Look, we all know astrology is utter bullshit, but let me direct your attention to the ridiculosity that is Mercury Retrograde. Allow me to reiterate: I don't believe in it ONE BIT and yet during that time every gas line in our house started to go ffffffffssssssss and the gas company had to come out FOUR TIMES and none of the checks we were waiting on showed up and everyone ignored my Craigslist postings and every email I sent ended up in somebody's junk folder and home repairs turned into multi-thousand-dollar extravaganzas that we just simply couldn't do...
...and then...
...a switch flipped and finally the gas is back to where it should be and we've figured out an alternate (and much cheaper) plan to address the house issues and a month-old Craigslist posting turned up a buyer who didn't even bargain me down and a whole lot of checks arrived in the mail. And I managed to score a lot of thrift furniture that was priced way lower than it should have been even in a Salvation Army and got an armload of the oddly specific clothing I was looking for at Goodwill.
I'm just saying.
I saved up four months' worth of BlogHer ad revenues (in case you were wondering what that sidebar ad gets me, it is about $25 a month and less each time) and bought these. Partly because I know that someday I will be somebody's punk rock grandma on a Carnival cruise and I might as well start dressing the part, and partly because they'll go with everything -- you know, black and brown -- so I don't need another pair of shoes. Yes, that's right: I have exactly one other pair of closed-toe shoes that I can wear without significant foot pain (the foot that hasn't been operated on yet), and they are some old-school MBTs that Frankenstein's monster didn't want because they were too clunky.
So I'll wear leopard-print mary janes to any funerals, proms, or b'nai mitzvot that happen to come up in the next six months. It's still ninety-five goddamn degrees here though. For at least the next week. Which means you will continue to see me around town in a pathetic Target t-shirt and unflattering denim shorts. Enjoy that.
But there's something missing. Something...awesome. And I don't know what it is! Maybe i need to make a circle skirt out of clearance fabric, or henna my hair burgundy. I tried making very early Halloween decorations with Sophia, and now we have a spooky front window, but that didn't quite do it. It needs to cost $10 or less, whatever it is.
What should I do next? What do you do?
phew!!! Even I, distant friend and blog reader, feel relieved to read that. phew!
I don't have any suggestions for you, though. (especially costing 10 or less ;-).
P.S. I don't wear/like animal prints, but I think those shoes are awesome! (It helps that I LOVE Mary Janes with a passion).
Posted by: Lilian | September 19, 2010 at 11:56 PM
Oh those shoes are divine. I LOVE Mary Janes so much. I'm glad your mecury issues are better, too. But mostly? SHOES! Beautiful.
Posted by: sam | September 20, 2010 at 01:17 AM
*mercury
Damn phone commenting!
Posted by: sam | September 20, 2010 at 01:18 AM
Build a sukkah!
Posted by: Chag Sameach | September 20, 2010 at 10:17 AM
it would be awesome for you to loan me those ten dollars. i'll pay 'em right back.
Posted by: gretchenosis | September 20, 2010 at 12:49 PM
Ha! Yes, the sukkah is in the making!
Posted by: Jo | September 20, 2010 at 12:51 PM
I'm not really one for shoes. Or, more specifically, shoes costing more than $30. But those were cute. And then I read that they run wide! With ample room for toe wiggling! And I actually thought about possibly buying them, but $109 is my entire one year's clothing wardrobe for shoes, pants, undies, socks, etc. So I would get nothing else this year. Tough call.
Posted by: SarcastiCarrie | September 20, 2010 at 05:16 PM
Yeah, that's why I run the sidebar ads. I'm all about the filthy lucre.
You know, I wish I could find shoes that cost less than that -- I can't wear anything with a sole that is at all flexible, and have wide feet, and a tendency to fall down a lot. If anyone knows of any firm-soled shoes that are not so spendy, I would be most grateful for the recommendation.
Posted by: Jo | September 20, 2010 at 11:20 PM
Anything you like as long as you're happy with it.
Posted by: early pregnancy symptoms | September 21, 2010 at 05:24 AM
My feet are the complete opposite of yours and yet I have the same trouble finding shoes. My feet are narrow, especially at the heel. Mary Janes have never, ever fit me. Indeed, I seldom can find cute shoes, and any shoe that fits cost an arm and a leg.
I have no ideas about how to usefully spend $10. Any cash I ever have gets spent at the farmer's market. Which is useful for feeding the family, but really more about fun for me.
And now I need to get back to painting the baseboards since my mom took the kids for the morning.
Posted by: Brooke | September 21, 2010 at 11:06 AM
Leopard's totally a neutral.
Posted by: gretchen the babysitter | September 21, 2010 at 10:05 PM
I needed something too. I got out the Halloween decorations from last year, and then went to Target and spend at least $40 on some more. But at least for me a huge skull shaped cooked jar is TOTALLY year round. as are the skeleton arm salad servers.
It's still a hundred degrees here too, which blows, I don't even want to go outside, but when the heat breaks I've got some fiber dyeing experiments just waiting in the wings. Good for kids and relatively cheap, that is if you happen to have the raw materials laying around.
Posted by: Beth | September 23, 2010 at 02:49 PM