toth shop trends: july 2025

hi, it’s meg seitz, toth shop’s founder, tapping in for this month’s toth shop trends.

july is my birthday month. (surprise! today, july 21, is, in fact, my birthday.) around here at toth shop, that means i’m up to write this month’s trends where we share some things on our brains. 

a few weeks ago, someone asked me a really good and really simple question: what’s my favorite time of day. 

for me, it’s early morning - more specifically: the few minutes the sun comes up. broadly, i’m talking 5-8am. yes. i’m that person. it took me thinking about that question to realize that i’ve been like that my entire adult, working life. 20 years ago, when i started working, that meant getting on the treadmill at 5:30 in the morning. when i started toth shop 10+ years ago, it meant waking up early to think, write, work on client projects before the rest of the world awakened. today, i spend the early morning hours have getting my head and heart ready for the day.

i’m using this trends to walk you through some of my anchors that ground each and every day for me – things that happen in my world before 9am. 

xx,

meg

20 minute meditation.

i am a religious meditator. So much so, that if i don’t meditate for at least 10 minutes in the morning, the rest of the day will feel off – everything will feel off because i am off.

i started meditating 10 years ago with the help of an in-person, monday evening meditation class led by a meditation teacher. at the time, i would only meditate during that class time, led by that teacher, which, if you know anything about meditation, you know that’s not the point.

i can meditate now without the class and without the teacher, but i still have trouble turning off all the noise, to-do lists, things that rattle around in my head. which is why i use the insight timer app daily. 

DOWNLOAD THE APP

trick: i have to talk to myself every morning to remind myself to meditate BEFORE i check email and BEFORE i read any news. (confession: if i do anything before i meditate, i play wordle. that’s really the first thing i do every morning.)

if you’re new to meditation, try insight timer; there are really simple two-minute, guided meditations in there that are just enough to help you learn without feeling like you’ve gone too woo-woo. 

bible.

three years ago, during advent, i saw someone post this on instagram: “there are 24 chapters of luke, and 24 days from december 1 through christmas.” never having been a bible reader, i thought i’d try it - i read one chapter of luke from december 1 through december 25. And then – i kept going, reading a chapter or two of the new testament everyday. when i got to the end of the new testament, i flipped back to the old testament. by october of the next year, so almost a year later, i had made it through the entire bible. So, i did it again and again. I’ve been through it three times in three years. I read (or listen to)  a chapter or two every day now.

walks with winnie.

for those of you who don’t know winnie, you’re really missing out. she’s a gem – my gem. winnie is my four-year-old, fluffy corgi. She’s 100% corgi, 100% fluff, 100% sass, all the time. winnie and i walk every morning, just the two of us, usually around 6:30am. then, we usually find a spot - mostly our balcony - where she eats her breakfast el fresco and we watch the sun come up.

orangetheory fitness

crawford, toth shop’s director of operations, got me into orangetheory probably about two years ago, and it’s changed my life. (thank you, crawford.) the 7:15a OTF class has become a daily church service for me. like a meditation, if it doesn’t happen, i feel off for the rest of the day. after having gone for years with up-and-down workout routines and commitments, i found a lane i really like. and, who knew it, but i’m a rower. i could sit and row on a rowing machine for DAYS, i love it that much.  

rsp.

3-4 days a week i hop on rsp: ready, set, pray: my church’s virtual, 15-minute bible study at 8:30am. the leader of every day’s session bounces around and between the regular participants, but, whomever it is, it’s always just like daily juice for the rest of the day. it’s also proof you can connect, learn, go deep, and move on with the rest of your day in just 15 minutes.

meg's quick hits.

🎂 go-to birthday cake: mint chocolate chip ice cream cake from baskin & robbins 

🏖️ beach or pool: beach – specifically, hilton head island, south carolina 

🎹 favorite summer tune: i’m an oldies girl, so anything from the 60’s, but probably ‘wouldn’t it be nice’ by the beach boys 

☀️ best summer feeling in the world: a sunday night burger and corn on the cob at my parents’ house

🍴best restaurant patio in the summer in charlotte: ru ru’s

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upcoming story opportunities for august.

black business month

national wellness month

national back to school month

family fun month

national water quality month

july 24 - international self-care day

july 26 - americans with disabilities act (ada) anniversary

august 4 - u.s. coast guard birthday

august 6 - hiroshima peace memorial ceremony

august 9 - international day of the world's indigenous peoples

august 13 - left-handers day

august 17 - national nonprofit day

august 21 - senior citizens day (u.s.)

august 26 - women's equality day (u.s.)

august 30 - national grief awareness day