Why can we walk barefoot on beach and not on mountain?

This search query made me giggle, so I wanted to share it. 

I'm not sure that the author of that question could find the answer on my blog.  In fact, I would advocate walking barefoot on the beach, on the mountain, wherever your wandering feet take you... as long as there's no broken glass or hypodermic needles.  Some of the best rock climbers climb barefoot.

Just for the record, I don't advocate walking barefoot at work (except in the privacy of your own office, or maybe at an off-site, outdoor retreat).  Nor do I suggest walking barefoot on public transit (though I've seen it done), in crowded dance clubs and bars (smashed tootsies), or in restaurants (against health code).  You can probably get away with it at the symphony, though, if you wear a long down/ floor length pants.

Here ends today's public service announcement.

Gratuitous shoe post

I'm kinda obsessed with these (and they're half price right now!).

I need another pair of shoes like I need a ping-pong playing penguin!

Shoegate continues...

In keeping with my current obsession about what to wear, and my advisor's query about what I wear for teaching (skirts and heels, a complete 180 from my grad student uniform of jeans and clogs), I've been searching for the perfect funky, walkable, power-projecting pair of shoes.

Look what Doc Water pointed me to:







Her cousin is a ridiculously talented shoe designer (see 'em all here) in Tel-Aviv, who is kindly bringing some of her wares for shoe-obsessed gals to consider at the good Doc's wedding next weekend!

Doc Water will be wearing some of these handmade beauties under her dress. So cool.

If you happen to be in Tel-Aviv, you should visit one of these places for gorgeous designer shoes!

Shoegate update

Fluevog just emailed to notify me that the black work shoes I had ordered (along with the purple boots, uh huh, yes I did!), are sold out company-wide, so they've canceled that part of my order.

Is that a divine sign that, because I was so budget savvy with the vases and votives over the weekend that I should reward myself with the Chie Miharas???

Or should I continue to look for hip/ funky/ walkable professorial shoes?

As I confided in the wise executive LPC the other day, after nine years as a grad student, wearing mainly jeans and Dansko clogs (yeah, boring), I am quite at a loss as to how to dress professionally and professorially.

Please weigh in, oh blogonistas!

Today's obsession...

I saw these looking hip and adorable on Joslyn at Simply Lovely, and couldn't get them out of my head.

A few quick Google searches turned up nothing. Fortunately, Joslyn was kind enough to supply the deets to her eager readers: Chie Mihara, available various places around the web, for far more than a grad student - whose planning a wedding! - should be spending on shoes.

hmmm... do they look professional? Could I justify them as part of my new work wardrobe?? Not so much... Maybe my stylish sister-in-law will bring some back, next time she goes to Spain...

On the other hand, these

while equally spendy, might actually qualify as work shoes. And they're supposed to be comfortable, to boot!

Speaking of boots...

I'm pretty sure I need these for next winter.

An unveiling...

So many wedding-related goodies in the mail of late!

However, if you've read this blog for any length of time, you might remember that I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to opening certain packages.



I think I'm improving though - this box only sat less than a week before I opened it.

And what luscious goodness was inside!







My eagerly awaited birdcage veil and fascinator, from Kasia Fink!

It's gorgeous! I have a wedding hair trial scheduled for late August, and it's going to be hard to wait that long to try this in my hair. I did play around with it for a few minute, while Mr. Barefoot ran out to get pizza, but my ponytail didn't do it justice. It needs a full-on upsweep for the whole dramatic effect. I love it!


Like these babies, it's gonna be hard to keep under wraps until the appointed day (but until then, I'm barefoot...).

The whole thing was packaged so beautifully, with so much care, and Kasia was an absolute delight to work with online. Definitely check out her lovely veils and fascinators.

Flip flops for One Measely Buck-a-roo

If you're thinking of offering your guests flip flops for their weary dancing feet, you might want to head over to Old Navy on Saturday, May 23.

They've got flip flops for $1. Each person can purchase 5, so take your fiance, best friend and posse of bridesmaids!

Even if you can't make it on Saturday, solid colored flip flops are only $1.65/each when you buy 3 or more! Get extra coupons here.

I'm thinking that most everyone will bring their own flip flops since they know we're having a beach wedding, but it can't hurt to have a few extra on hand - the ones I stowed in the car at the Santa Cruz mountains wedding a couple weeks ago totally saved my feet.

A weekend of wedding planning

source

Calla lilies are bursting out all over our backyard right now. I think they'd make an awesome bouquet - apparently very trendy right now. Just one of the many ideas floating around my mind...

Since Friday, my brain has been occupied by all things wedding, all the time. Friday night, after a day of dress shopping, I dreamed of wedding dresses all night. I kid you not! A slideshow of poufy white dresses danced in front of my head all night, making it very hard to sleep. It was like those drawings that accompany "The Night Before Christmas" in which kids are dreaming of sugar plums... visions of wedding dresses danced through my head.

I guess it was some sort of strange catharsis after buying my dress. My poor tired brain had to release all the images that it had been analyzing and storing for so many weeks. It turns out that what they say about finding YOUR dress and knowing that it is YOUR dress is true. I'd been stalking this dress on line for a while. Independently, my fabulously stylish Spanish sister-in-law pointed out the dress to me online. Though there are only a few bridal salons that carry Pronovias dresses in the San Francisco area, one of them had a trunk show last week. I walked in with the style name, tried on the dress and saw that it was indeed the one. It was even within range of my budget (which I feared would not accommodate the style of dress I was seeking.)

I am thrilled with this dress: it's sophisticated, dramatic, and yet light and flowy enough to look great outdoors, at the beach where the ceremony will be.

However, I do have a bit of angst about the extravagant use of resources and (most likely) poor labor conditions that go into creating a dress like this. I was hoping to find a second-hand or sample dress to minimize the amount of additional labor and resources going into our wedding. We're trying to be as environmentally and socially conscious as possible, since both of us work on such issues professionally. To my mind, the one use wedding dress is one of the most extravagant use of resources at the wedding. Most of the other things are consumed (food, alcohol) or can be re-used (chairs, sound equipment, etc.) Decorations and invitations can be made of recycled materials. But the dress.... all new materials, worn once! I'm planning to donate it to Brides Against Breast Cancer afterward, so they can use it in their fund-raising efforts. At least it can have second life that way. And I will post some of my other green wedding ideas in an effort to decrease consumption and increase sustainability....

The dress is dramatic enough that it doesn't need a veil or even much jewelry - which is perfect, since I don't own much jewelry. I'm thinking a white flower/ feather would look suitable sophisticated.

Something like this













Or this















Or this

So many fun things to shop for...

And, so many things to check off the list:

• Dress ordered - CHECK
• Shoes - CHECK
• Save the Date list - CHECK
• Mailing addresses - CHECK
• Location - CHECK
• Caterer - CHECK
• Decision about attendants - CHECK
• Reserved hair stylist - CHECK

Making progress on:

• Photographer
• Music

Now maybe I can focus on writing my dissertation...

Outed!

Mr. Barefoot just set up a wedding website for us. Awesome!

He did it on Blogger, which connected it to my blogging profile, so I had to confess that I have this secret wedding blog. Not really a problem, but I may have to be more circumspect in my bitchy bridezilla moments, now that I know that people I know may be reading.

And here thought all this fast and furious typing was on my dissertation. Now that I've been outed, he knows that not all of my writing is academic.

****

And in other news, yesterday was the most spectacular shopping day of my life! With BFF by my side, I found my dream dress at a trunk show for 15% off AND a glamorous pair of Jimmy Choos at HALF OFF! Apparently Sandra Bullock wore the same style on the red carpet. I love love love these shoes. SO much that I want to wear them before the wedding. But I don't want to risk ruining them...

Happy Valentine's Day! Enjoy your sweeties!

Blue Shoes

In keeping with the whole "wear it more than once" enviro theme, these shoes are pretty spectacular. I wonder how they'd look with a white dress?

I AM a cliche

Even though I'm not a 'typical' bride - being a bit older, a bit broke-er, a bit eco-freakier, it turns out that in my wedding dress quest, I have been following one of the latest trends: trying to spend less on the dress in order to spend more on a great pair of splurgey shoes.

This seems so logical to me: the shoes can be worn again, especially if they are silver, or gold, or beige. For heels to be comfortable, they have to be wellmade, which usually translates into a splurgier price, which is so worth it when you'll be wearing them for a whole day.

Wouldn'tcha know - Jimmy Choo has a whole bridal collection!
I'm thinking these are pretty hot

So now I need to find a dress that won't break the bank to go with them!