Welcome November and Shoes

October was a month of soul searching, stress and deep, meaningful thoughts for me, but I've made it through, no worse for the wear.
I took a lot of internal moments, wondering what my passions and goals in life are, and I'm not sure if I've figured any of that out, but I've made some moves, stepping out of my comfort zones, ready for my next phase in life...sheesh!  Why does living have to be so hard sometimes?

Oh yeah, and I did a lot of hunting and gathering...of shoes!

You know how it goes...you say "That's it!  No more!"  And then, as if by magic, you come across 3 pairs at amazing prices, blowing your whole "no more" thing.  Destiny?  Perhaps...

Jeffery Campbell, hair on hide spots and velcro.  Yeah, like I need to say anything else...but I will anyway.  Possibly one of my more comfortable heels. And goes with everything.

Dolce Vita booties in army green.  Yes, a necessity.  Served up with scratch and large bruise.

Miss Albright brown leather boots.  These were probably the most gluttonous of all since I have another pair of brown boots, but these are different, they have bows!  
Lame Excuse Alert
I didn't need them but I just couldn't walk away from them since they were on super sale and couldn't let anyone else have them.

You gonna back me up on this one?

J.

Hooray! Shoes!

Ok, I didn't mean to buy 2 pairs of shoes today but sometimes that's just what happens, and I say, go with it. The first pair that got in the car with me were these ankle booties from Target...

Great fit, short reasonable heel and neutral color! (I secretly also love how they blend into my kitchen counters too, feels sort of sneaky.) I was just running in to see what Missoni looked like- there was literally nothing there but a few kid's pieces, and feeling a little disappointed took a quick stroll down the shoe aisle and found these for $20. Shoes are the perfect cure for disappointment!

The second pair must have known I was in the wrong lane to turn into Torchy's and were waiting patiently for me at Savers....

!!!!!!
Umm, yeah, not sure what I was thinking...lots of detail with the braiding on the wedge, the studs and whip stitch, not too mention that they appear to be some sort of red hairy material, all for $3.99! (And hardly worn.) On the up side, they fit well and are rather comfy, even if I have no idea what I'll be wearing with them, but I'm sort of determined to make them work.
**It must be noted that I was shopping with the person who taught me to thrift shop and they somehow have the ability to make you think something like these are practical or at least very fun.

It was a good day.
J.

New Additions To My Closet- New Shoes

Yup, it's new shoe season! I bought 2 pair, one is fun, and one is more classic, and I'm stopping there...at least for now.

This fun pair I happened upon while out with Grechen and Sydney, (I hope I spelled your name right!)

They might be a little big but they are so comfortable! Since they were originally marked $149 then reduced to $37 plus tax, I couldn't go wrong! They'll be perfect with a wide legged jean this spring!

The other more classic style is a pair from Aldo...

I had been hunting for a more traditional pair of platform style pumps since October and was even prepared to spend a little more on a certain designer pair, but believe it or not, having a small foot makes it hard to shop for shoes. Since the recession hit stores have cut back on inventory and either carry only one pair of size 5 or none at all...you may have heard me rant about this before. (If I'm going to invest they need to fit!)
Anyway, after finally deciding on black (vs. nude) I decided to just break down and buy something and that something happened to be these. Instead of being encased by the shoe, the open sides make for a longer leg line, (which is something I'll never stop dreaming of.) They seem comfortable so far but they have yet to have a true 8 hour day in them. You have to break them in somehow, right?

What are you planning on buying for spring?
J.

Compromise For My Closet

I haven't worn a pair of white shoes for years. In fact, I just donated a pair of white low mules (work shoes,) that I think I wore exactly once. And truth be told, I find white shoes a bit hard to work with. Any pair of lace up white shoes and I automatically think "nurse." Flats = little girl. Heels, well, I'm not getting married. But, for some strange reason, white heels are a top priority on my list of summer must haves.

Anyway, I've been hunting around for a pair of white heels but since it isn't Memorial Day yet, they've been rather hard to find, even on line. The majority of what I've come across are your typical satin, wedding "dyeables." Ugly. (Unless, as I said before, you're getting married. I'm not.)

I was getting ready to give up the search for another month when I came across these...

They are absolutely nothing like I had envisioned yet they sort of became the perfect compromise. A black and white color combo is something I can easily work into my closet. I like the shape, the half heel/half wedge along with a platform are actually quite comfy and highlighting the heel in gold gives a weird architectural feel to them.

Top view...

Maybe they're just over the top and weird. It doesn't matter. I like them anyway.
J.

I Survived Monday And This Is My Reward

After a frustrating Monday of cancelled appointments and running around with baskets, I decided that maybe today would be a good day for shoe shopping. Actually, I was looking for boots. (I know, I know, I shouldn't!)

With a few coupons in hand, I headed for DSW, hoping that I wouldn't be suckered in as is normally the case.

I took a quick trip through the boots, allowing time for a second more leisurely hunt, then headed for the clearance department. It's always worth saving a few dollars if possible. Here's where I found a lovely pair of Tahari.


At DSW, you can find this brand from about $70-$120 which is a reasonable price range for the working girl, as long as you don't go overboard. But these, with my coupon, came to just a few cents over $20! It makes me happy!

I wasn't satisfied with the boot selection, however, it is a bit early for boots in Texas. That's ok, I have another coupon.

J.

Saturday Shopping - Pedicures and Sandals

The day started out with manicures and pedicures.

(This is Joella's foot...)

which with the beautiful weather made it necessary to go sandal shopping.



These will be perfect for walking my nephew to the pool.

How cool are these!?!
They were the find of the day and now I'm thinking about going back and picking up a pair for myself.

This is a better picture of her fun toes!



And these were just far too hot to pass up. I found a similar pair in a light tan, but the black fit me better...I'll probably wear them with everything...I have a look coming to me now...look for it soon.

J.

Happy New Year

The beginning of the new year, as we all know, is all about making claims about how we will improve our lives and better ourselves, (at least for most people it is.) One of my resolutions is to recycle. Confession time-I used to not recycle at all. It was too much to get different containers, and separate everything. I'm not proud of admitting to my laziness. But now my community has made this easier with single stream recycling, meaning anything deemed recyclable doesn't need to be separated and it all goes into one nice sized container (it's the same size as my trash can.) Love it! So easy!

I'm hoping that recycling will also help another resolution, to save money. Take a look at these sandals-they were a bargain!
Cute, right? They look great with shorts, skirts, jeans, almost anything.
But look again.

After a weekend at ACL Festival, (Austin City Limits,) the stones started falling off. Now, I could spend the money to have them repaired, but they were really quite inexpensive to begin with and while I'm a fan of the Shoe Hospital for my babies that I have a hard time parting with, I could easily throw these out and not think twice about it. But what happens come summer and I don't have anything to walk to the pool in but ratty tennis shoes? I'll be off to the shoe store spending money instead of at the pool soaking up the sun. Ok, so maybe new sandals vs. skin cancer wins, it's a pretty tough call, but my pocket book suffers and I could instead be saving up the money to visit some other beautiful locale, and chances are I won't find something this cute for the price I paid for them.
So am I up for trying to stitch the stones back on? While I am into D.I.Y. a shoemaker I am not. My solution?

Take the stones off. These sandals have good bones and removing the bling makes them somehow a little less sweet, but I really like how they've turned out. Too bad it's January 3rd- even in Texas it's still winter. And where will the bling show up? Who knows. Maybe a T-shirt or perhaps I'll try to create my own necklace like the ones at Prada with stones on grosgrain, but then again, I'm not a jewelry designer either.

J.

Hello Knees

Being a child of the 80's I have a certain strong liking to pinstripe pants and skirts, I think I have 2 of each, (of course all being different enough to warrant space in my closet.) This particular skirt was one of my good (meaning cheap) finds. Or was it? A couple of weeks ago I wore it to work. First I heard a rip as I got out of the car. Thankfully, it was early in the morning and few of my co-workers had yet to arrive. So I hightailed (I just wanted to use "hightailed,") it to the door, stopped at the break room door to ask about a sewing kit and quickly backed out. When I ran to the bathroom to make the quick fix I discovered why it had been such a breezy walk. Had the seam ripped any higher I would have been arrested for flashing! Fortunately, I had no other issues while at work that day.
When I got home that night, I was getting ready to make the change from work to home clothes and when I stepped in front of the mirror on my closet door I realized that my body dismorphia must have been on when I made this purchase. It was a pencil skirt that hit about 3-4 inches below the knee and made me look dumpy frumpy! I am not 6 feet tall, nor anywhere near it and I'm not sure what made me think I could pull it off. (I have a picture of it but not on my camera...believe me it's really bad.)
Anyway, tonight I hemmed it and the results are much better. It's still work appropriate but I have not officially worn it with anything so we'll see if it fits into my closet now...



Oooh, but I do like these shoes...

J.

Nothing

I spent an 1.5 hours at DSW and found nothing. Nothing! That has never happened! Maybe I'm just full. (Is that possible?) I didn't necessarily go in there with a need, (again, is this possible?) although my favorite black heels are on their way out, so I sort of felt lost. I looked at flats, boots, heels of all kinds, the clearance section, purses and socks. It wasn't until I got in line with a pair of (ahem, sleek,) fingerless gloves, tights and some men's socks did I realize I had been entirely suckered in by the "Spend $39.95 and received this cool clutch for free" coupon. I had carried $40.00 worth of crap around and was actually the next person in when I had this epiphany. So then I excused myself from the line and let the next coupon grasping groupie ahead, pretended to be interested in some sneakers for a second, dropped my useless goodies and fled. Ahh DSW, you are good. You are very good. And I still love you.

J.

Everything in it's place, but do I need everything?

Everything is in it's place, but I haven't really gone through it, just sort of pushed it around I guess. But this is when the fun starts...I get to go through it all and show it to you as I decide what to keep, toss, donate etc. But before that happens, this is what my closet looks like now.



This is why I need to go through my closet, but it is now sorted by dresses, skirts, tops etc. and each section is (believe it or not) sorted by color.



I don't like to hang my sweaters because they get stretched out but this way I can see every one of them. I keep my over sized purses in this little suitcase that I used when I was little.



These are my jewelry boards that I made and they make it really easy to find just what I want to wear. They are super easy to make and I'll probably do a D.I.Y. post for them. I like and use jewelry boxes also, but only for bracelets and rings and other items that don't get tangled.



White boxes and baskets keep things light in a small spot. I used white contact paper but you could easily use the opposite side of wrapping paper. I also try to keep shoe boxes, but I don't label them, that way I can rotate out seasonal footwear.



Wow...this picture just made me realize how many pairs of shoes I have...the door on the left is hiding quite a few pairs and the hanging thing on the left has a few pairs stashed as well. I also keep my smaller purses there because I like to trade them out fairly often. I used some 3m hooks for my belts and maybe I could use one more...

Hmm...this doesn't include the things in my dresser. Well, this should be interesting. Here we go!

J.