There it is, my last new outfit. I bought it during Christmas shopping. Come on, now. That's the rule...a little something for you and a little something for me. Plus it was on sale. By the way, those of you who completed the poll last month will probably not be surprised to find that sales were the main reason for clothing purchases. Unscientific though it may be with all of it's 10 participants, the poll says a lot about why I shop and probably many others. Everyone loves a sale.
I thought and thought this month about what pearls of wisdom I would bestow on my sisters struggling with self-control. And I kept coming up short...I have extra money though, I'll say that proudly. But I was scrounging around on Facebook and I found a wonderful quote from my sister's page. It's not her quote but she loved it enough to share it. It is a quote by Dr. Theodore Rubin and it spoke to "the fool in me". I love that girl who loves a good sale, who revels in the thought of martini's and drunk shoe shopping (where I talk too loud and laugh too loud and probably tell somebody's business that shouldn't have been told), who can't wait to promise herself that "next week", she'll have no more beer, cookies, buy no more shoes. And then promptly forgives herself for her indiscretions. I've been forgiving myself for the better part of a year which is why I've been stuck at the same 20lb weight loss for 7 months....Seriously??
So, I am looking for ways to love that girl while pushing back that "masterful tyrant". How do I feed that girl's lust for something shiny and new? How do I make her laugh without shopping? How do I let her take some chances? I get creative! I let my good friend Tyra talk me into grabbing a bottle (or two) of wine and letting her and her sister, the organizer, dig through my closet to create "coordinates". You've seen it, right? I have yet to invite her over but I'm sold on the idea, once I get over my embarrasment. But that's an idea who's time just might have come. I hear there is a Reality TV cottage industry surrounding it. In the meantime, I've turned that little two piece long jacket and dress outfit in the picture into a half-dozen more.
My shiny and new comes in the form of refurbished shoes. Everything old is new again. I've come to realize that that my shoes are and have always been decidedly fabulous. Even the ones with the heels that are worn down to the nail and are living in a plastic bag with all the other nails. I was convinced that one of my legs was shorter that the other because it was always just one shoe. But really, how can and why would you walk from the parking lot into work in your good shoes? And why did it take me 5 years to figure that out?
My epiphany....parking lot shoes and work shoes, duh?! I've also discovered that shoe repair is a dying art. But cobblers do still exist. Think, when was the last time you actually sought out a "cobbler"? Would you know where one is? And how far do you have to drive to get to one? Well, I found him. My new BFF, fifteen minutes away. A sweet little elfen looking man with a beautifully thick, fantastical Italian accent, hands covered in black shoe polish and a head of curly gray hair. Remember the story of "The Cobbler and the Elves", who's craft did not make enough money for him and his wife to live on? Well, you remember, long story short, it all worked out;
They cut. Snip, snippity, snip. Snip, snippity, snip.
They sewed. In and out. In and out. In and out. In and out.
They nailed. Tap, tappity, tap. Tap, tappity, tap.
I took a chance. For new heel taps, polish, new glue for the soles, at nine dollars per pair, I laughed at my shiny new shoes. I'm rocking two "new" pairs of boots and a 4 year old pair of Ralph Lauren, black pumps. Not to mention, a host of long shirts that only boots could give their just due.
So, thats what my fool's been doing, smiling and laughing and rocking her shoes and old skirts. Running frightfully away from the "masterful tyrant". I still get to spend a few dollars for something that warms my soul and makes me talk loud. I am human and excitable and somewhat in control and I look damned good. And that's for me. Now this week, I promise to get back to the gym....I promise?
P.S. Help out a cobbler this month!
