Shoes Glorious Shoes!

I will admit here and now that I LOVE shoes.  Granted, I have a hard time finding them, with a wide front of the foot, narrow heel, and high arches.  Add to that plantar fasciitis and other issues (osteoarthritis, tendon problems for example), and I can't just go to any store and pick up a pair and wear them.  A lot of times, the shoes that feel the best are pretty expensive.  I have learned the hard way that with shoes, you often do get what you pay for.  However, that doesn't necessarily mean that I have pots of money sitting around.  When I do "spring" for a pair of shoes, I have to really feel that it's worth it.  And I have to be able to return them if I get them home, wear them around the house, and realize it just isn't gonna work.

Having said all of that, I have had some luck this summer.  One of my recent purchases is one that I wanted to share, since I think these particular shoes are both attractive and ones that could be dressed up or dressed down.  I give you the Tsubo Olisa:

This is my first pair from this brand, and if they are any indication, I will be checking more of them out when they are on sale.  The Olisa is a wedge/platform type of sandal, with a toe separator that doesn't actually show when you have the shoes on your feet.  You can read the specifications here on the brand's website, but I can tell you a couple of things just based on my experience:  they are sturdy when you stand in them, because the wedge is not skinny; and, the platform makes your foot nearly flat when you are wearing them.  The foot pad is soft, and your foot doesn't slide forward, leading to them a) looking awful, and b) feeling painful.  It's really just about a 1-inch difference for your foot.

I bought them in the Infinity shade, which is a pretty navy blue.  They work for my high arches, because the part going over your foot is at just the right spot for me.  Also, that part helps keep them on your foot (I usually can't wear sandals that don't have a t-strap or something to keep them on the top of my foot).  From what I have been able to see poking around in several places, they also come in black, green (Moss), and bright orange (Fire).

I found mine on sale at Benjamin Lovell Shoes, which is near my house.  They were $99.00, reduced from $145.00  I also found them for sale at the following sites:

Tsubo brand site, for $140.00
Zappos, for $140.00
Amazon, for $94.97 to $140.00 (depending on size and color selected)

This is one that I think is worth saving up to buy.  I have been getting a lot of wear out of mine, and they will easily still look nice next summer as well!

About My Dad

On Father's Day, I always wish my father was still around so I could call and wish him a happy day.  I'm sure he knows I'm thinking of him, but it's not the same as the person being physically around.

Anyway, the reason I thought I'd write this post, was because my dad was as much responsible for my persnickety-ness about appearance as my mom and/or sisters were.  In photos of him as a young man, he is slim and quite handsome; in later photos, he is plump with a crewcut, and the way I remember him.  (He looked a lot like Drew Carey in the very first incarnation of his show!)  He was always well-groomed and nicely dressed, and though he was not an executive or anything, he did have an office job, so wore suits to work every day.  I do remember his "cookout" outfit, which just sent my sisters over the edge:  tan shorts, a bright orange and white plaid shirt, and matching orange socks, with the kind of sneakers men wore back then.  He absolutely loved this outfit, while my sisters were just appalled by it.  I think my mother probably had just given up thinking about it.

Anyway, one Saturday when I was probably in 3rd or 4th grade, my mom and sisters were going downtown to do some shopping, and my dad was in charge of me.  He told me I could go with him to run some errands, and if I waited for him while he went to an appt at the barber shop, then we could go to lunch.  Sounded great to me, plus I would have my father all to myself!

We got to the barber shop, and that's where the shocker happened.  I was assuming that he was getting his hair cut (though with a crewcut, it always looked the same to me ...).  However, that wasn't the case.  No, my father - who was not particularly macho, but was also not anyone I would ever describe as girly - was getting a MANICURE!

Even to this day, I can remember how shocked and surprised I was.  For one thing, it just never occurred to me that men would get manicures.  And secondly - my father????  I didn't say anything to him, because I didn't want to act surprised, but when I told my mother later, she told me that yes, he got a manicure about every two weeks!  I'm guessing that it wasn't overly expensive, since a) we had very little money, and b) it didn't involve nail polish, only shaping and buffing, but it was still one of the big revelations of my life.  My mother had gorgeous hands and nails, and always did her own manicure.  She was a secretary, and her polish usually got changed not because it had chipped, but because she was tired of the color!  (Unlike me, whose manicures - DIY or professionally done - seem to start chipping as soon as I take a breath.)

So as I think of my dad today, I am grateful that he showed me something that was very different for the time.  And helped to give me the sense that it does make a difference to be well put together, whether you are wearing designer clothing or hand-me-downs.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.  Here's hoping they will always have a surprise or two for us.

A Lesson Reinforced

This past Tuesday, my sister-in-law Sheila died.  It was a surprise, in that this time last week, she was still alive.  But apparently, when she was leaving her office on Friday to go to her car, she fell in the parking lot and knocked herself out.  Turns out she had thrown a clot from DVT in her leg.  They sent her home Sunday, she fell in the house again, and was found by a friend on the bathroom floor, unconscious but with a pulse.  The doctors at the hospital said it was a massive brain bleed, and they were just keeping her comfortable.  She died early in the morning on Tuesday.

Last summer, Sheila's husband Dave died from congestive heart failure and cirrhosis of the liver.  He was four years younger than she was.  From all accounts, she just gave up and didn't even try to move on, other than going to work every day.

About ten years ago, Sheila was asked to be the matron of honor in her younger sister's wedding.  She and Dave embarked on a mission to get into shape.  They showed up, both the picture of health and fitness, and apparently were able to keep up with that for years.

Until about two years ago, when Dave was laid off from his high-level publishing job.  From what I can tell, it sounds as if he became broken.  He stopped caring about taking care of himself, or making any effort to be active.  It sounds as if at some point Sheila thought that if he was giving up, she might as well give up too.  My husband's younger sister told us this week that Sheila was huge - losing 60-75 pounds once Dave died, and it didn't make much of a difference.  But she also said that Dave was incredibly obese when he died.

I was sad to hear this, not just because I loved both of them dearly, but because they had been able to remake themselves into healthy and fit people for several years.  Unfortunately, they could not get the incentive to keep going when times got tough.

So now they are both gone, and there is a huge void in our family.

But as strange as it sounds for me to say this, there is a bright side.  My husband has decided that he needs to get back to his activity and healthier eating.  He told me that he sees their lives in the past couple of years as a cautionary tale.  He is now recommitted to a healthy life, and has been inspired to get moving and paying more attention to his health.  This is a relief to me, as he had become pretty lazy in the past 8 months or so, and I was worried.

In the end, then, the deaths of Dave and Sheila made a point in his life that will likely stick.  I just really wish that the lesson didn't need to be learned this way.

Rest in peace, Dave and Sheila.  We love you, and will miss you.  Here's hoping that you are both happy and at rest now.

Pretty and Good

Yesterday, the Sephora near my house had a fund-raising event for the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society - PAWS, as it is more popularly known.  For someone like me, this was the perfect intersection of two things I love - makeup and animals.  They were collecting both monetary donations, and donations of things needed for the shelter animals.  Since PAWS is the only no-kill shelter in the area, I like to support then when I can.  I took up a bunch of towels, which was one of the things on their wish list.  In thanks for my contribution, Sephora gave me a raffle ticket for each item.  No, I didn't win, but it really didn't matter - I helped the animals the way that I could, since at the moment, I couldn't have made a monetary contribution.

PAWS also has the PAWS Club, where participating merchants give discounts if you are a member.  I've been a member for years, and to be perfectly honest, I usually forget to check and see if places I am buying something/taking advantage of a service/eating a meal are participants - I just see it as another way to help the animals!

Do you pay attention to whether or not your cosmetics or skin care products are tested on animals?  I have always tried my very best to only support companies who do not test on animals.  It used to be pretty hard to determine, but things have gotten much easier over the years, with more companies becoming aware of alternative testing methods.

All of us are responsible for the other beings on this planet.  I am more than well aware of how nature works, the circle of life, etc.  And I can accept that.  But I do not see a single good reason for animals to suffer so that I can have eye shadow, or face cream, or anything else.

So if you are local, please consider supporting PAWS; if not, please look for organizations in your area, and do whatever you can do.  It really is possible to be pretty AND good.

:-)

Of BB Creams and Laziness

One of my biggest problems in life is that I want maximum effects from something, but I'm usually too lazy to actually make the effort to do what needs to be done to get that effect.  If it's a big occasion, I'll take extra time and do my hair and my makeup with more care, but for everyday, I'm not that dedicated.

A favorite product of mine is tinted moisturizers.  I like the idea that I can put some on and even out my face, without having to fool with foundation, for instance on a weekend, when you want to look put together, but not spend time "doing" your makeup.

Before I had even heard of "BB Creams," I was cruising around in my local Sephora a couple of years ago, when they were out of tinted moisturizer I was using.  I came across this:

I knew that Boscia was a brand that a lot of people liked, and that it had a lot of products that people with problem skin used.  I read the tube, and thought I'd give it a try.  I'll admit to being a little bit weirded out when it came out of the tube a little bit orange-y, but once on my face, it blended in really well, and evened out my skin tone.  It seemed to stay on most of the day, and I was really pleased with it.

At the time I ran out of it, I was pretty broke.  By that time, BB creams were showing up everywhere.  So I headed to CVS, deciding I'd try a less expensive one (the Boscia was not all that expensive for how long it lasted, but as I said, I was broke).  I had read good things about the L'Oreal and Maybelline BB creams, and thought I'd give one of them a go.  There was a special that week on Maybelline products, so I decided to try theirs.

This is the one I used all of last summer.  I have to say that I didn't like it quite as much as the Boscia one, though it was OK.  This one was more liquid-y, and I needed more of the product to cover my face.  It felt OK enough, and the shade was fine, but it didn't stay on as long as the Boscia, and by the end of the day when I would remove my makeup, there would be very little left on my skin.  It was definitely not as sweatproof as the other one (not that the Boscia was particularly sweatproof - just more so than the Maybelline).  I decided that the next time I decided to use a drugstore brand, I'd try one of the others.

Then about a month ago, I read that Trish McEvoy had a BB cream with a lot of the same ingredients as her Treatment Foundation, which I had tried and really liked.  As was the case with the Treatment Foundation, it was pricier than a lot of the others, but I decided to treat myself and give it a try.

The person who helped me at the counter said to be aware that it comes out of the tube looking darker than it becomes once it's on your skin.  She said that she had bought some to try when she didn't want to take the time to put a full face of makeup on, but that she liked it so much, she started using it instead of foundation, period.  I kinda sorta know this woman (she's helped numerous times, and is really helpful when you have questions), and I feel like I trust her - for as much as you can trust someone who sells cosmetics.  Her makeup is always flawless.  One of the other salespeople walked past and said, "Oh is she waxing poetic about that stuff again?  Ever since she has tried it, that's all we've heard about!"  

I have to say that I really do like this stuff!  It feels nice on your skin, it does a nice job of providing coverage, and at the end of the day - even a hot, sweaty day - it's still where you put it.  I only have to use one pump to cover my face, so over the long run, it's probably a good buy.  I'll see how long it lasts before deciding whether or not it's worth the money to me.

So this has been my "experiment" so far with BB creams.  Overall, they were all acceptable, though the Maybelline one was the one that disappointed me the most.  Like most people, I have better luck with some of their products than others, and the BB cream was not a success for me personally.  I would definitely buy the Boscia again, and as I said above, I'll see how things go with the Trish McEvoy product before springing for that again - a function of price point rather than the actual product itself.

I have just recently seen that Kiehl's has developed a BB cream, so I may give that a shot sometime.  I'll let you know.  :-)

************

Happy Memorial Day weekend for anyone reading this who is in the U.S., and happy weekend to everyone!

Don't Hate Me Because ...

Do you remember that old commercial where the woman (whose name escapes me) used to say, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful"?  And then more recently, the story about how Dove Soap did a video survey where women talked about what they looked like to themselves, and then listened to how strangers described them?

Well, I thought of both last weekend.  I went to the local Blue Mercury to have my brows tweezed (the price is good, and the woman is really nice).  Anyhoo, when I was finished, I was walking through the store, looking at some things, and one of the people who works there said hello.  She is really nice, and very friendly, and in the past, she has helped me with different things.  She seems like someone who would be a lot of fun, you know?

Anyway, she was working with someone else, doing a makeup application, and I heard her say, "See the woman I just spoke to?  She has the most gorgeous, amazing skin."  She was talking about me!

I  was of course flattered, but also really surprised.  For most of my life, my skin has been in terrible shape.  When I was a little kid, before the invention of sunscreen, I would get sunburt all of the time.  Not because I was a sun-worshiper, but just because I left the house, and have a very immediate reaction to any sun.  Then of course the teen-age years, when I was pimply.  And I always wondered why my face was always so red - enough that people were always asking me if I had been in an accident and burned my face - only as an adult to learn that I have rosacea.

Fortunately, when we moved to Philadelphia, I started going to a dermatologist who turned out to be really good at what she does.  Over the years, my rosacea has gotten under control, and because I am extremely vigilant, my skin is in good shape.  I have had people tell me that it was clear I took good care of my skin, and I have always been happy with that compliment.

But I never thought of myself as someone with "gorgeous, amazing skin" - who knew?   And it did make me think of the old commercial as well as the Dove Soap survey.  I don't think I'm overly self-critical or self-absorbed about my looks, but I really never thought that I was any more or less beautiful/good-looking/attractive than the average person.

Did I like hearing the woman say that?  Yes - I mean, I'm telling you, right?  But I was also somewhat amused and have been so ever since.

So remember - just because you don't see yourselves as others do, it doesn't mean that you can't be happy anyway.

Not me ...

But also not me ...

Not Even Close

Last year at this time, I realized that a) I had forgotten to sign up for the local Race for the Cure, and b) I couldn't even do it at the last-minute since I had made other commitments.  Not a major tragedy, but I felt bad since I try to participate every year, and it just didn't hit my radar at all.

Not the world's biggest tragedy, just something that slipped through the cracks of my brain.  But at that time, I also decided that rather than walk the 5k as I usually do, I was gonna try to be ready to run it.  However, later that month, I started having to wear a foot brace, which was originally supposed to be on my foot for six weeks, and ended up being on for five months (and didn't actually help, after all that).  So no chance to even try to start a running program.  Then I tried to make it a goal for the new year, but my months of ick in January and February not only kept me out of the gym and from any kind of exercise, but made it hard to breathe and walk at the same time.  Things are a bit better now, thank God.

I did remember to sign up to walk the race this year (albeit last-minute), so that's a good thing.  And I'm gonna say again that next year, I want to try running.  I have no plans to become A Runner, or run marathons, but I would like to have some variety in my activity, and build up my endurance levels.

In the meantime, I'll do my best this coming Sunday.  :-)