Materialism at it's Finest

Last October my husband and I went to a wedding in Cincinnati with his extended family.  Just for kicks, here's a photo of us from that wedding:

The wedding took place on a chilly Saturday and while we (myself and my two sisters in law) were waiting in the lobby for my husband to figure out our transportation to the wedding, one of my SILs showed us the shoes she was wearing.

They didn't look like much, to be honest. Just standard black strappy wedge-like heels. But then she kicked one off while simultaneously saying to me, "These are the most comfortable shoes ever, try it on."

I was a little hesitant. I mean, let's be honest, no one really likes de-shoeing in a hotel lobby to try on someone else's footwear but she was convincing so I obliged.

...And she was right. It was the most comfortable heel i've ever worn. Seriously.

Soon it was me turning to my other SIL and saying, "Oh my god, you have to put this shoe on, it's amazing!" I was eyed skeptically but she obliged as well and within moments we were both asking my first SIL where she got these shoes and how they were so comfortable.

She explained that she borrowed them from a friend for the specific reason that these were literally The Most Comfortable Heels on Earth and that she had to have them for the wedding.

Since then my mind has randomly wandered back to these shoes. Whenever I have a fancy event to go to i wish that I could reach for them and put them on instead of strapping myself into some stiletto-like pain machine and hobbling around on pegs all night at whatever event I have to go to.

Gone are my days of parading down the street at night in stylish heels. I enjoy Carrie Bradshaw but I no longer wish to emulate her fashion stylings or her footwear. I cannot justify stuffing myself into 3 inches of pain even if it does ~*complete my outfit*~. I guess I'm getting old. Or as my mother would say, I'm getting smart.

And so now when I think about dressy shoes, especially now that I'm pregnant and my feet are starting to hurt from just shopping in flip flops, I think about these super comfortable shoes that I got to try on in this cold Cincinnati lobby last October.

So where did these amazing shoes come from and how can you find some of your own? I'm here to share, my friends. I'm here to share.

Shockingly these shoes were made by....Crocs.

Yes, Crocs. The people who invented those terrible-smelling and worse looking rubber-boat-like-shoe monstrosities.  The ones with the holes and the back straps that come in any variety of color? The ones touted to be "Garden Clogs" but that people in fact wear everywhere and anywhere (please note: if you are under the age of 10, wearing crocs is perfectly acceptable, smart and even kind of cute).

Crocs. The ugliest shoes ever. The shoes about which i said, "If i am ever wearing those and thinking it's acceptable, you know i've come to my end. Put me out to pasture."

So you'll imagine my shock and surprise when SIL announced that they were crocs and that THAT was how they were so comfortable. Amazing.  Crocs. I probably had to pick up my jaw from the floor.

Was it possible that the crocs people made a shoe that wasn't hideous? Yes apparently it was because just moments before I had one on my foot.

And while it wasn't going to win Most Stylish Heel of the Year anytime soon, the comfort of it far balanced that. And anyway it was still pretty darn cute!

Look:

(the photo takes you to the site, but here's the link anyway: they're only $49.99!)

And like i said, yes the heel is kinda thick and yes, there IS an annoying little crocodile grinning at you from the side of the shoe but trust me, five minutes with these babies on your feet and you won't even care about those things. 

While I was clicking around this site this morning looking for these specific shoes I learned something else about the Crocs people: they make a TON of shoes now!  And I cringe to say this but, a lot of them are really cute! 

For example, this morning I happened upon these adorable little boots:

for just $39.99!!!

and my reaction was literally to gasp and then to immediately copy and paste the link to my husband in a not-at-all-subtle way of telling him that I want them. He doesn't get those hints ever though so I am sure that I will still be without them on the next rainy day. 

But seriously, that is a CUTE boot. And it comes in pink which for me is just about the best thing ever. And the crocs people continued their "all colors of the rainbow" trend but did it right here and extended all of those colors to these boots as well! They also comes in yellow, red, blue, white, black and brown...and each one is adorable!  

How amazing! 

And as of this point I haven't even really gotten through most of their inventory, I was too busy sending my hubby links and rushing off to write this post, but the more i click, the more impressed I am.

Sure there are still the occasional duds:

ugh I mean REALLY? and these are made for WOMEN. Not to mention they're $49.99 (someone would have to give ME $49.99 in order to wear those)

But overall, I was really impressed with what they've done to the place. Color me surprised! (in either pink, yellow, red, white, blue, black or brown apparently).

So I guess it's safe to say that I've been made into a believer. That i am a convert of sorts. 

Guess I'll meet ya in the pasture. But hey, at least i'll be super comfortable while I'm waiting there. 

(and you'll still never catch me in those damn garden clogs!)

long weekends and making a deal with the devil

hi loves! I hope that all my American friends had a wonderful Memorial Day holiday!  I made sure on Monday to take a moment and remember the real reason that we have such a holiday and to pay homage to the men and women in the service who have dedicated their times and sometimes their lives for our safety and to protect us here in the USA.  It is honorable what they do and what they devote and give on our behalves <3

I want to make a Memorial Day post with some pictures I took of my niece but unfortunately I am a bad little photog and haven't yet uploaded my photos or done any editing whatsoever.  It's my goal to do that tomorrow however so keep your eyes out for a photo-post in the next few days.

I also want to make a post about our Big Move!!  As many of you know, my husband Ryan and I moved over the weekend and are now living with my parents!  We have two rooms on the second floor that are our own (three if you include the bathroom) and I am currently typing this from my new "Living Room" here on the second floor.  We're doing awesome and are loving our new space and I have to say, it's been really great to have family dinner with my parents every night. I've totally loved it.

As of now we still don't have our TV hooked up and there have been some central air issues (such as leaking from our ceiling in the middle of the night last night lol we were definitely awake and looking for buckets at 3:00AM!) but those have been resolved and things are great now. The central air guys came and fixed everything this afternoon and tomorrow the TV person will be here too.

So yea there's a bunch of Super Exciting information for ya! lol

here's a (webcam)photo i took our first night here...note that there are still boxes piled up. Unfortunately if i were to take a photo right now it would look very much the same. We've still got boxes piled up and things are generally kinda a mess. I guess you could say we haven't made much progress unpacking our livingroom area just yet but we are going to get there - my husband has promised me that it will look lovely and soon (now if only he would stop playing xbox for more than 20 minutes at a time, i think i might me more inclined to believe him lol).

I will do a more detailed post as there are more details to post but just know that we are doing great and we're happily settling in!

Oh and i have to say this: notice how the window behind me is completely without any window-treatment? Yep.  Well, we have 8 windows total amongst our two rooms and while this is great and we have been basking in the glory of all that natural light, it's NOT so fabulous at 6:00 in the morning when Mr. Golden Sun is rising right in my eyes.  Our old curtains that we used to have are sheers and therefore obviously won't be of much help to us since the livingroom windows are directly opposite from TVs and computers (and since sheers in the bedroom are kinda pointless lol).

The point of all this rambling is that I wasn't excited to get 8 curtain rods and 16 curtains. Those things are EXPENSIVE. I knew that i had to do something though because really, it's not cute with no window treatments and every time i get dressed i hafta kinda do it hunched over so no one can see me through the windows! (especially at night!)

So i decided to see what I could do to resolve the issue. I knew I had to go shopping (lol "had" to go shopping, poor me, right?).  I did however have to be economical about it soooo i had the genius idea of going to Wal*Mart for curtain rods.

Brief rant: i typically avoid walmart at all costs. Not only because it is the singular beacon of what's absolutely, disgustingly WRONG with America today (i will enthusiastically write up a list of reasons why for anyone who is curious lol) but also because they CONTINUE despite multiple lawsuits, general eye-rolling, protesting and disgusted tsking of the tongue, to NOT PAY women equally as they do men. I swear, it's true!

Basically, they're EVIL.

Anyway...despite this truth (and honestly i am saddened to admit that i went there anyway), this morning i realized that I am broke enough that I had to see if i could find a good deal (lack of money drives us to do awful things. i am not proud of my decision!) I promise, i will make up for this by donating to a women's charity or something else that i see fit in about a month when Ryan and I are done bleeding ourselves dry in order to break our lease at our old apartment (they are literally getting our ENTIRE paycheck this month).

So yes, i gave in, and I went to Wal*Mart. Land of the realization of the American Dream.  In a bad way.

I was specifically looking for curtain rods today because I happen to know over at good old Target, they sell curtain rods for no less than $11.99 each.  That's nice buuuuut $11.99 times 8 = more expensive than I could justify for poles that hang fabric on them.

So I checked out walmart's curtain rods and i kid you not, i got non-ugly ones - all 8 of them, for $35. $35!  Thirty-five dollars.

And that's how they get you!

It's awful, I know. It's like making a mini deal with the devil. I am aware and I do feel badly. But I got 8 curtain rods for $35 this morning. I do feel like i deserve a little high-five with myself or something.


So there we have it, my domestic adventures so far since The Big Move.

I swear to come back with more interesting content next time. In the meanwhile, comment here and tell me how YOUR Memorial Day Weekends went! I'd love to hear about them :)

Garage Sales are Love

I've gotta get Ryan on board with going Garage Saling with me. I've been told enough times now (and have witnessed first hand!) just how great it is to get "Baby Stuff" at garage sales and now I'm sold and want to go scour the neighborhood for good deals.

Specifically on my list: a glider.

Don't know what a glider is? That's okay, I didn't either until recently when I was at Babies R Us and was exhausted because my purse is so heavy and my back hurts because I haven't been able to get my lower back adjusted since getting pregnant.  Tangent aside, i discovered a glider in these circumstances while looking frantically around the store for somewhere to sit. And not to be dramatic or anything but seriously, my life has never been the same since sitting in that glider.  It was THAT comfortable.

This is a glider:

found here at Babies R Us for $199 lol

it's a regular-enough looking chair with a footstool, right? Wrong! That's where the magic fools you! The best part of a glider is that it does what it's name suggests: it glides. and get this part: THE FOOTSTOOL GLIDES TOO! 

If you haven't had the amazingly amazing experience of sitting in a glidey glider than i totally pity you and I assign you the task of heading out to a baby furniture store right now and climbing into one of these chairs. And I suggest you bring some coffee and a snack because you won't want to leave for quite a while. 

here i am at 11 and a half weeks pregnant hanging out in a glider and yes, me and my friend found this noteworthy and photo-worthy enough to document because gliders are awesome

It is soooo relaxing. And I must have one. 

And therein lies the problem. 

See, not surprisingly because this is the culture that we live in, these chairs are priced ridiculously high even though their amazingness IS amazing. As you can see, the one I posted above is $199. That's insane (especially when you take into consideration that for a first baby you have to buy/acquire everything that a baby needs. This list includes but is not at all limited to: a crib, a carseat, a stroller, a swing, a changing table, a dresser, toys, diapers, creams, diaper bags, all kinds of things! Adding another $200 to that bill (even if it is in the form of a glider) is not something to scoff at and it's not something to do without really thinking about it! Most of those big ticket items are over $200 themselves! So given all of that and despite their wonderfulness, these gliders seem just out-of-their-minds expensive to me). And even worse is that when i saw the price for the one i linked you just now and i actually thought to myself, "hmm $199...that's not so bad!" because I've seen worse! Way worse! 

When I was sitting in the gliders the last time I went (this is now a ritual for me and i've done this several times), I tried them all out and discovered that my favorite one (aka the most comfortable one in the store) was priced at $349. 

$349 for a chair and a footstool. Now that really IS bad.

and yet, there is a large part of me that's like "oh but it's sooooo worth it." because I am conned by the comfort and the way my feet glide at the same time as my butt. (but don't worry, i tell that part to STFU when it starts trying to convince me that absurdly expensive things aren't absurd. (I will let it get away with talking me into a Coach diaper bag but i put the breaks on when it's going all pro-$350 glider. (i know, the logic there might seem a little wonky but what can you do? I'm a sucker for stylish bags, I'm powerless.)). 

So ANYWAY back on track, this is where garage sales come in!

Last night we were hanging out with Ryan's brother and his wife and they were showing us the awesome things they had scored for their son that day at a garage sale.  And they mentioned seeing a glider as well!

For $35!!!  INCLUDING the footstool!

Obviously I had a minor conniption in my head. I was like SO EXCITED about this! Is it possible to get a glider for such a good price? Could I ever be so lucky?

And so I've made it my mission to do so.  I am going to find an awesome and comfortable glider and footstool and I am going to pay $50 or less for it. And I am going to do it soon! I just have to wait until after Ryan and I move at the end of the month and we finally have somewhere to PUT the darn thing!

I encourage you all to join me on my quest. It will be a long, perilous and dangerous road ahead but we shall reap rewards aplenty and will henceforth be known as Those Who Bought a Glider at a Bargain Price! And the world shall never be the same again.