back to school // shopping clearance!

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We're thinking about "back to school" around here so I thought I'd share a little bit of our journey on the blog. Honestly, we're a pretty minimalistic family and back to school time doesn't involve a whole lot of shopping but we definitely have things on our to-do list! Roman will be starting 2nd grade this year and we have decided at this point to keep Asher home with us.

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Old Navy is currently having one of the best sales ever where in-store they are taking an additional 30% off their clearance items! Old Navy has always been one of my all time favorite stores for kids' clothes. Their clothes are great quality ( and adorable ) and their clearance section, if you play it right, is a gold mine. When Old Navy first marks down their clothes, the discount isn't that great but they continue to mark things down to seriously low prices. I find better deals in the Old Navy clearance section than I do at thrift stores sometimes and the clothes are brand new!

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I want to share a few finds that I came across for the boys during the clearance event. I was so happy to be able to start my back to school shopping this way!

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( mario tee: $2.51, batman tee: $4.09, basketball tee: $3.14 

shoes: about $4.50, bought on a separate receipt that I can't find! )

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Roman is truly one of the messiest children alive ( and to be honest, he gets it from me... ) so his shirts are always getting stained. We are pretty set on shirts for him, especially since we have been able to work with a few great companies this summer that have gifted us clothing. ( Such  a blessing for us! )Since I found these shirts at such great prices, I did want to grab a few to set aside for  school  to ensure that he has some nice, clean shirts to wear. Pairing these with the other shirts we've been given recently gives him a pretty good supply for the beginning of the school year. I may need to find a couple more. Roman loves tee shirts even in the winter since he is so hot blooded, so these should be good for a while! The shoes aren't too practical for school because he has gym class every day and wears gym shoes, but they were adorable and it's always good to have a nice pair of shoes around.

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( striped shorts: $2.51, jogger pants $2.51 + $2.58, high top shoes: $4.71, car slip on shoes: $4.72 )

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Ok, I have been eyeing these little jogger sweatpants for Asher since they came in and I had to snatch them up for the fall when I saw them marked down so much! I bought a pair of 3T and a pair of 4T because the 4T looked absolutely huge so I figure he will wear the 3Ts and grow into the other pair. I also bought the little striped shorts for next summer in a 4T because he currently has the same shorts and loves them. I had to buy the shoes because Asher is obsessed with shoes and I loved both of these so much! He has worn the high tops already but I stashed the cute car pair away to pull out later.

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Shopping clearance is a great way to find back to school clothes, so don't forget to check out the clearance racks! The weather is still warm so summer clothes still work and a lot of stores have clothes left over from spring that work for fall weather. Be sure to check out Old Navy this weekend to score some great deals for yourself and if you go, let me know what you bought!

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Where are your favorite places to get great deals for back to school? Have you started shopping yet?

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little style // with Kidteez!

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I've had the opportunity to work with Kidteez this summer and it's been a lot of fun trying out their cute t-shirts on my boys! I was so excited when Kidteez reached out to us as Brand Reps because their shop is just FULL of adorable things. I can't wait to share more with you here and on Instagram!

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Asher was pretty excited about this shark shirt ( yeah, I'd say he has a thing for shark shirts ) and I love how Roman's palm tree tee matches with the same beachy theme.
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Be sure to check out Kidteez for yourself and use my code: 

COMESINCOLOURS 

for 30% off your entire purchase!

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Asher: Shark Bite tee: c/o Kidteez

shorts: c/o FabKids

shoes: Old Navy

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Roman: Palm Leaves tee: c/o Kidteez
shorts: c/o FabKids

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making wishes.

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     My sweet little Asher turned four and I adore these photos of him carefully putting the candles on his blue cake ( which I'm fairly certain gave us food poisoning ) and then listening to his birthday song. I remember when Roman was Asher's age and he hated when people sang "happy birthday". Asher is a different child though, and his face simply shined pure joy and love. When we told him to make a wish, he wished for "a tomato," and made us all laugh at our silly happy boy. 

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     I can't believe that four years have passed since this sunlight came into my life. I remember so well the way he came to the world on a warm and sunny July day. Those days are now starting to shift into a long ago memory; those baby days feel far and dreamy distant. In the weeks and months after his birth, I thought that maybe a day would never go by without his birth crossing my mind. The wonderful all natural childbirth that I was able to check off my life list stayed so close to me then, in the best of ways, filling me with strength. 

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     Life and it's seasons are a funny thing. As we go through the motions of the moment, nothing different seems fathomable. I've gone through times in life that seemed like they'd never end, some in good ways and some not so very good at all. Usually it's a mixture; hard feelings and big obstacles with slices of joyful memories in between. 

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     For sure, life just keeps pushing on, and we are forced to realize that it does move and it moves along fast. High school ends, and marriage won't always be about choosing the order of wedding photos for the album. Our babies won't keep, and they will certainly grow and grow and grow. The days will turn and spin and tomorrow becomes years ago and these moments now become faded memories. 

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     As I clicked the camera to capture my son, my freshly turned four year old baby boy making wishes in the candle light, I was all too aware that these smiles would quickly become pictures, preserved for the future; to look back on soon and say, "I remember..."

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asher turns 4!

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asher turns 4 today!

i can hardly believe it and don't have many words to share; just feelings and these pictures that i took yesterday before his little party. i cannot believe it's been 4 years since the day this wild little baby came bursting into my life. one thing i know for sure; he is still my baby. he is still my baby... ;)

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more pictures and birthday thoughts to come, i'm sure. 

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asher's 1st birthday

asher's 2nd birthday

asher's 3rd birthday

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a date with rome.

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roman and i have been talking about going on a date together forever and we finally did it! we haven't done this for a couple years. it was so wonderful. roman is such a sweetheart and still tells me that he wants to marry me. he was so excited for our date. we went to my chiropractor first and then walked to starbucks for coffees. roman got a s'mores frappuccino. he was seriously so giggly and giddy and couldn't control himself because he was so happy to just be with me. we went to target to shop for asher's birthday presents where roman bought him walkie talkies and a t-shirt. then roman chose panda express for dinner and we ate outside because "it was too loud to be able to hear each other talk" inside, he said. sitting outside, eating our chinese food together, i felt so relaxed. more relaxed than i have felt in a long, long time. 

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i had such a special time with roman, my "sweetest", my big boy, my teddy bear. he is going to do amazing things.

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<3

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yes, roman's elbow bends backwards - it's a side effect from breaking it, yikes!

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insta-june; part 2.

alright, i'm here to continue with the rest of my favorite instagram / iphone photos from june!

( see part 1: here )

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the babes + i , i am the luckiest. // our new huge garage sale wall art that we found for $15!

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target things: wasn't a fan of drinking water out of a carton... but this tank top has been perfect for summer! // i also decided that i really wanted to buy a skateboard! i've only taken it out once so far though!

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we got a fun package from pictli, a new app that lets you print + frame photos from your phone! i was so thrilled to try it out because i'm the worst at printing pictures for our home!

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my mom + littlest sister visited from ohio! of course i've already shared some photos from their trip in a previous post. it was so great to see them out here in colorado! olivia is 15 years younger than me and i'm really sad to live so far from her during this season of our lives so it was great to have her around.

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we went to casa bonita one day during their visit. have anyone else out there heard of or been to casa bonita? it's this crazy restaurant in the denver area that is full of entertainment and they even have cliff divers in the dining area! this has pretty much become a family tradition for us going back to the first time my mom went when she was 13 with my great aunt! it's definitely a unique/random place and we had a lot of fun.

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some more FabKids shots from my iphone. i had so much fun taking pictures of the boys this day! i'm trying to ease up on my photo taking with the boys a little so that it becomes more fun for them. it's a constant struggle for me because i just want to take pictures of them everyday but of course they are kids. it's hard to find a balance. any tips??

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flowers from rome! <3

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i can't believe how fast summer is going and i'm totally not okay with it! i'm thinking it might be destiny for me to just move somewhere where it's warm all the time...

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find me on instagram @bygillianclaire and leave me a comment so that i can follow you back! 

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little style // with Nope!

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I'm so excited to share the Nope clothing brand with you today! Asher was chosen to be a brand rep for Nope this summer and we are so in love with their cute, original tee shirts! Nope is run by a husband and wife team, Karen and Gee, and all of the illustrations on their shirts are hand drawn by Gee. Their shirts are absolutely adorable and I was happy to see upon receiving them that they are soft and sturdy as well. I let Asher pick out the shirts that he liked and his first choice was this "nope nope nope" shirt which I'll just say, is very fitting to his personality!

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Make sure to check out the Nope clothing shop: here! You can find them on Instagram as well @wearenope. All of their shirts are made in Los Angeles and are sweat-shop free! Use my code: friendsofteam1125, for 10% off your purchase!

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Asher channeling his attitude to match his shirt. ;)

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Nope shirt: c/o Nope

Shorts: Old Navy

Shoes: Old Navy

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This post is in collaboration with Nope!

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