Tuesday: Yet Another Post About Doctor Martens...

Yeah, I know that it's the last day of the year and I am getting rather obsessed, but this is my last DMs post for a white - promise! 

Anyway, yesterday a parcel turned up and this is what was inside:

The Duke's size 11 brown leather 1460s. 

Of course, with six pairs of DM footwear in the household, we'll need something to clean them with?  No?

Finally, I thought I'd purchase some lovely new keyrings, but unfortunately one was delivered broken.  Fear not, I emailed customer services straight away.

Happy New Year readers!  Here's to a much better 2014 for all of us....

Sunday: More Guff about Doctor Martens: Part III

Blimey, once you're interested in something you don't let up do you?  No, absolutely correct and to be honest, I'll be writing a piece about how much I love my new Nike FuelBand tomorrow or once I've drafted a few more Amazon book reviews.  What a crazy life you lead.  Well, yes, if tomorrow heralds another trip to a nearby Co-op then it'll be three branches in as many days.  Rock and roll.

Er, shoes - yes.  Well, regular readers will recall me boring regaling you with stories of my new Doctor Martens Chelsea Boots and I am pleased to report that they arrived the other day and they went for a walk on my plates of meat yesterday.  Apart from a tiny bit of pinching on the left little toe they're very comfortable indeed and here are a couple of pics for your entertainment:

Eagle eyed readers will probably notice that the leather appears a tad 'distressed' - apparently that's deliberate and the affect is called 'Greenland' and it is seemingly a very popular finish for a myriad of goods.  To keep it nice and nourished I've purchased a pot of DMs Wonder Balm from their website, as well as a pair of DM 1960 boots for The Duke, two boot keyrings(?), patent cleaner and some new laces for my patent leather Clemancys. 

Ooh look - the picture above allows the viewer a glimpse of the elastic gusset.  I bet that's an exciting term for many of you and is almost as profane as the word 'crevice'. 

Wednesday, 25th December 2013: Christmas Day

Yes, another year has passed and it's Christmas Day once again.  The Earl has just opened his presents and declared the Mario game we bought him for the Wii as the best gift and I'm currently setting up my new Nike+ fuel band.  It's rather snazzy so I look forward to counting the sheer amount of activity I'm planning in the coming months.  I bought The Duke a selection of CDs and books and he seems very happy, especially with the Viz album.

I normally do a bit of a Q&A session at such times, but I think regular readers will already be more than aware of my motivation, so I'll just take the opportunity to wish you all a Happy Christmas and upload a picture of my splendid toes - they're wearing a Nail Inc colour I received free as a result of purchasing a tube of Colgate toothpaste.

Oh well, that's about it for now - have a good one and don't eat too much turkey!

Wednesday, part two - Doctor Martens

Oh Duchess why are you so obsessed with banal things such as comfortable footwear?  Well, that's just my unique personality to be honest and as a result, it's intrinsically part of me.  To be honest, I think there's a good explanation for my behaviour, but I won't share anything on the interweb until I'm absolutely sure.

Why Doctor Martens?  I suppose it's because they sell their ladies styles in a size 9, which I always appreciate in a footwear manufacturer.  I now own four pairs: a mary jane shoe in red leather, a knee high flat boot in a style named 'Elena' and my red patent eight hole boots in a style called Clemency, which I've written about recently.  Oooh, anyway, after much humming, harring and general fiddlyfadding I have purchased a pair of these from Amazon today:

As you can see from the picture which I have copied from the website beautypea, they are a tan rough leather chelsea boot style with the same 5cm stack heel as I have on my pair of Clemency.  The reason why I opted for an elastic gusset instead of laces is because it takes me ages to fasten them and I have to leave the house in a hurry sometimes (for the school run - I'm not being chased by unseen assassins!)

Of course, I could have waited until the sales hit the official Dr Martens website and saved myself another tenner (they tend to mark their boots down by £20) but I saved £10 with an Amazon code anyway and I know that I can return them for free if they don't fit.  To be honest, the only sizes they had left in stock on the DMs website were 7 and 9 and it's just my luck that someone will purchase those before Christmas, so I'd have no choice whatsoever.  I now ensure that once I've bought something that I don't check back to see whether it's been discounted - life's too short and there's very little point worrying about such things. 

Wednesday: Stripey socks and Birkenstocks

Obviously regular readers will be aware that I always pen a festive message for all of my fans but I thought I'd draft a 'teaser' post for your delectation.  So, how are things going for you Duchess?  Well, thanks for asking, they're still a bit rubbish because my husband, the Duke remains on crutches and our son, the Earl was diagnosed with ADHD yesterday, but slowly and surely I'm getting there.

I bet you're all wondering what I'm wearing on my feet right now aren't you?  Well, wonder no more - here's a candid picture:

Yes, stripey socks and Birkenstocks - what a visual treat for you all eh?  No, you say?  Why not?  After all, I have read that German people like to wear Birkies around the house in the winter.  Actually the socks are not only just providing warm tootsies, they are also hiding my naked toenails which I removed the silver toenail polish from last night.  Apparently your fingernails and toenails need time to breathe without anything impeding this, so with this in mind I have no polish on whatsoever.  Mind you, my toes are so darn ugly in their natural state that I'll be painting them in a festive hue in the next couple of days. 

December 2013: AKA Black Monday + Tuesday

Regular readers will know that I'm not one to moan (well I am really, but people are probably too scared to remind me of it...) however 2013 will always mean a completely shit year as far as I'm concerned.  The Duke rang me last night to tell me that he'd slipped over on a discarded burger wrapper outside NikeTown in Oxford Street, London and he'd be heading for the local A&E in an ambulance as a result.  Oh bloody hell - he was fine though, bruised and is now walking with crutches, but otherwise unscathed.  This means that I'm home looking after him and have missed out on my work Christmas Lunch as a result, therefore the £5 I spent on the deposit is wasted forever.  Saying that, I guess I've saved on the fares (£4.50 each way) plus the cost of the rest of the meal (£19.50), allied to the wine top-ups to make up for the sheer tightfisted nature of senior management's contribution (££?).

Here are the boots I was planning to wear:

Anyway, I thought I'd pour myself a nice glass of wine to make up for the sheer misery I'm feeling, but unfortunately I cut my thumb on the foil thus:

Oh well, I'm enjoying a medium glass of french white wine anyway:

Of course, the photograph was taken the right way up (otherwise the wine would pour out of the side) but I cannot work out how to rotate the picture.  Story of my life really. 

Hopefully 2014 will prove to be a much better year?  I live in hope.  Actually I live in London but that's by the by.

Just How Many Pairs of Shoes Do You Own?

That was a question posed to me by my husband, The Duke*, yesterday and I answered "er, about sixty I guess, although a more accurate guesstimate would be more than fifteen and fewer than fifteen thousand."  I really don't know to be honest and they're stored everywhere around the house: under the bed, under the hall table, on top of the wardrobe and other places which defy logic.  Why so many you may ask and I cannot answer that question - I just own loads of shoes, nuff said.  Actually were were wandering through Covent Garden yesterday en route to visiting the Central London Masonic Temple** and had a look in the Doctor Martens shop which contained a myriad of lovely shoes and I've already worked out which boots I'll purchase next.  Arrggghhh.

It got me thinking about these boots which I rarely ever wear because they feature 3 inch heels.  Yes, they're snake print and I absolutely adore them, but cannot walk far in them.  I may wear my Clarks Zebra print boots to the Christmas Lunch at work on Tuesday, but the last time I donned them they scraped all of the skin off of my left foot.  Eek. 

* I am not married to John Wayne for two reasons: one is that I don't enjoy Westerns and the other is that he's dead, which doesn't feature in the modern marriage Act.

** It was a really odd place; however they do free tours though if you're stuck for stuff to do in central London. 

Silver Toed Wednesday

I have painted my toenails silver - the colour came courtesy of my friend who regularly buys Glamour Magazine (mainly because it's only £2 per month I'll warrant) but who am I to complain when she passes their wonderful free gifts onto me?  This month it was a Nail Inc Kate Spade special edition in Kensington Silver as the company always name their colours after London postal districts.  A while ago I received a deep purple colour, area unknown, although it was probably very expensive indeed (the area, not the polish, although retailing at £11 it's out of my price range.)

Actually, pictured in the evening it's clear that my feet swell quite a bit during the day.  That said, I do walk quite a lot and my neighbour commented earlier that I'm like Speedy Gonzalez.  That's just me, I don't tend to amble along a great deal, especially when commuting, oh dear no. 

Doctor Martens Clemency Eight Hole Red Patent Boots

Yay readers - I'm back!  I bet you've all missed me, haven't you?  Well, I've been out and about enjoying the winter weather, but not sadly the sore throat that's marring my enjoyment of life at the moment.  Footwear?  Yes indeedy and what better to beckon the brutal English winter head on but a lovely pair of DMs huh?  I was searching through their site and noticed a red patent heeled eight hole pair of lovelies in a style called 'Clemency' which I researched online and decided to purchase from Amazon.  To make way for a new pair of boots, a redundant pair must go and I decided to sell the DM Darla boots I own on eBay because at 3.5 inches, the heels are far too high for me to cope with and now they're being enjoyed by a fellow fan up in Scotland.

So, here are the beauties, pictured in their full patent glory; they look pink, but I can assure you that they're bright red in reality.  They are wearing in nicely too and I'm enjoying their patented bouncing soles and the grips are rather wonderful too.  I especially like the heel and at 6cm, it's perfect for everyday wearing.  I've put on a bit of lumber recently, so I'm pairing them with leggings and tunic tops until I can slim back into my skinnies. 

Transitional Little Toe + New Clarks National Sugar Biker Boots

I bet you're all asking the question to yourselves 'what's happened to the Duchess these days?  Doesn't she care about the myriad of foot fans who hang on her every word across the globe?'  Well, here I am, back again, talking about feet and shoes, just the way you like it.  Actually, if you check, I do write a whole load of other blogs too, but they don't encounter half as many hits as this one still does, even in a dormant state.

Firstly, feet - well, it's the UK in September and the weather's turned for the worst, which is a shame.  I am looking out at my garden and seeing all all of the rain falling onto sodden ground.  Therefore my poor Birkenstock collection will have to return to their boxes on top of the wardrobe until next May, more's the pity and I've had to find alternative footwear this week, wherein lies the problem.  I'm sure regular readers will recall the splendour of my Clarks zebra print boots which I wore on Tuesday and being slightly pointed they caused issues with the little toe on my left foot.  I made the problem worse on Thursday by donning a pair of red patent Clarks Finnis asymmetric mary janes which rubbed and as a result, I could barely walk.  Here's a picture, poor old tiny toe, that's a massive blister isn't it?:

 New season, new shoes - right?  Yeah, with bells on.  Clarks were offering a 20% discount off of full price adult boots and shoes so I cleared it with the Duke and jumped straight in, purchasing a new pair of biker boots to replace the ones which have turned green after years of use combined with being consigned to the front porch.  The style is called National Sugar and the have a superb grippy sole combined with a low (1-2 inch rubber heel) and I think I'm in love.  I have already covered them in Dubbin to protect them against the English weather and they're ready to go next week after a short period of wearing them in first. 

As well as the black leather version I bought they also offered the style in grey suede and brown leather but the former isn't really suitable for this climate and the latter is a tiny bit samey and closely resembles a pair of knee length Doctor Martens diva boots I already own.

Here's a front view - lovely aren't they?  Very clompy indeed.  Mmm.  Also, here's another huge thank you to Clarks for producing a size 9 in quite a few of your funky styles: it's brilliant!

Ninety Posts - Not Out

I bet you're all out there in cyberspace wondering what on earth has happened to the Duchess's foot blog, aren't you?  Then wonder no more, I'm back, but it's only a temporary return as I have seriously used up most of my foot and shoe chat for the time being.  I have recently been away on holiday and as a result, my feet are nice and tanned; to be precise they are sporting a Birkenstock Gizeh-shaped tan, as pictured in the first shot, although to be honest, it's barely discernible as a result of the flash:

I did quite a lot of mudwalking whilst way and for those who aren't au fait with such things, it's when one walks along the mud when the tide's out and I attach a picture below of the 'after' effects.  The minerals in sea mud are wonderful and sinking one's feet into the squidgy mud is rather splendid and squelchy.  Mmm.  Actually, it barely looks like my feet at all and to be honest, you'd see better plates of meat gracing The Chamber of Horrors in my opinion, but I thought you'd appreciate the shot anyway, which was taken about a month ago now, hence the different shade of nail polish I'm sporting. I have absolutely no idea why they're so swollen looking?  My feet are usually much more streamlined than that.

Finally, I suppose you've never seen my Next sequinned flip flops have you?  Well, here's a pic for all of you fans of 'thongs' of the foot kind (not the knicker kind as I really hate those, there's nothing more uncomfortable in my opinion and I'd much rather wear the kind of brief which is commonly known as the 'apple catcher').  They're a size 8 and therefore a little small, but I've had them for years now and rather like them; actually I'm wearing them now as I type.

Friday: A mosey around M&S

Yes, it's Friday and boo it's bloody raining again, but luckily I'd returned from the shops before the first raindrops hit the pavement.  My stomach is really annoying me at the moment as it's massive and no, I'm not pregnant, I'm just very lardy at this present time.  Yeah, I'm going back on a diet but it's not nice as some of my jeans are cut a bit too low and I have a hangover of amorphous glutenous fat hanging around my midriff.  Anyway, I ventured into M&S this morning to spend the £5 voucher I was granted the other day which expires tomorrow.  Walking around I could not see much that I really wanted - the £9.50 cotton shorts were too skimpy - i.e. they would reach a few inches down my leg, thus exposing my un-toned upper thigh; as I already own a pair of Levi's shorts which are a similar length I could not expose the public to such sights, so I passed them by.  As for anything else, well I just couldn't be bothered to buy any more middle of the road middle aged clothing, so I plumped for these instead:

They are of course to wear under my new hot pink Clarks ballerina shoes.  I do love them so!  That is of course, that I adore my shoes, not footsies, I think you'd have to be a sadder person than me to get excited about the prospect of wearing foot hosiery. 

Friday: Foot note + The Summer Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice!  It's officially the longest day of the dear and I'm not getting naked with the druids in Stonehenge, but am still trying to recover from this cold/chest infection at home, thus I am living a strange life full of TV, toast and comedians' biographies.  OK, you may say, and how's that going?  Well, it's all very well but I really want to get back into the swing of things before too long as there's a Duchess-style dent starting to appear on my sofa at the moment.  Hopefully my DVDs will turn up at some point, but failing that, I'm enjoying the BBC comedy series Extras, especially since it's been available via Lovefilm instant (although not last night when it singularly failed to load.)

Here's a picture of my toes, duly painted with Boots No7 chili red.  Do you like them?  I do - it's just a shame that they haven't seen much sandal action this year, well what with the weather being as bad as it has been.  Bah!

Friday: ooh, new Clarks shoes, ooohhh

Yes, I have new shoes and indeed, they're great.  I purchased them in the Clarks sale and the style is called Carousel Ride and the colour's fuchsia.  To wear they're great - lovely and roomy (unlike their Next patent counterparts!) and they contain the brand's patented softwear, which equates to some nice padding in the inner sole.

Mmm, I think I'm in love with them already ;)  Just in case you cannot see from the pictures, the fabric's a microfibre or suede mix.  I don't think that they're leather anyway.

Finally, here's the box and I am so grateful that Clarks offer a size 9 to their customers and glory be, it's a 'proper' size too, not one of those namby pamby skimpy size 9/42, of which I've written loads about in the past.

Now, here's the rub, how on earth am I going to store all of these blasted shoes?  Eeek.

Sunday: Time for a break? Maybe, or maybe not.

I have decided to take a break from writing this blog for a while as I'm running out of steam!  I do have a callus at the moment if you're interested and quite frankly, if you're excited by that, then God help you!  Do check out my other blogs though as I'll still be penning those.

Of course, when and where I purchase new shoes or find some old ones I haven't worn in a while I'll try and write something; otherwise not.  Toodle pip for now.

*Update* after less than twenty four hours I've purchased two new pairs of shoes in the Clarks sale, so suffice to say that I won't be hanging up my blogging credentials for a while.  Tsk, I'm so flaky....

Friday: 7 denier appearance illusion tights

Yesterday I attended an event which I needed to dress up for, hat and all. Of course, I'd love to share the details with you, my internet public, but I cannot, more's the pity.  Anyway, as I understand it, your interest really centres around tights and feet doesn't it?  OK, well you're well-served anyway.  I wore a pair of M&S 7 denier appearance illusion tights as they went with my Boden Amalfi dress so much better than clunky opaques, but unlike their thicker friends, they weren't particularly comfortable, despite being a size XL.  They reminded me of the thinner tan and barely black nylons I used to wear when I started work, many many years ago - i.e. they were never long enough and the top seams used to chafe my inner thighs accordingly.  Perhaps you think that that would be arousing?  Well, no it's not particularly.

So, here they are - fresh out of the packet and raring to go.  At about 1pm I was enjoying a pre-drink with my husband, The Duke, and retired to the ladies - I pulled up the aforementioned hosiery and lo and behold, a huge ladder appeared! Argggghhh!  Luckily, being skin coloured it wasn't too obvious.

It rained yesterday, more's the pity and I did worry that the back of my legs would get mud splatters from walking on grass - they didn't though.  Talking of such things, quite a few of the ladies wore spiked or stiletto heels, which sunk into the sodden earth.  Some of them sported high wedges which, when allied with a substantial platform, always look like the wearer has hooves or suchlike.  Call me boring (you, never!) but I chose to wear my red patent Clarks mary jane wedges, as they're both comfortable and functional.  I realised that I'd be on my feet for the majority of the afternoon and shod myself accordingly.  I swear that I'm sounding more and more like my mother as the years roll on.

One of my colleagues didn't know what patent leather was?  Really?  Apparently not, but as I've previously discussed, I love the stuff.  Yum, shiny shiny!

Friday - La Douleur Exquise

Sometimes, as in the song I'm wicked and I'm lazy (is no-one going to save me?) - ergo, I didn't rise until 9:45, ate a breakfast cooked by The Duke (that's my husband I'm referring to, not John Wayne!) then watched four Sex and The City (SATC) episodes back to back, showered and here I am, typing away.  One of the SATC shows was entitled La Douleur Exquise which concerned the girls attending the opening of an S&M restaurant and doing other kinky stuff, well in my opinion most of it was pretty vanilla, but Charlotte's encounter with Buster, the proprietor of an upscale shoe shop was the most interesting, especially as she was gifted free shoes in exchange for letting him fondle her feet!  Personally I wouldn't have an issue with that, but as the majority of shoe shops don't stock my size I very much doubt I'd be allowed such an indulgence.

Oh, my feet - yes, you like pictures don't you?  Right - herewith two shots of them for your delectation.  As you can see the minty green polish looks very summery indeed but the huge problem is that there's very little warmth to be enjoyed out there, hence they've been shoved into shoes and the toenail polish has suffered as a result.

You'll see a few marks on this picture taken today - the Birki mules have rubbed my left foot rather badly and you wouldn't really wish to see the soles as they're all sore and bumpy.  I was reading in this week's Stylist Magazine (a London free sheet aimed at commuters) that the famous podiatrist Margaret Dabbs doesn't allow feet to be soaked prior to a pedicure as it masks any issues which may lie dormant, ditto she says that using pumice stones are a bad idea as dry foot files are much more effective.  Couple that to a story about nasty fungi being found on the sole of the foot and between the toes and you've got yourself a mini health hazard. 

Friday: Fishnet Stockings and Minty Toenails

Firstly, a huge apology for not writing for a while - what can I say?  I have been busy and my feet have taken a back seat - that's not a literal thing by the way, how could they?  They are quite sore though and slightly swollen, I think it's because I tend to wear different shoes all of the time and I cannot wear my Birkies at the moment because it's too darn cold!  Anyway, the latest news in my strange world of hosiery and shoes is that I wore a pair of fishnet hold-ups to a party last night and was rather worried that they'd fall down on the tube journey there, but luckily they didn't!  They're Ann Summers L/XL fishnet hold-ups and they even stood up to a huge sprint for the bus later on in the evening.  Hopefully they're still on 3-for-2 and yes, I've just checked and indeed they are!

My toenails are painted in the green colour I referred to in an earlier blog post.  For those with a huge interest in nail polish hues, here's a closer shot, although you'll notice that I've cut out the rest of my foot because they're looking awful in my opinion at the moment - really red and swollen :(  Poor old feet....they closely resemble something out of The Chamber of Horrors!  Eek.

Friday: New Nail Polishes and Aching Feet

Sorry, I haven't written in a while have I?  How remiss of me, but I have been a busy bee sorting out this, that and definitely the other.  I am sitting here typing this blog and my poor feet are aching - I think this is a direct result of always wearing different shoes out and about but my left foot is really playing up.  Nail varnish - right - well, Boots Number 7 are offering their regular '£3 off make up if you spend £5 in store' voucher (which used to be £5 off voucher fact fans - bloody recession!) so I purchased two brand spanking new varnishes to adorn my finger and toe nails, here they are:

The flash has made the colours appear a little bleached out but the pot on the left is called 'minty fresh' and the one on the right, 'salsa'.  I will pedicure my toenails on Sunday afternoon as they're a bit chipped and nasty at the moment and hopefully this wind and rain will disappear and leave only sandalesque weather?  Who knows?  Have we all displeased the Weather Gods?

Right, I must log off in a minute and tidy the drawing room/lounge/front room/parlour (whatever it's called!)  Armed with some polish, a duster, the Dyson and my new Bissell steam mop I've no doubt that it'll be sparking before long.  I think I'll also listen to a Frank Skinner podcast, just because I can really.  Hurrah.  Life's huge fun isn't it?  I think taking The Earl to his optician's appointment this afternoon will really send me over the edge.  Huh. 

Saturday: Fetish Meets the High Street?

It's another UK Bank Holiday Weekend and thoughts turn to shopping.  Er, do they?  Well for me they do anyway.  I was strolling through London's Covent Garden the other day, en route to my choir rehearsal and tarried a little to window shop and here's a few highlights:

Now, don't you think that these shoes and boots are slightly fetishy?  I do - it's the studs.  Do you also recall when Victoria Beckham sported a pair of wedge trainers on a sports field many years ago and she was dismissed as being a fashion victim?  Well, I bet she's laughing now (hopefully, although being constantly hungry causes the body to slip into deep depression so I've read....)

I then went into the Dr Martens shop and spied these lovelies - oohh, metallic and spiky!  Yum!  They retailed at about £200 though which is top dollar.  I doubt they'd go up to my size either, but that's both a blessing and a curse for my bank account anyway.  I bet they'd be dead comfy though, unlike high heeled shoes.  Sigh.

Monday: Lido Feet

This morning I dropped off the Earl at school, boarded a bus to Charlton Lido and went for a swim.  I've written more comprehensively about my love of water in one of my other blogs, The Geeky Duchess: http://thegeekyduchess.blogspot.co.uk/ but they don't receive the sheer amount of hits this blog does, probably because they don't contain scores of shots of my feet(!)  However, I can inform you that they're as well written, funny and indeed poignant as this one.  I was sitting on my favourtie seat on the bus, which regular readers will be aware is at the front of the top deck, so I was able to take this shot of the view from Shooters Hill:

For those not in the know or anyone leaving outside south-east London, Charlton Lido had been closed for years but it's recently re-opened, although loads of work is still taking place and there are cranes and diggers everywhere.  There are no indoor changing rooms either and the only toilets are temporary ones, however this doesn't distract from how lovely it is and how adorable it will be in future. 

As for the pool itself - well, it was a 50 metre heated one, which is great because my recollection of lidos in the past is that they haven't been heated and are bloody freezing as a result!  My swimming was rubbish though compared to the six or so other people in the pool, my favourite thing is to just enjoy the smell of the clorine and float around in the shallow end - sheer bliss.  I left feeling tingly and invigorated and yes, my red painted toes loved it too!

Saturday: Miss Kim's Mistress Workshop

Yes, you've read it right - I attended a Mistress Workshop today in Hackney and my word, it was fun.  I have learned a great deal and Miss Kim is an excellent teacher.  I am not going to betray any secrets, but let me tell you that I feel empowered that's for sure!  Probably the best bit of it was the thought that this kind of lifestyle isn't odd at all, it's very much something to be enjoyed with a whole dose of humour.  The ladies were all from varying backgrounds and I particularly enjoyed hearing about why they'd chosen to attend this workshop and how they would take the knowledge they'd gleaned forward into the next stages of their respective relationships and lives.  We, of course, discussed heel heights and my tallest pair is pictured below:

Hurrah, now all I need to do is learn to walk in them......it's all in the glutes apparently.  Wobble wobble wobble, clumping about the place isn't a particularly sexy attribute is it?

Friday: Haircut and My Birkenstock Gizeh Collection

Yes, it's the end of the week and do I have that Friday feeling?  Well, kind of - considering that I haven't worked on a Friday since 2007 they don't have such as significance for me as much as the majority of the working public, however I countered this by having my hair cut this morning and it's a pretty radical crop I can tell you.  As you may have gleaned from reading this blog on a regular basis I'm a person of extremes so there was a satisfying amount of hair on the floor of the hairdresser's and my head now feels much lighter as a result but I love it!  My barnet was really vexing me to be honest - all of that bleach and colour had killed the hair's condition and it felt like kindling to me, replete with a whole host of split ends (that's the hair condition, not the band who had a hit in the 1980s with I've Got You.  When I booked my next appointment for the 21st June I mentioned to the stylist that it was midsummer's day and therefore a whole host of druids would be getting naked on Stonehenge but he didn't know what I was talking about.  Actually that's happening a fair bit lately - I had coffee with somebody a fortnight or so ago and he looked at me with incredulity at some of the things I was coming out with.  Bizarre.

Shoes - right.  Well, yesterday's heatwave allowed me to don my patent white Birkenstock Gizehs and wear them to work, complete with a plaster to cover the scab caused by wearing my Birkie Dorian clogs over a week ago.  Here they are:

I have worn them in a bit last year so the have customized to my unique foot shape and as a result they're not rubbing my feet too badly at all, which was helpful as I went for a long walk in them yesterday.  Actually, I'm wearing them now whilst typing away, mmmm.

Here's a shot of my calves, just in case you're into that kind of thing - apologies if you're not.  I know that I'm a greedy soul but I keep looking on Amazon at the other colours available in this style and I'm impressed.  To date I have several pairs of gizehs nestling in the hallway shoe slick or sitting in their respective boxes on the top of the wardrobe, they are categorized as follows: white patent (as pictured), black patent, pink pearl and silver.  I really want to add plum patent and tango red patent to my collection, but that's really avaricious and they're not cheap, even on Amazon they retail between £34-40 per pair.  Oh to have a pay slave in my grasp....wishing and a hoping on that score.......  Hopefully tomorrow's Mistress Workshop will give me a few pointers to work with.

Monday: Sun, Silver Birkies and Good Conversations over Coffee

Well, I can heartily recommend the feeling of summer - it's amazing!  I had a lovely meeting with a friend in a cafe this morning and I do adore conversing with an interesting, amusing and intelligent person, it's a great break from my normal routine.  In fact, I may one day pen a blog entitled 'conversations over coffee', but saying that, I'd hope to be more discreet than to give away mine, and others' secrets via the medium of the interweb.

As soon as I returned home I jettisoned my sparkling silver Converse (which are hurting my feet!) went straight upstairs and pulled one of the pairs of new Birkenstocks which are sitting proudly in their boxes on top of my wardrobe, awaiting the time when they'd be released to the care of my peds.  I have taken the liberty of snapping them for your enjoyment:

I'd imagine that they'd rub by the end of the day so I'm taking my time to wear them in gently because as you can see, there's a huge red patch on my left foot.  I am rubbing my foot into the suede lining - mmm, new Birkies are adorable.

I am loving my red toes - I asked my esteemed husband, The Duke, if he'd paint them for me and he duly did.  Bright red is my favourite colour and I think it cheers up even the dullest of days.

Finally, this arrived today for me to pen a review of.  I hope it's as effective as it purports to be.  I will let you all know.  Hopefully it will be like an orbital sander for my feet....

Sunday: Today is (Officially) Pedicure Day...and the Sabbath....

Yep, you've read it correctly - today is pedicure day and once I've written a whole load of guff on my various blogs, completed my eBay sales and indeed checked my work email (urgh!) rest assured that I'll be duly removing the dark purple polish from my toenails and carrying out the detailed series of tasks which lead to beautiful peds.  For those who crave a visual image, here's some shots from an earlier session:

Oooh - look - bare feet in bath salts - urrggghhhh....

They're not great when they're not covered in polish are they?  Frankly, they're quite foul in my view.

Imperfections abound.

Anyway, that's enough self-deprecation for any Sunday afternoon, let alone this particular one, which coincides with Queen Elizabeth II's eighty-seventh birthday.  I'll bid you farewell if I may and finally, I do check my statistics pretty regularly and would love to know why a Russian porn site web address keeps appearing - it's not my view that the content or indeed pictures contained within this blog are suitable for such an audience and if you're reading via Google translation, go and jump in a lake* won't you?

* Preferably a freezing cold one.  Ditto to all of the people who vex me on a semi-regular basis.

Friday: No More Bending To Clean Your Feet?

Ugh, after a week off work battling a chest infection which has been rattling around my system for the last month or so, today was the first time I'd left the house since Monday.  I feel like I'm on 'power saver mode' if that makes any sense to anybody, but if it doesn't please let me explain: it's like I'm awake but there's some kind of mental barrier blocking everything else out, or failing that I'm running on less than 30% battery.  However, needs must and I had to do the school run and head towards the shopping centre to pick up a few bits, hence why I saw this lovely item on the shelves in the mighty BHS:

Ooh, just think I wouldn't have to bend to clean my feet any longer whilst I'm showering in the morning (it's very much a case of shower in the morning, bath in the evening in my book..)  I like the idea, of course I do, but it would be another thing which would gather mould in my household after a while, despite my best efforts of scrubbing it with a potentially toxic fumed combination of Cif, Bleach and Limescale remover.  I've no doubt that the bristles would caress my sore soles though, but as regular readers know, I tend to do all of my hard skin removal via the medium of an Addis bowl full of bath salts.

Finally: as part of a review program I participate in I've been gifted a Scholl pedicure unit to test.  Hurrah!  Once it arrives (assuming it's not lost/stolen in transit!) I'll write a bit of a blurb about it and maybe I'll run a feather down my heel, akin to the television advertising campaign for the product(!)