The Most Beautiful Shoes in the World

birthday shoes: they are a tradition for me. the shoes don't have to be expensive, but they SHOULD be festive and maybe a little flashy. last month, my bgbff informed me that my 40th birthday pressie would be laboutins - 40, partly because it's a milestone, and partly because it's clearly going to take 5 years to save up the ridiculous amount of money that they cost. bored one night, i decided to look up laboutin's current seasonal offerings, just to see what was what. and that's when i discovered these magical shoes, which were clearly thought of, designed, and made specifically for me:

aren't they magnificent? now, as you may or may not know, christian laboutin sells his shoes for roughly $3000 a pop. yep, 3 thousand. but then during an image search - so that i could find a better picture of these lovelies - i discovered this site, which claims to sell REAL laboutins for only $188. there are 2 possible logical conclusions here: either a) they are fake ("slaboutins", as amy calls them), or 2) some obscure russian mafia member had to kill off someone's grandma and smuggle these out of the factory. truth is, i'm not sure sure i care either way. i mean, DID YOU SEE THE SHOES??? they are magical and good, and NEED to be part of my wardrobe. (they will then be known as my "faux dragon" shoes, thanks to a convo with rob.) so if anyone out there wants to buy me some magical birthday shoes (HI, MOM!), you should go HERE. and since the site says they'll be delivered within 7 days, if you order tomorrow (size 39 or 39.5 EU, please), they should be here in time for me to wear to benihana's on the 20th.

just trying to be helpful...

I Am an EXCELLENT Influence!

my mom came to visit me this weekend (something that was very much appreciated given my current state of being), and we did a little bit of shopping. we headed to the outlets because mom was on a quest to find water-proof boots that she could use when slogging down the driveway and digging the car out and things. we went to a few places, checked out different types of shoes, and i opened her eyes to the simple irrefutable truth that cute shoes (and cute underwear too, actually) can make any icky day a little bit brighter. so mom went home with black and white houndstooth patterned rain boots, two very cute pairs of chucks, some sparkly sandals, and two pairs of fun flats. MAN, i'm good... spreading joy through fun footwear - that should be my new motto! hmmmmm...

addendum: since john is apparently "internetally challenged," he asked me to add his comments below:

A. You should never let driveway slogging dictate your choice of footwear.

B. Chucks?? Awesome. I love you both just a little bit more.

My New Philosophy

i am pretty much much wiped out as a human being right now. i'm so hurt and torn apart that i just have nothing left. and i'm trying to put one foot in front of the other - baby steps for right now - so i can start the healing process. so my new philosophy is this: once i get to a place where i don't have to literally wade through two feet of snow in order to get to my car, i plan to wear ridiculous shoes whenever i go out somewhere. to lunch, to run errands (as long as i won't be on my feet for hours), whatever. because ridiculous shoes make me happy. and if i'm wearing ridiculous shoes, it's impossible to be absolutely completely miserable. and if i'm not completely miserable, then there's still hope right? so that's my new therapy plan, to put one fabulously shoed* foot in front of the other until i find myself in a better place. to that end, i welcomed three new pairs into the fold, courtesy of dsw's sales and my tax return.

and of course, there are all the shoes i already own that fit the required parameters....

and of course these. (well, not the first ones so much, but the others all qualify.) and these...

and THAT'S my new philosophy!

*yes, i know the correct term is "shod," but i just don't think it sounds as good as "shoed."

Rough Day

i'm having a bad day emotionally. i mean, upping my medication has helped, but that doesn't actually solve anything, nor does it change the fact that i am grieving. and i haven't cried in like 4 days, so i suppose i was about due. it didn't help that the sermon in church this morning was all about marriage and parenthood - two things i thought were in my immediate future, but clearly aren't now. and it's just been a down day since. my mom bought me a stuffed talking dugg from the movie up (hi there! i have just met you and already i love you. ooh! a ball! a ball!) so that helped a little. i also bought severely awesome shoes - that are completely ridiculous - to wear to juliana's wedding in two weeks. i'm so happy for her, and i want to be there to support her, but i assume i'm going to have a sad, weepy moment or two. enter the shoes. they are so ridiculous that all i'll have to do is look down at my feet and smile. (we'll see if that works.) bleagh. i hate being icky. maybe i'll put my shoes on and walk around the apartment a little...

i mean, really... hot pink, stiletto heel, rhinestone buckles, froufy organza pieces that fluff when i walk - for $32. behold the epic awesomeness...

It's That Time Again, Kids!

time to buy the celebratory birthday shoe! and before anyone scoffs, i give you this disclaimer: look, i don't expect much for my birthday, because they usually kinda suck. birthday plans? yeah, those usually go right in the toilet. major illnesses/injuries seem happen on or around the day, so that i can't do something if i actually had something to do. so i have scaled back my expectations for my birthday. i get to buy myself a fabulous pair of shoes to wear on the day, and i get to eat at benihana. that's all i ask to make me happy.  so, back to the shoes...  i have some front-runners from a trip to off-broadway shoes the other day (and the cutest bag... i really adore it), but haven't yet scoped out dsw. maybe tomorrow night or saturday. ok, on with the parade of possibilities. and remember, comments and suggestions are welcomed, as always. 

the first two have a similar vibe, both d'orsay with stone embelishment...

yes, yes, these are ridiculous, but they were so sparkly i had to try them on. (shut up, here's my girl card...)

these are the ones i like best, but with 4 and 1/2 inch heels - let's just say i'm not exactly 23 anymore, and neither are the joints.  i noticed i really swish when walking, hips all over the place.... but they're just so darned cute!

i think, though, that it'll come down to the purple shoe. somehow, by some error of judgement, i do not have a pair of purple shoes. this must be remedied. now, the first pair are sweet and fairly practical - i can easily wear those again, no problem.  the second pair is a bit more... froofy and over the top and fun...

you know, i think it's the rock-n-roll back zipper that is then covered demurely with an ultra-femme bow.  just sayin...

ok, thoughts, comments, likes, dislikes, etc.?

Why I Heart Edward Monkton

(and, sidebar: wow, have *i* been slacking... i haven't written a blog in over 2 months! and i know i've had internal monologues to share in that time. ah, well...)

Because C Asked Nicely

yesterday, in an attempt to find material for our new blogsite (more about that in a bit), i went looking for shoes - ridiculous, stupid shoes. i found many of these, but also found 4 fantastically on-sale pair of shoes that clearly needed to come home with me. so they did. hey, 4 pairs of name-brand shoes for $120? that's pretty awesome. sometimes it very helpful to live next to the country's largest outlet mall.

1. basic tan - i've been looking for a cute neutral pair for years now. these win.

2. navy d'orsay heels with pale pink polka dots - i have no blue heels, and these are just adorable. love the contrasting stripe on the instep!

3. black and gray satin reverse d'orsay heels - fantastic dressy shoes, and surprisingly comfy. i'm not usually a fan of the peep toe, but these were too cute to resist.

4. silver/gunmetal textured satin court shoes - ok, i realize these may seem a bit ridiculous or odd; but as someone who may possibly have been the mistress of an 18th century french king in a past life, i found myself completely drawn to them. plus, i totally pull these off. (i'm wearing them today with grey dress pants, and they look awesome.)

ahhh, a successful day of shoe-shopping... when i didn't mean to shop for shoes at all...

The Laws of the Universe

i swear, in some cosmic rule book somewhere, there is a footnote at the bottom of a clause in the back of an index (in italics) stating that karen rose gibson, born september 20, 1976 in indianapolis, indiana, currently residing in orlando, florida (clearly, the cosmic rule book updates every few weeks to keep on top of things) may not successfully plan any events in conjunction with her birthday. i'm not sure why this is, it just... is. my mother tried arguing with me, but i proved myself right at every turn. sweet 16? spent the 4 or 5 days leading up to it in and out of the hospital with my first ever blinding and uncommonly severe migraine. didn't know if i would even be able to have my party, and half my friends didn't show because they didn't think it was still on. turning 21? that was dress/tech for arkansas bear; i was in the theatre from 8 in the morning to almost 10 at night. when we went out for drinks afterward, everyone drank faster than i did, causing me to slow down (and then stop) because my d.d.'s were all hammered and we had to get home somehow. 23? in overnight rehearsals plus working my normal shifts. for two weeks straight. 27? everybody that mattered had to work late (like till 2 in the morning) all weekend - except demasi, who took me out to dinner, but since we both worked early the next morning, we were in bed by like 10. 30? i had been planning (for close to a year and a half) to go to vegas for that birthday, but in the end, no one could work out the money or the days off, and i certainly wasn't going to someplace like vegas for the first time by myself. last year? oooh, that's a two-parter, and possibly the worst yet: a) john, dale, and i had planned to go see the cure in early september, but the band cancelled the fall tour due to illness and injuries, and didn't resume until may of this year, and 2) i woke up in the wee hours of the 20th to being violently ill, the very beginning of a sickness seems to be permanent.

now, i'm not writing this as a "poor me" blog, and i swear i'm not trying to make anyone feel guilty - this just happens every single year, no matter how much i try to thwart it. and this year, especially, i felt as though - since i had somehow survived the shittiest year ever - i deserved a weekend of birthday fun, with lots of people and activities. i really should have known better. but instead of focusing on what didn't happen, i'm going to list the good things about this weekend. (the first paragraph was just to fill you in so you know why i'm listing. background information, or exposition, if you will.)

1. rob and i discovered an amazing artist at tu tu tango's. you can look at her artwork here.

2. tu tu's makes creme brulee the way it was meant to be made - it was amazing.

3. i found not only birthday shoes, but a birthday hat as well.

4. the planet smoothie near work has a cafe; i tried it on saturday, and the chicken caesar wrap - made with chunks of fresh grilled chicken and real pita bread (like the kind gyros come in) was awesome.

5. i got a birthday massage from my massage therapist, and as such, it was a gift.

6. said massage therapist is selling some of my jewelry (more on this later).

7. as mom and i left after our massages, there was an amazingly beautiful double rainbow to greet us. it was so vivid, you could even see both bands of violet, which you can rarely see clearly.

8. me, my parents, rob's parents, and the robs had a cook-out and enjoyed a lovely evening of food and conversation and playing dominoes and deserts. there were lots of yummy desserts. (hmmm... there's a lot of food on this list...)

9. rob's dad make one of his famous cheese balls for the occasion. (ok, apparently much of what's good in my world consists of tasty treats...)

so, good stuff there... as i've learned in the past year, it's all about perspective, and i need to find the most positive one and stick with it. it's the best way to survive.