Betsy in my pants!

A few weeks ago I really wanted to go apple picking but the only person who shared my enthusiasm about this adventure was Ashley and neither of us were free until this weekend. When I looked up where all the apple orchards were on LI they were all out east near Riverhead so we decided it'd be the ideal time to hit up the outlets.

The apples were pretty much picked out but I did come home with a pumpkin and cider and some delicious fall baked goods. And then we went off to the Tanger Outlets.

I was on the search for a dress (for our e-session in November) and a new pair of black flats to replace the ones from Naturalizer that I had killed.

What I found was something far better. First off we went into every store that had dresses for sale. I tried on a bunch but none of them fit the right way. I want something with at least capped sleeves and a scoop neckline. The girls are my best feature and what's the point in hiding them? A few dresses fit and were cute, but weren't THE dress for me.

Because we're little kids we went into the Disney Outlet and I found an awesome Kermit the Frog stainless steel water bottle (which I needed to replace one I broke the other day) and this little guy.

Originally Ashley had picked it up and was like, WTF is this?! And once I realized what it was I threw my hand to my nose and waved my fingers at her.

In my family, that's the call sign for a star nosed mole. Call us crazy, we have lots of hand gestures that mean NOTHING to anyone else but can cause laughter and excitement within my house. Not only was it a star nosed mole, but he was wearing night vision goggles. I HAD TO HAVE HIM. He was on the clearance rack and I bought him for my mother.

When I got home I handed my father the socks he requested I buy him at Van Heusen and my mother jokingly asked, "What'd you get me?" She wasn't prepared for my twitchy excitement and was so happy when I pulled this little guy out of my bag.

Apparently Saturday was Mole Day (10/23) something I didn't realize until my mom was thanking me for the mole on Mole Day. She brought him into school today to add to her mole collection. (Hey, she's a Chemistry teacher, don't judge!)

Anyway, back to the Outlets. We still hadn't found a dress and we were losing daylight quickly. As we were making a beeline for JCrew we saw Betsy Johnson and we decided to go inside because everything's so bright and cheerful in there.

Racks and racks of crazy dresses greeted us, all with signs that read "80% Clearance!"

What, WHAT WHAT?!

We flagged down a sales associate and asked if that meant 80% off the original price or 80% off the lowest ticketed price. Lowest ticketed it was and I couldn't believe the math I was doing in my head when the dress Ashley was holding factored out to ~$50. I had to pull my phone out to double check my math, but low and behold, it was $46!

We were like giddly little school girls rummaging through the racks. Sadly the dresses in the outlets only go up to size 10 so this one was all Ashley's but she found a super cute navy blue dress that wasn't off the charts crazy and fit her like a DREAM.

While Ashley was in the dressing room I was trying on these amazing powder blue shoes. Hello, $35 marked down from $175?!? THANK YOU! Fairly comfortable to boot! Can we say wedding shoes?!

Ashley hugging her amazing dress on the way home.

We couldn't believe we were walking out with these incredible items for under $50 and $40.

I feel like I'm stealing!

All in all, WONDERFUL day. Didn't find a dress but found wedding shoes for $38 and now all the other shoes can go back! Still need to find a dress but I'm hoping the one I ordered from Overstock will be killer.



Edit to add: FOUND a photo of the shoes I nabbed!

Powder blue and perfect! I heart Betsey Johnson!

WW: OMG Shoes

I'm not sure if I have mentioned this before but there is a 93% chance that I will wear a tea length dress to my wedding.

That being said, I must therefore have fabulous shoes.

They will be out there, right in front of everyone, for all to see! So they damn well better be beautiful!

I was extremely upset when Sex and the City made it popular to wear blue shoes on your wedding day. For years when I dreamed about my wedding day everything was fuzzy but I knew one thing was certain, I'd wear blue shoes.

I love blue shoes. I have all different types, shapes, heel heights, etc. I think if I honestly counted it'd probably be around 10 pair of blue shoes. What can I say? I just love them. It's gotten to the point where I have to remind myself that I also need things like black heels for work...but the office I currently work at gives me the freedom to wear my blue shoes whenever I'd like. Heck, I've even worn bright yellow pumps on occasion here and nobody's said boo.

Problem is, I have yet to find a pair of blue shoes that I have loved so much (other than the ones I literally want to marry) that I could imagine myself getting married in them. Most pairs were the wrong shade of blue, too bright an aqua or too dark a navy. Nothing was juuuuust right.

I came across these on Zappos one day and thought, now those, I could settle for.

Stella - Pour la Victoire

What I like about them is that although they are white they have a blue sole. They also have "I do" in rhinestones on the sole as a cute little added touch. Not only that, but they have a platform toe bed. Platforms make shoes heels so much more comfortable and easy to walk in.

I ordered a pair to try on.

I was searching again one morning, still trying to find that perfect pair of blue shoes...I wanted a medium heel with possibly an ankle strap. I'm going to be wearing these shoes all day so I want them to be dance-floor ready because when brother Dan spins me I don't want those babies flying off and knocking anyone out!

I found a WeddingBee board where brides were posting photos of their shoes and one poster had a pair of "Design Your Own" Ninas. I had to investigate further. I wound up at the Nina website and holy crap had I found a treasure trove!

Look what I made!

4" Nina Electra white satin w/china blue sole & bow

4" Nina Kyleen white satin w/china blue sole & knot

Soooo exciting! I ordered some plain old Electras from Zappos in two different sizes in the blue and the white to see what the colors looked like together and which size fits best. But really, I couldn't be more excited that I found this site!

Nina are very well made shoes. Typically they are very comfortable to boot! And for $150 I could either settle for a pair of shoes that aren't what I really really wanted, or I could just get a pair custom made for me!

How exciting would it be when someone compliments my fabulous shoes to let them know that they're designed by me fabulous shoes?!


Plus that design your own website is all sorts of fun...I got bored and hilarity ensued...

Clown shoes are crying on the inside :'(

Picka SHOES!

And thanks Nick Holmes.

c25k: Once more with feeling!

So I somehow was quite awake this morning when my alarm went off at 4:51am. And that meant I went to the gym without complaint...to myself...

It's been awhile since I've actually gotten my butt to the gym. Mostly I haven't been feeling up to it, but also every time I think, Oh now's a perfect time to go! Either all of a sudden my stomach feels like it's going to explode or something else comes up.

Also, I was on the hunt for new running sneakers for the better part of a month. It started awhile back while I was in Virginia. I knew the Nike+ sneakers I wanted to try on were on sale at Foot Locker so I went with Jason. Sadly, they didn't have my size, but I could tell that the sneaker fit so well and was prefect.

Then, I doubted myself and ordered a few different pair from New Balance. My last pair of running sneakers that I went to a running store and got fitted for were New Balance 1062s. They don't make them anymore and the 1064s that replaced them have the arch in the wrong place for my foot. All of those sneakers went back.

Then I went over to Zappos and ordered, idk, 5 more pair of sneakers. My Dad thought it was hilarious how I ran from the bathroom in the den all the way to the front door and back in each pair a few times. Apparently when they first moved into the house 25 years ago my brother did the same thing...running laps through the empty house because he'd never had so much ROOM to move around it.

Low and behold, I found my sneakers! Nike+ Voomero4. They are incredible. I wore them to the gym once or twice but at the time I hadn't gotten on the treadmill, just did some time on the elliptical instead. These are in fact the sneakers I originally tried on at the Foot Locker and they didn't have my size. I should have gone with my gut but I wanted to try on all my options first.

Today I ran in them for the first time and they are incredible! Usually I get very tired very fast. I know I'm not a conditioned athlete, but I'll get there someday. Typically I get exhausted after the first two intervals on the c25k routine, today I felt pretty amazing throughout the entire run!

I didn't get shinsplints either! Which is a big deal in my world. I am horribly afflicted with shinsplints sometimes and it causes me to lose a lot of momentum and I have to change my stride to compensate for the pain.

Behold! My Holy Grail of running sneakers!

I might just buy a second pair to have on hand. Eventually I'll also invest in a Nike+ to put into the little pouch in the shoe's foot-bed.

Now for the c25k rundown:

• I did a little over a 5minute warm up at 3.0 (20 minute mile speed).
• I walked my intervals at 3.0 as well.
• I jogged my intervals at 5.0 (12 minute mile speed) however I think next time I'll bump it up to at least 5.3. I felt like I was running in slow motion and if I raise it just slightly I'll probably be able to extend my legs into a more comfortable fuller stride.
• I did 1.75 miles (just shy of half a 5k) in 29 minutes. (Including the warm up and cool down).
• Still using Kari's c25k mix. Somehow it never gets old.

Felt fantastic during the run, as I mentioned before: no shinsplints, a little tightness in my calf and groin but that worked itself right out when I stretched afterward.

I feel fantastic. Incredible. Probably the best I've ever felt after a running workout. I think I'll hit the gym again tomorrow and do the same workout with a slightly altered jogging pace and see how I feel.

Laura's wedding is in exactly 7 days. Obviously I don't expect to suddenly drop 10lbs but maybe 2lbs would be acceptable :)

I Could Color All Day

I literally just had a very Carrie Bradshaw Moment...

Remember these?

The shoes I WANT TO MARRY?!

Well I was looking at flapper costumes (no, you're not going to get an explanation for that one, so don't ask) and I came across these:

And literally I said out loud, "Hello lover."

These shoes, although still ridiculously expensive are slightly more in my "price range" at only $150, you know instead of the Christian Louboutin pair which are easily $2k+ and I could never dream of purchasing...or rather I can only dream of purchasing.

All I'm saying is that if I have a reason to purchase wedding shoes in the next errr, six months, THESE will be contenders.

Thank you Unique-Vintage for making my dream come true. And pleeeease don't discontinue them, they're gorgeous and come in many different colors!

Deal with It

I kind of wish these came in my size.
Seriously.

Marry me?

I just needed to share with you all that I will be marrying these Christian Louboutin shoes.

That is all.

Swoon Margi Diams

Shoes and St. Judes

I mentioned last week that although I might not necessarily need them, I've been searching for a new pair of cute black leather boots to wear with pants and/or skirts. I wore my last pair to death and haven't replaced them for the past two years...but I refused to pay a ridiculous amount for them.

I was on my way to my second job at the beebeedubs the other night when I saw that Nine West Outlet was having a huge boot sale right next door. So I went in and did a lap and immediately realized that the boots on sale for $20 right in the front of the store were the exact same boots I bought two years ago in camel leather (which I still have/wear btw). These boots are comfy, classy enough to wear with pants and cute enough to wear with skirts (although I probably haven't done so yet).

Huzzah!

As I'm trying on the two sizes I usually run in Nine West, I overhear a disturbing exchange going on not five feet from me at the cash register. It goes something like this, the sweet nice girl sales associate is completing the woman customer's transaction and her manager is standing there as well.

Would you like to donate $1 to the St. Jude's Fund?
No! In fact, what I'd like is for St. Jude to give me a dollar! You know?! She turns to the manager.
Right, he laughs it off uncomfortably.

The woman leaves and then the sales associate and the manager discuss.
How do you not know what St. Jude is?
Yeah, I wanted to be like, Actually, St. Jude is a Children's Hospital and they research cancer. So the money you'd be donating will help save children's lives all over the country.

By this point I'm done figuring out which size is right for me and I'm up at the cash wrap.
I can't believe she didn't know what St. Jude was, I can't help but continue the conversation.
Seriously, I mean it's okay if you don't want to make a donation. People say no all the time, but to put down a charity that helps children and say they should be paying you?! That's just wrong.
I agree.
Would you like to donate $1.
Of course I would.
She adds $1 onto my transaction and when she hands me my recipt she scans a coupon and gives it to me. It's for 20% off any purchases I make the entire month of January. Sweet!
Now if she had just shut up and donated a dollar, St. Jude would have given her something in return!
Yes, yes they would have.
I certainly hope that her chidren never need to rely on St. Jude for anything in the future.
We tell each other to have a nice night and a happy holiday and we all go on our merry way.

Seriously?! Seriously?!

Sometimes I honestly can't understand people. Yeah, it can get a little aggrivating when every other vendor/store is asking if you'd like to make a donation to some charity every other time you purchase something...but to say something so horrible? To want to take money away from children's cancer research? That's just wrong.

I don't care if you're ill informed, I don't care if you for some reason hate children, you just don't EVER go that far. But how could you be so ill informed/ignorant? In grammar school we did Math-a-thons to support St. Jude, there are commercials with people like Robin Williams, Jennifer Aniston, and Antonio Benderas sitting with a child who is obviously a cancer patient all over TV!

I agree that sometimes people can be pushy when it comes to donations, but they just don't know any better. Guilting people into a donation is not the way to do it, you should simply ask and then inform if they don't recognize the cause.

I certainly hope you consider donating to a cause you feel is worthy this holiday season. Even if it's donating a coat you no longer use, or mismatched socks to the homeless. Every little bit helps.

Would You Still Be My Friend...?

Last summer my father scored fantastic tickets to the American Pro Volleyball Tour while they were at Coney Island. I love women's beach volleyball and jumped at the chance to see Olympians up close and personal (Misty May Treanor & Kerri Walsh specifically). For those of you unfamiliar with the APV Tour, it is sponsored by Crocs. So that yellow gator was everywhere and were were inundated with ads the entire day.

After catching a preliminary game, we wandered around the promotional tents and I stood at a kiosk for a good 10 minutes entering information in to try my luck at winning a free pair of Crocs. I figured if they were free, no one could fault me for having them, although I heard it all day from my sister about how ugly Crocs were and how she couldn't believe I had wasted my time at that kiosk.

Cue to me four weeks later opening what I thought was unsolicited mail and laughing as I read alloud to my father and sister, "Congratulations, you've won a free pair of Crocs!" So giddy as a school girl I went online and chose (from my list of available free Crocs) which pair I'd like.

Behold! My Free Crocs! Athens in Chocolate/Light.

A week later, my free Crocs arrived at my door and I've never looked back. They were as comfortable as I knew they would be and twice as ugly as I remembered them from the APV Tent. And, probably best of all, every time Julibean is home, she steals them from me and wears them...take that sister who mocks my attempts at free things! You like them too!

My point, dear readers is this: even though free Crocs might be acceptable because I didn't ever really pay for something so hideous...I kind of want a second pair. I know that I've fallen blunder to a marketing ploy, but what can I say, "They got me!"

So, would you still be my friend...if I wore these?:

Be honest...I have what I like to call the Crocs Conundrum, and I'm sure many of you suffer from this same internal struggle. They're so ugly! But they're so comfy! What on Earth should we do?!

Shoes for Thought

I came across something spectacular today and I thought I would share with you since I'll be going away to Seattle for the week and this is something that I personally could dream about for that long...
These are a fantastic pair of shoes from Mohop in Chicago. Notice anything different about them? How about the fact that these:are the exact same shoes! INFINITE POSSIBILITIES my friends. I.am.in.love. As an artist with a penchant for shoes, these are my holy grail. I can wake up in the morning and decide what ribbon I'd like to create into a shoe that day.

I would gladly give up 7-10 pair of the shoes I currently own to have a pair of these shoes in my wheel. And they come in different heel heights and styles. The verdict is still out on comfort, but I might have found my indulgent birthday present.