it as soon as I ate it too! I felt so horrible! I felt like my body hated me for it. I felt tired and gross and heavy. It's important to listen to what your body says, and mine was definitely telling me "Screw you for eating that cheeseburger! What are you doing to me?"

-Get out! Sadly our trip got pushed back due to our schedule. Oddly enough though, I have one class that I have to drive an hour away for that has really done wonders for me mentally. When you have a job with very little physical human interaction, go to school online and most of your friends live across the country it can be lonely! Getting out and interacting with likeminded people has been healthy for me.

-Organize The Adult Things I've made big steps here recently with taking care of business. I've got a long ways to go though.

-Spend An Hour A Day Playing Piano / Painting / Drawing I've overcompensated here haha. I've been painting and drawing like crazy! I started an art challenge where you draw or create something everyday. I've been sharing on Instagram with the hashtag #2015yearofart. There are a few other people I know who are participating and are doing a much better job at keeping up than I *cough cough* but its still fun. 

Also, I bought a UKULELE! I'm so excited about this haha. I've been wanting one for awhile and when Santa disappointed, I took it upon myself to get one. I can play a few chords so far but I'm learning! I'm having trouble with tuning it just right but hopefully I will get the hang of it. Maybe I'll be brave enough to share me playing one day. 



I feel pretty good with where this year is going so far. I need to exercise more as always but I'm doing better than I was. Here's are my next goals.


- Learn To Tune & Play A Song On My Ukulele!  This is self explanatory but hopefully I'll have time to really work at this week.


-Just Get Stuff Done & Don't Lose My Mind If I make it through the next few months without a breakdown, that will be a huge accomplishment. With how crazy I expect this semester to be with school and freelance work, I've got to just focus on getting stuff done. I'm not going to stress about much else other than spending time with family. I just want to make it through the semester in one piece haha.

-Continue To Make Healthy Food Choices I'm doing well apart from the random fast food nightmares. Ugh. I want to drink even more water and eat even more fruits and vegetables and plan out our dinners a little better. 

-Get out! After missing our trip to San Antonio & Austin, I've got a serious travel itch! I've been dreaming of Colorado or the desert. Maybe I'll be able to get away for a day or two in between the work/school madness. I'm sure I'm going to need it. Spring break anybody?

-Get Lots Of Sleep This goes without saying... I'm going to need it. No more late night Netflix binges and getting up early for work. 

I've learned something about my happiness lately. Doing the work I love, staying busy painting & drawing and making progress whether in school or work has really contributed to my mental happiness. A huge source of my unhappiness has been being stuck at a day job that doesn't feed my creative soul. I'm still working there during the day, but I don't dwell so much on it now that I have other outlets that are keeping me so busy. Have you noticed something in particular that adds to your mental happiness? Or do you do anything that really relieves stress for you?

 I'll be tracking my journey on Instagram & Twitter with hashtag #fitandhappytues


 

Part of the reason why I started blogging was to connect with wonderful people and potentially help them in some way if I could. Whether it was by showing them cute cat pictures (like in my early days) or sharing with them how to style a vintage dress, I like to think that they and you are here because you all like what I write. (Even if it's just to join in on my sarcastic comments.)

When I first started blogging, I wouldn't have imagined that I'd be opening a brick and mortar store and then closing it and then going on adventures selling across Texas. Nor did I think that I'd be sharing with you tips for starting a business or using social media. So I am here today to ask you:
 

 The past few weeks have been basically all work and no play with the launch of the new Gypsy Beard Vintage website and all that entails. I'm taking it easy the rest of the week aside from finishing up some freelance client work. So.... It's time for some pretty pictures. I've been crushing hard on these quirky A frame houses and cabins since I was a high schooler. I've even devoted an entire pinterest board to them. There was one in my friend's neighborhood that always intrigued me.

I'm very excited to announce the upcoming launch of the new Gypsy Beard Vintage web site! We will be going live THURSDY at 12:00 PM! I'm sharing an exclusive peak at the new web site you for you here on the blog. The biggest changes to the web site are that I've switched over to a custom Square Space design. Big things are happening with Square Space so this was the perfect way for me to test it out and see where I could go with the platform. Be sure and check it out THURSDAY!

So my amazingly talented, nice, stylish, handsome, saintly artist friend Caleb Jacks always does the coolest sketch series depending on the month or holiday season. (You might recognize him from us sharing a booth at the Deep Ellum Outdoor Market in November.) For October her participated in an  "#Inktober" challenge where he drew a fun piece every day using only ink and he did a series of Christmas sketches. I admire his commitment because my track record for doing anything is consistently is weak. For 2016, he's taken on the challenge of creating art every day.  Check out his art work and give him a follow!


I'm going to take a whack at it with my own twist. I'm a few days behind but that's how I roll. I'm going to do mini illustrations (digital & traditional) of things that make me happy. Even the smallest. Whether it's the sour pickles at the movies or making a fort with Conrad, I wan't to recreate it. Hopefully, at the end of the year I'll have a huge book of the little things that make up a happy life. If you are creative in any way, I highly encourage you to take part! Whether you crochet or make jewelry, find some way each day to feed your creativity and push yourself. I'd LOVE to see! I'm hoping this will push me to think outside the box and to be creative every day.

I'll probably bulk post these once a month or so but daily as I complete them on my personal Instagram account. And I may do a few in one day. Don't hate. Follow along with Caleb and I and the rest of the artists on Instagram using #2016yearofart.

*This post contains affiliates links. I will receive compensation from any orders / purchases made.

ModCloth's huge final clearance event is one of few things in the retail world that I watch for. I'm quite conservative when it comes to splurging on clothing. (How do you think I got started with thrifting and vintage?!) So when the opportunity comes to snag their beautiful pieces at 70% off, I'm game. It's their biggest sale of the season!

So technically we are in week 7? I decided to take off from this post during the holidays because I really wanted to allow myself to be carefree. Besides, what's more depressing than dwelling on every cookie or tamale you ate? (Yes, we make tamales at Christmas!) Truth be told, I didn't worry about much at all apart from organizing my life. In case you've missed it, each Tuesday I'm writing my goals and recapping the previous week's goals in my journey towards mental and physical health/happiness. You can find the previous posts here.

So here's how the past few weeks have been with goals and what not.

- Actually Create a REAL fitness routine. So totally didn't stick with my routine at all. I sporadically lifted weights and spent a lot of time walking the dog & playing soccer but not in any organized sort of way. The organized bit aside, I've felt great with my level activity.

-(Begin To) Create A Work Space Where I Can Thrive I really, really nailed this one! I deep cleaned the heck out of my office and organized every file, folder and pen! Oh man, I had stuff from markets and photo shoots laying around, tripods that I tripped over almost daily, and so. much. dust. It was so liberating and refreshing. Every time I walk by and catch a glimpse of my office I immediately want to go sit down at my desk and make magic happen! It's so relieving to not have to avoid that room for the feeling of dread I felt. I had gotten to a point where I would just avoid it. I was fooling no one. haha! I'll be sharing an office tour with you very soon!

-Incorporate More Fruit I'm pretty sure the only fruit I ate over the break was avocados. Obviously that's not even cutting it, no matter how yummy and healthy avocados can be.

-Walk The Dog & Look at Christmas Lights We walked, we saw, we conquered.

-Try Another Cleanse I did not do this at all. Unless you count fasting for a day and only drinking water. But I think that's just called fasting?

-Spend An Hour A Day Playing Piano / Painting / Drawing I spent a lot of time doodling and playing with watercolor. Conrad got a guitar from us for Christmas so I actually taught myself a few chords! I played the few songs I could remember on the keyboard before giving up and moving on. Once again, there was no organized allotted time for any of this so it's hard to say I accomplished it, but I'm happy that I at least did it. 

Overall I feel really great about how the holidays went. I didn't exercise a ton but I feel like it was very productive and I was full of energy. I decluttered and deep cleaned nearly the whole house! Does a clean house make you as happy as it does me? I caught up on a LOT OF over due beauty sleep and feel that has made a huge difference in my mindset. I knocked out several seasons of some really great shows, which so may say isn't a win, but TV is a true joy for me, not because I want to be lazy, but because I truly love getting absorbed in a story. Don't judge. I feel more clear minded. There's also something about spending time with family and friends that just makes your heart smile. I discovered my love for wine which was not a win hahaha!



It's a new year and I'm not going to bore you with the whole "new year, new me" shpill. I'm just getting stuff done.

- Incorporate Goals Into A Daily To Do list. So it's a very silly thing to make writing a "to do list" as a goal, but I've realized over this "experiment" that I literally forget everything I plan to do almost as soon as I hit PUBLISH. I have my main big goals in mind but not the small ones. I'm going to work on finding a process for execution! Doesn't that sound like a metal song? PROCESS FOR EXECUTION!


-Studio / Shop Room When my office was cleaned and decluttered, I made it a point to get as many things from my vintage shop out and into one of our spare bedrooms. The plan was to turn the room into a makeshift photography studio / shop storage. Currently, it is nothing but a dump for things from the last market I went to. Rubbermaid tubs, clothes racks, hangers and vintage clothes everywhere! I'm going to start to tackle this room over the next few weeks.

-Continue To Make Healthy Food Choices I could tell a huge difference in the way I was eating before the holidays. I felt different and everyone else was noticing too. I was losing weight & had more energy. If I continue, hopefully things will only get better.

-Get out! I have a mini getaway planned for this weekend so I'm excited! I'm road tripping down through Austin and staying with my aunt in San Antonio. Eeeeek! New surroundings, food and people are a great way to reset your brain. Taking in a new adventure is very stimulating for my creativity and spiritual happiness. I'm also excited to be doing some thrifting / vintage hunting in a new place!

-Organize The Adult Things Being unprepared stresses me out. Worrying about money haunts me in my sleep and completely screws up my whole mentality. It's time to get all of my finances more organized and ready for tax season. It's time to tie up any lose ends, pay off the late things and brace myself for 2016.

-Spend An Hour A Day Playing Piano / Painting / Drawing I'm keep this one! And I'm going to add it to the daily to do list. haha. 

Hopefully you'll see a little bit of me from my adventures this weekend. If not, I'm having too much fun. What are your goals for the new year?  I'll be tracking my journey on Instagram & Twitter with hashtag #fitandhappytues


 

I really love looking back on the year. I'm particularly critical of myself and have really had to teach myself to celebrate the small victories and accomplishments in my life. I often forget just HOW MUCH I've accomplished or done! This past year was a HUGE year for growth, especially in terms of stepping out of my comfort zone and JUST DOING things.  Here's the highlights of the year, the good, bad and the ugly!