they came, we swapped, we conquered

for those curious about the turnout of Swap! Don't Shop! 0-10.

the guests: a pretty rad turnout. 17 strong! so many awesome females in one room! it was an estrofest, except for the carlos*.

the food: all a girl could ever want - cheese. bread. wine. chocolate. champagne. and my personal favorite - cupcakes! except when they almost burn annie's kitchen down.

the fire: as cute & delicious as cupcakes can be, they are also capable of creating oven fires. scary ones.

when you bake as often as we do, which is to say, never, it becomes difficult to remember that one must check the bottom of your 60+ year-old oven to make sure said surface is clean and detritus-free. well, lesson learned. as luck would have it, my cool-headed father, mr. big jim murphy, happened to be in town on business on the afternoon of our swap and had offered to help me mix up some cupcake batter while i tidied up the apartment. (quite a guy, my dad.) so, when some leftover something in our oven decided to light on fire, he was there to guide me through the emergency. staring into the flames, i think our conversation went something like this:

dad: i'm trying to remember what they told us in boy scouts.

me: i'd better open some windows.
dad: i think you're not supposed to put water on it.
me: i don't have a fire extinguisher.
dad: (squeezing water from a towel into the oven) i think you'd better go find one.
me: eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

the resident manager: dear mr. diaz, i am sorry that the first time you met me was when i banged on your door while you were on the phone and breathlessly inquired after a fire extinguisher, then ran away trying to explain that "its pretty small, but you know its in my oven and im not really sure what to do, maybe you'd really better take a look at it..." i hope you salvaged what was left of your quiet wednesday evening and that eventually, the smell of cupcakes baking next door canceled out the mix of the fire and the incense i burned to cover that up. also, i am sorry about all the pat benatar we play after hours on a tri-weekly basis.

thank you for your assistance,

#102.

the clothes!!!: a mix certainly worth diving into. there were even a couple of BRAND NEW items! but what was so great, and in the true spirit of samstag(saturday), were the loads and loads of great vintage dresses and jackets and skirts. oh my! luckily, no fights broke out; we can't say that hearts went unbroken, though. goodbye to the vintage grey geometric shapes dress. emily will wear you well. by weird coincidence, though, most of what I took home was from our dear friend emily while annie swooped in on some great finds from the wonderful ms. lilly.

the game plan: this "game plan" of ours was loosely organized before the night began, but we've got it down now and would like to introduce to you a very sophisticated and organized method. Behold...

the destiny's child "musical chairs method"©: Simple really.

Round ONE - the pursuing round in which swappers could take a careful look at what was in store without picking anything up. and it lasted the duration of track 1: "so good" track 2: "bills, bills, bills" and track 3: "confessions."

Round TWO - where elbows were thrown (kidding!). Featuring what could only be called a classic - "Bug A Boo," each swapper could snag, try on, and hold up to three additional items.

Round THREE - the pressure's on. Next three items. What you wanted could be taken, but what you never saw before could be exposed from underneath the piles and piles of clothes. But we had to throw in an extra credit round - the take as you will round.

*the carlos: some of you locals might have heard tell of my affections for a certain four-legged friend named carlos, the loyal charge of my friend allison. here he and I are having a moment with my lovely roommate, natalie, a few weeks ago. (see how much he loves to party?)

photo by Zoë

he was the only man who made it through Swap! Don't Shop! 0-10 (despite his inability to swap) and he charmed all of our guests, cuddled with many, and got to eat a piece of cheese. all in all, i think he had a wonderful time.

the fruits of our labor: we had some really nice times, my apartment didn't burn down, and now we have 4 bags full of wonderful things to alter, enhance, & repurpose. (plus two bags we're going to donate to lifelong thrift store.) i already made katie's birthday present out of a too-small linen blouse!

the thanks:
all 17 contributors/swappers/rockin' babes, carlos, mr. diaz, jim murphy, friends from afar, boys we know and like who were supportive even though they weren't invited, and to annie for opening her home to samstag(saturday)'s FIRST seasonal Swap! Don't Shop!

see ya'll around next time!

love,

us