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)

resolved.

i was lucky enough to come into a bit of an xmas windfall this year. nothing earth shattering (most of it went to bills and to my saving’s account), BUT i decided to give myself a small allowance to spend on whatever i wanted. DANGEROUS. it could have been anything, or everything… i have a bad habit of burning through cash without really paying attention to where it goes, or really caring too much when it’s gone. i’m all like “oh, that’s was fun”, instead of feeling the intense sense of guilt and shame that keeps most people from getting in financial trouble.

the last year has overall been a good one for my financial evolution. this was the first year in over a decade that i didn’t use my credit cards even once. i also managed to have a savings account with actual money in it for more than 15 minutes. on the other hand, i didn’t pay off my credit cards as much as i would have liked, i didn’t manage to keep the majority of the money in my savings account, and i still didn’t start an HSA.

so for 2011, i have only one resolution. it isn’t to save more, or spend less, pay off the credit cards, or even open an HSA… (although all of those things are certainly worth keeping in mind). my resolution this year is just to PAY ATTENTION. wherever my money travels should take me this year, i would like to be watchful and be thoughtful about every dollar i spend. i’m thinking about leaving my debit card at home, giving myself a cash allowance, being more careful about monitoring my mint account… but it doesn’t really matter what i do, as long as i’m being vigilant.

i decided to lube up my resolution and get started a little early with the aforementioned windfalll. instead of just throwing the money into my checking account and going apeshit on whatever i happened to find first, i sat down and really thought about things that i wanted, needed, and would generally be too cheap or too broke to afford the rest of the year. here is what i came up with: