July 2009

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I know, I know, shoes are supposed to be my thing, my schtick, my gimmick. But I hate to pigeon-hole myself, and I just love sharing gorgeous things with you, so can you fault me, really? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

A few months ago a friend of mine told me about a friend of hers who was making and selling gorgeous, eco-friendly jewelry. Her company is called ThinkNow, and I was hooked from the moment the site popped up on my screen. Seriously, the jewelry is beautiful, intricate, and well-designed, but bold and fabulous as well. I especially love these earrings. Seriously, go take a look; you won’t be sorry.

Also, in the interest of full disclosure, nobody is paying me to say any of this. I haven’t purchased any of Becky Ellis’s jewelry (although I sorely want to), I simply want to pass along something beautiful since I think you’ll appreciate it.

© 2009, OneShoeOff. All rights reserved.

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The scene: 10:30 p.m. in our car

OneShoeOff: Man, today’s been BUSY. I haven’t had a chance to shower since yesterday morning. I’m feeling a little…greasy.

The Husband: Well, you’d better watch out, or that might become your new nickname.

OneShoeOff (raises single eyebrow):…Really. Let me just jot this down so that I can remember to blog about how wonderful and KIND my husband is.

The Husband: WAIT! HEY! I didn’t mean MY nickname for you! Are you really going to post that?!

OneShoeOff: Oh, ho ho! (Who SAYS this kind of crap except me?) First lesson of being married to a blogger who has just been to BlogHer is that EVERYTHING YOU SAY is food for my blog. And I will in all likelihood re-write it to make it more entertaining for my readers as per The Bloggess’s advise! (I didn’t do that here, this conversation is recorded is exactly as it happened, I SWEAR.)

The Husband: *sigh* (He does that a lot. You don’t think it has something to do with me, do you?)

© 2009, OneShoeOff. All rights reserved.

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My friends, let’s talk a little bit about irony, Alanis Morissette style. Prior to leaving for BlogHer, I had started to run again after taking a hiatus to give my shin splints a rest. But despite the break, I noticed that the pain was starting to come back. For those of you who haven’t had the singular pleasure of life with angry, inflamed tibias I will say for the record that shin splints are a b*tch. A crippling, soul-crushing b*tch that caused shooting fiery pain by the simple act of getting out of bed and walking, sorry limping, to the bathroom every morning which subsequently caused me to contemplate whether or not it might be worth it to just lay in bed and pee myself rather than endure the pain of walking 10 feet. (Dammit, I SO should have picked up one of those GoGirls at BlogHer.)

So like a sensible person, I didn’t run while in Chicago. After that stellar decision, I must have left all my sense in the hotel room safe with the crack I was smoking my valuables, because like an idiot, I brought cute shoes to wear to the conference. Not exactly uncomfortable shoes, but shoes that definitely valued their looks more than their personalities, the cheap hussies. We also stayed at a hotel a mile away from the actual conference. And there was walking at the conference (What?! Walking?! In a huge-ass hotel with conference rooms on five different floors? Nonsense!) And there was the schlepping of toddler and suitcases and carseat and stroller. And then there was pain. OH THE AGONY.

So yesterday I took a look around, found my missing smarts and saw a sports medicine doctor, who x-rayed me, lectured me, and sent me packing with a giant walking boot and firm instructions not to run or walk for exercise for two weeks. In a bitter twist of irony, your very own OneShoe has quite literally traded one single stiletto for this monstrosity.

The Boot

(Can you IMAGINE what irony would look like if I had named my blog One Shirt Off? I might be in a body cast by now! On the other hand, OneShirtOff.com would probably be getting waaaay more hits, no?)

Also, do you know how hard it is to take a picture of your own calf at that angle? But I did it because I’m a martyr like that I love you all very much. Did I mention this thing makes me limp? And that while I wear it my right leg is three inches longer than my left? And that I sound like Quasimodo lurching through our house when I walk on our hardwood floors? And that the noise terrifies the cats and makes them run away and leave me alone? Oh, wait, that’s AWESOME! It will be the one object in our house NOT coated in a layer of fur. Did I mention that it’s 90 degrees outside and this boot is both black and hot and makes my foot ooze sweat? And that I can’t drive with it on? And that ow, it still hurts. Hold me. Please? Boy, aren’t you glad you stopped by to experience this radiant bundle of leprechauns, rainbows, and joy today!

So since The Boot is going to be with me for at least the next two weeks, I think I should name it. Husband dearest suggested “Italy” since Italy is shaped like a boot. As I see it, Italy has loads of carbs, great cheeses and wines, and hoards of gorgeous men waiting to woo me while I break their hearts and declare my love for another while pointing to my wedding ring at which point they collectively decide there’s no point to living. I’m pretty sure The Boot came with none of that swag. Fail. Alas, I turn to you internet. Whaddya think? Any clever names out there for my latest footwear?

© 2009, OneShoeOff. All rights reserved.

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All I can say is wow. Overall, it was a wonderful, though intense, weekend. The people I met were simply lovely, the panels I attended were thought-provoking and engaging, the parties were fun, and I feel challenged and energized about writing again. There were hiccups in our trip, which I will discuss in further detail in the next few days (for instance the giant hiccup which resulted in the trip home taking 7 hours instead of just 1), but all in all, I appreciated the time away and the opportunity to find community in the greater blogging community out there.

To all the new folks who may be stopping by in the next few days (or weeks, depending on how many business cards they picked up over the weekend), welcome and thanks for dropping by. I’d love to hear more from you, so please do drop me a comment or an e-mail.

© 2009, OneShoeOff. All rights reserved.

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In less than 24 hours, I’ll be leaving for the great city of Chicago on a quest to lose my virginity. My BlogHer virginity, that is. I imagine hundreds of other bloggy women, and a few men too, are writing this very same post at this very same moment, so I’ll keep it short. I’m thrilled to pieces that my darling husband thought to buy us conference passes for Christmas (especially as they subsequently sold out in March), and I can’t wait to meet many of the lovely ladies whose witty and charming blogs I read. I won’t lie, I’m nervous as hell. These kinds of social situations bring back all the adolescent awkwardness I thought I outgrew years ago with a touch of anxiety about whether or not I’ll be late to gym. But, by all accounts I can leave the nerves at home and just go and have a great time. So with that, I’ll bid you a lovely weekend, happy blogging, and farewell until I return.

© 2009, OneShoeOff. All rights reserved.

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I’m no stranger to living far away from the vast majority of my friends and loved ones. Growing up overseas in a different country from both sides of the family amidst a transient population of expats will do that to you. I’ve also moved a lot; I apparently have a tendency to befriend those with a wanderlust similar to my own; and sadly, I’ve lost far too many friends to death. And despite more or less living in a constant state of missing someone, I don’t find it any easier when yet another loved one moves on to new adventures as three particular loved ones did just yesterday. Up until yesterday, I had been actively, happily living in a state of denial about their upcoming move to a new city. But as they pulled away in their car after out last shared meal for a while, tears welled up, and there was no denying that life isn’t going to be quite the same anymore.

These friends and their daughter, who happens to be BFFs with my daughter, are the kind of people who you can call at 9:00 on a Sunday night and ask to borrow a cup of brandy because you’ve gotten an itch to make brandied cherries (yeah, we’re not sugar or egg borrowers; when we come knocking, we’ll probably be looking for liquor). They’re the kind of people who bring you dinner for no reason at all except that they want to hang out. They’re the kind of people who invite you over to lunch, then invite you to stay until almost 11 at night because you’re all having so much fun playing games and telling off-color jokes. They’re the kind of people who will drop whatever they’re doing to help you when you need it, even if you haven’t asked for it. They’re the kind of people that my daughter refers to as Aunt and Uncle because these are the people that are influential enough in her life to have earned the title without blood relation. They’re the kind of people that I trust with the care of my precious girl. They’re people I’ve rarely gone a week without seeing over the past two years, and now visits with them will take a lot more coordination and planning.

They’re off on a new adventure, and I can only wish them the best because I love them very much. But tonight, and probably many more nights for a while, my heart will be heavy for missing them.

© 2009, OneShoeOff. All rights reserved.

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Let it be hereby known that dress shopping blows giant donkey chunks. Seriously. Maybe I’m starting to turn into an old fuddy-duddy, but after sorting through enough dresses to cause two nights worth of nightmares, I think I can say with reasonable certainty that fashion designers secretly (or not so secretly) loathe women and the female form. Otherwise how would we ever get something like this:

Bubble Dress

I like to refer to it as Ass In A Bag. Because your ass? It looks like it’s in a bag.

Then there’s it’s corollary, Boobs In A Bag:

Pleated Dress

These are not cute. They don’t even pretend to be flattering. They’re simply the twisted whims of fashion’s fickle agents. (You like that? Eat that, fashionistas!)

Then there’s this, which I…there’s no…just look at it.

Sweet Tooth Tunic

I’m baffled.

So after trying on numerous dresses including one that was GORGEOUS, but had a slit up the thigh high enough to be scandalous among friends, much less at a very conservative family wedding, I decided to wear a classic dress from my wardrobe and spice it up with, what else? a HOT pair of new shoes.

Check these puppies out.

Nine West Gold Heels

Trendy? Yes. Strappy? Check. Hawt? No doubt about it. I’ll save the dress shopping for when clothes quit making me look like I hate myself.

© 2009, OneShoeOff. All rights reserved.

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Some of my most treasured memories from this stage of my sweet girl’s life will be of our nightly bedtime ritual. Each night, after she’s snug in her jammies, with all her lovies tucked into her arms, and her daddy has kissed her good night, she and I snuggle together on the rocking chair in her room. We talk about our day and all the things we did. We talk about whether it was a good day, or whether we hope tomorrow will be better. We talk about our plans for the days ahead and the people we’ll see. Or sometimes, we just sit quietly in each other’s company and enjoy the warmth of blankets and lovies and one another. It always ends the day on a positive note, no matter how badly things have gone, and I hope that we can continue this tradition in some form for a good long while.

Anyways, as we were snuggling tonight, she asked me to sing a song…

“Which song would you like me to sing?”

“The rainbow song, please.”

“Okay. The rainbow song it is.”

After finishing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” the room grows quiet. Then, a tiny whisper, “Mommy?”

“Yes, my sweet?”

“I like you.”

“I like you, too, love. I like you very, very much.”

© 2009, OneShoeOff. All rights reserved.

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