Showing posts with label Fashion Swap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fashion Swap. Show all posts

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Weekly Recap and a Beer Mile.

By Jess in Minneapolis

Time for another weekly recap already!

Here's how the week panned out in Fitness:
Monday: Ran 7 miles in the AM, Hot Power Fusion at Corepower Yoga in the PM
Tuesday: Ran 4 miles with Matilda
Wednesday: Ran 7 miles in the AM
Thursday: Ran 7 miles in the AM, Kettlebells at Balance Fitness in the PM
Friday: BarreAmped at Balanced Barre in the AM
Saturday: 10 miles with the CBRC
Sunday: Hot Power Fusion at Corepower Yoga

Total: 35 miles, 1 strength, 1 barre, 2 yoga

The highlight this week in fitness was definitely the kettlebell class at Balance. I went last week, so it wasn't a lack of consistency that made this week's class so hard, but my, oh, my, my legs were so sore after this class! It must have been all of the thruster squats and swings between each upper body exercise, but the class was definitely a doozy, and it led me to cut back on my running on Saturday (10 rather than 12 miles) and not run at all on Sunday to let my legs fully recover. I love being that sore though! (I just have to be sure not to take that class before a race).

And here's what happened last week in Fitness Fashion:
Nothing much was new last week in Fitness Fashion, so I thought I'd share something I'm currently throwing a fit for at lululemon. It's their "fluff off vest". This vest is pretty similar to the downalicioius vest that I am also throwing a fit for at Athleta. Ideas for my Christmas wish list? I think both options would be a perfect winter running essential for the frigid temps that are surely on their way in Minneapolis. Priced at $128 for the fluff off vest at lululemon and $138 for Athleta's version, I am hoping that Santa reads the Right Fits.


And of course, here's an update on the week in Fashion:
My girlfriends and I have discussed that we frequently buy cocktail dresses for weddings, galas, etc, and we only wear them once or twice, before letting them gather dust in the far corners of the closet. Personally, I am a big offender of this wasteful act. I even have a few dresses that I have never worn! With that said, I figured a cocktail dress swap would be a creative way to expand the wardrobe for a price that fits the bill. We all have a few weddings coming up this spring and summer, so this was an opportunity to find a "new-to-me" dress for those special occasions.

This past Wednesday, about eight girlfriends came over for some wine and appetizers. They brought over all kinds of awesome dresses....like all of these lovely gowns:
We took turns trying on dresses that appealed to our personal style, and I think several of us found some great "borrows" for future weddings and events!

Between this and the Fashion Swaps that I have hosted, I obviously like to swap clothes. I think it's due to growing up with four sisters and borrowing (stealing?) clothes from their closets that left me always planning this type of event (read about past fashion swaps HERE and HERE)

Beer Mile?

In between all the fitness, fashion, and fitness fashion, Dustin and I attended the CBRC Beer Mile event on Saturday night. We both opted to be spectators, as I just don't have the stomach to down four beers while running a mile...Yep, you read that right.  In fact, apparently, this is a popular event for running clubs, but I had never heard of it.

The official rules of this "event" are as follows:

1. Teams consist of two competitors.



2. Each competitor drinks four cans of beer and runs four laps of the 1/4 mile route. Teammates alternate the ‘beer then run’ process (beer/lap/tag). Finish the lap by tagging your partner. Your teammate will then drink a beer and run a ¼ mile and this will continue until each team has run 8 laps and consumed 8 beers (4 per person).



3. The timer will start with the opening of the first beer from the first runner of each team. The timer will stop when the second runner from each team crosses the finish line after his/her fourth lap. The first team to cross the finish line after drinking 8 beers and running 8 laps is the winner.



4. After the first lap, beers cannot be opened until tagged by a partner finishing a lap.


5. Competitors must drink canned beer and the cans must not be less than 355ml or 12oz. No bottles will be allowed on the course for safety reasons. No Solo cups in the interest of consistency for those drinking from cans.



6. Beer cans must not be tampered with in any manner. I.e. No shot gunning or puncturing of the can except for opening the can by the tab at the top. No straws, bongs or other aids are allowed in order to increase the speed of pouring / drinking. Wide mouth cans, e.g. Coors Light, are acceptable.



7. Beer must be a minimum of 4.2% alcohol by volume. That means no 3.2% gas station beer. Hard ciders and lemonades will also not suffice. The beer must be a fermented alcoholic beverage brewed from malt and flavored with hops. Acceptable beers: Bud, Bud Light, Coors, Coors Light, Hamm’s, Heineken, Michelob Golden Draft, Miller Lite, PBR, Keystone Light, Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Genuine Draft Lite, Old Milwaukee, Yuengling (if you can find it). Others may be allowed at the discretion of the Race Director. 

8. Common beers that do not meet the minimum alcohol threshold: Amstel Light, Busch Light, Hamm’s Light, Heineken Light, Michelob Golden Draft Light, Michelob Ultra, O’douls (obviously)

9. Spilling is high discouraged. The name of the game is beer mile, not ‘pour it down your shirt mile.’ Mild spillage while drinking may result in a one shot penalty at the discretion of the drinking judge. Heavy spillage while drinking may result in a two shot penalty at the discretion of the drinking judge.




10. Upon drinking a beer, each competitor must turn his or her can completely upside down before running a lap. An unreasonable amount of beer/foam poured from the can will result in either a one or two shot penalty at the discretion of the drinking judge.


A handful of people joined Dustin and me as "spectators." Needless to say, the shenanigans were quite entertaining for the non-participators.

spectators

Runners and beer....it seems that they go hand-in-hand!

Here's a YouTube video of the fastest beer mile on record: 
(The CBRC version was not on a track, but was otherwise the same.)




It was a fun event, and I was impressed by how quickly some people could still run (and drink?) Probably not the healthiest event in the world, but it was all in good fun.

How was your week? Any fresh, new fits in Fitness, Fashion, or Fitness Fashion? Please share!


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Featured Fit: Taste of the Nation's HotList!

By Cool J in Minneapolis

I've done a few posts about different Taste of the Nation events that my husband and I have attended in the past year or two (check out THIS POST, THIS POST, and THIS POST), and last night was another great event put on by this charity. It was the Taste of the Nation- HotList!

What's the HotList? Only one of the most fun events in Minneapolis!

"The top chefs and mixologists in the Twin Cities are banning together to host an evening of fabulous food, drinks, music and prizes – all in the name of fighting childhood hunger." 
source
This awesome event was held at the beautiful Guthrie Theater along the Mississippi River.

Tickets were $75/piece, but that $75 got you tons of small plates from some of the best local restaurants. Name a restaurant, and it was probably there! La Belle Vie, Barbette, Be'Wiched, Bradstreet Crafthouse, Brasa, Bryant Lake Bowl, Butcher & the Boar, Chino Latino, Cosmos, Forepaugh's, Gather, the Gray House, Icehouse, the Lynn on Bryant, Marin, Masu Sushi & Robata, Petite Sweets, Salty Tart, Sea Change, the Strip Club, and Sun Street Breads...so many amazing chefs cooking up so many delectable bites.
La Belle Vie's unique course
Each attendee received a "voting" card to vote on their favorite restaurant. Personally, I voted for Bradstreet Crafthouse, who was serving up a small french toast bite topped with pork belly, peanut butter, and syrup. Sounds funky, but it was so yummy! The winner of the night (with the most votes) was Salty Tart with banana creme dessert.

In addition to all the great food, there was a wide assortment of signature cocktails, a "wine ring toss" (I won a huge bottle!) and a silent auction.

In fact, I went a little crazy on the silent auction, winning ALL THREE items on which I bid. I went home with a Blush Beauty Room goodie bag (lots of Bare Minerals makeup inside), a gift basket and $100 gift card to Ollu Dog Salon, and my favorite item...drumroll please...

A $300 gift card to A la Mode Wardrobe Consultants

I cannot wait to schedule my wardrobe consultation, though I'm not 100% sure what it will entail. I hope to find out soon. But a friend of mine won a similar one at last year's Hotlist. She said the consultant came to her house to review her closet, had her pick out her favorite outfits and explain why they were her favorites, and then took her shopping, pulling outfits from lots of stores that she feels will flatter and enhance her personal style. She could choose what she wanted to buy. What a fabulous idea! And all for a good cause, right?

So, yes, the event was such a blast! I wore a Shoshanna dress that  I had actually purchased for my friend's wedding in Mexico last year...remember this picture?

This time I paired the dress with a pair of Nine West polka dot heels and silver J.Crew necklace.


There were so many cute outfits at this event, on friends and on strangers. I was especially happy to see that some of them were even items from my Fashion Swap in April.
Susie's dress used to be mine!

And Julia's dress (on the far right) was also from the swap. I loved the gold on her!

The men looked pretty darn handsome too, didn't they?

I had such a fun evening, eating all the scrumptious food and catching up with friends. It was a beautiful night (except the mosquitoes out on the infinity bridge).

...Stay tuned for my Wardrobe Consultation in a few weeks!



Thursday, May 2, 2013

Fit the Bill: Fashion Swap Followup!

By Cool J in Minneapolis

Guess what? I'm heading to Michigan tomorrow night to run a half mary with LL and my dad. He's in his 60's, and this will be his first run of this distance! I'm very excited to visit my parents and have a fun-filled weekend with the better half of the Right Fits. Expect plenty of race reports on the blog soon!

Until then, I want to share some post-fashion swap pictures of some of the attendees and their lovely wares. As I posted about here, this past weekend, I hosted a fashion swap. I had a great time hosting the party, and it seems like everyone came away with some new-to-them items. I thought it would be fun if the attendees sent me pictures of how they styled different items they picked up at the swap to be shared here for your enjoyment!

I am happy to share these right fits- wait no- FANTASTIC FITS with you!

Left picture: Green dress- swapped! Khaki skirt- swapped!
Right picture: Gray jacket- swapped!



Left picture: Black top- swapped!
Right picture: Black top- swapped! 

Left picture: Gray top- swapped!
Right picture: Swap, swap, swap!


Right picture- dress, swapped. Top, swapped!
Left picture: Mullet tops- swapped! 
(These lovely ladies wanted to show off their "business in front, party in the back" tops, from the swap)


Lastly, here are some of my swap goods.
Navy sheer top- swapped
Lavender silk top- swapped
Red pencil skirt- swapped


Hosting a fashion swap is a great way to change up the wardrobe in a way that fits the bill! 

Thanks ladies for allowing me to share your pictures on the blog!

*Have you ever been to a clothing swap? What did you think?

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Fit the Bill: A Fashion Swap!

By Cool J in Minneapolis

I wasn't a good blogger yesterday.

I hosted my annual fashion swap, but I didn't take ANY pictures before or during the swap! Honestly, I was just too busy leading up to the swap, so I only took pictures of the aftermath...
Piles of leftover clothes from the swap.
In my defense, it was a very busy day. We had a 20 mile run in the morning, which was awesome because it was nearly 70 degrees and sunny and beautiful! Overall, it was a good run, except towards the end I started to feel really nauseous.

After the run, Dustin and I needed to eat something- 20 miles takes a lot out of a person! After refueling, he was kind enough to take care of exercising Matilda while I cleaned up the house, cooked a bunch of appetizers, and organized any clothes that were dropped off ahead of time by swappers for the event.

I organized the clothes into types, not sizes: pants, tops, fitness apparel, accessories, skirts, and dresses.

I actually attended another swap last weekend, and picked up a new "swapping" method. This year, everyone "shopped" for about 45 minutes, trying things on and making personal lists of their favorites. Then, we drew numbers for the selection order. The 'ones' got first pick, then the two's, etc. Then we went through again, allowing the ones to select two items, and so forth. After a few rounds of this, we opened it up to a free-for-all.

Last year, it was basically a free-for-all the whole time. But this year, drawing numbers allowed for a more diplomatic way for the "hot" items to be fairly distributed.
Leftover accessory table


 Hosting a fashion swap was a fun and free way to revamp the wardrobe. I know that I'll be wearing items from the swap all week! It's also so fun to see your clothes looking fabulous on a friend. A swap is a great way for your to switch up your wardrobe, but also a great way to share your wardrobe with friends, all in a way that Fits the Bill!
leftover shoes

 Thank you to all who participated and helped me make this swap a success. 
I hope you all went home with some great new-to-you items!
The aftermath of the Fashion Swap
Here are some tips I have learned from my swap hosting experience:
  • Invest in some hanging racks. I bought several cheap ones from Ikea. It really helps to be able to browse through the clothes when they're hanging up, rather than piled up on top of each other. Though I did have to use my bed to pile up the fitness apparel, most of the other clothes fit on the four racks I had purchased.
  • Ask your guests to bring their clothes over ahead of time. This gives you the opportunity to sort through and organize everything before the actual party.
  • Definitely have a fair way to break up a "fight" about a hot item. Drawing numbers worked for my party.
  • Set up areas to try clothes on. I put a few mirrors in my closets so people could have a little privacy to get undressed, if they weren't comfortable stripping down in front of everyone.

Tilda needed some privacy to try on some clothes :-)

  • Do something good with the leftovers! Have a plan to donate all the leftover clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. You can do some good while having fun!
  • Have plenty of wine and appetizers on hand. Plenty of chilled white wine and some appetizers from Skinny Taste helped me make sure my guests had a nice time.
I also want to thank Dustin for his help in setting up the party and taking care of Matilda during the event. Thanks honey!



Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Fit the Bill: Fashion Swap

By: LL
You will soon realize that Jess and I are big fans of the fashion swap. (See here for advice on how to host a swap.) What better way to mix up your wardrobe than swapping in a few pieces from someone else's closet. In our family, it is an annual tradition for us sisters to get together at Thanksgiving and swap clothes. This year, Jess and I were taking requests. Any clothes that we had each worn enough times to part with were up for grabs. I think that we, along with our other sisters and a family friend, came out with some great "new to us" pieces that fit the bill - because they were FREE!

{Two mustard Anthro cardis for LL}

{Turquoise and coral necklace for Jess}

{A yellow polka dot ruffle blouse for Jess}

{An orange Chloe top for Jess}

And what fashion swap is complete without good food and wine?!? After the swap, EC and her husband hosted the entire family for a make-your-own-pizza night. 

{Five "fitting" sisters}
Jess: Banana Republic cords, Anthro top and anthro necklace
LL: Ralph Lauren sweater, Old Navy Diva jeans, H&M lace tank

{EC makes some great pizzas} 

{Good wine and fun games} 

{Cutest baby fit ever...little Hoodie with her Etsy hat}


Saturday, June 30, 2012

Functional Fit: Backwards Dress?

By: Cool J
Functional Fits can take many forms- a versatile outfit that crosses over from work to evening, a simple blazer that can complete several outfits in different seasons, or a tunic that can be worn as a top or a dress... (Read about all of our previous Functional Fit posts HERE!)


I recently discovered a new kind of functional fit when I happened to take a fall while running a few weeks ago. I scraped up my knee and my shoulder. The injury was really not too painful but it was not very pretty...




So as last Monday's "Share our Strength Hotlist" event approached, I had to figure out what I could wear on a hot summer evening, without putting my injury on full display.


I had planned to wear the Rachel Roy dress that I received at the Fashion Swap from my friend Laura. (Read all about the Fashion Swap here)


In this picture, the dress (on the left) is on the hanger "correctly"- i.e. forwards. You can see that the right shoulder would be exposed.




I discovered that the dress actually was exactly the same, however, if I wore it "backwards". 




 I just had to remove the tags in the front, and this functional fit would safely hide my injured shoulder at the event! 






FUNCTIONAL FIT TO THE RESCUE!

And no one knew...until I posted it on my blog of course...



Sunday, April 15, 2012

Fit the Bill: Fashion Swap


By Cool J
This Saturday was the official Fashion Swap, (preview here). It was a fun event, and I hope everyone thought it was a success.


Preparation:
To prepare, I purchased a few standalone wardrobes from Ikea:
(only $14.99!)








I also picked up some tags from Target to mark everyone's items with their initials. This was the most time-consuming part in the preparation. A few participants dropped off their items earlier in the week, which helped a lot with the organization. Next time, I would give each person the tags to mark their items themselves before they came over. Even though the tags weren't entirely necessary, a lot of the girls said they enjoyed knowing whose clothes they were trying on :)

 Originally, I had set up some rules for the swap- for every item you brought, you'd get a card to swap for another item.

However, after everyone arrived, we decided it would be more fun to have a free-for-all. I knew this was risky, as people might end up giving more than they received or vice versa, but all the girls came with an open mind, and they seemed okay with this plan.

These pictures are from when only a few people had dropped off their items. We had a LOT of clothes to choose from...




Snacks and wine were important for the success of this event. Since I ran the Goldy's 10 mile early in the day, I didn't have a ton of time to cook up some appetizers, so I decided to order a few appetizers from Broder's Cucina (such as these tasty caprese skewers, the Fulton flat breads, and a cheese tray)

 

 I also offered a "signature cocktail" made with Cake vodka and ginger ale.


 Personally, I obtained some killer items in the swap that I am really excited about:
such as the below fun Rachel Roy one shoulder dress that will be PERFECT in Vegas, and a short little BCBG number!


Skirts, tanks, workout tops, plenty of Lulu gear (my top and crops are both a swap from my friend Anne!)

The feedback I received was positive. I think the swap was a successful way for my group of friends to switch up their wardrobes for free. And another unexpected part of the fun was seeing your clothes work for someone else. A lot of the girls mentioned how nice it was to see a friend find a new item that wasn't quite right for the original owner, yet looked amazing on the friend!

Clean-up was easy, as the D-man helped me bag up all the leftover clothes for donation to Goodwill later this week.

A fashion swap is good for your closet, good for the pocketbook, and good for the community!
I highly recommend the fashion swap to others. I hope to make this a yearly event!