New Banner for ShoeLove

So, I finally tweaked the ShoeLove banner like I said I would.

It took me a while, as I have been uber-busy this week. As I said earlier, Chris drew this lovely little stick figure of a shoe lover on a post-it note. (Be sure to check out her new blog about these adorable little guys—called My Stick Figure Diary.)

Anyway, I had taken the post-it note with the drawing that she gave me, stuck it on a little green leather box that I have in my office and then took a picture of it. 

The original post-it was green, so I had intended to just open the photo in Photoshop and change the background to white to use for the banner. But then I liked how the photo turned out so much, that I ended up using the whole photo. When Chris saw it, she agreed! Our first design collaboration—I'm pleased with how it turned out.

So, now, I have changed the font and I think it's complete! Now to get working on posts and the side bar, right Chris?

—Georgia

Magic Shoes and the Flaming Threat

Don't you just love the title of this vintage book from B.F. Goodrich? It would make a good name for a rock band...

~Chris

How Much is That Shoe in the Window?

Hello Beautiful!

On the way back to my car after tapas Friday night, Jessi and I saw this shoe store with its window display of lights gleaming on beautiful shoes in all their glory! They were having an Open House Party with wine and refreshments. Had we not just eaten and had a train to make, I'm sure we would have stopped in.

(That's me in the last picture—posing like a kid at Christmas. Or maybe I wasn't posing.)

Ciao Bella (or Hello Beautiful)) in Arlington Heights, IL. If you live in the area, it looks like a great little shoe boutique to try out. 

—Georgia

Vintage Palizzio ads from the 1960s

Aren't these so fab? Check out these vintage Palizzio shoe ads from the 1960s here.

~Chris

Tailored, yet delightfully girly

Speaking of argyle, I love these dainty tailored argyle pumps from Bongo. They have just the right mix of menswear styling and delicate details, like the cute little bows and slightly arched heels.

~Chris

A little bit of argyle on my feet for a chilly day

From Famous Footwear...

~Chris

Pretty crackle-metallic mary jane heels and flats from J. Crew

I just adore these shimmering crackle-metallic heels and flats from J. Crew. They come in a variety of gorgeous colors, and the styling is delicate and pretty, like little foil-wrapped presents for your feet. Not the cheapest shoes in the world, but definitely worth admiring!

~Chris

Something I have trouble remembering sometimes...

~Chris

(From Glamour)

A combo platter of cream and beige for Monday

Today's shoes—these lovely Mossimo Veronica Ruffle cream suede heels from Target. They are chic, comfortable, and a little bit girly. Of course I wore delicate suede shoes on a rainy day. What else would I wear?



And the backups—Sam and Libby Kalis beige ballerina flats—one of my all-time favorite pair of flats and the shoes I wore to my wedding reception (I have two pairs). Cute as a button and sooooo comfy!

Funny thing is, the Veronica pumps look more beige than cream, and the Kalis flats look more cream than beige, but that's how they were labeled. Shoes can be a funny thing, you know?

A High Heel Shoe

a high heel shoe

i bend over
my high heel
arches my foot
delicately
the straps
fall about my ankles
my pearl toes
painted for you
peep from within
with my slender fingers
i gently lift
the tiny buckle
silver
i place it
and the leather
and silver remain
in place
holding
a part of me
that will walk me
right to where
you are
waiting
for me

—by Claire

(be sure to check out more wonderful writing by another friend and fellow blogger, Claire, at My Memoir of You.)
—Georgia

{shoe pic via here}

Some kickin' heels from Guess

Mmmm...love these fabulous pink suede heels from Guess, complete with a rockin' black patent leather buckle and peep toe, and nicely finished with a shiny silver stiletto heel. Want. badly. And the black version is quite lovely, too. There was an awesome pewter version of these shoes available at Guess just last week, but they seem to be sold out now. So sad!




And how cool are these? I love love love the giant fabric roses on these beautiful sling backs! I have always loved Guess shoes, and can never seem to get enough of them, despite the sound of my wallet weeping after purchasing these lovelies. Guess shoes are like incredibly delicious and enticing candies in all sorts of colors, sizes, and flavors. Yum!

~Chris

Chris's favorite shoes

Welcome, everyone! Hope you have lots of fun with ShoeLove, and I hope you come back often to visit.

I thought I'd start my very first post on ShoeLove with my favorite shoes. These are my beloved Steve Madden Loucee red patent leather mary jane pumps. They were my first shoes that were an online purchase. And I don't quite remember why they stuck in my mind, and why I searched online until I found them. I remember it was February '07 on the night of the John Mayer concert in DeKalb, Illinois. A bunch of us sat around my house looking up shoes online before the concert, and somehow I stumbled upon these beauties during the search. I had to have them—they were adorable, they had a good heel hight, they were mary janes (my favorite type of shoe), and they were red. I LOVE red shoes! I think if I had to only wear one kind of shoe, they would most likely be red, whether they be hiking boots or slippers or whatever.

Anyhow, I digress. I ended up googling these lovely red shoes and found mention of them on a blog called Oh Happy Day (one of my most favorite blogs ever, which I still follow to this day). Jordan (the blogger) mentioned these Steve Madden shoes, but in a black version, and she mentioned where I could get them: Piperlime. Ever been to Piperlime? It's fantastic. So off I went to search through their online stock, and sure enough, I found a pair in size 8, my standard shoe size. But when the shoes came in the mail a few days later, I found that they were too small, probably due to the fact that they are patent leather and didn't give too much. So I had to send them back and ordered an 8.5. And voila! Perfect.

In due time, I got the same shoes in black patent leather (two pairs), a lovely wine patent leather, and a plain brown leather pair, which are quite comfy. Curiously, the plain brown leather pair fit best in a size 8, and again I think it's due to them not being patent leather, and much stiffer. All five pairs are very easy to walk it, don't pinch or rub my heels, and best of all, I get lots of compliments on them! And of course I currently have a picture of them as my profile picture. What else would I choose?

Well, I could go on and on about these pumps, but I obviously love them, and out of all my shoes (and I have a lot, I must say) these are my absolute favorite. I'm still trying to find another pair of 8.5's as a back up to these, since I know I will eventually wear them out and then I'll be crushed that I no longer have my little red beauties to make me smile. If you hear of any size 8.5's available, I'd love to hear about it.

So now I ask you all...what is YOUR favorite pair of shoes, and why? Feel free to send an email to Georgia or me with a picture of your favorite shoes, and tell us a little bit about you, your shoes, and why they are your favorite pair. We'll share submissions on ShoeLove in future posts. Can't wait to see what you have to say!



~Chris

Our First Post—Yay!

We still have a few kinks to work out on the banner, but here it is! The lovely little banner picture was drawn by my co-author of this blog—Chris. She is an illustrator, and is always drawing me little notes with characters such as our little ShoeLove girl. So, I asked her to make the art for this blog. Isn't it great? Thanks, Chris!

For our first post, we thought it fitting to share this bit from an amazing writer, a dear friend and a fellow blogger—Jessi. I highly suggest you visit her blog, Dancing in the Moonlight, to read fantastic writing. Warning: you will laugh a lot and maybe even cry. You will also be encouraged to think about things you might otherwise not. Her writing is beautiful—sometimes whimsical. Check it out!

But first, here is Shoe Love is True Love, by Jessi Jensen

There is no feeling in the world that compares to the level of ecstasy
a girl finds herself at when she slips on the perfect pair of
stilletto boots. It's like finding prince charming, but twenty times
better because the boots don't have an ego or a savior complex.

The even greater thing is that she never has to go through months of
self denial or self analysis to figure out if A style boot is THE
style boot for her. The minute she zips her calf in a purple suede
pump or chocolate brown feaux-snakeskin-she KNOWS.

She KNOWS as she silently struts her way to the mirror for a better
look. She KNOWS as she adjusts her jeans and smooths her hair. She
KNOWS as she pretends to look responsibly at the price tag...

This knowledge of A boot being "THE boot" comes from an un-explainable
and intangible growing confidence that will always cover more than
her feet. As it grows, it will envelop her spirit, her sensuality, and
her strength in a colorful shroud of greatness,

Because a truly remarkable pair of boots will remind a woman of her
own splendor- acting as a catalyst that unleashes all her otherwise
hidden secrets.

If men understood this, they would understand that her giddy smile of
delight upon a return home, isn't some kind of shoppers high. It is
the look of a woman who has just stepped in to her own skin and
learned that it is more beautiful than she knew.

Thanks for contributing, Jessi! I can't think of a better way to launch our new blog!
—Georgia

we are currently under construction.

we hope to be up and running (in heels) soon.