I'm walking

Wie ihr vielleicht schon mitbekommen habt, findet beim online Schuhladen I'm walking momentan eine Blogger-Aktion statt. Einfach Lieblingsmarke im Shop raussuchen, drueber berichten und sich damit die Chance auf einen Gutschein und eine gratis Tamaris Umhaengetasche sichern.
Da bin ich doch gerne mit dabei!

Ausgesucht habe ich mir die Marke Pretty Ballerinas
Zugegebenermassen nicht gerade preisguenstig aber wunderschoene Schuhe.
Da frau ihre Ballerinas ja erfahrungsgemaess sowieso immer und ueberall hin, sprich gerne und viel anzieht, zahlt sich hier meiner Meinung nach eine gute Qualitaet besonders aus.
Diese zartrosanen haben es mir ganz besonders angetan. Einerseits wie einem Ballett entsprungen und doch tragbar, haltbar und bequem.
Die Temperaturen sind im Steigen begriffen, endlich koennen sie wieder aus den Tiefen des Schuhschranks auftauchen und raus um die Welt erkunden. Ich freu mich drauf!

leaning

 Sometimes when you wander around England you can´t help it, you will be forced to look at this:

(it´s not my own photo...I can hardly stop someone on the street asking for a photo simply cause "The way you wear your boots just looks so extraordinarily bad")

So, sometimes I want to send at least 50% of the British ladies (the men probably too - I just don´t seem to look at their feet that much) to some ballet classes...or to the orthopaedic specialist.
Your soles are made for walking - not the left or the right edge of your feet. That´s why when it comes to shoes they have a hard wearing sole at the bottom and are usually weaker on the sides.Simples.
How can you put those boots into your hall or cupboard after wearing without looking at them thinking that something is seriously wrong?!? Don´t get it.

edit: OK, this phenomenon is not limited to the UK and unfortunately can be spotted in e.g. Germany and France too but trust me, I have never seen it so often as on the island!

hoarding

I have been so good recently...getting rid of two pairs of boots as they had more holes than swiss cheese. Then I went shopping again...and added those four pairs to the collection.
My excuse? They were cheap.
And who can resist minty chucks? Or studded flat peeptoes? Or soft brown ballerinas for only 3pounds that will go with anything? Or the real leather flat hybrids between a brogue and a ballerina?
See, you probably would have done the same :-)

(1-2-3. Primark, 4. Clarks)

Oops...

...I did it again.
My wardrobes are bursting...there are piles of clothes on chairs, on the floor, on the washing line dried ages ago - but I still couldn´t resist and filled another basket with pretty Primark things in Brighton recently.
As said before, I can resist everything but temptation...

A loose fitting cream coloured blouse with golden buttons, the set of metallic nail colours, a cheap but compact blush brush, this gorgeous mint handbag and three adorable pairs of shoes - fake floral Tom´s, cute ballerinas and the leopard slippers that are following not one but two trends at the same time :-)

I can´t believe what...

...happened last thursday. I was at home, we were running out of sand paper for smoothing the kitchen walls after plastering...I decided to walk to a very useful small shop around two corners to get some sheets.
In the shop I paid my 40p...and looked down at my feet.

Leopard Birkenstock´s with my froggy socks!!!
In my hurry and complete lack of thoughts I went out in my indoor look. Nothing wrong with the sandals, I do wear them out but only with bright painted nails and, of course, no socks!
I think even after 17 months I´m still not fully used to being a houseowner - in a flat downtown things like that just don´t happen. I´m sure nobody has noticed my 10min of being a borgeouis village wallflower with brewery horse feet but I vow it won´t happen again.

creepy creepers

And another hype has started through blogs, online shops and magazines. Creepers! The fairly bulky shoes with the flat platform. Remember?

First are the really retro/mod ones

I sort of like them but would have no idea how to wear them. I'm not cool enough that they would naturally fit into my wardrobe and to wear them with "normal" clothes like a skirt looks adorable on Amelie Poulain but like a bull dyke (no offence meant) wearing safety shoes on me.

The other variety makes me smile...gosh, how much I liked them in school.

 Grade 6 and 7 I remember wearing them all the time. By the way, that's were one of my first shoe related trauma results from - it never took long until the fabric broke on the side and the shoe was ruined. Since then I'm scared that my more fragile and/or cheap shoes will break anytime.

Will I celebrate my very own revival and get some? Probably! Will you?

The loveliest pair...

...of shoes in my cupboard.

I know I've shown them before but aren't they just fabulous?!?
Never worn them outside the flat...maybe never will but I HAD to have them. They are from Irregular Choice, there website is well worth a visit (at least if your taste is as strange as mine).

So this is my blogpost to enter Swantje's fantastic competition - wish me luck :-)

saturday night´s loot

I´m not a big fan of shopping malls as, in my opinion, they reduce the fun process of shopping to the pure consumerism without all the" going for a walk, taking in the atmosphere, having coffee and watching people."
Anyway, I bought lots, and not only that - I bought things in shops that are normally a bit out of my comfort zone. Felt gooood...

• a pair of nude patent kitten heels from Deichmann
• a pair of coral wedges from a non-describt cheap, possibly Turkish, shoe shop
• a zipped bag for my sunglasses from New Yorker
• a bright neon yellow oversized jumper from New Yorker
• a nude, neon yellow and coral scarf from New Yorker ( and trust me, that all the colours are matching that well is pure coincidence! Must have been in a neon/nude mood)
• Garnier BB Cream, Balea deodorant, Balea high heel cushions
• Frozen Nail Lacquer in a dark green shade from Kiko 

Not bad, what do you think?
And the best? There was a promotion stand for the famous Activia yoghurt (which I don´t usually buy as I find it too expensive and HATE the adverts) and they wanted to get rid of their stuff and gave me a full bag for free. Fantastic! I love free goodies and don't find it embarrassing at all to collect some. My friends gave me pitiful looks for my behaviour...I gave them equal looks back for being so stupid not not join in...;-)

The Mousetrap

Sometimes my shopping behaviour can be quite rational, controlled and grown-up (the rare moments I successfully convince myself that I really don't need another t-shirt, when I buy waterproof real leather boots in Clarks or when I buy a sports-bra instead of something pink, frilly and sparkly).
Sometimes though the little girl in me takes over...and NEEDS mouse ballerinas like this. In the cheap average import 100% plastic quality.

That side of me doesn't mind hunting the cute little things down on ebay for hours, fighting its way through all the "Angelina Ballerina" fan stuff aiming at a target group young enough to be her daughter...
I love this side of me and I love my mouse shoes :-)

my London dilemma...

When I go to London I normally start my day at 6 in the morning and get home around 7 in the evening. And not only that my days are fairly long, I'm a walker. I enjoy walking, it doesn't really tire me out and I'm simply too tightfisted to spend more money than necessary for tube rides. So for me it is absolutely fine and normal to start at Primark Oxford Street and during he day walk up to Hampstead Heath. Sometimes I think I even invented a new sport like that - "Urban Hiking" ;-)
Anyway, as we all know London can be a very stylish place...lovely and chic shoes belong to that lifestyle...I like beautiful shoes...I even can walk in heels...but:
With my days in the capital sometimes involving more than 12km of walking, how could I ever manage that in heels?!? I always look at some London ladies and envy them...for their petite frame, the wonderful shoes and the money to get a taxi for every step.
So my personal London dilemma is being stuck with comfy and reliable shoes that would suit village idiots while I'm dreaming of a life in Louboutins...*sigh

dream...

...reality!

my life in shoes...

Miss Winkelmann has done it again. This week's "Blogstoeckchen" is about 5 pairs of shoes, your own ones or some you would love to have. As I'm quite a shoe person and own so many different pairs that it can get embarrassing, I just picked the 5 pairs that were closest so this is going to be pretty random.

Those ones I got about 5 years ago at Primark in England for around 6£. A bit too big but so comfy and always been fairly versatile and chic. Unfortunately they are falling apart now but I can't part with them yet...the dust on them is still from endless visits to the "Jardin des Plantes" in Paris about 4 years ago

my first pair of FitFlops. Was sceptical as they look bulky and wasn't sure if they could live up to my expectations which were reasonably high (considering they cost over 40£ for just Flip Flops). But I'm in love with them, wearing them for the third season now and got another pair too. Comfortable like hardly any pther shoes.

My lovely mauve coloured Clarks wedges from last year. I fell in love when I spotted them on the website but thought they were too expensive. As soon as they went on sale I was happy and ordered straightaway...but it was january 2010 and we got snowed in...I remember tracking the parcel..."loaded into van"..."unloaded from van to depot"..."loaded"..."unloaded"...but even the worst winter comes to an end eventually and those finally found their new home with me.

Adidas trainers...yeah, still can hardly believe it but I seriously have started to go running three times a week together with my husband now. Probably one of the strangest things I have ever done but at least it was another excuse for getting new shoes :-)

And, last but not least, this pair of olive flipflops with sparkly bits from the Accesorize sale in 2007. Got them for our yearly Guernsey holidays. And then, completely unpredictably, they played a very important part during my wedding in 2008. As we took quite a few pictures on the beach I took those flipflops as back-up shoes. So 50% of my wedding pictures are now showing those trustworthy friends.

Goodbye...

Bought them about 4 years ago from Primark (alias Penny's) in Dublin...a size too small but they sort of fitted anyway...wore them first time on an evening walk around our b&b...were a bargain and so practical with the stretch material instead of laces...brought me several blisters and some pain...still kept them as I'm a hoarder...wore them while visiting the zoo in Berlin...now they have a hole in the sole...and it's finally time to say goodbye...and I plan on not buying things that are actually too small just cause they are cheap ;-)
Until I do it again...

just like Fred Astaire

I´m a brogue lover...and I love old films...and Primark. So this pair of shoes that only cost 8 Pounds was and is the perfect match for me. Don´t know how long they will last but right now I enjoy wearing them...and imagine I´m time-travelling to a place where men are still wearing two-tone shoes...and dance...and sing...and are gentlemen. My granny used to wear that sort of shoes and always got looked at, she probably only was ahead of her time :-)

new shoes...again

I normally don't shop a lot when I'm in Germany as I find all shops and things simply boring (and I'm normally lacking spare money when I'm back from a months long British shopping spree ;-)).
Yesterday, while learning for my exams, I made an (online) exeption and ordered those:

www.deichmann.de

Liked them the first time I saw them live in the shop but hesitated...now they were on sale (my taste must be weird - everything I like goes on sale sooner or later) and I couldn't resist anymore. I mean, come on, they were only 14,90 Euros now!

Beth Ditto shoes

Another pair of lovely shoes I got in the sales two weeks ago. Came from Evans (yes, the plus size shop) and their Beth Ditto range (which makes it instantly cool, doesn't it!?).
I got them for a stunning 10£ instead of it's original prize of 45£. Love them as they have a retro feel about them and look as if just by wearing them I would time travel to the 20's...at least that fantasy is enough to made me fall for them ;-) They are comfortable, good-looking and as they are fairly wide I only needed a size 7, brilliant.

There's something in the air...

Today was a little spring preview with unfortunately lots of rain but some dry spots as well and shocking 12 degrees! Loved it and made the best of it doing some shopping in Chichester. Didn't plan to buy anything but as it goes - ended up with 2 new pairs of shoes, a jeans jacket (5 £ only, woohoo!), a skirt, some Accessorize goodies, a set of knitting needles and some scented candles.

www.cathkidston.co.uk

www.yankee-candles.de

www.clarks.co.uk

www.accessorize.co.uk

www.accessorize.co.uk

So not a good day in the classic sense (the reason I got to Chichester was that my husband had to attend a funeral in the area and I got a lift) but I made the best of it and it all worked out. Winter and snow will get us again I'm sure but I enjoyed seeing some primroses already today.

Frühlingsglaube	Faith in Spring
von Ludwig Uhland	Prose translation by Hyde Flippo
Die linden Lüfte sind erwacht,	The gentle winds are awakened,
Sie säuseln und wehen    Tag und Nacht,	They murmur and waft    day and night,
Sie schaffen an allen Enden.	They create in every corner.
O frischer Duft, o neuer Klang!	Oh fresh scent, oh new sound!
Nun, armes Herze, sei nicht bang!	Now, poor dear [heart], fear not!
Nun muss sich alles, alles wenden.	Now everything, everything must change.
Die Welt wird schöner    mit jedem Tag,	The world becomes more beautiful    with each day,
Man weiß nicht,    was noch werden mag,	One does not know    what may yet happen,
Das Blühen will nicht enden.	The blooming doesn't want to end.
Es blüht das fernste, tiefste Tal:	The farthest, deepest valley blooms:
Nun, armes Herz, vergiss der Qual!	Now, poor dear, forget the pain!
Nun muss sich alles, alles wenden.	Now everything, everything must change.

Oh dear...

...yesterday I saw that British drugstore Boots started their christmas sale. I had a look (through 1500 products, I must be mad) and of course ended up ordering a huge load of 50% goodies like a big Sanctuary Spa box, a Soap &Glory box, a new pair of my beloved Fit Flops and more goodies. Have to pre-warn my husband now that a rather huge parcel will be on it´s way soon...maybe I should stop checking out online stores at night or at least keep my bank card further away from my desk ;-)
If you want to have a look before even more of the good stuff is sold out: www.boots.com (where the pictures are taken from as well). And I forgot to mention, the UK Lush sale started as well that means another parcel is on it´s way. Will take photos when I can unpack them saturday night!

 

all pictures www.boots.co.uk

Just all proves me right again that buying all the christmas stuff before the "big" day is a waste of money and time, it´s so much more fun when you can make bargains like that. And as I don´t do christmas presents anyway it suits me more than fine...if only not pretty much every shop now would start their sale...*bigsigh

They arrived!!!

www.schuh.co.uk

Today I finally got those simply stunning shoes delivered. Aren´t they just gorgeous?? Not sure I will ever wear them outdoors (even the sole has a colourful pattern) but I had to have them. Wearing them feels like being Dorothy, Daisy Duck and Mozart at the same time :-)

One thing is guaranteed though, I will never ever wear them in public in Germany. People would fall over staring (and talking about how weird I am) and I would be sent to some sort of asylum. A problem I wouldn´t really face in London or Brighton I guess...

brogues and vase

 The small and very blue glass vase I bought 2 months ago in "Habitat" in Hamburg. Loved the intensity of the colour in the sunshine and thit it transports a certain 50's Capri holidays vibe...at least for me :-)

And my beloved Primark brogues which I bought in september, forgot about them and now can fully appreciate how stylish and expensive they actually look. Best is that they have a bit of a heel so are quite comfortable to walk in and make a lovely deep noise :-)