Shoe Tree

Whew...I'm exhausted from decorating tonight's tree:

Yep, it's my ginormous 2 foot shoe tree with somewhere around 10 ornaments.  This is only the 2nd year I've put it up since I was in MT last year.  It lived in my office the first year, but now it can be home. This tree could use a few more ornaments to fill it out so I went window shopping:

 

Of course I found a blue one first.

Isn't this a fun shape?  I can't imagine it would be comfortable as a real shoe since it looks like it would stab the top of your foot, but I like the color and the design. 

More blue, and more fun detailing.  Stumpy little heel, though.

How perfect is this since my parents own a movie theater?

I just thought this was a fun picture with lots of different options.

Well, now that I'm so very tired from all of that hard decorating work, I guess I'll head to bed.

Silver and Gold

I decorated our 2nd tree tonight when I got home.

This is the silver and gold tree that goes in the living room.  I think I like the red and green tree I did last night a little better.  And this one is actually prettier in person than it is in the picture.  At any rate it's starting to get a little more festive around here even though we're both having trouble getting into the holiday spirit this year.  This tree also gave me a theme for tonight's post:

Silver and gold shoes, of course!   You know I can't resist the sparkle.

I'd like these better with a little higher heel.  I like the flower, though.  This is another pair of shoes that needs a place in my imaginary 50s musical closet.

 

These actually need a slightly lower heel.  (I know you're shocked I would say such a thing.)

Another pair of shoes the hubby will never wear...

More sparkle.  I like the shape of this, it's really interesting.

I actually have this pair of shoes, or one really really similar.

Festive!

I would laugh a lot of the hubby actually wore this pair of shoes.  Then I would put on my gold, sparkly shoes and we would go do something fancy.  Or maybe we would stay home and watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer so we could sing the silver and gold song while wearing our silver and gold shoes in front of our silver and gold Christmas tree.  Hey, if you're going to have a theme you may as well embrace it.

2nd Sunday of Advent

I actually went to church today.  I told a friend this past week that I'm a terrible church shopper:  I want a church that's close because of the lack of gas money, I want one large enough where I can be anonymous, and I want one that's familiar, where I know the service and the hymns.  Well, I got 1.5 out of 3.  The Episcopal church in my neighborhood is close, and the service and hymns are mostly familiar (although there was a different tune to On Jordan's Banks the Baptist Cries than the one I'm used to).  There is no being anonymous there, though.  There were fewer than 50 people at today's service, so a visitor sticks out.  It was a nice service, though, and I didn't cry, which was a plus since I'm having a complicated relationship with my faith right now.  So now it's time for more blue Advent shoes:

I wore red boots to church this mornings, so I wasn't very Adventy, but oh well.  The rest of the day was spent doing exciting things like laundry.  Oh!  And I did decorate a Christmas tree today.  1 of 3.

 

Advent

This past Sunday was the beginning of Advent, and I can't believe I waited almost a week to do a blue Advent shoe post.  I must be slipping.

They're blue, and I love/want them all.  I could have commented on each picture individually, but that seems a bit redundant when I would have said how much I love each one.

Advent has been a little rough for me this year.  It's normally my favorite season, one of light and hope and preparation, but I'm having trouble getting into the proper Advent frame of mind.  Things are so stressful with the business right now and they only seem to be getting worse, not better.  I mentioned in a recent post that the only prayer I seem to be able to formulate lately is pleasegodpleasegodpleasegod, and that hasn't changed.  Part of my struggle with Advent is also my struggle with prayer.  I've actually always struggled with prayer.  I get too wrapped up in the intellectual, theological part of it.  There are so many ways to pray, so many ways not to pray, so much advice on the subject that it feels overwhelming at times.  "Be careful what you pray for!"  "You just need to pray harder."  I actually had a spiritual director once tell me I prayed wrong.  Gee, thanks, lady.  I absolutely believe in the power of prayer, and I also am completely overwhelmed and confused by prayer.  I take comfort in the part of the bible that says "the spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words."  Thank goodness, because I sure as heck can't come up with the words right now.  I also struggle with prayer because it's an exercise in patience.  God's timing is not my timing.  OK...so how long are you going to wait, God?  What am I supposed to be learning?  Am I being punished for something?  Except, that's not how I believe God works.  The phrase "God only gives us what we can handle" makes me want to kick something.   Pardon my french, but that makes God something of an asshole.  I cannot believe God is thinking, hmmm...that couple right there seems really strong, so I think I'm going to give their kid cancer.  I believe God is with us in our struggles, but never the cause of them.  God grieves with us.  And yet.  Being right in the middle of the struggle absolutely sucks.  I'm struggling to find hope and meaning, but keep getting bogged down in despair and disappointment.  I try to pray but can't seem to do it.  I'm angry with God, which is OK because God can handle it, but I don't enjoy it, and I don't want to be here.  I don't want to bargain with God (another aspect of prayer that I could get on my soap box about), I don't want to blame God, I don't want to be angry with God.  I want things to be better, dammit.  I'm trying to take comfort in the familiar themes of Advent, of the light that shines through the darkness, of a God who takes on human form to come be in the struggle with us.  All I can say is thank goodness I'm not having to preach right now, because I have no words for myself, let alone anyone else.

Candy Canes

Tonight's post is inspired by the website which must not be named, which posted this picture on Facebook today:

 

It's December, so I can post a Christmasy candy cane post, right?  Because these are too cute to pass up.  I would totally wear these for a Christmas party if they were something other than slingbacks.  Of course I then had to go on a hunt for more candy cane shoes.

 

I actually know someone who owns these shoes!  Or some remarkably similar if not this exact pair.  He's a teacher and wears them in December.  See?  Guys can be fun and creative in the shoe department!

I think I would like this if they had a narrower heel.  Although I do appreciate that the heels are actual candy cane shapes.

Zebra stripes in candy cane colors?

These actually make me think more nautical than candy cane, but they're still cute and still fit with the theme.

 

Love love love.  I want to wear these to a Christmas party.  Quick!  Someone have a Christmas party and invite me!  Oh, and could you buy me the the shoes, too?...

I'm running out of candy cane related comments, but these are also cute.

If I were a teacher, or still in a parish, I would wear these for Christmasy things where I wouldn't wear heels.

Now I want stripey shoes.  And hot chocolate with a candy cane in it.

Another Happy Anniversary!

Today is the hubby's parents' 49th anniversary.  Yep, our parents got married less than a week apart in 1966 - how crazy is that?  Which means next year we have to be in Montana and Ohio over the course of a week to celebrate the 50ths!  Should be fun.  Since I covered the traditional 49th Anniversary gifts in Mom and Dad's post, I'm going with shoes from 1966 for Mil and Fil's post.  (Sheesh...they could have at least gone a year apart so I had different stuff to post on...clearly they weren't thinking about MY needs...(heehee)).

Ooooh...sassy!

Am I the only one who thinks of the Google logo when they see these?  No?  Just me then?

When The Bean was younger she would have referred to this color as "foosha," which is how I still say fuchsia because it's more fun.  These shoes are pretty fun, too.  A little odd, maybe, but still fun.

I like all of these except the red one.  I don't even fully hate that one, just not fond of the attempt to make a man's shoe into a woman's shoe in this case.  I do like its jaunty bow, though. Also, what's up with the fishnets?  If either of my moms was wearing fishnets in 1966 I think I don't want to know about it.

These are bright and fun and need a bright and fun mini dress to go with.

So Happy Anniversary to my (other) mom and dad!  Did I already mention that I got lucky in the in-law department?

Happy Birthday, FiL!

Today is my father-in-law's 70th birthday.  We tried to call him something like 10 times before we actually got to talk to him, every other time the phone was busy.  He said he felt like the president he had so many calls today, which is lovely because he is awesome.  He makes me laugh like crazy.  Half the time we can't understand a word the other one says (thankfully we have the hubby to interpret), but I love talking to him every week.  He says I'm a "jokester" which means I make him laugh, too.  I definitely lucked out in the in-law department because my mama-in-law is great also.  

So, the FiL is from Alabama, a state I've never been to, but hope to visit some day so I can see some of the hubby's favorite places to visit from childhood.  I don't really know much about Alabama except what the hubby and his dad have told me, but I decided to type in "Alabama shoes" just to see what would come up.  I knew I'd get sports shoes, because one thing I do know about the state is that they love them their football team.  I assume other sports as well?  I've posted sports-themed shoes before, but I have to give it to Bama, these are some of my favorite:

This is typical of what I was expecting when I started looking, as this is indicative of the majority of sports shoes I've found in other searches.  Although I do like the colors a lot.

 

But then these came up.  And maybe they aren't overtly sports-related, maybe they have nothing to do with Alabama except for the color scheme, but I don't care, because adorable!

 

I like the subtlety of these, they don't scream "rabid sports fan."  Plus, they are shiny red shoes, so what's not to like?

Are you noticing a theme?  I found several houndstooth options.  I may have to like this sports stuff just for the shoes...

Aha!  The houndstooth wasn't just random or coincidence!  I don't know about sports, but Alabama definitely gets my vote for having the best sports-related shoes.

So, are any of these shoes my FiL would appreciate?  I'm guessing no, but as he doesn't read my blog let's just not tell him, OK?  This is just my way of celebrating his birthday in my own way since I can't be in Ohio to celebrate with him.  I promise I won't ever try to make him wear any of these shoes.

Happy Birthday, (other) Dad!