Tag Archives: Materialistic Monday

Try Walking in My Shoes – Why Don’t You?

15 Replies

As I said last Monday – I will not be all shmoopy and serious about my topic for this Monday’s post. In fact – I probably never will be again since I’ve decided to call it “Materialistic Monday” and devote my subject matter to the stuff that I like, but don’t really need. [Gwen – I know you are thinking, “What is this ‘Materialistic Monday’ BS? My suggestions were so much better!’ And you are right. They were – but they were in fact just a little too clever – and in effect seemed to promise a bit more than I think I can deliver. I mean – seriously, look at what I’m writing about today…]

Today – I want to tell you how much I love my shoes (remember – I said I would talk about my shoes). Now DON’T go anywhere! I know this sounds kind of boring – but I promise it won’t be. And there will be nudity. Okay – that’s not true…and I’ve used that trick already, so I doubt anyone will fall for it again.

The only nudity involved is a pictorial of sandals and therefore exposed toes. So I guess if you are one of those creepy foot fetish people, this might be considered nudity. But for the rest of you that have no interest in shoes (like every man in my family), I will understand if you decide to pass on this one. Everyone else – glad that you decided to stick with me (except for you foot fetish people – I’m just tolerating you.)

I do not own 150 pairs of shoes and the ones I do own are not necessarily what many would consider expensive (meaning I do not own one pair of Manolos, Jimmy Choos or Louboutins). But I take my footwear choices pretty seriously. I think that I’ve made some very good investments over the years and I am willing to pay for something that I think will last far longer than a single season.

I buy my shoes in various boutiques and department stores, but the brand that never ceases to surprise me is Ann Taylor. Growing up in conservative DC, Ann Taylor has always been a bit of a go to for me. I know what I’m going to get there, and I can usually find what I need. Not that it’s the only place I shop – but it’s a great resource for basics and they always have some kind of sale going on. I rarely go in looking for accessories – but inevitably the shoe section catches my eye. I have made some of my best shoe investments there.

Here are a few shots of some sandals I own that are SEVEN YEARS OLD:

Now – I don’t know about you – but I think that’s a pretty long life span for shoes that get a lot of wear and tear. I break these babies out the minute temperatures rise to 60+ degrees and continue to wear them through Indian Summer.

[An aside: Those are actually my feet and I took all three pictures this morning at work. Two things should be noted: 1. It is really hard to take pictures of your own feet and 2. I wanted to mention that I was at work so that no one would think that I have industrial carpet or “bone” white paint in my home.]

I bought these sandals from Ann Taylor as part of a bridesmaid outfit for an afternoon wedding in October 2001. Some of the other bridesmaids opted for a less expensive version at another store – but I saw the potential in the slightly pricier pair… And how right I was.

I don’t know what it is about the style – but it has of yet to look outdated. Maybe it’s a lack of full commitment to style (strappy but not too strappy…high heel but not stiletto…). Either way – it works for me. They are in great condition and I think I’ll be wearing them for another seven years. Of course I recognize the fact that we ALWAYS think that we own something so great and basic that will last forever and never go out of style until one day we look in the mirror and say, “Oh my god – I’m wearing a tapestry vest!” But I think I’ve got a few years before I look at these shoes and think they’ve become mules overnight.

I have numerous other Ann Taylor shoes and boots. All of which have lasted for years AND have been incredibly comfortable (never to be taken off under the desk where no one can see). I felt a tribute was in order for my first materialistic post. For those of you who are still with me – thank you for sitting through the longest blog post about mid-price range shoes EVER.

As a disclaimer – I have to admit that the current collection doesn’t really grab me. But I never tire of animal prints, and I do think I could wear those Cinara Giraffe Flats with jeans all weekend long. I’ll have to keep an eye on them to see if they go on sale…

Go Ahead and Skim to the Bottom if You’re Looking for a Point to This

14 Replies

I got a little caught up in life over the weekend and didn’t end up writing a post for today. Since my day job is a complete time suck and then I have this whole family life thing to prioritize (sigh), finding time to keep my blog updated is not always easy. Especially since I tend to write novels for posts. Do any of my loyal commenters actually read them – or is everyone just skimming…? Don’t answer – I probably don’t want to know.

The Friday confession thing has been convenient in that I generally have an idea of what I want to write by Thursday. So I think I’m going to bookend the week with a Monday feature as well. One that HAS to be somewhat short.

Every once in a while I see something that I really like and think, “hey I should blog about that.” But then I feel silly because I’m not a parenting advice blog (unless you’re taking a “what not to do” perspective of course), and I’m not a fashion or design blog (wearing the same five work outfits every week and decorating with hand me downs from the parents does not an expert make). No – I think that many of the blogs that I read (see my sidebar) have most of that covered.

I’ve decided that my Monday posts will now be devoted to “stuff I like.” This is wonderfully vague and can cover anything from my new shoes to an artist I found on Etsy. I probably won’t do much in the way of baby products since my mission in life is to have as few pieces of plastic in the house as possible. And those wood toys are so expensive! My children play with spatulas and the TV – and I don’t think there is much readership potential for those reviews…

So my inaugural Monday’s Stuff post (still working on that title – let me know if you have better suggestions – maybe I’ll give a prize for the one I use…) will be about something that I’ve been thinking about all week.

For those of you who decided to skim – here is the short version of the past several paragraphs: I didn’t get around to writing anything for today until now – and from now on I’m devoting my Monday post to “stuff I like.” Oh – and I may or may not give a prize to whomever renames my “Monday’s Stuff” title. Since it currently sucks – a prize is looking pretty likely.

So today? I like the community aspect of blogging. I really enjoyed the whole Nie Nie silent auction effort. I brought in over $500 in donations and actually won a lovely necklace. This is what first got me thinking about community and how it may be the foundation for why we are here. Why we’re both writing and reading what others have to say. In addition to all of the fame and money of course.

Seriously though, the fact that this diverse community pulled together to raise over $100,000 in one week for a family most did not personally know is pretty inspirational. I was honored to be a small part of that. [As a side note – you can find information on ongoing auctions etc. on the “benefit blog” page of the Nie Recovery site – AND I know that if you make a donation and e-mail your receipt to Emily of Acte Gratuit, she will mail you “Japanese treat” – from Japan, I mean.”]

Since the auctions took place, I’ve been more mindful of the general blog community support that I continue to observe. From something big like the Nie Nie fundraiser, to something small like prayers, positive thoughts, voodoo, etc. for individuals going through hard times. There are all of these virtual shoulders being offered out there – and I can’t imagine that any of it has gone unappreciated.

Just today, Neil from Citizen of the Month noted that he appreciated the condolences he received regarding a death in his family and proposed yet another community building idea:

Here’s my idea. Tell me if you think this could work. We set up some new Twitter account and call it something corny like BloggerCares, BloggerNews, or LifeEvents. Whenever one of us reads about a blogger with a big event — a death, a birth, a major surgery, a wedding — even if he is someone we don’t know personally — this information could be sent to this account, and then re-tweeted to hundreds of peoples at once, sort of a personal bloggers AP service. Then each receiver of the tweet could act however they wanted to — sending a message to this blogger acknowledging this happy or sad event, trying to be as personal as they could with someone they don’t really know, posting a comment on the person’s blog, or writing an email showing support. If it all worked well, we would be closer to a blogosphere where every blogger who needs it — can receive a few nice messages from the community, without any thought to who he is or what religious, color, political entity — or clique – he belongs to, or whether he is A-list or C-list.

How can you not love Neil? I think it’s a lovely idea. And even if nothing comes of it, the fact that people are out there having these ideas gives me the warm fuzzies. And I’ll leave it at that before breaking into a round of Kum-bye-ya. So I’ll look forward to seeing you at next week’s installment of Monday’s Stuff…when I will most likely sing the praises of my favorite shoes.