Feel like a girl again.

I bought myself a new pair of heels today!!

Probably none of you know that for the last two and a half years I have suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in both my hands and feet and lately in my ankles and knees and wrists. It came on suddenly, uninvited and it never left. I had to sell all my heels and cute shoes because walking was so horrifying to me and I became the tennis shoe queen. Or actually I wore the same pair every day because it is very hard for a person with wide feet and no arch to find a good pair of tennis shoes these days when the soles of your feet feel like they are comprised of shards of glass :(

About six months ago, I decided enough was enough. I was tired of being sloppy and tomboyish. I am a really girly girl. I love dresses and bows and pretty things. I love skirts and tights and heels. I know my ex got tired of seeing me in the same old outfit. I gained a ton of weight because I instantly stopped being active and I could no longer fit into pretty clothes or feel confident in my new fatter body. Also comfortable shoes are usually ugly, frumpy and look terrible with a skirt.

Today I was out to lunch with my mom and we passed by a Clark's shoe store. I asked her if she would go in with me, just to see and I tried on every heel in that store. They are SO comfortable! They have sturdy heels that do not bore holes into your heel. They have beautiful insoles that feel like heaven. And they have this retro feel to them. AND THEY WERE ON SALE!

I know they are just shoes, but I cannot explain my happiness. I feel pretty. I feel girly. I feel like I will get noticed and compliments. I can wear party clothes again. I can go out on New Years dressed appropriately. I can have church shoes and date shoes. And they look like the perfect mix between those booties I cannot wear and those high heeled oxfords I cannot wear.

My hands and feet hurt so much on a daily basis but I've learned to push through it by wearing sensible shoes and not pushing myself too hard. I'm tired of people thinking I'm sloppy and not girly and that I am boring and tire easily. It's totally corny but these shoes give me hope. That I can have fun, be stylish, wear the clothes I sell in my shop, and be lovely and feminine. It's corny, but I'm extremely happy :)

Behold. My newest obsession! Clark's Wimberley Pump!!!





Please don't tell me to clean my mirror. I am at my mom's house and it is my teenage brother's mirror. It doesn't even look dirty until the flash hits it.

And here is what I wore to go shopping today. The entire outfit is thrifted except for the cardigan which is forever 21. Imagine how much cuter the outfit would look with these reddish brown heels!

my new favorite pair of shoes!!

The very first thing I ever look for when I go thrifting is shoes. I've always been this way. One of my first words was shoes. For my first birthday my mother gave me a cabbage patch doll and the first thing I said when I saw her was "shoes".

My whole life I've collected shoes and when I started selling my awesome finds online I realized that the things I am the most passionate about is shoes. Obviously I obsess over all types of vintage things but if we're completely honest, I'd just as soon have a store where I sell nothing but vintage shoes. I love selling on etsy because it gives me that excuse to run and grab something amazing when I see it. I don't even need to try it on anymore. I know I want it. I know I NEED it. Let's face it. Selling vintage clothing on etsy is code for "I've allowed myself to use no restraint when I go thrifting."

Granted my heart does always break a little once I get home and I in fact do NOT fit into a particularly amazing pair of shoes. But when someone else buys them, I feel better. MUCH better. Not only do I get to buy groceries and pay my bills but someone out there has fallen in love with the same pair of shoes I fell in love with weeks before and will get way more use out of them than I did with them sitting in a box in my etsy closet.

But today I might have found my favorite shoes yet! No I take that back. Because today was particularly lucky because I found my two favorite shoes yet. But I'm keeping one pair. It's not selfish when you only keep one pair out of the dozen you've thrifted in the last month :)








These are the ones I'm keeping. Amazing. No?



They are a size too big for me but really comfy nonetheless and look really cute with skinny jeans. Perhaps it is just the history nerd in me that thinks I need this pair of shoes that are too big for me. Perhaps I will just list them for one million billion dollars and that way if no one buys them I can keep them and if not, hey, I will have ONE MILLION BILLION DOLLARS!

And I recently cut my hair and took this picture at work to show my mom. Just in case you were wondering, this is what I look like sans victorian ghost make-up ;P



please forgive the camera phone quality.

and as usual, if you're interested in these shoes they are listed in my etsy store!