Pinkies OUT!

yeah, i’m horribly delinquent. it’s been a rough couple of months for me on a number of fronts, but even as i slowly pull out of my tailspin of procedural cop drama and cookies in bed, i’m still having a hard time getting my shit together to write again. although, i can promise a lengthy exploration about why i decided that putting naked pictures of myself on the internet is probably not the best way to make myself feel better (don’t worry mom, i didn’t do it). however, in my long absence, i have gravely neglected to talk about a project that i was working on, and i’m sincerely hoping that it’s not too late to grab your attention and your time for a minute.

this holiday season, the ladies of swapmaine decided to see what would happen if we got ALL FANCY for the holidays. so, instead of having our standard “all you can grab” style swap of big bins and big digging, we’re throwing an intimate little cocktail party swap where everyone brings just a few of their very best things, drinks some bubbly, nibbles some snacks, and goes home with 5 immaculately perfect items. it’s kinda gonna be an amazing. here’s why:

weekend pickthrough- swapmaine hangover edition.

we came. we saw. we SWAPPED. installment number two of the swapmaine citywide clothing swap went off on saturday afternoon like goddamn gangbusters (thanks especially to all of our donors, and our legion of impeccably dressed volunteers). we managed to scare up over 300 people, 3,000 lbs of clothing, and a whole fistful of money to donate to goodwill of northern new england! (we glow with pride)

of course, what we really want to talk about is what did we score?

sadly, i didn’t have too much time to shop in the chaos, but i did grab a few choice bits and pieces here and there

some of my favs are pictured to the left:

1. dkny silk maxi sailor dress (circa 1990ish)

2. YSL slik twill scarf (does anyone know how to get stains out of a silk scarf?)

3. amazing vintage slip

4. acid green heels

5. incredible glass brooch made by some company called “accessocraft NYC”

i also got a fistful of super soft racerback tanks, an olive green boatneck top from banana republic, a gold embellished t-shirt from j. crew, an unbelievable 90s print scarf, a printed cowlneck blouse, and a berry colored wrap sweater that makes me feel like a ballerina.  a totally respectable haul.

now before i move on to this week’s random ass links, i want to take a minute [imagine quiet voice here] to thank everyone who came out and joined in the madness. i hope you all enjoyed the bigger space and addition of snacks and raffle (FYI: whoever got the vintage jewelry lot is now my  mortal enemy).  and i just wanted to let you all know that as participants,  it is now your civic duty to take pictures of your amazing new things and send them to us (swapmaine@gmail.com) so that we can add them to our flickr and show them off to the world when we’re bragging about the superiority of our swap. adorable swap volunteer julia has already put hers up on her equally adorable blog, so GET TO IT YOU GODDAMN LAZY SLACKERS!

we also had our own roaming photog (thanks audrey!) snapping away during the event, so you should probably check back at the blog in a day or two to see if you’re swapmaine famous yet.

oh, but those links i was talking about… (because it’s almost 1 am, and i’m still a bit beat up and exhausted from all the swapping action).

worth the trip- makeup project resurrection edition.

or free lipgloss, whatever you’re into.

it’s been a while since i mentioned the makeup project. and well, it’s an xmas season kind of thing, so it didn’t seem necessary to bother y’all too much about it this summer. but all the sudden, it’s cold.  halloween shit is on sale EVERYWHERE (free candy corn @ CVS this week, but vegetarians beware, there will be gelatin!), and i have friends organizing apple picking dates on facebook. the truth has become evident: WINTER IS COMING.

and with this onset of the transition into corn maze and mitten weather, it only seems appropriate that i start to refocus my efforts on my winter projects like the fall SWAPmaine clothing swap, and of course, getting the ole cosmetic hoard for the year together to see how much further i have to go before december rolls around.

i’ve actually been really good so far this year. apparently, CVS changes its cosmetics wall twice a year (which means 75% discount fiesta), but also randomly marks things down throughout the year (just keep your coupon folder handy, and scan for these little round stickers whenever you go in). needless to say, i’ve got a pretty great stash going. here’s the count as of today:

weekend pickthrough- swapping your face off edition.

so saturday was finally the big SWAPmaine clothing swap showdown, and it was all kinds of rad. by 10 am, there were over 50 people lined up outside (shockingly, everyone was polite, and not a single fist or elbow was thrown).  that said, it was a mad crush to get to the good stuff, and our perfectly manicured piles were heavily intermingled by 10:15, as clothes were heaved in all directions.

everyone seemed happy and left with bulging sacks (yeah, i just said BULGING SACKS) and the smug smiles of people getting something for nothing, and yet somehow magically benefiting charity at the same time.

by 4 pm, i could barely stand. actually, by 4 pm i was sitting in a big box of sweaters yelling “MY FEET ARE BIG”!

i could barely get home.

i made a rash decision to get burger king for dinner (their veggie whopper is the bees fucking knees).

but  regardless of my physical pain and exhaustion (swapping is a SPORT people), i still couldn’t shake the glow of all the amazing stuff that i had scored at the swap… and how glorious my transitional spring/summer wardrobe is going to be as a result.

i hope to do a full-on fashion show post at some point in the near future (probably for the swapmaine blog), but here’s a little taste of the kind of awesome shit that was available for those who chose to swap:

worth the trip- coupon coma.

remember back in the day, when i used to post something coupon related almost every day? oh, and when my cabinets were puffed out with extra band aids and shampoo, and i had an overflowing box of donate items for the preble street resource center? man, those days were nice.

but then it happens- COUPON FATIGUE.

after a year or more of wringing every possible deal out of every possible store in town, a girl gets tired, or distracted, and let’s those weekend coupon fliers pile up, and even… EXPIRE.

i recently cleaned out my folders to realized that i had indeed lost almost 2 full months of coupon time. blacked out unconscious, i must have been paying full price for everything- TRAGIC. expensively tragic (the worst kind of tragic).

now at this point, the serious coupon clipping mantle has clearly been handed off to maine’s very own extreme couponer, i love to gossip, which is quite liberating (also, she’s a lot better at it). no longer do i feel the pressure to try to keep up with the rest of the coupon bitties, and have time to do other crazy shit like  throw clothing swaps and complain about “easy feet”. but this weekend as i leafed through my sunday circulars, i realized that i actually missed it.

i remember feeling so high (remember that money making vaseline lotion at shaw’s?) when i could grab something for free. like i was pulling off a tiny bank robbery or something.

i also remember having 5 unopened dove deodorants in my supply drawer. now i’m sadly chasing a single stick around my apartment… and sometimes i CAN’T FIND IT.

so this week, i decided that i’m actually gonna start trying to get back into the coupon game.  i have an empty paper box ready for preble street donations, and i feel mentally ready to be able to find my antiperspirant again.

well, it’s going to have to be a gentle re-entry, because there’s kind of shit for deals this week. and actually, i was zooming through the comments on this week’s iheartcvs.com deal rundown, and people seem grouchy that there hasn’t been anything awesome for a while. has the deal climate changed when i was away? are there still bargains to be had out there in the wild? here is what i’m stalking this week (better to start slow i suppose), let me know if i missed anything:

it’s unitard time!

so there was a little mix up down at the old swapmaine farm, and two of us accidentally wrote a post about the same thing.  the solution, the crazier of the two posts (surprise!) has been quarantined to this blog. maybe you’ll enjoy it, it’s about unitards. however, if you’re looking for more dignified fare… the real post is scheduled to be released into the wild at midnight tonight on the swapmaine blog. perhaps you can write a 5 paragraph essay comparing & contrasting them.

T-minus 2 weeks until the swap, and you’ve probably been spending a lot of your free time running sprints and practicing packing and unpacking bags in preparation for the big day.  Well, if you want to be truly prepared for the blessed event, you also need to consider the perfect functional attire for the zero hour.

I would like to recommend the unitard.

Perfect for its speedy lack of wind resistance, and its sleek ability to fit seamlessly under any garment, the unitard is the ultimate solution to the clothing swap under-dressing conundrum. Coming in a variety of colors, types (mock turtleneck? full body?), and levels of shiny-ness, the only real feature that I find to be lacking is pockets. well, pockets and the fact that nobody actually looks good in a unitard…

So let’s be practical here. You probably don’t own a unitard (and that’s tragic, but let’s try to stay positive here), but the concept can be translated fairly easily into real-life apparel that will make your swapping experience a little bit easier:

1. Wear something close fitting. There aren’t really fitting rooms at the swap, so if you want to try things on, you will have to try them on over your clothes. If you’re wearing cargo pants and a bulky sweater, the effect could be misleading and infinitely less than cute. Leggings and a tank top, or even skinny jeans and  t-shirt work pretty well as a functional base layer.

2. Wear something lightweight. You’re going to be lading yourself down with sacks of new clothes, and any extra layers to carry around will just be burdensome. Also, all that swapping action is likely to generate a little heat. You don’t want to be sweating all over the swappables, or get tired and go home early because it’s hot and you’re cranky. Swapping is all about endurance.

3. Wear something cute. This in fact might be the most critical factor of all. Not only are Nate & Laura from Fore Front Fashion going to be wandering around snapping all the action, but you’ll also have the opportunity to get famous in our Swapperazzi photo booth. Just throw together your best swapped ensemble, step into the booth, and the fine ladies at Swap.com could put your picture up for the world to ogle.  So yes, cute shoes. (I personally will be throwing elbows to get to these).

in other swapmaine related news…

the swag bag donation list is getting sexier every day. although if these earrings don’t turn up in the bags, it’s because i stole them all.

early drop-off dates have been announced!  so if you want to get in for free, pick one and put it on your calendar. (i’ll be there the 19th if you wanna come say hello)