Gloomy

It snowed today!  Unfortunately, it was also in the high 30s most of the day, so it mostly melted and was muddy.  The falling snow was pretty, but the mud was less so.  It's supposed to be much colder tomorrow (low of 3!) so if it snows more it will stick and be pretty.  In the meantime, tonight's shoes are inspired by the gloomy gray clouds that spent the day.

I really like these.  I love the criss-crossy straps.

These are booty adjacent, and yet I like them a lot on.

Very simple, but classy.

More straps!  You know I love Mary Janes.

I wish I could see these from the sides, because the fronts are very interesting.  I might like them.

OK, so you might think gray shoes are kind of boring, but not ALL shoes need to be wild and crazy, and I rather liked this selection.  You don't have to like them, but it's my blog, so I get to choose. 😋😝

Ahhhh

I actually got out of the house today!  The puppies and I went to hang out with SKD, and had a fabulous time soaking up the sunshine and splashing in the river.  It was the first day under 100 in something like 10 days, so it was lovely all around.  I posted this to my Instagram and Facebook pages when we first got there:

Several people commented on the sign of the apocalypse that is me in flip flops.  I do wear them occasionally, especially for watery events.  I had my Keene's too, but wore my flip flops.  I don't know, y'all...I have issues.

Anyhoo, this got me thinking about water shoes.  When I was in college and working at bible camp Teva's were what the cool kids were wearing.  I was never a cool kid and I had knock-offs that never fit quite right and definitely weren't cool  So tonight I went looking at Teva's just for the sake of nostalgia:

These are all the happy medium between my Keene's and my flip flops.  The auntie actually gave me a pair of similar sandals when I was home last time but they broke the first time wore them, sadly.  Oh well.  It was a delightfully lovely day despite my lack of cool-kid footwear.

Apparently I Need Pictures

Today, in addition to being the day AFTER Easter and the day BEFORE DJ's birthday, is Children's Picture Book Day!  You may have gleaned over the years that I'm somewhat fond of books?  So of course I was excited when I saw this as a holiday, and began thinking of my favorite childhood books.  There are a ton to choose from, and I started to think about a series I used to love called The Betsy-Tacy Books.  I started looking at the books on Amazon, I looked to see if there were any themed shoes that were appropriate (nope), I discovered that there is a Betsy-Tacy society in Mankato, MN and informed Mom that we needed to take a road trip, I found shoes that weren't about the books but still tied in, and THEN I reread the name of the holiday and realized it's Children's Picture Book Day.  Oops.  Maybe if there were pictures instead of words I would have understood it better?  I really can read, honest.  Oh well, I already went down a rabbit hole of nostalgia and am going with the original post.  And, the Betsy-Tacy books do have pictures, they just aren't picture books.  Anyway, if you haven't read them, you should check them out.  I think I will be rereading them soon to see if I still love them as much as I did as a kid.  Here are my Betsy-Tacy shoes for you:

We start with the Betsy shoes.  These would be cute if they bows weren't plastic or rubber or neoprene or whatever and once they have feet inside so I can's see that crazy pattern.

I've posted these before, but don't remember when or why.  I like them.  They are bright and cheery and say spring to me.

 

Hmmmm...maybe?  I like all the parts (except the pattern) in theory, but less all together.  Or maybe it is just the pattern.  I'd like them a lot better in solid brown with the red accents.

 

Oooh...sparkly and turquoisy.

Here is where the Tacy shoes start.  Also sparkly!  And strappy.

Like the color, not terribly fond of the shape.  But it gets points for being bright and potentially cheery.

What's up with me and the hot pink shoes tonight?  I like this also.  And I think Betsy and Tacy might appreciate coordinating but not matching shoes.

Damn.  That is one tall boot.  I'd wear it if it were shorter.  I don't like over the knee boots.  Free the knees!

Despite my inability to read properly, at least I got a lovely childhood memory and some interesting shoes out of the deal.

Memory Lane: 2013. 2014. 2015.

Not-So-Great Blue Karma?

If you've read this blog for any length of time, say 5 minutes or so, you've probably noticed that I'm rather fond of blue.  Mom says I like any color, just as long as it's blue.  (Hi, Mom!)  Yes, I'm rather fond of blue, but I'm noticing a trend.  When the parents and nieces were here Double A and I went shopping for The Bean's birthday.  As we shopped we cruised through the shoe section, and I found a pair of blue sandals that were already on quite good sale even before adding the coupons I had.  So I snagged a pair:

They're basic and fairly simple, but of course they're blue, and I also like the geometric shapes in the straps.

Also, Chalupa (or Chaloopy as our next door neighbor calls him) had to get in on the action, so obviously I had to share his photo bomb.

So I have blue sandals.  Again.  Why again?  Well, I think the blue sandals of the universe hates me, because this is the third summer in a row I've gotten a pair.

Here is the 2013 pair.  They were cute and simple, much like this year's pair, but after several months they started giving the tops of my feet a rash.  Not fun.  I tried a bunch of stuff to fix the issue, but nothing worked.  Good-bye 2013 sandals.

 

And last year's pair.  These were super comfortable, a little dressier, and bought with a gift card, so major points.  Sadly after about 6 months one of them completely fell apart.  Just sort of disintegrated.  Au revoir 2014 sandals.

Thank goodness this year's pair were inexpensive, because I'm starting to think I should stop buying blue sandals in the summer.  We'll see if they last or if I find myself shopping again next year.  In the meantime, I decided to virtually shop for shoes I'll not actually wear, so they shouldn't attack me or fall apart.  Hopefully.

There.  Cute, blue sandals, and not a pair with that damn thing between the toes.  I shall enjoy them from afar as the universe has yet to decide if I'm actually worthy to own a pair for any length of time.

Celtic Festival

The auntie, seester, brother, and all 5 nieces went to the Celtic Festival in Missoula today.  So jealous!  It's like they're trying to make me more homesick than last night.  I would have loved to have gone with them, and hope they had a great time.  I went to it once, maybe 10 years ago, so it's probably grown since then.  The auntie and I used to go to Celtic festivals a lot when we lived in Texas, and I always wanted to buy every piece of jewelry and all the McKenzie plaid in sight.  So maybe it's good I didn't go today!  Since the biggest excitement of our day was that the hubby and I got the oil changed in his car, I think I'm going to go with the Celtic theme for tonight's post.

Clearly the next time the hubby and I get married it will have a Celtic theme and I will wear these.  Sadly, I can't get him into a kilt.

 

I'm not an Irish Step Dancer (although think of the great shape I'd be in if I was), but I though this was awfully sweet.

 

Celtic Tree of Life.  I wish she wasn't wearing black hose with these, because the hose are hideous and very much detracting from the coolness of the shoes.  But obviously no one asked me.

 

I couldn't find a front view of these, but they look fun.  They would be awesome in all kinds of colors.

 

The picture said these were "shoe wings," which I'd never heard of, but which are clearly wings that go on shoes.  I like the Celtic knot design, I know many many many of you will like the green.

Not my favorite of the group.  I like that the straps seem to be iridescent, but the  knot seems like it's too much for the daintiness of the straps.

Had to have a baby shoe.  One more item for the Potential Baby's imaginary shoe closet.  Hey, if I can have one, so can s/he.

Random fact of the evening:  My first tattoo is a Celtic Knot.

For this last part I want to make sure you are sitting down first.  Are you?  Because I'm already in bed.  Can you believe it?  And I'm going to sleep as soon as I post this.  It's almost like I'm a normal person!

Just a Little Late

Yesterday was my mom's birthday.  Happy Birthday (again), Mom!  Yes, I should have written this post yesterday, but it was social Saturday and the day got away from me.  We went to a birthday party at our neighbors' house (so we got to celebrate, just not with Mom), and then spent some time with friends of the hubby's and didn't get home until late.  It was a nice day, albeit exhausting for the introvert.  Last year I did shoes by years of things in her life (and got one year wrong, how that happened I still haven't figured out).  This year, it turns out that Mom is another family member with shoes named after her.  She even get shoes made in Paris.  Oooh la la!

Yes, I started with blue because I'm selfish and it's all about me.  And they were among the first to pop up.  I love these.

These also come in purple, but I kind of like the orange for some reason.

No to the pink.  But I had to include the t-strap.

This was the only green pair I could find, and they aren't even that cute.  This is clearly wrong of shoes named after my mom because green in her color.  These people need to do their research.

Sparkly and strappy!

My mom would actually not wear any of these shoes.  She's not really a shoe person, although she does read my blog because she's my mom and she's awesome like that.  I also just found out that my dad reads my blog (hi, Dad!), which for some reason is strange to me.  But he is also awesome.  Anyhoodle, back to Mom, who isn't a shoe person, but who really likes Mary Engelbreit.  So these are for you, Mama!

 

I love all of these, but this last picture is best for today because it acknowledges my lateness and has fancier shoes than you normally see from Mary.  She's fond of black Mary Janes, and there's nothing wrong with that.

So Happy Birthday, Mom!  Let me take this opportunity to apologize to you for my childhood.  (for those of you who don't know, I was a surprise, and I think my parents' lives would have been way quieter if they'd stuck with the first 2).  So, I apologize for:

• Insisting on eating my breakfast behind the wood stove and inevitably burning the snot out of my arm
• Getting a very large sliver of wood jammed in my foot and then being insanely allergic to Demerol
• Falling on a nail and making you think I'd put my eye out
• Getting a pencil lead jammed in my knee that had to be removed and then required stitches
• Getting my ankle caught in the spokes of the brother's bike
• Falling in the playground and ripping out a large chunk of my knee
• Somersaulting over a foot and cracking my collar bone 

(all of these things happened before the age of 7)  Just think of the money you would have saved on medical bills!  In non medical things, I apologize for:

• Climbing the cupboards and eating Crisco out of the can
• Acting like a victim of starvation and hiding half of my food all over the house
• Spilling all of that ink all over my bedroom carpet
• Being a screamer
• The necessity of us ever having to use the phrase "barfy bucket"

There are a million more, but I have to save something for next year!  Love you!

Shopping

I went shoe shopping yesterday for the first time in forever.  Maybe not forever, but I haven't gone much because shoes aren't on the list of approved budgetary items for me right now (that's my decision, not the hubby's...we have other things to pay for right now).  Anyhoo, I recently received some awesome gift cards from some even more awesome friends and yesterday I decided to go peruse my options.   So off I went to DSW to happily wander the aisle.  I haven't been wearing heels lately as the puppies just don't seem to care what I wear on my feet, especially since they aren't allowed to eat them.  I mostly perused the sandals, although of course I did try on  few pairs of heels just to stay in practice.  It was fun just to be surrounded by the shoes, but a little frustrating for trying on purposes.  It seemed like every pair I found hat I liked didn't have my size.  If I needed a 7 they only had 7 1/2 or 8.  If I needed a 7 1/2 they only had 7.  Rude.  Then the hubby called (busted!) and asked why I was shopping for shoes.  I started to get annoyed until he said, you should wait until next weekend when the 4th of July sales will be going on.  Oooh, excellent point!  I did buy one pair, though as they were on awesome clearance:

Blue!  And Strappy!  They really do fit, my feet just slid down when I put them on the table.  And see?  I didn't give up on heels completely.

These are from Target, where I also had a gift card.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love gift cards?  These had multiple things going for them:  1. They were also on clearance.  2.  They're turquoise, and the puppies just ate my favorite pair of turquoise shoes.  3.  And this is the best reason:  They are named after Pippi!  Clearly Jesus wanted me to have these shoes.  (yes, I KNOW Jesus doesn't care if I buy shoes or not..it's a joke.  Please don't send me snarky messages).  I haven't had canvas tennies in forever, so these are really fun.  Of course give me about 5 minutes, and I'll probably have them filthy, but oh well.  

Alright, it's late and I'm loopy from more albuterol.  Not as bad as yesterday, but still had to use the inhaler.  Time for me to stop watching weird reality television and go to bed.

Strappy

You probably already know that I like strappy shoes.  If you didn't that, then hey! Guess what?  I really like strappy shoes!  Tonight as I was perusing shoes, I happened across several pairs of strappy shoes that are both similar and different.  Or something.  My brain is tired.

They're all strappy and all multi-colored, so they ARE similar.  I rather like all of them, except maybe for the last pair.  I think I would like them more if they were in different colors, and maybe not snake skin looking.  My second least favorite is the red and purple pair, although I don't hate those or anything.  They'd be great for Red Hat ladies.  I have no concluding sentence.   Did I mention that my brain is tired?