Wednesday: Clarks Finnis Teal mary jane wedges

Regular readers of this blog will be aware of my adoration for the two inch wedge heel (well, it's about the only two inch thing I do hold in high regard...)  So with this in mind I have purchased two pairs of Clarks Finnis mary jane wedges over the past year or so - one in teal, as pictured, and the other in a bronze hue.  Clarks do stock a ladies size 9 in some of their ranges, not all, but it's encouraging if nothing else as I find their shoes both comfortable and funky.

As you'll see, I'm wearing them with a pair of black jeans to provide a welcome 'pop' of colour during these dark days.  A colleague of mine said to me recently 'do you own any black shoes?' and the answer is, well, not really, most of mine sit firmly on the funky scale and I'm very proud of that.

I suppose I should talk a little about Clarks as a shoe brand, well I'm going to anyway.  From the memory banks they're a British company, based in Street, Somerset which is located in the West Country - a truly beautiful place, well for a holiday anyway, I can't categorically state that envisage a move there permanently because I'm very much a townie and would find it difficult to adjust.  Anyway, I digress.  Clarks shoes are very much part of growing up in the UK and still remain so to this day, my mother spent a great amount of money on shoes for myself and my siblings whilst growing up.  She ensured that our feet were correctly measured (in the slightly scary metal machine!) and shoes were fitted accordingly so that we all grew up with beautiful feet.  I have to say that the opposite is true for my poor husband, The Duke, whose father spent all of his money on booze and allowed his poor sons to wear ill-fitting cheap 'Winklepicker' pointed shoes, thus causing them to have hammer toes and other awful foot problems in later life.  Ditto my friend whose mother tried to hide her pregnancy in the early months via a series of corsets, thus crushing her baby daughter's growing feet in the process.  Sacrilege!

I did go on a school trip to Bristol and Somerset with my primary school in the 1980s and we visited the Clarks factory in Street then.  I can't recall much more about the trip, apart from the fact that some awful girl called Sharon broke my sticks of rock against a metal bunk, one of the teachers smoked on the coach for the entirety of the journey and some 'dodgy' magazines were discovered on the top of a wardrobe.  Nostalgia's a wonderful thing isn't it?

Monday: workout including sports socks and Nikes

Happy Monday morning world and here's hoping that Hurricane Sandy won't cause too much devastation across in the US.  What an awful thing the weather can be at times?  New York's so vulnerable.

Right, shoes, that's what you want to read about, isn't it?  This morning I woke up with the good intentions of working out, so I donned my three-quarter length leggings, baggy t-shirt and placed a pair of sports socks on my feet, and they're pictured above, in their full glory.  Next I selected my Nike women's training shoes, pictured below.  I do like a women's training shoe, femininity is all when one has feet as large as mine and I adore the pink 'swoosh' plus the silver relief is adorable too.

As for the workout itself, well let's just say that, although I walk everywhere, I'm not the fittest person in the Universe so it was a bit of a strain.  I used one of my Davina McCall box sets, well the Power of Three DVD if you're interested.  For those based outside the UK, Davina McCall or 'Davina' as she's mostly known is a presenter, former dancer and one of Eric Clapton's girlfriends from way back.  She has a reputation for being a bit shouty on air and is probably most famous for presenting the UK version of Big Brother, which she's done from the beginning, well until Channel 5 bought the format anyway.  As well as all of the other career defining stuff she's well known for being the face (or should that be mane?) of a popular hair dye range and for producing a series of successful workout DVDs.

Now don't get me wrong, I love being fit, but scheduling it into my day is a complete nightmare as you're not supposed to work out too late in the day because it disrupts sleep patterns.  I can't abide doing lunges though and do worry about my knees.  I think I enjoy Davina's DVDs mostly because they're very light-hearted and to witness all the heavy-duty flirting she indulges in with Mark, one of her personal trainers, who's an ex-marine and generally a buff bald bloke.  It's made all the more amusing because it's going on right in front of his wife, Jackie's eyes, who completes the husband and wife personal training team.  I personally like a bit of flirtation though, especially if it gets me throughly dark days of winter.

Until next time xxx

Sunday: Silver spangly Converse and a possible blister

Today I went to a special austim-friendly screening at my local cinema with my young son.  A big shout out to the work of the National Autistic Society, they do a fanstastic job.

Anyway, I wore my silver spangly Converse which I've owned for a while, they're great, but akin to all Converse, they do wear out hugely at the heel which is a complete pain.  They are again ruining the socks I'm wearing (knee length, pulled down to a slouch if you're interested) and causing another flipping blister!  I fear I'm cursed with all shoes in regard to excessive wear and foot rubbing.  I used to own a leather pair of silver Converse but the metallic coating on the leather started peeling away after three wearings so I had to return them, but Office Shoes were fantastic about exchanging them for a while leather pair, which is always nice.  I do wonder why I can actually buy silver spangly Converse in a size 9 as they're a unisex shoe - do blokes actually wear them?  I have seen a woman wearing them whilst presenting at last year's Boring Conference, but that's by the by and you'll soon discover that I do love a bit of metallic action going on in my life. 

Friday: returned defective desert boots and pink hi Converse

Today I'm sporting a pink pair of 'hi' Converse boots; I only own one pair of the boot version compared to their shoe 'lo' counterpart as, although I like them, they're much harder to get on and if you're in a rush to get out of the door, it's a bit of a nightmare.  They're very comfortable though, here's hoping that they don't get the excessive 'heel' wear my other pairs do, but saying that, they will because, as you know, I walk everywhere and conversely (boom boom!) wear things out.  Apologies for the sheer deluge of commas contained within the previous sentence, here's hoping the Government doesn't introduce a tax on punctuation, but don't suggest it - they just might....

It's sad news about my new pair of red suede desert boots because, after wearing them yesterday to work for just one day, the insole rucked up and was incredibly uncomfortable under the arch of my foot.  Therefore I returned them to the shop who gave me a full refund.  It's a real shame because I do love to support local businesses as opposed to the tax-dodging companies I tend to deal with.  Sigh!  However, it didn't necessitate a trip to the Post Office, so I'm more than delighted.  I think I'll have to do that on Monday morning if I sell some or all of my items on eBay and as you know, post office queues suck the life out of me.

Finally, a little rainy Friday treat - here's a piccie of of my feet resplendent with their Boots No17 crackle top coat polish.  I do love nail polishes - I keep them all in the fridge as I once read that it's the best place to store them.  I was very tempted to purchase a new make up kit the other day but stopped myself - it's strange, I didn't wear make-up until a few years ago and now I wear it every day unless I'm just schlepping around the house.  Eyeliner's my personal favourite as it makes my eyes stand out under my glasses as I'm very short sighted.  I bet you're all building up a strange mental picture of me now, aren't you?

Until the next time xx

Wednesday: new red suede desert boots and JML 'Shower Feet'

I purchased a pair of red suede 'roamer' desert boots from a local shoe shop this morning.  I have had my eye on them for a while and often like to go in, stroke them then leave the shop, but today I thought I'd cheer myself up and actually buy them.  I must admit that it was a bit odd buying something in an actual shop as I always tend to purchase my shoes online these days, but there is often an issue regarding them not fitting and having to return them, which is a complete pain in the rear.  I also bought some suede protector and a special suede brush from Wilkinsons and they and my beige suede wedge boots have now been duly sprayed on the kitchen floor.  I shall wear them to work tomorrow and will photograph and update the blog accordingly.

Whilst shopping in Wilkinsons and yes, I admit, I adore the place, especially early in the morning before it's too crowded, I spied the JML display.  For those not au fait with the wonderful world of JML, which stands for 'John Moore Limited' by the way, the late mail order magnate who also lends his name to a former Polytechnic in Liverpool, it's a veritable smorgasbord of wonder and it's just as well that I haven't got Sky TV access because they've a channel especially dedicated to the company.  I am sitting here, typing and staring at my JML DriBuddi (basically an upright clothes drier consisting of a pvc zipped casing covering a large hairdryer-style motor - available in all stores...)  Right, get to the point then!  Ok, they were featuring something called JML Shower Feet, which I attach a link to: http://www.jmldirect.com/uk/skin-care/shower-feet/invt/s36sf60100000001/  For those who cannot click on the link, it's a plastic brush/pumice combination which can be suckered to the bottom of your bath or shower to clean your feet, but here's a more fulsome description:

Cleaning your feet doesn’t have to be such a stretch. Shower Feet sticks firmly to the bottom of your shower or bath to make washing your feet easier than ever before.

This cleansing shoe uses over a thousand soft bristles to give your feet an exfoliating massage from top to bottom. The bristles are great at getting in-between your toes and there’s a pumice stone in the heel, so you can smooth away dry and damaged skin. It’s designed for feet of almost all shapes and sizes and attaches to most surfaces. Refreshing and revitalising your feet has never been so easy and felt so good.

I may just have to buy one now, preferably in pink.

Until next time....xx

Tuesday: beige suede Next wedges, blisters and more flipping mist!

Today was a work day so I dressed in my skinny brown cords and placed my Next beige wedges on my feet as they're fairly comfortable at a two inch heel height.  I think I bought them from eBay back in 2006 - heaven knows why I recall that, I'm clearly a bone fide sad case!  Unfortunately they have rubbed the little toe on my right foot so I've photographed it for your information - also I notice that if I upload a picture of a bare foot on my blog then I tend to get more hits - strange but true.  It's quite noticeable how swollen feet get during the day - hence the need to purchase new shoes in the afternoon apparently. 

Methinks I'll carry out a pedicure in a week or two and post some pictures of that.  That will no doubt tickle some of you and I may try out a new colour - I am a huge fan of red toenails.

Until next time x

Monday: mist, cleated soles and new slippers

Today I woke to a world of misty wonder and shod myself accordingly.  I wore my Doctor Martens Mariella knee-length tan boots today which feature a two inch block heel and cleated sole.  I love these boots, but they are rucking up at the back of the heel and have caused a blister, which isn't nice.  Boots such as there are pretty essential at the moment because all of the autumn leaves are making the pavements slippery and I nearly aquaplaned myself into oblivion the other day whilst wearing my Converse. 

I also decided to purchase a pair of fake ugg/faux sheepskin boots to replace the ones I'm selling on eBay at the moment, so I went to a couple of shops but was dismayed to find that they don't stock large slippers in most stores (boo!)  Therefore I went to good old Shoe Zone and I'm not sure whether you've ever ventured inside but it seems to boast the world's largest selection of non-leather shoes, but they do stock size 9 ladies shoes, so I cannot complain too loudly.  First I tried on a knitted style bootee which was on special offer but the size 9 didn't fit and my poor toes hit the end.  Therefore I ended up purchasing a black version of the ones I already own.  I'm wearing them now and they do need a bit of bedding in because they're a tad slippery at the moment.

Bye for now x