coolest contest ever (or looking for new members)

ok, starting at the end, as usual…but normally, before I bother entering a contest, I kinda wanna know what the prize is.  I usually pass on anything with the words chakra, vegan or reaffirming in the title. Ditto for xxx, hammers or dwarfs – I  just can’t explain it.

So – the winner of this contest will win an incredible hand cream from smithfarms.  Tomorrow’s blog will feature why smithfarms handcream is totally better than winning an ipad.  I swear!

So – now the rules.  I’m not going to lie to you.  This contest was created specifically to  generate new members and to get more women swapping (clothes, that is – geesh, what did you think I was talking about?).  It is an underhanded and manipulative way to get you to participate.  But here’s the thing: I really & truly believe that everybody can benefit from swapping.  Whether you spend your days screening your calls in order to avoid the collection agencies, or whether you prefer to wear birks and eat sprouts or whether you come home each week with another perfect lbd (on purpose) -  swapping our clothes is good for us! [OK - exiting the podium now].  So if it take’s a fun exciting never seen before contest to get you to try it, then I’m willing to do it! (Contest ends when I receive the package in the mail)

Right, the rules:

1. Join our FB GROUP suzieswapper.  You must be part of the group to win.  Then:

2. Answer one of the following questions and post your reply on the blog:

OH WAIT: Want to double or triple or even quadruple your chances of winning? Invite your friends to join and encourage them to enter as well.  For each friend of yours that enters, I will add your name into the “hat” another time. and another time…etc..just get your pals to mention your name on their reply, that’s all.

And remember, it’s not just a contest, it’s a new of living that you could be winning!! OK, Question time:

A: If you could swap clothing with any person ever (real or fictional) who’s closet would you raid?  OR

B: Who’s closet (again, real or fictional) would you least like to swap from? And you must come up with your own answers (Robin, Lindsay and Michelle are mine!

suzie shmoozie

So, my name is not suzieswapper. It’s not even suzie.  It could be suzie-shmoozie as somebody recently referred to me -but it’s not that either.  But I like the connotations (social meddling butterfly) so I may actually encourage this one.

The name got me thinking about what I do &  how much I love it!  suzieswapper allows me to wear the same clothes every day if I want (I do realize that admitting this is slightly counterproductive), drink copious amounts of coffee during my value added personal styling appointments.  I get to shop responsibly – which is way more fun than say, drinking responsibly.   I also get time to deliberate (for hours, apparently) over other cheerful monikers:

suzie floozie: my mom warned me against this one.

suzie-poozie: son #1 insisited I include this one

suzie-loozie: son # 2 yelled out this one while doing the universal “L” on his forehead

suzie-jacuzzi: soooo not my image.  sadly.

suzie-juicy: yep, I know.  Doesn’t rhyme.  But it allows me to point out, (rather deliberately) that someone recently swapped out an identical juicy sweater like the one Kate Moss is wearing here on suzieswapper.

your eyes really add value to your face. huh?

Wow.  Even I sometimes shock myself with how fast (and indiscreetly) thoughts leave my brain and exit my mouth.  Without any explanation or sense or filtering system whatsoever.  And I’m talking about even the nice things.

My pal Allison dropped by today to pick up a denim jacket from suzieswapper for her upcoming trip.  She walked in, dressed head to size 9 boot (she wears a 7 but couldn’t resist…since I have experience stuffing um, things with toilet paper,I totally understood) in suzieswap’d (insert selfish self promotion button here!) clothing and left wearing even more.  So I decided to take some “candid” photos of her, in her new threads.  She is very sweet and  humored me.  Viewing the shots afterwards, I chose the one without the shades, reasoning that “her eyes add a lot of value to her face”.  I meant, ” Allison, you are a complete knockout, and your stunning baby blues are as bright as the sky on a perfect summer afternoon”.  Instead, I felt like an awkward pimply teen, trying to get to first base on the first date.  Which incidentally, didn’t happen a whole lot, even then.  Go figure.

In a desperate attempt to change the topic, I will point out that Allison is wearing an entire suzieswap’d outfit:

Jacket: Bedo  Sweater: Gap Purse: Tommy Jeans: guess Purse: Tommy Boots: zappos

betsy vs. suzie

ok.  I promised myself I would no longer hold on to clothing that was : too tight. Or  too loose.  Or too young. Or too old, tired or worn. Or too skanky, cheap or lady of the night-ish.  Or anything too fruity, whimsical or festive.

But then Betsy came along with these.  And I should post them on suzieswapper and help them find a new home.  But I can’t.  They don’t even fit, I can’t wear heels and I don’t live in Hawaii.  And yet….

denim duo or do not-o?

Or, look what happens when you mix not enough coffee with not enough clothes.

So my youngest has a friend over, and they’ve been playing happily for hours.  Or they were.  But apparently, the fort was meant to protect them from monsters, not robbers.  Or something like that.  I was only listening peripherally. Drinking coffee and writing a new blog is way more fun then playing with 8 year old boys.  But things escalated, as they seem to do when monsters and robbers are involved and I found myself trying, calmly, to explain that sometimes there is never only one way of doing things.  And that partnering up/ layering together two unlikely villains might even create an all-powerful force.  They stared at me, blankly, and happily pulled out the lego instead (there may have even been a quick eye roll in there).

So – I am wondering – can the same be said of this pairing of two decidedly different denims?  Worn together, are they a proud united force or should I give it up and break out the lego instead?  You tell me.

hair loss. and what i wore.

Recently a friend was explaining that now that her kids were a bit older she’d like to return to work but she would really need to find something meaningful. something that contributes back to society.  Quickly, she looked up, realizing who she was talking to ( I am suzieswapper, afterall – creator of a clothing swap, a  materialistic vain endeavor, one could easily argue – and said that this was just her and she didn’t expect everyone to have the same values.  Seriously??

Simultaneously – and I don’t begin to grasp how the brain – especially mine – works, scenes from the movie Crash, episodes of Three’s company and  the guy who cut me off on the way to the hairdressers this afternoon all sprung to mind.  Crash – only saw it once but am not embarrassed to admit, found it the most enlightening film ever (themes of things not always being how they appear feature prominently in this movie). Ok – Three’s Company for it’s ubiquitous misunderstands.  And the guy who cut me off – well after I gave him the finger, I wondered, regretfully, if maybe his daughter had just had an accident or maybe his wife was in labour – see you never really know.

So after to this dim-witted friend of mine basically attacked my moral core & values in one fell swoop, I did question if suzieswapper was my contribution and did I feel ok with that. uummm, yes I do!!  Here’s the thing, yesterday I went for a haircut and it dawned on me I no longer felt like a super-model leaving the salon, and hadn’t for ages.  Seriously – do you know that feeling when you walk out of the salon.  Maybe you catch some chic looking in your direction and you’re convinced she’s deathly of jealous of you and your gorgeous locks – even if it’s just for the day, it’s a glorious feeling.  and I won’t ever get it back.  Around 2 years ago, I started losing my hair (which is ironic because I never ever liked it anyhow until I started finding it on my pillow rather than my head, in copious amounts).  And it’s not coming back either. A very close friend, and hair specialist, used words like alopecia and permanent but I had to stop listening. Also, I don’t have a great rack. Or a swan neck. Or dark sultry eyes.  But I do have clothes!  Pinks, purples, greens, blues…skirts, dresses, tanks & shoes.  And when I wear them I feel pretty.  And I smile more.  And studies have proven that spreading a smile can be as valuable as just about anything else.  so that’s my contribution to the world, you self-righteous, pompous naval-gazing thick-haired, swanny neck bitch!!!

And in case you’re wondering, my favorite locks these days are:

Tags: audrey tautou, hair, hairloss, penelope cruz, scarlett

cottage country

So I am slowly getting ready for summer vacation – for my gang this means a visit to Sandbanks Provincial Park for 7 glorious days of nothing.  Really truly nothing.  For those of you familiar with the park, you know that within the park there are 3 different beaches, including the infamous sand dunes.  The thrill with the dunes has something to do with it’s majestic views at the top of a big huge sand mountain I think.  This will be our 8th summer in the park and we have never ever been. OK – this is a lie.  Last summer we drove to the Dunes parking lot, looked around briefly and left.  Boy those dunes looked beautiful.  And big.  And cumbersome.  Nope, we’ll take the flat beach – each and every day.  For a family that always seems to be on the go, we rock at  doing nothing on vacation.  But I recognize that not all of you are such slackers, and whether your summer plans include a tent, a boat or a cottage ( I will always, always choose the latter), you may not have a thing to wear.  Items were chosen based on natural materials, comfort and cuteness (seriously, look #2 just screams s’mores by the campfire!!).  Oh – and availability, of course!!  What  is your favorite vacation look??