Learning to Love the Rain

Who ever heard of galoshes that couldn’t get wet? If I am not mistaken, golashes are rain boots; rain boots ARE golashes! They are made to get wet. But I have recently learned that this is just not the case when it comes to Hello Kitty rain boots. No, sorry, that little pink cat doesn’t like baths. She prefers to stay inside where it is dry and clean.

Humph.

This is quite the dilemma for any mom (me) who purchased said boots at the beginning of a very long rainy season (October in Seattle) for a rather OCD three-year-old (Sophia).

But it’s not just the boots. Sophia really doesn’t like any of her shoes—or coats, or pants, or hats for that matter—to get wet. How on earth do I get a three-year-old to understand and accept the fact that she is going to get wet, she does have to walk between the house and the car regardless of whether it has rained, and she will be just fine?

We’ve tried dancing--that kind of works, but its tough when I’m in a hurry. You just can’t always dance to and from the car.

We’ve tried catching raindrops on our tongues. That does the job some times.

We’ve tried special shoes made just for rainy days. That was a flop.

My initial frustration is that I just want her to wear those stinkin’ boots—for which I now admit I paid too much money—and quit whining. But underneath my irritation from this constant struggle, I really just want her to be happy.

I want her to live through the rainy days, equipped with the right protective gear, and the right attitude. That’s what I’m trying to teach her. Really, the right attitude is much better protection than any kind of rain boot. With the right attitude, you don’t just live through the rainy days, you learn from them, and you learn to love them.

Four Essential Shoes and How to Wear Them

(C#1 grew out of these shoes last year. I can't bring myself to get rid of them
because they are so very her.)

I am not a fashionista. Not even close. But I do appreciate how clothes can make me feel confident or pretty or just ready to start a new day (I have a hard time functioning well or taking myself seriously if stay in my pajamas too long). And I love how a good pair of shoes can transform an outfit or an attitude. And so, just for you, I did some fashion research and came up with four shoe styles that every woman should have in her closet along with a tip or two on how to wear them.

Mid-heeled Pumps
Heel height: 1 1/2" to 2 1/2"
These are the shoes you pull out when you want to look put-together but not fussy. They'll go almost anywhere with almost anything - from knee-length (or longer) skirts to jeans to tailored slacks. Style-wise, simplicity is in order; these are your "Girl Friday" shoes.

A modern heeled loafer would fit in nicely here. Personally, I love the versatility of a classic mary-jane, which can go from sweet (with a flouncy skirt) to daring (paired with fishnet tights).


High-heeled Evening Shoes
Heel height: 3" and up, and up, and up!
These are your my-oh-my, drop-what-you're-doing-and-look-at-me shoes. It's tempting to go trendy with these shoes, but remember it's all about commanding attention without having to scream. They are confident and powerful and sexy. These shoes are the ones that will go the few places your pumps can't. They are not sensible, and they will hurt your feet, so they're best saved for occasions that don't require hours and hours of standing.

Ankle straps are my favorite for this category. They're classic, yet they always seem unexpected. They're best served by a heel, too, since the strap at your ankle will appear to shorten your leg.


Weekend Flats
Flats will be your every-day shoes for running errands, running after kids, or simply running. In style they can range from ballet flats to tennis shoes. Almost anything goes as long as it's comfortable. (See that word "almost"? Please leave all house slippers at home and all Birkenstocks back in the 90's. For instance.)

Tennis shoes with jeans and a t-shirt have got a bad rap lately, but as long as your jeans are cute and your t-shirt fits nicely I think it's a perfectly acceptable way to show up at the grocery store or the park, and if you need to dress it up in a flash all you really have to change is your shoes.

Ballet flats are cute with skinny pants, capris, sundresses and knee-length skirts (but not longer; flats do nothing to elongate your leg, so keep that skirt right at your knee).

My favorite flats are a cute slip-on made by Merrell; I also love my Dansko clogs and have seen some cute, comfy, casual shoes by Keen.


Classic Boots
You will need some classic boots, oh yes you will. A pair of knee-high boots looks awesome with everything except your swimsuit - and maybe even then you might be the kind of person who could get away with it! A pair of classic riding-style boots, with or without a heel, are timeless and well worth buying the best quality you can afford. They'll be your friends for a long, long time.


Some general guidelines:
If you're wearing a skirt, higher hemlines generally look better with higher heels. This does not mean that lower hemlines necessarily look better with lower heels - in fact, if you're wearing a really long skirt, higher heels will help that skirt make your legs look longer without anybody even seeing your legs!

Black? Brown? Red? Before you choose what color(s) your shoes should be, take a look at your closet. Think about things you're most likely to wear the shoes with and what color you find most of in that group. Mix it up so you don't find yourself stuck only being able to wear black skirts because you don't own a pair of brown shoes.

How to walk in heels:
Firstly and maybe most important, make sure your shoes fit! If your shoes are too small you'll feel like you're going to fall over at any moment and your walk will look unnatural; if they're too big you will increase your chances of actually falling over at any moment. It's so much easier to walk in a shoe that fits your foot like, well, a glove.

Walk heel-to-toe for a more natural, graceful stride. If your whole foot comes down at once you'll only manage to look like you're stomping around. When you walk heel-to-toe, your back and shoulders will tend to straighten, making you look more confident even if you're not feeling it.

Practice, practice, practice. Even if you've been walking in heels since you grew out of your baby booties, practice with each new pair you buy.

Start out sockless. Socks and hose can make your feet feel slippery, which isn't at all what you want if you're feeling unstable in your heels already. Practice walking in them without socks or hose so you can feel how your feet will have to grip and move once you put those socks back on.

Have fun! Especially with your heels, because that's really what they're for.

What's your favorite pair of shoes?

Maturing

Tennis shoes, one of my many style blunders. But I am proud of them. They have to be comfy and preferably slip on. I hate tying my shoes and if they have laces, I don't bother untying them. I just learned to walk in heals maybe 6 moths ago, when I got my first pair of real heals for my birthday. Yes, I am maturing into a woman. They are cute brown heals. Yes, I am 24 and have never wore real heals. I wore red slip-on tennis shoes to prom and white platform flip flops as well as pink and white super woman tennis shoes at my wedding. I actually prefer a nice pair of "house shoes" aka slippers over anything, but you can't really wear those out of the house, unless you are my little brother. Some how he gets away with it. So what gets me on this topic you ask? Well, I found this awesome tutorial that I am dying to try. So after rainy season is over here in Seattle, as well as the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I would like to try this. You can take my borring comfy tennis shoes and at least make them into something cute. If you try it let me know. It looks super cute. I am beginning to become addicted to mod podging fabric. I just used mod podge for the first time recently and it is awesome. So this looks fun. Here is the link!
Mod Podge Shoes.

Cali
Photo Credits- makeitandloveit.blogspot.com

PS My husband has more shoes then I do.

Baby Steps

[Image from Martha Stewart Crafts]

"by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."

Alma 37:6

Have you ever tried to imagine what it must have been like to take your very first step? Chubby and clumsy. Barely able to stand. Being cheered on by a parent and video taped for the whole world to see. How much faith that must have required and how scary that had to have been.

Sometimes I think about that and how brave I was even as a little baby. Suddenly having to confront a fear. This can be so terrifying. Doing what we are uncomfortable with can sometimes give us major anxiety but once we approach it with a determined look in our eye all we must do is step. Just breath and step. Breath PRAY and then step. Pretty soon those small and simple acts, that once scared the jeebies out of us, will bring about some pretty great things.

What are some of your fears?

Oh! And I found a cute blog that had some free tutorials on different baby shoes. If I didn't have a kabillion other things to work on for Christmas right now I would stop and make a few of these.

Enjoy!

http://alittleredribbon.blogspot.com/2009/05/free-stuff-i-love-baby-shoes.html

Black Shoe Biography

(not my cute legs or shoes)

Just how many pair of black shoes does a girl need? Looking through my closet, I take inventory to see if I can, in fact, count on two hands the contents of my black shoe collection. My shoe tree runneth over, and lesser-used-but-still-necessary varieties reside in the closet space of my dear husband. As of yet I’ve been unable to purge any members of the black shoe family because all are essential, depending on clothing ensemble, mood, life stage or level of sentimentality. Let me explain.

1. The ever-versatile black loafers (minus pennies). I bought these when I first moved to Washington before I was married, and they have traveled far and near. They go with casual skirts and pants, although they are very stretched out due to swollen pregnancy feet so they look a bit sloppy on non-pregnant feet. Soles are wearing thin, and the heels sound like tap shoes when I walk because of lack of heel tread. Should get rid of them, but their history is keeping them on the front row of the shoe tree.

2. Slip-on clogs with silver brad accents around the outside. An impulse purchase when I was 7 months pregnant with K1 and the aforementioned black loafers could no longer accommodate my puffy tree-trunk ankles and feet. They are a full 1½ sizes larger than I normally wear, but they’re a keeper for future heavy-laden, delicate condition when it gets too cumbersome to bend down and tie my shoes.

3. Sensible slightly raised heel loafer with silver buckle. These go with skirts or pants, or so I thought, until I caught a glimpse of myself in a department store mirror wearing them and felt particularly unstylish and matronly (not in a good mama way but in an old, tired way). Debating on future of sensible looking shoes.

4. Business casual heel shoes with white stitching and large square silver buckle. Good for work or church, but not too dressy. Another sensible shoe that’s comfortable and goes with everything.

5. Cute rounded-square-toe sling back shiny dress shoes. I bought these for the one and only time I’ve ever been a matron of honor. A friend of mine got married a few years back in Des Moines in a Lutheran church, and I bought a long navy blue formal dress to go with my cute sexy shoes. Good for dancing, standing while making a toast and making me look good when I had no idea what to do in a wedding.

6. Comfortable side-zipper flat casuals. Look best with casual pants – cords, jeans, etc. but with a skirt could come off looking like a specially designed orthopedic model. I’ve put a lot of miles on these babies, as they’re good for traveling…comfortable but don’t take up much room in the suitcase.

7. Calf-length chunky heel boots. I’ve had these forever, and I was so excited post-baby when I could fit them on my feet again. Look best with pants, and I like to wear them with pants that would normally be too long. The heel height of these boots make it so the pant hems graze the top of my foot, which apparently, according to the fashion authorities, is where you want it. Yay a fashion do!

8. Indoor-outdoor slippers. Can’t be categorized as a real shoe, per se, but they are cozy on my toes when it’s cold, the rubber sole allows me to wear them outside to the mailbox, and they have faux fur on the edges. Note: slippers are NOT OK to wear beyond the boundaries of the front driveway.

9. Fancy velvet special occasion strappies. Not worn for some time, but originally for dressy work parties. I could wear these with pajamas and I’d feel kinda snazzy.

10. Mary Jane Doc Martens. Purchased when Doc Martens were a big name in foot apparel in the mid-90’s. They combine the signature sturdy heaviness of the designer with the school-girl charm of a strap and buckle. I haven’t worn these in a long time, but they were the result of haggling with a vendor on Portobello Road in London. Two indications that you’ve blended with the locals – effortlessly navigating your way around “The Tube” public transit system, and successfully negotiating a deal with a street vendor. These shoes represent the completion of my initiation into London culture.

11. Strappy sandals and flip flops. Two distinct shoes that fall into the same category of “shoes that require a pedicure before wearing.”

12. Flats with blue stitching and a little bow on the side. Not flattering for someone like me with short legs, but they’re used enough to secure a spot on the back row of shoe tree.

13. Newest purchase wedge heel mary janes with light stitching. I love how comfortable and cute these are, and they just may be the phase-out shoe for number 1 loafer.

I don’t consider myself a shoe monger, but this evidence seems to speak otherwise. The phrase “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” I realize is a metaphor to teach empathy. Ever try to literally walk a mile in someone else’s shoes? You feel every twist and turn of the heels, every bend in leather that you don’t feel in your own. My black shoes tell a story about me, mostly that I'm a sentimental sap. There are scuffs and scrapes, but nothing that a little shoe polish can’t repair. I’m showing scuffs and scrapes too from everyday life experiences. Sometimes I want to buff them out with a little polish and sometimes I want to wear them with pride to remind myself of where I’ve come from. So it turns out I can’t count my black shoes on two hands, and when I resorted to counting on my toes, you can bet they were covered up with a black shoe.