Alison’s Friday Favorites

Apr 7, 2017

I wasn’t going to do a Friday Favorites this week.  As a matter of fact, I wasn’t sure that I was ever going to do one again.

Every week when I post my Friday Favorites, I get more unsubscribes from my newsletter list than any other type of post. We all know it’s not because I’m controversial (ha!) but when I do more “personal life” posts, inevitably I also get more unsubscribes.

I actually *think* I understand why, some women come to GYPO for the style tips and that’s it.  I get that, really, I do.  My feelings aren’t hurt, it’s not personal. If I went to NPR and didn’t get news, I’d be pretty disappointed too.

But the thing is, I didn’t start blogging just to share tips and advice.  I did it to connect.  After working from home for a few years, it was my way of forming relationships with the outside world and meeting women on the style journey with me.

This may sound silly and/or sappy but I’ve never viewed you as “an audience” or “followers”.  From day one of doing this in 2012, I’ve felt like you’re my friends.  And of course I want to share my personal life with my friends!

So even though I know it’s going to hurt my newsletter list, I’ve decided to continue these posts. Relationships are more important than numbers and I’d much rather have a smaller list of women who want to be here.

So for those of you who are still here (my friends), here’s a little slice of what’s been going down in my life lately.  🙂

Favorite #1 – My Niece’s Baby Shower

We’ve got so much exciting stuff happening in our family between now and the end of May – Aubrey’s cheer team is heading to a big competition in Florida, she’s going to her first prom and she’s graduating!  That still hasn’t fully sunk in.

But one of the things I’m most excited about is…I’m going to be a great aunt!

My niece Lauren and her husband are expecting their first baby – a little girl (AHHH!!!) at the end of May.  They are naming her Vivienne (Vivie for short) and we had the pleasure of showering the new little miss and her mama with gifts this past weekend at the Dallas Arboretum.

In this picture we have four generations of girls, including Vivie.  From left to right are my daughter Aubrey, Lauren (mama to be), my mom Carol (great-grandma), me, my sister Andrea (Lauren’s mom) and my daughter Ava.

Favorite #2 – This Week’s GNO’s

It was a hectic week full of activity and fun GNO’s!  On Tuesday night, I went to an event at Closet Revival in Plano, Texas where I gave women tips on how to build a spring capsule wardrobe.  We had an awesome turn out and it was so much fun watching the women shop and put together their outfits.  A few of the local Spring 2017 GYPO Style Challengers came out too.

Here I am with Tammy, one of this season’s challengers.  And yes, I’m wearing the same dress that I wore to the baby shower. When mama buys a new dress, she has to get her money’s worth!  P.S.  I’ll be posting the details on this dress on the blog next Wednesday in an Easter post but if you want it now, it’s on sale!

Favorite #3 – Spring Challenge Biggest Yet!

Holy guacamole!  The Spring 2017 GYPO Style Challenge is our biggest one yet.  Our private Facebook group is incredibly active and downright amazing.  I can’t even begin to put it into words, you just have to experience it for yourself!

If you didn’t get a chance to register before the outfits started, it’s not too late!  You can still sign up to get your shopping list and the first 10 outfits immediately before our refund period ends tomorrow night.  I’d love to have you join and promise if it’s not the most fun you’ve ever had on Facebook, I’ll happily give you your money back! Sign up HERE.

Favorite #4 – Must Have Shorts (April Fools!)

I went out looking for some new denim shorts (or “jorts” as my husband lovingly refers to them) earlier this week and instead found these bad boys.  They’re actually “hot pants” made by Levi’s and you’re not going to believe the price tag on them! Pre-orders are now being accepted so get on the list.  Remember, you heard about them here first!  No, actually don’t admit to that.  🙂

Favorite #5 – Scarf Collection Update

I apologize in advance if you’re sick of hearing about the GYPO Collection silk scarf line (because you’re going to keep hearing about it).  First off, I want to address that the price point is a bit above what some of you were hoping for, and I understand your disappointment.  So I wanted to explain a little bit behind the pricing decision because you know with me, everything is on the table for discussion.  🙂

First and foremost, I wanted a product that I could be proud to put the GYPO name on and in order to do that, there were some non-negotiables. The materials had to be high quality and I wanted them made here in the US.  I could’ve gone with cheap fabrics and had them mass produced in China at a great price, but I chose not to because there’s no way I would’ve felt good about that decision.  I also wanted something completely unique to the brand, so an artist was commissioned to create these one of a kind watercolor designs just for us.  As I’m sure you understand, these decisions factored into the pricing.

But the main reason I’m going to keep talking about them (and hoping you buy them) is this:  the more you buy, the more we can donate to Genesis Women’s Shelter to help women and children out of domestic violence situations.  I purposely kept our margins slim to make the scarves more affordable while still being able to donate to the shelter.  I sincerely hope you’ll consider purchasing this unique wearable art for a great cause.  You can shop the collection HERE.

It’s Your Turn:  What are you loving this Friday?