Ally: It’s rare to like your neighbours. No, for real. Love thy neighbours is actually one of the toughest commandments. I’m sure even Jesus would be annoyed at having a neighbour with a trampoline. This is why I feel so lucky to have Melissa as my next-door neighbour. These are the reasons I love Mel D:
1. She has really pretty hair (if she didn’t, I don’t know if I would feel the same about her).
2. My husband gets along with her husband (this is key for good neighbour relations).
3. Her husband has the patience of a saint. At least with me, particularly during the height of my pregnancy where he graciously filled my rubber wading pool during the 30 degree heat, and didn’t run screaming when I came out in my maternity bathing suit holding a martini glass with a virgin cocktail. (What? You need poolside cocktails, even if they are virgins!). He may have silently weeped as he mowed the lawn around my pool. He claims he was “sweating”. I know for sure that the neighbours selling their house across the street cried many tears when they looked over and saw the fat, pregnant lady appearing to booze it up in her cheap-ass pool during their Sunday Open House. I digress…
4. Melissa is my Saturday night drinking partner. The baby monitor conveniently works on her back deck, and even more conveniently, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump away for my husband to go check on the baby every 10 minutes (I’m paranoid. Shut up.). She also doesn’t make fun of me (much) when I have to go to bed after two glasses of wine, before the sun has even gone down for the day.
5. She took photos of me during my Dress like Carrie Challenge.
6. Lastly, and best of all, the girl knows how to shop. She also knows how to hide purchases from her husband. It’s a skill I admire, and it makes me proud to call her my friend.
Without further ado. Here’s Melissa.
Melissa: As I get older I am finding the shoes that are hot and the shoes that can withstand eight hours are difficult to find. This is my mantra and the reason I (tell my husband I) shop a lot. At 5 foot even a girl’s gotta wear heels – even if I teach in them all day. Most of the shoes below are all eight-hour-shoes with the exception of a few. They are my babies and have stomped out many a beat, been on many a stage. Here we go.
These are from Naturalizer, and they looked a little like Swing shoes. They are my parent teacher/concert night go to’s . And, as you can see, need a little bit of professional love.
These shoes are like the cooler young cousin of the previous shoes.
Still with the swing style, I love the red, pink and white. I got these at winners, and wasn’t going to buy them until I saw a lady pick them up, and try them on. They were too cute for words, once she put them down I picked them up. These are about four hour shoes, but will garner many compliments. They are set to accompany my new Anchor Tulip skirt from Pretty Things Boutique:
I had a black patent pair of Mary Janes in my hand at Winners before my mom came up and grabbed those out of my hand and gave me these ones from Tahari. I put them on and they felt like sneakers. Love at first sight. My mom has good taste.
(Ally: I saw these on Melissa’s feet last weekend when she was on her way to a shower – not of the bathroom variety, of the baby variety. They are delicious. I would eat them).
These ones I bought a few years ago from Winners, I wore them on the first day of teaching at my school. I figured they were not so overstated that it would look like I tried to hard, but cool enough that it would get me some cred. It worked.
I feel in love with these the other day at Winners when I was looking for practical brown sandals. They are my end-of-the-year party shoes. I think they have that ‘business in the front party in the back’ look.
(Ally: “Business in the front, party in the back?” DYING. I think you showed these to me the other night. I was on my second glass of neighbour Laurie’s Pim cocktail so I shan’t remember).
Funny story about these – they were bought from Spring for my sister-in-law’s wedding. But later that same day I bought them I fell down a rocky cliff and severely sprained my ankle. Almost deeming them useless. That being said I still couldn’t walk in heels the day of the wedding so I would walk bare foot until I got seated then put them on merely for looks:
You can see my taped ankle. Couldn’t walk but they looked fantastic.
You can see I’m holding onto the boys like I’m about to tip over any second.
Love the Geox line so I was super excited when I found a pair at our local Winners. Half the price but all of the comfort and style? Amazing.
I think naturalizer has come a long way in the past few years. Their latest lines are no longer the old granny shoes we associate with them. They sport shoes like these lovely flatish type shoe. Black plaid? Patent Bow? Too much…
Another Naturalizer find – I like the peep toe in this one. Nice and comfortable. ‘Nuff said.
So I needed shoes to go with a blue dress. I figured the bone/nude would be my best bet. They’re unassuming, non-conflicting and comfortable. Good old Soft Moc.
My mom bought these for me at Globo in Ottawa before it made its way down here. I’ve only worn them sporadically because they pinch my toes in a bad way. I can’t bear to part with them though.
This is the time when we mourn for a shoe store that is no longer. Brand Name Depot used to be in the Bedford Place Mall so my usual trip through the mall was: BND, Zellers (for their Alfred Sung line) then end it with a trip through Winners. It was exactly an hour. However BND cleared out shortly after Christmas and I will never be the same. I though these Tommy’s were super cute – my husband hates them.
Again, another Brand Name Depot (hang head for a moment of silence) find. These are Rockports. Love them a lot. I was searching for this type of shoe after seeing one of my mom’s designer friends wearing ones just like them (although she got hers in Spain…whatever).
Oakley and friends has a sample sale once a year in Dartmouth. Sample sales could be renamed Mel D sales as the clothing and shoes are all in my size. These sneakers were super cute – couldn’t pass them up.
I finally found my practical brown shoes. Again, at the Oakley sale (though these are not Oakley). Not the hottest of my lot but perfect for the alternate to heels day.
The last two are my New York shoes. When I took my band to NY last year I made a stop at Nine West with my boss Rob (has two daughters, and is very patient). Just as we walked through the door they locked it behind us – they were closing but told us to take our time (ahhhh NY I love you). I picked out these two shoes, with the approval of Rob. These ones were his favorite and I love the sturdy heel. Very cute.
These shoes I absolutely, unequivocally think that every woman should own. This shoe is practical, not too high heel, and means serious business. Try walking up slowly behind a student trying to cheat in these. They’ll be frightened in no time.
Alright so that is all of my summer shoes. I have a whole separate set for winter which are packed away, so maybe this is only part 1 of my shoe porn….? Stay tuned!
L-A: You have a lot of great shoes, lady. I think my favourites are a toss up between the Nine West shoes from NYC and the pair that go with the anchor skirt from Pretty Things. My opinion of your shoes may biased by my love for nautical themed clothing, which is bordering on obsessive. Speaking of Pretty Things, they are hosting the Feminine & Fabulous Fashion Show on June 19. It’s hosted by Candy Palmater and the proceeds of the evening go to Adsum House. If a fashion show for a good cause wasn’t enough, there will be cupcakes and a chance to win a Dream Dress. Intern Krista and I will be there to check things out, so hopefully we’ll see a few of you there.
