Sandal Style Saturday

Last weekend, Brad and I went to the mall. This was a different outing for us because neither of us are fans of malls, but since my niece has just gotten a job at Gilly Hicks (that's fodder for another post), we decided to visit her at work.

While there, we popped into Macy's.  The Macy's that used to be the Marshall Field's at which I worked for years, years ago.  All the same brands and designer stuff, but ugh, what a pit.  (That's also fodder for another post.)

After purchasing some discreet peds to wear with my red pumps to the graduation, I strolled by the women's shoe department where I spied some Steve Madden flat thong sandals. They were all sparkly, adorable, and girlie, so I flipped one over to see the price.  EIGHTY bucks!  EIGHTY dollars!  I couldn't believe it.  (And just now when I found them on-line so I could include them here, they were listed for $89.95.)

source

Yeah, I know, I get sticker shock over everything.  I'm cheap that way.  But seriously, 80 or 90 dollars for spanglified flip-flops?  Did I just wake from a coma?  Are people paying $4.00 for a gallon of gas, too?  Oh wait...

Guess I'll have to be happy with these:

The first pair is from Target, and yes, I know they don't compare.  I still like them. They'll turn five this summer.

And these?  I bought these at a little boutique in San Diego called Payless Shoe Source (Come on, say it like Phoebe said, "Nes Lay Toll Hawse," and you'll get the joke.)  I think that mission trip (yep, we used to fly through San Diego on our way to do God's work) was seven years ago.  And I still love the detail of them.

My girliest?  They might be these from Marshall's (which by the way is usually tidier than the Macy's I visited). They're an ancient eight.  Perhaps they're nine?  So old, I cannot recall.  Either way, they're mine.  (They'd make great forensic evidence due my footprint, eh?)

Spangled for sure!

Joining in with Dani.  Her hop allows for the fluff when the fluff is what I crave.

Purse Style Saturday

Yesterday, I mentioned feeling the need for, as one commenter phrased it,  a "bloggy sabbatical."  Looking ahead to May is done with overwhelming joy.  Life will be busier and good, but it just seems like there won't be enough time. I also recognize it will fly by, the end of the school year and special times always do. 

I sit here on this Saturday morning with a doable to do list (it is still April after all), and my husband sleeps after a late work night, so I need to be quiet.  The perfect time to blog!

Add to that, Dani posted her Shoe Style Saturday nice and early which gives me a chance to connect to her...

Mac graduates with a Masters in Library and Information Science from LSU in a few weeks.  We are going.  Our budget is beyond tight, but Mac wants us both there and Brad thinks it is essential we go.  This is the first time Mac has  expressed his hope we do something extravagant for him, so I had to comply.  He grew up with a single mom who happened to be a teacher, so he was always conservative.  What a blessing that young man has been to me!

The good thing about going to Louisiana in May is that it will should be hot!  His undergrad was also in May but there was a windchill in northern Illinois that day.

I plan to wear this dress...

with these five-year-old Steve Madden Mary Janes...

But what purse?  I couldn't find one last year when I wore the dress to a wedding shower.  I have been looking for a while in stores, but any blue was too matchy-matchy or just wrong, and any red was too much red.  Last night, Brad was on the MLS looking for houses for a client, and I sat here keeping him company and looking on-line.  Finally Etsy occurred to me, and I found this within two minutes:

Summery, navy but not matchy-matchy, and an anchor for my married name (Seaman).  Perfect for a hot day in May!  Tori's clutches are all striking, but this one seemed just right!

I'll be a little bummed if unseasonably cool comes to town when we're there to celebrate! 

And I will say, I am simply thankful to start a quiet Saturday with this totally fluffy post. It's been a shockingly weird and draining week, and "lite" is what I needed.  Thank you God for simple pleasures!

Shoe Style Saturday

Out of the Box

This morning, I saw Dani's post about shoes, and all I thought I had in me blog-wise was to write a comment.  "I  tried on, but did not purchase, a similar pair at TJ Maxx a few weeks ago.  I would have worn them with jeans, dress trousers and long skirts."

Yep, I saw some sandals I loved and Brad loved three weeks ago at TJ Maxx.  Then two weeks ago I showed them to my niece.  She told me I should buy them. Brad said he wondered why I didn't buy them.  Hello? Impractical, that's why, and I tend to be fairly practical about my shoes.

Later today, I was out running errands and went into TJ Maxx to look for a purse to bring to Mac's graduation.  As I looked at blue purses--bought two and have decided red is best, so they're going back--I thought, "If those shoes are still there, I'm getting them."

They were.  I did.

After finishing my errands, I brought them home and put them on.  Now the fun part begins--the photo taking.

 No contrast against the beige carpet, and my ankles look fat. 

 Bend over and try a side shot.  Um, not quite.

 Second effort, cut off the ball of my foot, but at least my ankles don't look fat.  Although, yes, yes, my skin is that dry and pasty white.

 Still bending, camera rested on floor.  My skin looks like elephant skin doesn't it?

Sigh.

 Perhaps with the contrast of the desk behind them?  

Ugh fat ankles again!

 Side shot against darker desk (and floor).  Wrinkled feet.  Lovely!

 The casual cross over?  NO!

 How about a shot of them the way I first saw them.  The way they caught my eye?

Yes!

Details:  Franco Sarto, originally $99, first TJ price $49.99, one markdown undetermined, I paid $32 for them, the same price they were three weeks ago.  

But here's my real TJ Maxx story. There were two gray haired (in a chic way) sisters shopping with their tiny little mom.  Sisters had to be in their 60s, Mom in her 80s.  I could tell she was tired, but since we kept running into each other in the shoe and dress area, we chatted a bit.  (Like about how it would have been super if that navy and white dotted Evan Picone was there in my size!  It was so "Audrey.")  

Her daughters kept showing her things, and she'd poo-pooh them.  

We met up in the fitting room again where her daughters and I were all trying on. We would chat and offer opinions when we stepped out of our cubicles to view our selections in the three-way-mirror.  She loved a dress I put on, one she had poo-poohed for herself, and I teased her about that.  Each time I closed my cubicle door, her dear comments left me smiling but sorely missing my own mom.

I shopped a bit more, and when I got in line to pay, she must have been leaving.  I didn't see her at first, but then I heard her calling to me, "Which dresses are you buying?" she asked as she all but chased me down.  I showed her, and she encouraged me. I showed her the purses, and she asked where Mac was for school.  Sweet thing.  I missed my mom more and less in the very same moment.

What a blessing it would be to have those mother and daughter outings.  I wanted to tell those women that, something I hope they already knew, but there was no way.  And I didn't want to burden the joy of the precious time they were all sharing.

Thanks Dani!

Niece Shoes

I like these flats.  But I like more what, no, who they remind me of.

Alice.

My niece.

She of the homeless mom.  Alice is living with us now, for a time, while she's waiting to move in with my brother Jim who is finishing up her bathroom at his house.  It is my hope as she becomes more a part of my life she stays a part of my life.  Her mom kept her from us for too long.

Al works for Shoe Carnival. Her first weekend here, we stopped in the local shop, and I bought these flats with her discount.  For a total of $14 I am now the proud owner of orange floral flats.  They make me smile.

I'm also doing things like having mother-daughter talks--beyond weird for the mom of a 25-year-old son, but I'm good with it.

Shoes, Unlisted.  "Our Price," $34.99.  

The fact that they are super less than symmetrical?  

I like that more than the orange!

 Thanks again Dani for the link up!

Put on your red shoes...

Dani's brought back...

So I had to join.  

I bought these flats about a month ago when winter was getting to me.  I went on DSW's site and typed in "red flats."   They were just the cutest; the flower is a kick.  They were more than I'd spent on shoes for a long while, in fact, just today I found the receipt for them and wondered what I was thinking (remember the source, I get sticker shock over EVERYTHING!)

However, I do love them.

I don't plan on buying anything but jeans for the next few months, so these are a treat.

I wore them last Saturday night to church;

I wore them yesterday to school and they game me blisters.

And I still love them.

Here on out, I will love them more with band-aids...

Hearty Shoes

Yesterday for Shoe Style Saturday Dani asked,

   Do you have a pair of shoes that make you feel like you can do anything?

I fleetingly thought about my red Steve Madden Mary Jane pumps, sexy, cute, and photogenic but not empowering.

I left Dani a comment telling her about my sneaks, but you know, I think I've written about those before, so I didn't join her link-up party in a timely manner. Been there, done that, right?

I had a restless sleep last night filled with lots of weird dreams.

I have to figure out my new science unit today--are there shoes that will help me with that? 

Tonight is the LLS walk in memory of Vicki, whose shoes I've written about, and I was thinking of the logistics of that.  The emotions will come later.

As I laid in bed wishing I could have fallen back to sleep, I decided, "So what if I've written about my sneaks before? I finally hit three miles yesterday!"

So sneaks it is!

I have Nikes that I bought to walk in, thinking I'd never try running again.  I ran in them when I started Couch to 5K last year, but they weren't enough support.  Last fall, right before I gave up C25K, I went to Naperville Running Company (pictured above) , and I was fitted and filmed running (thank goodness just my feet) in my current Brooks running shoes.

I stopped running shortly after that due to my schedule and my laziness.

This summer I started again.  It's been a slow go, I'm a slow go, but it IS a go.

So...

Besides the walk tonight to aid in raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society,

besides the run (and walk, I'm sure) for next week to benefit Histio Heroes,

these shoes are of benefit to my heart.

My mom died at 59 of a massive heart attack.

I am almost 51.

My dad had quintuple bypass surgery in his 60s.

I take after him in more ways than my name.

So, walking with Vicki's loved ones?

Running for cure?

Fighting the disease that took my mom's life--and the obesity that runs in my family?

They aren't pretty, so no picture needed, but in them I can do MORE!

And I intend to.

Shoe Style Saturday, in a belated fashion

It was gorgeous here yesterday, and Brad dragged me out for a bike ride.  Bless him!  We literally left the vacuum plugged in, my school bags tipped over and spilling out, laundry in the washer and dryer, and we seized the day.

We rode about ten miles along the Fox River, his favorite ride, and it was hard work, physical and beautiful.  We stopped at a nursery for a mum plant and found a fall fest happening.  Then we came home and went to church, stopped for dinner, and wandered Home Goods.

A lovely date day with the man who has been so good to me always but especially with this rocky (nope, not "rockin'") school year start.

Anyway, I went to join in with Dani's hop late last night, but my camera battery was dead.  Oops!  So I'm joining in a little late:

So which to choose?  I've been remiss in my linking up...

You like the purple sports bra hanging on the closet door?  I knew you would!  Or the cubby with the eyeglasses?  Or the Chico bags tossed in with the shoes?  I'm not so organized of late...

Anyway, I chose three pair because I didn't join in last week, and Erin's post made me think of another pair.

Pair one, shoes I keep but never wear because they hurt:

I am a purger.  For most items I stick with the rule, "Haven't worn it in a year, donate it!"  Still, I've had these for four years, and I've only worn them once--four years ago.  That adorable ring in the middle?  So stylish, even four years after purchase?  It's metal, it digs in, and IT HURTS!  Still, I keep thinking I could just glue some felt on the back to pad them...but have I?  NOPE!  Think it's time to add it to my winter project list!
(BTW, Brad picked these out.)

Erin posted about shopping at Clark's.  My friend Brenda swears by Clark's, so I bought these, the most stylish Clark's I could find:

Funnily enough, they hurt my feet after a few hours. I still wear them, but my feet are not happy at day's end.  I can't get rid of them, they cost too much.  I've had them for four years, too, and I keep thinking, "Maybe with the right socks..."
(BTW, Brad picked these out too.)

These clogs were purchased at Kohl's early last month. They were my only back-to-school purchase. Oh, they seem so comfy and squishy. Leather, sueded leather, and a Mary Jane strap.  I'll be wearing them with jeans and with skirts with black tights.  My teacher fashion staples...

 

(BTW, I picked these out, but Brad was with me!)  I'd say I can't wait to wear them, but that would be a lie.  It has to be much cooler to wear them, I'm still too into my flips to think about shoes AND socks.  Other than for this meme of course!

Mitch Again Wedding...shoes

Last weekend, we went to a wedding in Michigan.

To get to the ceremony site, we had to ride a ski lift.

We were behind our friends, the dad and mom of the groom.

Brad made me take my shoes off so they wouldn't fall to the ground!

This is what we saw from the top of the hill.

The ceremony spot.

The entire wedding party, even the bride and her father took the lift!

Picture perfect!

The groom thought so too.

After a hilltop cocktail hour, we went down the hill to the Mountain Flowers Lodge which had a gorgeous patio outside.

And inside,  we spent the evening together, my good friends, my handsome husband and I.

In these shoes, I made some important memories.
I brought home some MI dirt to prove it...

Linking with Dani again!  
Check out her post today.