My annual clothing swap is one of the highlights of my social calendar and the official start of the summer season. This year was no exception, on either score. A fun time was had by all, on a gorgeous afternoon in my blooming garden. It was, in fact, a scorcher of a day; luckily, I’d put up the canopy again this year – not aesthetic, but very handy for extra shade. After 18 years, I’ve got the whole programming down to a science. The actual event, on the other hand, is always a delightful surprise.

Every year, the guest list is slightly different and so, of course, are the things we swap. This year, there were 11 of us – including one “swap newbie” and my daughter. My daughter started hanging out with us at swap a couple of years ago, but this was the first time she was a full participant in every sense; she brought her own things to swap and everything. As a sidebar, while I don’t include kids’ clothing specifically in my swaps, I always encourage my guests to pick up things for their (older) kids, if they see something they think might work. My daughter turns 12 this year, which might seem a bit young to participate in an adult clothing swap, but the reality is that she’s already 5’4 and wears the same shoe size as me; she fits right in, no pun intended. I can’t express how happy it makes me to see her embrace the secondhand ethos – thrifting with me, doing clothing swaps, etc. For her, this is simply ‘normal’ life, much as going to the mall was ‘normal’ for me when I was growing up. I don’t think I need to explain why I think this is a Very Cool Thing. I’m not the type of parent who pats herself on the back very often – the proof of whether I’m doing a good job is still years away, and it’ll be my kids who decide the final verdict – but this is one instance where I feel like I do deserve one.

(Further sidebar, but I also love to see my daughter confidently explore her personal style – without the hangups I had at her age – and I think that has a lot to do with her exposure to thrifting. I’ve always believed that shopping secondhand pushes/helps people to develop their own “eye” / point of view, rather than follow what others dictate is cool, interesting, etc.)

Ok, back to the swap. This year, I had about 5 bags of clothing and accessories to contribute to the swap. Going forward, I think I will have less. A couple of (interconnected) reasons for that: (1) my shopping has slowed down a lot; and (2) I’m buying with a narrower focus and doing less experimenting. This is a good thing, and an extension of my having reached a place where I’m happy/confident/comfortable in my own style. It will mean that I have less to contribute to future swaps, but that’s ok; I know that there will always be more than enough. Case in point: this year, even though I ended up picking up more pieces than I expected or intended, and even though everyone else took lots as well, we still had several bags’ worth of leftovers to be donated.

Let me digress again. Clothing swaps involve a tricky balance. You want to have enough supply so everyone can find something they love (and fit). Style being subjective, this means that for someone to end up with 3 pieces, you might need 10 pieces for them to choose from. Those are not exact numbers, by the way. But you get my point. It’s why I don’t limit the number of items people can bring to my swap; better to have extra, than not enough. It’s also why I save a lot of my unwanted clothing over the course of the year to bring to the swap so that, regardless of what others contribute, there is a good “baseline” of options. Obviously, I can’t do that in an extended size range, but I try my best. It’s something I might not be able to do in the future … but we will figure it out.

I came away from the swap with about 2 (very full) bags of stuff, for both me and my daughter. Here’s what I picked up:

I love picking up miscellaneous items because they can be just as fun, not to mention functional, as clothes. To wit, this year I got: skincare and hair products for curly/wavy hair (including a cool hairbrush). I’ve been on a journey to find my perfect wavy hair routine, and getting products for free is extremely convenient for that. I also got a trinket dish … and dontcha know, I collect Blue Mountain pottery. The book was for my husband, so he wouldn’t feel left out, LOL!

I also love picking up functional items, like: workout leggings (with pockets, which are a must for me), vintage bloomers (to wear under skirts), and socks.

Got two pairs of shoes. I’m obsessed with the loafers. I have been wanting a brown pair of loafers for ages – score! The J. Crew sandals were also a score for me; I’ve had the black version for 6+ years now, and still wear them non-stop every summer. It’s my fave style of sandals. It goes with everything. This silver pair is brand new.

Got some fun accessories: amazonite necklace, cute polymer clay earrings, a sweet locket, and a leather wrap belt.

These are the pieces my daughter chose for herself. She was very discriminating in her picks, and I love that for her. These are items that suit her style really well.

I got 2 swimsuits. I don’t swim often, but I still end up needing a swimsuit a few times a year. I hate buying new ones, so it’s handy to have a few options on hand. These were both brand new.

I got three tops, including 2 basics that will be good for summer, and a vintage Escada cardigan.

I got 2 pairs of pants, including the vintage Guess khakis. You know I can’t pass that up … much as I can’t pass up a pair of wide leg cropped jeans.

But my fave picks from the swap were these two skirts: vintage Laura Ashley plaid, and vintage Orvis floral. OBSESSED. I’ve worn the red skirt twice already. Can’t wait to do it again. Summer, here I come!

Alright, this has been an incredibly chaotic post … which is somehow appropriate because my clothing swaps are a bit chaotic, in the best way possible. We chat, we laugh, we try on clothes, we cheer each other on, we make a big ol’ mess – it’s like a girls’ slumber party in the middle of the afternoon, with snacks and “free” shopping and zero judgment.

Can’t wait to do it all again next year!

I’m thinking of switching up my weekly outfit posts and trying a slightly different format moving forward. I haven’t quite landed on what I want the new one to look like, so I might be trying a few options. These days, I don’t feel like I have much to say about my outfits apart from, like, “here’s something cute I wore and liked a lot.” Might turn the weekly round-up into a dumping ground for my Thoughts of the Week (similar to the Friday Feels post I put up on my writing account on IG), with bonus outfit photos for visual interest. In general, I am much less interested in fashion as a hobby these days — probably because I now have an all-consuming outlet for creative expression in my writing instead. But I would love to share more about my experiences with thrifting and what those have taught me about personal style. If that sounds intriguing to you, let me know.

Ok, now let’s look at some of my fave outfits from the past 6 (has it been 6?!?) weeks.

Hey, look at that: not me, still on the brown train. I can’t quit, I won’t quit. Not when it looks this good. Speaking of good, I am OBSESSED with that vintage Coach duffle bag. Hands down, one of my fave bags and quite possibly my best Poshmark buy of the year. I’ve been very, very picky lately — not just with Poshmark, but shopping in general — and focusing my energy (such as I had) and money on finding/buying special pieces, like this bag.

I am very into this vibe, whatever you want to call it. The dress in the middle is Ralph Lauren, and one of my fave recent thrift finds. I LOVE it. It’s silk and it fits like a dream and it’s everything I want in a dress. The outfit on the right was inspired by a vintage J. Crew ad. Need I say more? The skirt on the left is another current obsession. Pink isn’t a colour I normally gravitate toward, but I adore the style of this skirt, and I am working around/with the colour.

Case in point: see middle photo. Gosh, I loved that outfit so much! As you can tell, I’m still rocking the maxi skirts. Also still rocking what I now call my “subtle cowboy” vibe. The skirt on the left is an older Wilfred style that I’ve been hunting for years, and recently found at Red Pony, a local consignment store. I hate the fabric (it’s polyester not cotton, WTH Aritzia?!) but I am making it work because it’s nearly perfect in every other way. [It could stand to be a few inches longer, hence the petticoat.]

Last but not least, quick highlights of some of my other spring-to-summer moods. I’m LOVING men’s shorts at the moment. The relaxed preppy vibe, the comfort … 10/10, no notes. I’m also riding the summer goth train, especially after finally getting a pair of tall Dr. Martens boots. Photos to come — and you’ll want to see them, I promise!

See ya next week!

Hey, hi, hello.

It’s been … checks notes … a while?

Sorry about dropping off the map internet and all that, but if it makes you feel any better, I also did the same thing IRL – just ask my friends. Or don’t, because they probably don’t remember who I am. Just kidding! I’m only friends with people who understand the existential necessity of sometimes disappearing without a trace for weeks (or months) at a time. Life happens, you know?

Speaking of life happening, here’s what’s been happening in mine: Not. Much.

Not much, except the mundane daily grind … oh, and a hell of a lot of writing. 165,000 words’ worth of writing, which equates to two full-length novels, which represent book #2 and #3 in my (sorta) series of interconnected standalone mysteries. Basically, for the last couple of months, I’ve been working two jobs, one of them entirely unpaid and all-consuming. [That would be the writing, in case it wasn’t obvious.] Between those and family, I’ve had approximately zero energy for, well, anything else. Make that less-than-zero energy, actually. There have been many a day when I ran strictly on fumes and iced coffee.

Which reminds me: something kinda momentous did happen recently. I quit Diet Coke. I am now, exclusively, an iced coffee girlie. My body seems to prefer this method of caffeine delivery, don’t ask me why.

But I digress.

In addition to finishing the first drafts of book #2 and #3, I have also been working on a pretty major edit of book #1. Writing two more books has taught me a LOT – primarily about tightening up backstory, pacing, and POV – so I went back and applied those lessons to book #1. Unfortunately, that happened after I was already well into the query process, which wasn’t ideal but hopefully won’t prove fatal to my chances of getting agent representation. I’m still deep in the query trenches and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. I’ll write a separate post about that, since it’s probably unfamiliar territory for most of you and I intend to drag you along with me, whether you like it or not. Just kidding; I won’t. I do hope you’ll follow along, though. It’s gonna be a long, hard slog, and it will be nice to have some company.

Because I’ve spent every spare minute writing, I haven’t done much of anything else: zero reading, next to no socializing, very little thrifting. But June is the month I plan to re-emerge from my cocoon house again, and I kicked things off by hosting my annual clothing swap. A post on that coming soon too. Summer is now kicking into gear here in Edmonton, which means it’s (a) gardening season, and (b) time to bust out my summer wardrobe. I’m very excited about that, although I’ve had very little time to think about fashion or clothes lately. I know, I sound like a broken record. But I’ll be doing a quick little roundup of some outfit highlights, so look for that coming up. Oh, and if you need more Adina content, I’ve started a new IG account under my (future) pen name dedicated to writing and all things books (my own and other people’s). Check it out and follow me if you want to see/hear my thoughts on the writing process, my journey to trad publishing, bookish memes, book reviews, and more. My handle is @ murders_she_writes … and, yes, that is a J.B. Fletcher reference.

Ok, enough from me, for now. I’d love to hear what you’ve been doing and reading lately, so come and tell me in the comments!