Happy Summer Solstice to all!
Just in case you missed it, Summer officially rolled in this week on June 21st at 1:16 p.m. E.D.T. (if you like to keep track of that kind of thing).
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| Welcome Summer and say hello to your sunshine with this set of hand calligraphed note cards from sparrownestscript on etsy. |
So, this week instead of recounting any events or tales of historic significance, I thought I would dive into some of my own memories of Summertime, illustrated of course with some great finds from etsy sellers!
I am going to take you all the way back to 1989. I was singing along with Milli Vanilli (even if they weren't), Playing Tetris on the Nintendo, screening "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids", and I took the plunge into competitive swimming.
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| 1926 Miss Annette Kellerman's Feats Of Diving And Swimming illustration from Surrender Dorothy's etsy shop. |
I joined the swim team at our swimming pool because...
(one of the following is true, do you know which answer is correct)
B) I liked getting up early while on Summer vacation.
C) I wanted to see boys in Speedos.
D) I love diving into an ice cold unheated pool first thing in the morning and swimming laps for one hour.
E) All of my friends were doing it.
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| Adorable vintage swimming pool cake topper complete with bathing beauties from Year 'Round Yard Sale on etsy. |
In case you didn't know, I am not the most athletic gal around. I do recall telling my Father, that the reason I enjoyed swimming so much was because I didn't have to sweat, but the number one reason I joined swim team...If you guessed E) All of my friends were doing it, you were correct.
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| Doggone this is a sweet print created from from original artwork by LittleEllensArt on etsy. |
Surprisingly enough, I wasn't all that bad at swimming. I had a pretty mean backstroke.
Since I am kind of a swim team veteran, I wanted to share some tips from my days as an Oak Creek Flipper.
1. Wear a well fitting one piece swim suit. It is never attractive to have a wardrobe malfunction while at a swim meet.
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| I would have been backstroking in vintage style with this fantastic 1960's swimsuit from Call Me Chula's etsy shop, but noooo, we had to all wear the same team swimsuit. It is so hard to express your fashion sense when you have to dress like the rest of the team. |
Girls on the swim team were lucky because we just had to wear the team one piece. Boys, on the other hand had to wear Speedos. They looked ridiculous. I wasn't too sure what was tucked inside those tiny little bikini bottoms the boys had on, but I was pretty sure it wasn't very attractive.
2. Wear a Swim cap. It reduces drag as you glide through the water...
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| I spotted this vintage sunny yellow swim cap at saint anne vintage on etsy |
Another good reason to wear a swim cap is to avoid the dreaded green hair that weeks in the highly chlorinated swimming pool may give you.
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| On her, green locks look good. Lovely original artwork by Carambatack Designs on etsy |
3. Always keep your undies in a dry place.
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| The ICKY bag from Petunias' etsy shop is a WETBAG with style. |
Speaking from experience...while participating in swim meets, somehow absolutely everything gets wet and quite swampy. I highly recommend having a waterproof pouch to protect your skivvies. When you change out of your swimsuit, you can put the suit in the wet bag and have a dry pair of undies. No one likes to ride home after the meet in a wet baiting suit.
4. No matter how hot it is, when the sun goes down and you are getting in and out of a pool, you are going to be cold and mosquitoes will eat you. Sweats are a must.
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| If only I had had an awesome sweatshirt dress like this one found in Violetville Vintage's etsy shop. I never had anything this cool to keep me warm. |
And that is about all of the tips I have...you didn't actually think I had any advice on how to improve your lap time, did you?
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| My winnings from my brief career as a competitive swimmer. |
After three Summers of being on the swim team, I felt I had peaked, so I decided to retire from competitive swimming while I was on top.
I never won any sweet patches...
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| Collect them all! Score your own set of vintage swimming patches from Dusty Lorraine's etsy shop. |
or got any major trophies...
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| Who needs to win trophy, when you could buy your very own upcycled swimming trophy wine bottle stopper from ikcdesigns etsy shop. |
No sweat (literally), I still made a splash and had some cool fun in the Summertime!
