yesterday morning i stopped by the apple store for a quick repair to my ibook... one of the keys had popped off and i couldn't get it back on.
after fixing that, they also kindly replaced the letters that had rubbed off my keyboard. the repair was quick (and free!) and the tech was friendly... a great first experience at the genius bar.
however, when i got to work i noticed that they made an error. can you find it? (click the image for a closer view.)
in a small bowl:
melt butter (i used about a quarter stick for 4 fish filets)
stir in one tablespoon of pesto.
stir in the juice of one lemon.
place tilapia filets on a foil-lined baking sheet and pour the sloppy mixture over them.
season with salt and pepper, then bake for about 15 minutes in 375 degree oven.
(this recipe probably sounds utterly simple, but given my current state of mind i'm glad i can feed myself at all.)
david byrne product alert!!
"david byrne live at union chapel" went on sale today. you should get it. it's good.
besides, there aren't really that many opportunities to see david byrne on your tv, so you should take advantage of this one.
if you liked david's concert at the carolina theatre earlier this fall, this show at union chapel is very similar. it was filmed almost 2 years ago, but he performs many of the same songs, with 99% of the same musicians.
so, at the risk of being dooced i am choosing to not elaborate about how awful days five, six and seven have been. sarah must've somehow felt the vibe all the way across town, though, because she generously offered to host divaville for me this week. she has my eternal gratitude... hopefully i will have an ounce of sanity remaining at the end of this as a result of her kindness.
so anyway, on to less whiny stuff: the new glasses.
THE OLD GLASSES:
THE NEW GLASSES:
aside from the noticeable change in prescription (i have a slight headache as i type this) i'm of course also getting adjusted to the new look. ray says it's "assertive", but i think he likes the style.
the feature that is most difficult to adjust to is the crazy side pieces. they are flashy, of course, but they also block more of my peripheral vision.
as i look at those photos, it is only now occurring to me that i've had two blue pairs of glasses in a row. hm.
(for an interesting frame [har!] of reference, here's the first pair of glasses i bought at specs, about 8 or 9 years ago. dude, they were totally stylin'! for a distinct lack of style, though, check out the glasses i wore in college. yeesh!)
for the record, day three sucked.
i was jolted awake at 5am by ray's alarm, which clearly had been mis-set. (it was saturday, after all.) i was so pissed that couldn't to get back to sleep. i watched a movie, piddled around with some chores, then finally got to work around 11. seven painful hours of fundraising later i left work, totally exhausted. i drove the 45 minutes home with heavy eyelids. i was in bed by 8:30.
day four, though, --today-- was my one day off. i slept in, made a big breakfast of biscuits & gravy and then convinced mary to go shopping for glasses with me.
i had my eyes examined a couple of months ago. actually, i had my eyes examined a couple of years ago, too, but i never did anything with that prescription. so i've now gone through two exams, two prescriptions and zero pairs of new glasses. suffice to say, my vision has changed quite a bit in these past few years and it's finally time to get my ass in gear about getting some new specs. (mary's been wanting new glasses for a long time, too, but has been financially prohibited from doing so.)
so, since neither mary and i have loads of money to spend, we first went to lenscrafters to see what they had. we found a few reasonably interesting things, but nothing that really grabbed us. i had looked at target recently, too, with nothing exciting to report.
both mary and i had been avoiding going to specs. i mean, we both love specs (my last two pairs of glasses had come from specs), but we both know that their glasses can be very, very expensive. however, since we were already at southpoint mall, and since specs has a new store there, we decided to check it out anyway. 15 seconds after walking in the door i knew i was foolish to have even looked anywhere else. price be damned.
the owner, george, is not afraid of flair and color, and the walls are filled with displays of odd, funky glasses. all of the employees are incredibly friendly and enthusiastic. and george himself is ridiculously vocal about which glasses he thinks you should wear, even if you're unsure. six years ago he urged me to buy the ones i have now, even though i was a little uncomfortable with the decision. now i can't thank him enough for "forcing" me into buying them.
such was the experience tonight. he had me try on several pairs that were totally outside my comfort range, but he kept saying, "remember how you felt about the ones you're wearing now?!?" so i gave him some leeway. everything he chose had style all over it, but style that i was unaccustomed to. the pair he kept steering me towards were a little frightening for me, but i tried to keep an open mind.
mary started trying some on, too, and it wasn't long before she found her ideal pair: purple plastic frames with some fine stripes of carolina blue & amber, and green on the inside. they sound weirder than they look (although i suppose these frames are pretty well outside the norm). she fell in love and bought them on the spot; she needed little encouragement.
i, on the other hand, needed lots of encouragement with that pair i was hovering around. george loved them. the other employee, sarah, loved them. and mary said they were growing on her, too. i took them off, and put my own glasses back on; i was shocked to see that my face looked boring in comparison.
so i finally decided to go for it. i bought them. i hope i did the right thing. these glasses are a pretty strange...
i'll post before & after photos on wednesday when i pick them up.
day one of the pledge drive was surprisingly calm. smooth. fluid.
day two --today-- began a bit unexpectedly: by taking ray to urgent care. he had finally had enough of a health problem he'd been quietly suffering with for weeks. we spent about 4 hours at the clinic. the time that wasn't spent waiting in a tiny, flourescent white exam room was entertaining enough... all the nurses were dressed in witches' hats and pumpkin sweaters.
so day two turned into a long day. the antithesis of day one.
here's hoping day three is better.
ok, i realize not everyone is going to be interested in this, but enough people are (thank you for all of your comments!) that i figured i'd post about my experience at the pennyrich bra patch this evening.
first of all, here's their contact information, so you can go there yourself. you'll want to after you read this:
Pennyrich Bra Patch
(919) 876-8677
N. Market Drive, just off Old Wake Forest Road in Raleigh, next to Kanki
i've been to pennyrich once before, many years ago when i was looking for a strapless bra to wear with a bridesmaid dress. the most vivid memory i have of that experience is how quickly the owner sized me up, found a product that worked, and had me back out in the parking lot. they've changed locations since then, but the woman who runs the store is the same. she's been in the lingerie business for years and years, and -damn!- she knows her stuff.
when i arrived she was busy with a customer (an elderly woman who had a hard time walking, but was clearly very happy with her bra purchase as she stood at the counter), so another employee asked if i needed help. i told her i was looking for something industrial-strength.
she immediately lifted her shirt and started going on and on about the bra she was wearing. "i'm 69 years old, and look how high these boobs are! girl, you've gotta try one of these bras! they're amazing!!" she pulled out her bra's instruction manual (i shit you not) and she showed me the illustrations of how this miracle bra works. then she pointed to the owner (whose name i'm stupidly forgetting) and said, "she wears one, too! look at her breasts! aren't they amazing!??"
they were, indeed, amazing.
as soon as the elderly customer left, the owner custom fitted me for one of these bras. and i'll tell you what... the size she fitted me at was nowhere near the size bra i normally pick out for myself. nowhere near.
(this is partly due to the fact that this particular bra needs a specific custom fitting that doesn't match off-the-rack bra sizes... but still. i was waaaaaaaay off.)
she brought my size bra into the dressing room and the two salesladies and i got my boobs into this odd contraption that is a jeaunique bra.
i was instantly amazed.
it's hard to tell from that above link what's so special about this bra. this page doesn't do a whole lot better, though at least you can see a photo. suffice to say, there's is NO wire, but a kind of shelf support system... and my damn boobs are flyin' high in the sky! i am so stunned... when i got home i immediately took off my shirt to show ray.
i bought two of these bras. and they're not cheap. but i am SO happy.
and from now on i will only ever buy bras at pennyrich. i swear, those people are angels.
these last few days have been hard.
pledge drive starts thursday, and it's always all-consuming. i feel like i basically lose control of my life for 12 days. we're trying a lot of new strategies this time... shaking things up internally. this is creating a lot of stress for everyone.
additionally, the durham symphony just started up again recently, and i'm finding that it's a difficult adjustment... not only are my tuesday nights sucked up but now i also have to plan additional time to practice. yeah, right.
and for some reason i've felt like divaville has been stagnating lately. i caught up with an old friend at a party sunday night (yes, i attended parties on friday, saturday *and* sunday... which is partly what's making me feel so frantic, i'm sure... if i could just have a quiet, productive night away from work & social obligations i might be able to get my head screwed on straight and feel like i had a grip on things...)
where was i?
oh yes, divaville. this old friend i ran into... i haven't seen him in years. we used to hang out at henry's in chapel hill back in the day. he told me, though, that he listens to me on divaville pretty regularly. after getting over that sense of shock (he looks more like a fan of southern culture than of frank sinatra) he started asking me why i didn't play more big maybelle or lavern baker... old bluesy stuff like that. he ticked off a big list of things he wanted to hear.
but jeez... i can't play everything, and i have to limit the scope of the show somehow. but his comment fueled the insecurity i've been feeling over the last couple of months: that with divaville, i've just been phoning it in. i haven't been preparing, and i feel like i'm shortchanging the people who religiously tune in every week. (i'm discovering there are a lot more people who tune in every week than i'd ever imagined.)
anyway, so i'm trying to spend some of my scarce free time downloading music for the show, in order to jazz things up a little. (pun not intended, but i'm keeping it there anyway because it makes me feel clever.)
then, on top of all of that, i'm falling behind in my knitting. i know this doesn't sound like any kind of tragedy, but i'm really wanting to knock out a lot of christmas gifts and i'm not the fastest knitter.
it's like there's just too much stuff to get done. every day it feels like this. consequently i'm not getting enough sleep (i think 9 hours is a satisfying amount for me, and i usually end up getting 6 or 7), which if course is only serving to blow out of proportion every other stressful thing in my life. (i also just started my period, which --ditto-- makes everything worse.)
you know what else is bugging me, too? i hate all of my bras. this is an endless topic of frustration for me. getting dressed in the morning is a miserable experience. i need to find some fucking time to go buy a decent bra. i feel like this alone will make things in my life just a little more tolerable right now.
but what's really stressing me out the most --as if all that other crap weren't enough-- is halloween.
i really, really don't like halloween. i'm sorry, i just don't. generally speaking, i'm not big on any holiday, but over the past few years this one has really gotten on my nerves. if i had to pinpoint where halloween went bad for me it would be about 4 years ago, right when i really started having to heavliy participate in the pledge drives at work. pledge drives always happen around halloween.
so halloween is not a fun time of year for me. it's a stressful time of year for me. a time of year when i least enjoy being social. i've already been invited to several halloween parties, and i really don't want to go to any of them. (sorry, lisa.) having to think up a costume is not fun... it's just more stress. having to pretend to have fun during a holiday i don't like is not fun. i end up feeling tired, self-conscious and stressed out at halloween parties.
BLEAH!
man, i feel like i just downloaded a bunch of crap straight out of my head.
but i think i feel a little better. my shoulders are still tense, though.
yesterday mary, ray & i attended andy & amelia's wedding. mary and i have known andy for about 12 years; we all met while working together at the record bar on franklin street. i've only met amelia relatively recently, but she continually amazes me with her energy, creativity and sparkle.
the wedding was a simple ceremony with a lot of unique touches. when we walked in the church door, rather than simply sign a guest book we were asked to write a message on a 3x5 card and then a polaroid photo was taken of us and inserted into the guestbook with our card. a very cute idea.
the sanctuary itself was decorated with orange fabric flowers (made my amelia; orange is her favorite color). after we were seated we watched people file in. because both andy and amelia are very heavily into the music scene, there were a lot of familiar faces. it was like a trip back in time.
the bridesmaids all wore their own dresses (i love that) and the groomsmen had matching purple ties with their individual blue suits. andy wore a grey suit, green shirt and white tie. amelia's white wedding dress was accented with orange ribbons and an orange beaded necklace. it was beautiful.
the reception was held at ooh-la-latte, a funky little coffee shop in durham. it was a surprising choice for a reception, but knowing andy & amelia it wasn't shocking. (it probably was for the grandparents, though, who seemed to be have mixed reactions to being seated next to a wall of underpants.)
the dinner was mediterranean (hummus, baba ganouj, cous cous, etc.) served buffet-style on the coffee bar. the coffee bar was turned into an open bar (champagne, beer & wine) and mary & i proceeded to get hammered. i can't begin to judge how much i drank last night... ray just kept bringing us more every time our glasses were empty. i got pretty drunk, and i remember struggling to make coherent sentences. i think for the most part i succeeded.
i wish, actually, i hadn't had so much to drink, because today i'm barely remembering the time i spent catching up with long-lost friends, like alec and walker, both of whom flew in from out of town for the wedding.
at 9pm the private reception became public (and the open bar became a paid bar, so i finally quit drinking) and the happy couple were joined on stage with their bandmates as they proceeded to put on a live show. first up was a smiths cover band, featuring amelia on bass, andy on guitar, and viva (below, far left) as morrissey. it was very fun, and so incredibly cool to see a bride rocking out.
that performance was followed by a cure cover band, but by that point i was ready to pass out so ray and i left. i understand from mary, though (who managed to stay through the whole thing) that the cure was even better than the smiths.
it was such a fun night, and i'm so happy for andy and amelia. the toasts and speeches that were given in their honor were so touching. i wish them all the happiness in the world.
some guests thought i was a little nuts to have made a party hat for my car. but i thought it was cute!
i was happy to have my mechanic, parker, in attendance and i presented him with a gold grown for his help in keeping my little CRX alive all these years.
in addition to the always-fun "usual suspects" i was also happy to meet for the first time bw ventril and his lovely wife, lady mcventril. a neighborhood rock star stopped by for a while as well, which i guess attracted the paparazzi:
it happened on my way to work this morning. i was on the phone with charo, discussing magnetic fields tickets, when i started shrieking in her ear.
from the looks of that photo, i've really gotta do a little cleaning before the party tonight! (7pm, btw. i've made a giant party hat for the car. you should come just to see that.)
lately i've been feeling really stupid.
it seems like my ability to think critically has diminished over the past year or so. i no longer feel like i can discuss lofty ideas with any kind of clarity, and i believe my perception of the world has become a little more cloudy.
i must have bush syndrome.
seriously, though... it's disturbing to me. i take loads of brain vitamins and i really don't sit in front of the tv, rotting my noggin for hours ("america's next top model" and "survivor" excepted). i eat reasonably well. what's more, i enjoy hearing others speak their minds on topics that interest them, yet lately i seem incapable of joining in.
i went out to dinner the other night with friends who said incredibly nice things about me and how i choose to live my life. from a lifestyle perspective i may be a little progressive, but as they were lavishing me with compliments i couldn't help but think that, intellectually speaking, i feel just like anyone else... struggling to make sense of it all, and having trouble putting 2 and 2 together.
when presented with a concept that requires a good deal of brain-power, i find i can only stand to think about it for a minute and then i let my emotions take over and dictate my response. i notice that i start a lot of sentences with "i think..." when i really should be saying, "i feel..."
i wonder about setting aside time to challenge my brain. putting down the magazine and picking up the novel. spending less time on the computer and more time with crossword puzzles. i've been playing online scrabble with a friend in georgia, but whole days can pass between plays and it doesn't provide the focused concentration i think i need.
possible culprits:
1) cumulative sleep deficit
2) incredibly spicy aloo gobi masala
3) too much laughing
4) sugar-free dark chocolate (artificial sweetener?)
5) more POUND POUND POUNDING on the highway
6) extra-vivid dreams that seemed to prevent deep sleep
7) mounting stress in anticipation of upcoming fundraiser
i live on a street that dead-ends into I-85.
the biggest problem with that is the massive construction. there was interstate construction when i bought the house last year, and the construction continues to this day.
when i stand at the end of my driveway and turn my head to the left i see 3 houses, then an embankment that is the highway. cars fly by. people are in their living rooms, mere feet away. this is an ugly, noisy way to live.
since the day i moved in i have been eagerly awaiting the installation of a big, brick wall that will separate my street from the interstate, my eyes from the speeding automobiles. this will give us all a needed break from the eyesore... and from the earsore of growling semis.
as i wait, the highway construction continues. as soon as the new southbound lanes of I-85 are complete, traffic will shift and they can start building my wall. i can see the progress, but it's not coming quickly. but i'm certain those lanes will be done soon. they have to be.
because right now, at 8:40pm on this monday evening, there is the most amazing sound of WORK happening out there. POUND POUND POUND POUND POUND POUND, like a lumbering 20-ton jackhammer bashing something into the ground. the noise is inescapable in my house right now. it's unbelievable. it's the sound of progress.
and i have to believe that my wall will be here soon.
i don't usually post random quotes, but i like this one so much...
A child-like man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle-aged habit and convention.
Aldous Huxley
well, i got my order from zappos yesterday. not everything thrilled me, so i drove out to the wide shoe warehouse this afternoon to see if i could find anything better. (i feel compelled to mention they the folks at the wide shoe warehouse were feeding their customers hot dogs and sodas for free today. though they don't have as great a selection as zappos, they certainly do know how to make a gal feel welcome.)
anyway, i now have 5 pairs of shoes to choose from. i think i may keep 3. maybe 4.
 | these are the "sofft" brand shoes from zappos. the actual color is a little more red than i was expecting (not a bad thing necessarily), and the leather is a little more shiny than i was expecting (sort of a bad thing, maybe). on the plus-side, they are INCREDIBLY comfortable, fit well, and are super light. i'm definitely leaning towards keeping these. (close-up) |
 | these are made by "g-wiz" and came from the wide shoe warehouse. i thought they might be a good substitute for the soffts above, which are twice as expensive as these. i have a (perhaps) irrational fear of having too many similar shoes, so part of me believes i'll have to either keep these or the soffts. however, the more i look at these two pairs of shoes the more i focus on their differences. the soffts are more polished-looking, and these are more... what?... plain, maybe?. actually, i think these may end up being good bad-weather shoes, as the soles look like they could really grab onto ice. so... i like them, and they're pretty comfortable, but do i need them? (close-up) |
 | what can i say? i've got a thing for heeled mules. these are made by "easy street" and came from the wide shoe warehouse. i can't find any reason to argue against keeping these. (though i admit i'm shocked to realize that i just bought 3 pairs of rounded-toe shoes.) the coolest thing about these, and something i didn't realize until the cashier pointed it out, is that the decorative band across the top actually doubles as a back strap. (check it out.) |
 | i am totally and utterly shocked that these fit as well as they do. they don't have a zipper; they just pull-on and are stretchy in the calf area. i think the foot-part may be a little big... i might send them back to zappos in exchange for a pair a half-size smaller. i have no idea what to wear them with, but that's ok... the dilemma provides me with another excuse to go shopping. (close-up) |
 | these boots were a big disappointment. i opted to not get the ros hommerson's that i blogged about, but instead got these naturalizers because they were taller. i'm definitely sending these back to zappos... the ankle is far too baggy, and though i didn't have too much trouble zipping them up i can see from this photo that my leg looks a little pinched at the top. bleah. so yes, they're going back. i just have to decide whether or not to ask for the ros hommerson's instead. (part of my hesitation in asking for the ros' is that they're mid-calf boots. i'm hoping for a sensible pair of tall black boots to wear with skirts, and i think mid-calf boots would look ridiculous with a skirt... which means i'd end up just wearing mid-calf boots with pants. and i might as well just shop for a cheaper pair of ankle boots at that point.) |
b complex
i take 1 tablet a day, which gives me 100% of us rda of all the b vitamins.
from "prescription for nutritional healing:"
the b vitamins help to maintain health of the nerves, skin, eyes, hair, liver, and mouth, as well as healthy muscle tone in the gastrointestinal tract and proper brain function. b-complex vitamins [...] may be useful for alleviating depression or anxiety.
there's a passage in the book that actually indicates that there are people who have been diagnosed with alzheimer's disease whose problems were later found to be due to a deficiency of vitamin b12 plus the b complex. interesting.
a basic b complex is a good place to start, but you can take additional doses of specific b vitamins for a particular disorder.
a quick rundown of the b vitamins:
b1 - thiamine
enhances circulation, carbohydrate metabolism, and cognitive activity. thiamine also acts as an antioxidant, protecting the body from the degenerative effects of aging, alcohol consumption and smoking.
b2 - riboflavin
necessary for red blood cell formation, antibody production, cell respiration and growth. important in the treatment of cataracts. riboflavin also facilitates the use of oxygen by the tissues of the skin, nails, and hair. it's said to also help eliminate dandruff.
b3 - niacin
needed for proper circulation and healthy skin. lowers cholestrol and helpful for mental illnesses like schizophrenia. it is also a memory-enhancer. (i'll add that ray takes niacin periodically and his body immediately gets flushed red. that's the blood getting a turbo boost of circulation, i guess.)
b5 - pantothenic acid
known as the "anti-stress vitamin", it's also a stamina enhancer and prevents certain forms of anemia.
b6 - pyridoxine
pyridoxine is involved in more bodily functions than almost any other single nutrient. it affects both physical and mental health. it is beneficial if you suffer from water retention. it plays a role in cancer immunity and aids in the prevention of arteriosclerosis.
b12 - cyanocobalamin
helps in the utilization of iron. this vitamin is also require for proper digestion, absorption of foods and synthesis of protein. it also helps maintain fertility.
at parker's suggestion i wrote to honda to tell them about my CRX turning 200,000 miles. he thought they'd send me a big pile of stuff for my celebration. (as a mechanic, he has apparently learned how to get the most out of the car companies.)
well, i heard back from honda today. they're sending me a keychain. ("retail value is $30!" the agent said, trying to apologize for not being able to send more.)
i'm not sure how much the keychain will contribute to the festivities, but i AM sure that i will be hitting the 200,000 mark in about a week and a half... so i'm thinking about a party on either the friday the 15th or friday the 22nd.
preferences? opinions? (other than "parker rocks!"?)
tonight was the durham symphony's first rehearsal of the 2004-2005 season.
once again (for the 4th season, i think) i'm working as their music librarian and stage manager, but this year i'm also their 4th horn player. what this means is that i'm working twice as hard but getting the same paycheck. i don't mind, though. it's been such a long time since i've had my own seat in an orchestra (versus just sitting in as an occasional, last-minute sub)... it feels good to be making music again.
one of the best things about the rehearsals is the conductor, alan nielson. he's a total hoot. his humor is usually unintentional, which makes it even funnier. i've been archiving some of my favorite nielsonisms over the last year or so... here's another from tonight's rehearsal:
we're playing a relatively unknown symphony by a relatively unknown composer, nikolay myaskovsky. it's got quite a bit of dissonance, and though it's not all that difficult to listen to it's pretty tricky to play. a lot of us were more than a bit confused during our first run-through. alan, trying to make the work seem more friendly, said:
"This was really a well-known piece of music at one time. Then something happened... they sent it to me."
more exciting than this nugget of humor was the fact my horn broke in the middle of the rehearsal. broke!! the thumb valve just totally fell off. this is not good. the horn is playable, but seeing as i was missing a bunch of notes already i really didn't need the additional challenge.
i've got the name of a good repairman, though, and i'll call him in the morning. i have a feeling it's not going to be an expensive repair (probably just some solder) but the whole instrument could also use a good tune-up... it's been 10 years since i've played it regularly, and it's clearly suffering from neglect. (it is falling apart, after all.) worse, though, i imagine there are 10 years' worth of little critters living happily inside all those tubes.
yum.
last month it was the brake rotors. they were too far gone to machine any further. i had to get new ones.
this month it's the front axles.
next month it's going to be my brake lines. they are apparently beginning to crack, which does not really promote a healthy outcome for my person.
it's starting to pile up, the costs of keeping this CRX alive.
look at this, though:
how could i possibly abandon this car?! it's taken me through thick & thin. it's more reliable than anything i know.
(in fact, i'm going to have a 200,000 mile party for this car in a couple of weeks. i'm going to write to honda and tell them so. maybe they'll send party favors.)
anyway, i was commiserating with my mechanic over this recent slew of expenses. he looked at me and said, "do you ever play poker?"
um, yeah. i guess.
"you know how with each round you keep throwing more money in the kitty just to stay in the game? the money piles up there in the middle of the table and you start getting nervous, right? you're thinking, 'uh, maybe i'd better fold...'"
i nodded.
"listen, christa," he says, "we've put too much into this car. you can't fold now."
i love my mechanic.
i have an urge to buy some shoes.
i also have an urge to try shopping at zappos. i've never bought shoes online before, but with free shipping and free returns i guess i have little to lose.
i've narrowed down my choices to 7 pairs, and i wanted to post the photos next to each other so i can get a better idea of what all i'm considering.
also, i would love your input.
 | softspots: viviana $43.90 clearly not in season for much longer, but totally cute nonetheless. |
 | sofft: sienna $87.95 not really my style, but then again... they're not my style so they'd be something entirely new. besides, they look utterly comfortable. they'd be everyday shoes through the fall and winter. |
 | softspots: brenda $40.90 i like the toe-thing. the viviana (above) is a similar shoe... i'm not sure which i like better. |
 | naturalizer: uptight $72.95 totally impractical... but WOW! (why on earth are these shoes called "uptight"?!?) |
 | bass: sharon $39.95 once again, not really seasonal, but i don't have any sandals this color/style. |
 | clarks: hall $72.95 i've always wanted a pair of clarks (they're supposed to be really good shoes, right?), but i've never found a cute pair in a wide width. here they are. i like the fancy detailing on top, though the toe is not as pointy as i generally like. (in fact, in the customer comments several people say that the shoes are clunkier than the photo would suggest.) |
 | ros hommerson: whisper $125 though ridiculously expensive, i think i am definitely going to try these. ideally i'd prefer if these were a knee-high boot (like the uptight ones above) but they may be ok. |
