Sipping, Swapping, & Shopping Out of Other People's Jewelry Boxes

Shibani of Bombay Taxi Boutique & Kimberly of Modern Musings - two of the most glamorous bloggers in the CLE - teamed up to host a jewelry & accessory swap! Even though I'd just given three biiiig bags of stuff to Goodwill, I managed to scrounged up... well, an appalling amount of stuff I still didn't want or need.

Armed with two bags of stuff, I showed up at the GreenRoom, a co-working space in Gordon Square, promptly at 9:30 a.m. Shibani & Kimberly were hard at work, setting up everyone's stuff & putting out a spread of seltzers, juice, champagne, & snacks, including tiny donuts (my fave). My friends Lilly & Stephanie were already there, too.

The group was small, but between us, we brought a ton of stuff to the (literal) table(s) - literally three big tables, laid out with all kinds of goodies.

There were high-end items, like Rebecca Minkoff purses & Tom Ford lipsticks, mixed with Forever 21 jewelry & piles of makeup samples. There were scarves & candles & lotions & potions... Oh, & Shibani even brought some overstock items from her online boutique (which is where I purchased my wedding earrings!)

Once everything was laid out & on display, we start "shopping." It was super casual - just chatting & hanging out & asking each other if we thought those earrings looked good on us.

You can see my final haul up top, including:

• A slouchy black & brown bag that will be great for weekend trips
• Armani Beauty Lip Maestro Liquid Lipstick in a fun bright red ($38)
• Tom Ford Boys & Girls Lip Color in a shimmery gold neutral ($36) 
• Golden Goddess Balm from Lovinah Skincare ($95) 
• A cucumber wasabi cilantro soy candle from Yo Soy Candle ($12)
• A travel-size dpHUE ACV leave-in hair therapy spray ($11)
• A trial-size of AHAVA Dead Sea Water Mineral Body Lotion 
• Victoria's Secret Travel Spray in Bombshell ($12)
• Sort of absurd but extremely fun pearlescent drop earrings from My Cents of Style 
• Multiple items from Bombay Taxi Boutique, including gold-toned, lace-style earrings; a gold cuff bracelet; a bronze cuff bracelet; & a gold choker
• A small, hammered CLE necklace, origins unknown

In all? I'd say I did pretty darn well.

Of course, I didn't get any photos with my actual friends, but just imagine that they were there. Four of them, in fact - & we all walked away with nice little hauls, joking that we'd cleaned out our jewelry boxes only to walk home with just as much stuff as we'd gotten rid of.

Afterward, we headed over to Astoria Cafe & Market for brunch & continued hangs. I got a pear-&-champagne cocktail & a BBQ tofu scramble with root veggies; both were so good, but not as good as the company... & the conversation about the Cleveland episode of The Bachelor.

This was one of those mornings that I almost passed on, almost decided against. I considered sleeping in instead. But after a fairly difficult week, it turned out to be just the sort of day I needed - just hanging out with friends, taking it easy but still being social & having a good time.

Sometimes the universe gives you exactly what you need, even when you don't know you need it - & if you're lucky, it comes with tiny donuts & free jewelry.

Have you ever done a swap like this? Get anything good?