Shoe Drama

This is going to be a completely frivolous post, so stop reading right now if you don’t want to hear about shoes and shopping and whining. Yesterday, I had the day off from work. (I have a ridiculous amount of vacation time that I need to use before the end of the year. This is the catch-22 of my job: lots of time off, yet it’s extremely difficult for me to take that time off.) I originally had plans to get some important things done, but they fell through early in the morning (I’ll spare you a long boring story about ID documents). So I decided to do a little shopping. I have this rule I like to follow this time of year: I try to only buy xmas presents and not buy anything for myself from Thanksgiving until Dec. 26. I’ve already broken the rule by shopping this weekend, but I was able to justify that somewhat because I was using a gift certificate (which only covered about 40% of what I bought, but who’s counting?). I am in the market for the perfect pair of boots. I have this image of these boots in my mind, but I’m not sure they really exist. I think about them a lot and how my life would be so much better if I just had this pair of boots. I would be thinner, taller, hotter, and chicer. Sadly, this pair of boots probably doesn’t exist, but I have a dream. I figured I could break my rule if I found them, because really, I would be helping myself by not having to fixate on these boots and once I have the boots, things will be so great that I should be able to focus on important things, like saving the world (these will be magical boots).

I had no luck with the boots, but that’s ok, because (1) the search continues, and (2) I found loads of other shoes. Lord Merlin accompanied me on this journey, and he was all about the adorable Prada Mary Janes that I found at Loehmann’s for a mere fraction of their original cost. In the end, I decided against them because they were coral colored and wouldn’t go with anything I own, and even though I love pink, coral is probably my least favorite shade of pink, and really, did I love love love these shoes, or was I just excited because they were Prada (for the record, they were really adorable)? But I did buy the coolest black Mary Janes, with ivory trim and an ivory rosette on the clasp. Yes, they are four inch heels and I walk like a little old lady with bound feet in them, but who cares? They’re just the cutest things ever. And I found on the clearance rack a pair of blue tweed Mary Janes (you may be detecting a theme here) with blue suede bows on the toes. They’re amazing and have a total 40s vibe, which is kind of what I have been working lately. When I got them home, I realized that they would look terrific with this great blue velvet ruffled skirt that I bought a few weeks ago. Fabulous! I also bought a pair of stop-gap boots. They are not quite the boots of my dreams, but they were cheap and they will do nicely while I continue the search. I made it home without buying a single present for anyone else. (Maybe someone would like the pink version of the blue tweed shoes. Oh no wait, that would be me.) I feel bad, because I should have bought a toy to bring to the happy hour tonight, but I didn’t realize there was going to be a toy drive. (I will totally make up for this in the near future.)

All was well until I tried to get dressed this morning. I was all set to wear the new blue skirt/new blue shoes combo. I put the shoes on and started to buckle the clasps. Then I realized something was wrong. Looking down at my feet, the shoes appeared to be asymmetrical. The left strap in sewn onto the shoe a good half inch higher than the right one. I suppose this is a minor thing, but when I look down at my shoes, they just don’t look right. I took the skirt off and hung it back up (I’m lying; I threw it on my dresser in a fit of pique) and tossed the shoes back onto the floor. I’m hoping they have another pair in my size so I can exchange them, but what if they don’t? Do I just live with this rather minor defect because the shoes are so wonderful? Or do I take them back and get them in pink?