Why?

Sometimes people ask me why..."why do you have a Gypsy Soiree to help support others, especially people you don't even know and will probably never even meet?"

My best answer is..."because I can!"

I believe in being generous, in any way possible, as often as possible (it's the best way to live!). I have the space, I have the ideas, I have the ability and desire, I have the creativity, and I have the "stuff" to create it, so why not?

I also want to create a magical night because, let's face it, how often in your lifetime do you get to go to a truly magical event, one that you'll remember for years, especially an event that "does some good" at the same time? It's that cool!

But I don't do it alone!! No way, that's not possible. The people who come and help create Gypsy Soiree donate their time and talents too (our photographer, massage therapist, reiki master, belly dancers, henna, hair & makeup, setup and takedown, etc.). 

They want to be part of the magic too (often, people just need to be asked to share their gifts), and I appreciate each and every one of them. 

There are so many reasons TO have Gypsy Soiree, I hope you'll join us!

Photos!

Special thanks goes to Carrie Bayless of C.Bayless Photography of Zimmerman, MN for the professional photos of Gypsy Soiree II.

I posted photos on a separate page, click here or on the Photos link above to see them.

Mark your calendars, next year's Gypsy Soiree III will be held Saturday, September 12, 2015.

What an amazing night!

Does it get any cuter than this??

Or more fun than this??

We had such a great turnout, I tried counting a few times, and I'm pretty sure there were at least 70 women here throughout the night.  

We ate great food, drank a little wine, danced a bit, were entertained by fabulous fire dancing, and enjoyed the camaraderie of women.

Oh, and of course, gathered donations for the homeless shelter!

My plan, over the next few days, is to sort through and organize the donations and make a list of what all is there, just for curiosity sake.  The area under the table was packed with bags and bags of things too!  

You Gypsies ROCK!  

It takes about 3 days of work to set up the party, and at that point I'm thinking "do I really want to do this again next year?"  Then the party hits, and yeah, I want to! This year I had some amazing help tearing down too, which helped tremendously.  Instead of it taking me a week to pick at taking down, it was all pretty much done and packed away in one day.  Such a huge, huge, huge help.

There are a lot of photos on Facebook already, and I'm expecting more over the next few days.  If you search for the hashtag #gypsysoiree2 you should be able to see everyone's photos.  I'll add more photos here too, for those not on Facebook.

Thanks to everyone who participated, including our professional photographer Carrie Bayless, the performers from Insphyre Performance, Connie Crocker for teaching us all how to belly dance, our massage therapists Carol Etzel and Sara Peterson and Reiki master Karlene Plante.  It just wouldn't be the same without you guys helping!

And how cool is it to have this fabulous new Vardo just for my Gypsy Soirees! I don't know of anyone else who gets to have their own Vardo in the back yard (aka "Grandma's Playhouse")!

Vardo!!

Not sure what a vardo is?  It's a wagon that gypsies live and travel in.  Usually highly decorated and beautiful.

After last year's party, we joked around that I needed a vardo for this year's event (and a camel...but that's not happening!).  Joke's on me, cause now I actually have one!!

My husband spotted an old tobacco wagon on an online auction this winter, and we got it.  He spent the entire month of July (5 weeks actually) reworking the wagon base and building my very own vardo (also known here as "Grandma's Playhouse" by my 2-year-old granddaughter!).  It was a huge learning curve, literally, as he created the curved wooden roof and really just built the thing with no official plans other than "hey...it would look cool if you did this..."  He did a fabulous job too.

I've been spending a good majority of the last week painting the entire thing, and should be done with the painting by this weekend.  Then I get to start unpacking my gypsy decorations and go to town making it even more beautiful.  It's gonna be a great spot to have your gypsy portrait done by Carrie too!

I'm not posting pictures of it until after the party, so if you wanna see it, come in person!

This event is sorta like planning a wedding, it preoccupies my thoughts all summer.  I just sorta dream about it all winter, but once June hits I go full-tilt into scheming mode and usually spend at least an hour or two a day working on something having to do with it.  

But I don't know what could top a vardo for next year!!

Don't be shy!

I just tagged pretty much every one invited on Facebook, hopefully so you would respond to the invitation with either a "yes, I'm IN" or a "no" (insert sad face here). There are a few components of the party where we really need an estimate of attendees (like drinks, and party favors).

Don't be shy about coming, and don't be shy about bringing a friend along if you need/want to!  Last year we had only one person show up in normal clothes, and she was promptly "gypsified!"  It's all about having a fun, magical evening just surrounded by wonderful women.  

You really WILL be glad you came!

If you're not sure what to wear, something as simple as a flowy skirt and top is good enough!  Pile on the jewelry too.  Want some inspiration?  My Gypsy Soiree Pinterest board has plenty of ideas. Just click here:  Gypsy Soiree  If you scroll down far enough you'll see photos of last year's party, and this year's will be bigger and better.

Hope to see you there, it's just four weeks away!

Professional Photographer

Carrie Bayless, a professional photographer from Zimmerman, will be joining the fun at Gypsy Soiree II too!  

I've had the pleasure of being around Carrie during several "Ladies on the Loose" events in Zimmerman, and asked her if she'd like to be part of our party.

You can check out her work here http://cbaylessphotography.com/blog/  and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/cbaylessphotography/info.

Be sure to bring plenty of smiles with you that night!