they came, we swapped

I am full of joy from having women in my house this morning bringing laughter and stories and bags and boxes of stuff. And before I tell you how much I loved the swap (and my new stuff), I have to tell you that the community of it was what was life giving today. If I am honest, I woke up a little down this morning, distracted by something that was bothering me. But then friends stepped in with smiles and sunshine and GOOD FOOD. yes. good food helps most things. And I LOVED it and having them.

Including meeting my blog friend Amber for the first time! Isn't it a weird world where internet dating and cyber connections eclipse reality for some? Let me reassure you, we are not those people. But here we are, two girls journeying through life and sharing stories of our everyday, what Amber would call shenanegans. And now we are REAL LIFE friends who are going to get breakfast in a few weeks at a wonderful little cafe in GR where I used to go with Erich when he was in college.

And there were these fun girls who totally jumped right into the sillininess of working a pose within 10 minutes of meeting one another. Thanks to our photographer friend Christy for that inspiration!
Amber, Christy, Joy, Bree, Me, Joy, Michelle, Rochelle

Everyone brought so many great things and the selection really was incredible, including several item still in original packaging, proving that we all have great things that we just don't use! Here are some of my goodies and I can't wait to incorporate them into my decor.

I think the great thing about a swap is that you could do almost anything- books, accessories, clothing...possibilities are endless. Here a few things that I learned:

*Offer to bring all extra items to Goodwill- that way your guests really do only go home with new items and after all, they brought stuff they want to get rid of so help them do it.
* One cannot underestimate the necessity of good coffee and food for girlfriends. Crucial to the success of any get together and added a lot of extra mingling to the party.
*The more the merrier- invite friends to invite their friends. The more people you have, the more great stuff to choose from and the more opportunity for people to connect with other women they have not met before.