sarah hates pants

we did rock. we did swap.

It's been a whole week since the Rock N' Swap and so I should probably go ahead and blog about it? I like to give myself a good, long window between the topic and the blog. Have you noticed? :) I want to say that I had such an amazing experience hosting my first ever full blown EVENT. I have never done anything like that before and was blessed! I was touched by all the love we were shown and all the amazing things people said to us at the event and afterwards. If you are one of the kind souls who texted me, emailed me, called me the day after I have to say thank you to the intensity of the sun. I felt so gratified! I felt like we learned a lot and in my mind put down a great foundation for something that will only get bigger and better. We have already discussed taking the next event to a bigger venue, making it all ages, maybe outside on a pretty summer afternoon...

Thank you to the amazing Tolly who took my little clothing swap idea nugget and turned into a full blown reality. Thank you to Beauty Bar for being so open to a kind of event that, as far as I know, no one has ever tried on that scale here in town? They were so good to us!! And thank you to the Cupcake Bar for the insanely good treats, Treaty Oak Rum for the booze we sooo took advantage of, and to Laced With Romance Vintage for bringing your beautiful goods and beautiful faces to the party.

Thank you to my close friends and my family who came out and worked their butts off in a variety of ways. Knowing I have so many people in this town who have my back makes this feel like my home... finally. You sorted and folded and hunted hangers and ran back and forth like banshees. You are champions.

And thank you to the lovely people who came out and swapped with us! If you said hello or just remained focused on fighting your way through the racks (which got a little tough there for a bit, no lie!) I am so glad you came. I met some really, really lovely people. My hope is that y'all had a good time and got yourself some goodies. I know a few people who scored some ridiculously cool items that made me more than a little green-eyed.

practice that pageant wave!

The Cupcake Bar!!

Door guy had a yo-yo AND let me do his job for five minutes. Hero alert.

The best of intentions!

Laurie Gallardo at the booth with my husband.

getting set up...

harhar

get you some!

vintage poncho of woooonder

worker beees

git it gurl. haha xo

See MORE PHOTOS from the event in the FACEBOOK ALBUM.

Ok, so as long as we're here and we're talking about Austin fashion events I might as well stack 'em deep and tell you about last nights highlight, the FASHION FREAK OUT!! I was so pumped I got to attend this because for the last two years I have been out of town every weekend that this has gone down. That is just silly. How much do I love vintage?? How much do I looove free vodka?? Haha, the answer is a lot. This is right up my alley.

Some lovely friends of mine like Kathleen, Magnolia Family Vintage's own model and "face of," and Tiffany the fashionista behind Austin is Burning, among others, were walking the runway last night and I got my SCREEEEAAAM on when they hit their pose!! I thought the looks were almost all divine, the models were working it, and the crowd was pumped. There was such a positive energy going on. I met some rad people last night too and got asked if my hair was real a surprising number of times... hm? If you were going to buy a wig would you really go for the white girl afro? I don't know...

I didn't get a lot of amazing pictures but there will be recaps all over the internet if you missed it. Here's what I did manage to retrieve with the help of my friend who was perched a slight bit closer than I on the Mohawk Roof area...

This one is for Cassidy haha ;)

Haha, I am actually laughing to myself right now about the fact that I thought these appropriate to post. Pretend they're like my memories themselves... a little fuzzy, a little rough, lovely from afar... I managed to get a whopping three other photos out of the evening. I really need to step up my photo taking game. I am having so much fun and freedom these days, it really should be proven!!

three hot chicks and one golden girl...

this photo officially justifies the return of the word FLY.

Did I mention I dyed my hair again? Well I did. It's blonde. :)

That's All I got. Seacrest Out. xo

How to Swap. (bring me good stuff)

Let's talk Swap.

Not that this needs a whole lot of explanation but success is not guaranteed at an event such as this. It takes a bit of strategy and a good attitude. Just like having fun at a house party! Don't you wish someone had given you a little primer before you learned the hard way? For example- Don't show up on time, the host/hostess will inevitably still be in the shower. Don't stand in the hallway, you'll only get bumped every time someone needs to go to the bathroom and end up with beer all over yourself. And never assume the bathroom door is locked at a house party. Ever.

A few supah exciting updates before we begin... First, somehow I failed to mention in the first blog post that this event will be a charity event benefitting Arc of Austin (all leftover items will go to their shelter) and the Texas Advocacy Project (all proceeds from The Cupcake Bar.) This is an amazing opportunity to help out two great organizations.

Next, and I could not be more giddy to say this, after a brief eek! panic! moment over DJ issues, we have secured KUT's own Laurie Gallardo as the DJ for our event!!! WHAT!? I know. That's pretty cool. As a die-hard, all day long KUT listener and Texas Music Matters fan I just died a bit inside because besides the whole DJ'ing thing I GET TO MEET HER! haha. I am a nerd for public broadcasting and this is right up my alley. And the lady knows everything you would want to know about good music so our spot will be the jam for sure. What is "the jam" you say? Show up and find out.

Not new but IMPROVED and up to date event poster!!

(feel free to share it with your friends)

Oh! And not only will be Magnolia Family Vintage be swapping awesome goods, but we have guaranteed swapping from some of Austin's favorite fashionistas!

Esti Choi of buydefinition.com!

Tiffany of Austin is Burning!

Indiana Adams of AdoredAustin.com!

and we are adding names daily. Don't doubt it, you're going to find the good stuff.

Getting on with it...

"How To Succeed at a Clothing Swap by Just Trying a Little"

The Best of Intentions- My number one clothing swap concern lies in the spirit of the event. I want this event to be about community, fun, green-livin', and style. This is NOT - I REPEAT NOT- a chance for you to horde a bunch of stuff you plan to take and sell to Buffalo Exchange the next day. Please do not be a vulture. I can smell one a mile away and if I see you I will descend like a lioness separated from her cubs! I had a bad experience with this at my own garage sale when dozens of people arrived at dawn and indiscriminately hauled away garbage bags of the best stuff to sell at their city-wide garage sale stalls, I am sure... Before any vintage loving, real-life, stylish peoples even showed up! Call me old fashioned and hard to please but I love to see it all go to a loving home where someone will put it on and feel FLY!* Dig it, love it ,wear it.
Nothing but Possibilities- Come in believing you could find something neat and adorable that just wasn't someone else's cup of tea. Come with hope and nothing to lose. After all, you didn't pay to get in and what you did bring to swap will go to a good cause either way. You may not find that sought after vintage Galliano cape you've always wanted. Most people don't swap that kind of schwag. Most people swap what doesn't fit, what they were into last year (could be what you're into now...) , and what they bought and never wore. I know a lot of women have said "I won't find anything in my size" and "I am too old" and to that I say shut up. Seriously. I have had it up to HERE with the wah wah. Lots of women are your size and lots of women are your age. No reason to think they won't be there too. It's just not true. Like the argument that you can't find vintage "in your size." I am living proof that that is BS. Not only do I fit my butt into it on a daily basis, I have found and sold tons of truly plus size items from the past... The point is this is not a sample sale and you have to open your mind. Never thought about belting a shirt before and wearing it as a mini-dress but your curious because you've seen it look adorable on someone else?? Well NOW IS YOUR CHANCE! You could find a belt and a shirt for free and give it a go. If it doesn't work out... well, you tried something new and there is a goodwill down the street. But you know what? I bet you look FLY**
What to Bring- Bring anything! Almost. Bring things you at least liked at one point or someone else did (that sweater your Aunt gave you is nice but not your style...) Feel free to bring dresses, shirts, tees, sweaters, vests, pants, skirts, scarves, belts, shoes, purses, and shorts! Vintage is welcome OF COURSE and so is new and so is that period in the 90's that seems up for discussion :) There aren't a whole lot of rules here... Except, okay, just don't be gross or insulting. Don't bring it if you knew it was ugly in 1997. Don't bring it if it has stains of an unidentified origin. Or stains at all. There would be very few exceptions to this unless you can prove to me that the ketchup came right off the french fry that Jon Hamm dropped out of his own pretty mouth. Got me? A lot of people would say don't bring things that need repairing/have holes. I am of the opinion that if it is a great item otherwise, someone might want to put the ten minutes of repair time into it that you didn't! Another thing to keep in mind is that a maxi dress can be turned into a mini, long sleeves to short, things can be altered... When you get something free you're liberated to do as you wish with it. Items full of holes should be left at home unless they're those items that look so super cool with holes like jean shorts and metal tees. Word. Bring your stuff neatly folded, if possible, ideally in a resuable bag you can then use to haul off your loot in. Final word- bring stuff I would like, muahaha.
Logistics- On the day of this event, when you show up with your bag to swap, you will receive in return a ticket for each item, up to ten. Please feel free to bring more than ten items because, as you know, any extra goes to a great cause (but please don't dump a giant bag of whatever at our feet because you figure we'll take care of it. Pick and choose what you want to swap!) Then you will proceed inside to dig around through what other people have brought. This is also the time when you get a cupcake and something to drink, in other words, the very best part! When you find and decide you want to keep something, you will give one of your tickets to a Rock N' Swap worker bee manning the table you're sifting through. You will have ten tickets so you get to take home ten items. This is how we are going to try and prevent the aforementioned vulturing.

So, are you pumped? I am. You think that up there is a whole lot of blah-blah?? It totally is. If there is one thing I know how to do, it is overthink. But then again are you a professional finder of awesome things for super cheap that other people want? I didn't think so! Since I am... I may have some insight here. I certainly do love this kind of thing and I hope to see your pretty/handsome face there...

*FLY needs to come back. I love saying it and I am going to be throwing it around a lot. It is super fun, try it. "Girl, you look FLY!" See what I mean?

**What did I tell you?

Rock it, Swap it.

Hey y'all.

My confession this winter is that I refuse to take off my leggings and I have amassed a collection of oversized sweaters you could drown in. I do not consider this "getting dressed" per se but it's been working for me for months now...

It's been a beautiful holiday season in the magnolia family manse. I hope you all had a an equally pleasant roll into 2010. We spent the Christmas in Montana with family. We snowshoed, we layered, we dogsledded. My toes froze and m daughter was spoiled like crazy, to be expected. We came home to a bright new year and then free week in Austin's Red River District blended right into what I fondly call my birthday month. Yes, I am now 28 years old. I cannot lie, so far 28 looks like a gem and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday weekend. Good company, good family, kind words, good music, tasty food... I could go on. Truth be told I have been absent from blogging too long to bother trying to catch you up. It's been a lot. I am blessed in my life and in my heart.

On my break from work and from blogging I took the time to reconsider what I want to do here. The original intention of this blog seems to have come and gone. The absence of plan for what I was going to do when my year of living thriftily OFFICIALLY ended left me a bit confounded. I love to share the things I love and my passion remains in the spirit of living green by making good use of what we already have (as opposed to focusing on sustainable ways to make MORE things, which is it's own lovely thing). And so that is what I plan to continue to promote and discuss here. But limits aren't my thing. Planning gives me hives. Definitions give me the heebie jeebs. So I am just not going to bother with those. I am going to commit this particular blog (ooooh sneaky did you know I keep other ports of call??) to recording and l-l-l-loving anything I want :) My beautiful family, my addiction to the treasure hunt, the road trips, the good time bands, my need for everyone to express themselves with style... You get it. You know what's up.

So here is the good news! Well, in my mind there is a lot of god news but the most immediate and the most exciting is that I can now unleash upon you what we have been working on here behind the scenes for quite awhile...

Remember for the few of you who were paying attention I said free clothes!? Good booze! Music! Well here it be.

Mark your calendar.

What? you say.... Well it is a clothing swap. A big one. This isn't the weekday night-living room swap you may have been to or heard about in the past. This is much better. In my head, I had the thought "Wouldn't it be fun to host a clothing swap? Wouldn't it be MORE fun if there was liquor? And music??" Not exactly nuclear engineering but hey, here we are. I joined forces with the effervescent and shockingly well connected Tolley over at Austin Eavesdropper and wham-bam we have Beauty Bar, we have Treaty Oak Rum, we have The Cupcake Bar, we have Laced With Romance lending their always impeccable hippie selections... This is a lot of good stuff.

Now listen carefully. I know that not everyone has been to a swap or even knows how a clothing swap works. It is as simple as can be.

You show up at Beauty Bar on January 30th between 6 and 10pm.
You bring with you ten items of clean clothes (items such as shoes, belts, and purses will be counted) in good condition and with reasonable belief that someone else may want them. You don't have ten items of clothing to spare? No worries.
You can also swap with us a measly $5 at the door and we'll let you inside the fray.
Once you're in you get to treasure hunt through the clothes other people bring and take up to ten items home with you! For free! And if you just hate the idea of taking home free clothes... well, I won't address how many ways something could be wrong with you but I will say that you can also shop a little vintage from our own Magnolia Family Vintage or Laced With Romance, drink a little rum and hope a cat fight breaks out, do a little dance around the piles to the rock and roll part of the rock and swap... You know, lots of options.

We're going to want a lot of people to show up. The more people show up the more clothes there are to swap the more chances increase that we can all walk away with our new favorite things! I love that idea. I love a good chance. Hopeful, isn't it? So you know, get your talk on and tell people what is happening!! You can RSVP at the web site and post all about it on Facebook and you know you have a blog that you want to use for good and not evil. Let the world know.

Now, I will be publishing a comprehensive "How to Succeed at a Clothing Swap by Just Trying a Little" this week. There is a spirit and a method to the madness!! Keep your eyes open and in the meantime start setting aside your swap offerings and tell your friends.

Seacrest Out.

foremanphoto

If you live in Austin you may have picked up a copy of RARE magazine, the fashion issue, in the last couple of weeks. If you have, you may have noticed a surprisingly fresh fashion spread.

*please excuse the wonky cropping.

The fantastic thing about this is that Alan Foreman, the photographer, is a native! Or a local... who knows how long he has lived here the point is that he does! Austin does have it's own burgeoning fashion scene but Mr. Foreman's resume includes various international ELLE'S, Blackbook, and a Vogue (Spain according the web site.) Those are credentials we don't see much of here because they hoard them in NYC and other such bright lights big cities! I also happen to know that he and his wife have started a brand new model management company, the absence of which was, in my opinion, a void in Austin until now. They have girls flying all over the country, signing with major agencies, appearing in NYLON for goodness sakes. Enough of that, you'd think I was trying to work with the man or something... ahem. His work speaks for itself.

the giving spirit.

I am in the mood to give.

It's not something that happens that often so my advice is take advantage

and now is your chance!!

OR!

(I can't decide which photo I like better for this purpose. Please choose for yourself which appeals to you, gets you in the spirit more, and then focus on it.)

The Prizes!

I am making THREE gift packs that are all vintage, all from the heart :) I will be including vintage jewelry, a vintage scarf, and something else, who knows. I will gift wrap your present and mail it to the winner by Wednesday, December 16th. I am actually GOING SHOPPING for these gifts, not just selecting from the magnolia family closet. Fancy, right?

How to Enter!!

While this is all in the holiday spirit, I am still going to use it to my advantage. Winners will be chosen at random from followers of the Magnolia Family Vintage twitter account on Monday, December 14th. That's five days to push ONE BUTTON that says follow. I want to get 100 followers by Christmas! I will put your name in the drawing twice if you tweet about this giveaway, this blog, my awesomeness, etc, etc. You will have to message me or comment to let me know if you have payed it forward though. I wouldn't want to miss it!

Who doesn't like a pretty gift under their tree from a stranger? No one doesn't like that.

Ok, got it? Follow the shop ON TWITTER to win a super cute, hand-picked, holiday gift package from the family de magnolia aka me, and Magnolia Family Vintage.

xo.