Dear Darklings,

It’s all about shoes this week. I’ve been mooning over shoes for a few months now, mostly historical styles and dapper menswear styled shoes. It started innocently enough, with an ad for The Office of Angela Scott. Way out of my price range, but I visit the site sometimes just to dream. Then I started stalking Taft shoes, Memery Vintage, and American Duchess. All a bit closer to my price range but still pricey. I’d scroll and dream and eventually click away without buying.

Then American Duchess had a Bastille Day sale that finally got me to take the plunge. With the steep discounts, I admit I went a little crazy and bought two pairs I’d been admiring for a while.

The first was a pair of Edwardian oxfords with cute little French heels. I haven’t bought heels in years–I used to love them but foot problems forced me into flats even for dressy events and I kind of lost the habit of wearing them. My feet are fine these days, and it’s high time I had a pair of beautiful heels for dressing up.

I haven’t worn them much yet but they seem sturdy and comfortable, and the stitching is smooth and doesn’t scratch if I wear them without socks. They also come with an extra pair of little plastic heel caps in case the originals get too worn. I love the oxford style because it goes well with both dresses and pants. I want to keep them nice, but I’m sorely tempted to wear them around town just to feel them.

The second pair is the one I feel a touch guilty about. I fell in love the moment I saw them and the discount was really good, but I don’t actually need more boots. On the blog I might seem like a big spender, but I’m actually pretty careful with money and most of my “impulse purchases” are actually using money I’ve already set aside for such things. These vintage double buckle boots were perilously close to being a true impulse purchase but they fit perfectly and I think they’ll last me a good long time. They’d better. Between these and my Doc Martens I shouldn’t need new boots for years.

I have worn these around town in spite of the current heat wave. They need some breaking in, as boots usually do, but they were pretty comfortable right out of the box. No blisters or spots that rub oddly, good soles and a great fit. They’re shorter than my Docs, so I suppose these really are my “summer boots.”

Those were my exciting fancy purchase, but believe it or not I bought a third pair of shoes just yesterday. I’ve needed new running shoes for a while and I finally made myself go get some. Last fall I realized my blood pressure was a bit high and I was nearly pre-diabetic, so I really stepped up my exercise. I started going to the gym five mornings a week and slowly became a jogger. A treadmill jogger, anyway, and a weekend hiker as well. My feet tend to tip inward a bit and my running shoes wear unevenly–when they get too old I can really feel it in my knees. New shoes are expensive, but way cheaper than diabetes or a heart attack.

All that jogging and the weight I’ve lost have really helped–my blood sugar is normal again, my blood pressure is much better, and my resting heart rate kicks ass. Sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated, though, so I signed myself up for one of those virtual run/walk challenges. I’ve been seeing them for years, but it was the virtual tour of Transylvania that got me to join. I’m such a goth stereotype sometimes. The challenge is 231 miles (372 kilometers) so it will take me several weeks if I keep to my current schedule, but every few miles I “arrive” at cool pictures of local landmarks and at the end I get a spooky medal for my efforts. This and my comfy new shoes should keep me motivated for a while yet.

Anyway, that’s my week in shoes. Everything else is going reasonably well, kids are enjoying their last weeks of summer, I’m plugging along on a few small projects myself before school starts up again. I hope you’re all doing well and excited about the little things.

Until Next Time,

Corvus