Shoe-tastic!

I grew up with 3 sisters and a mother, so 4 women in the house, and having been a young gay boy I have a pretty vivid memory of the styles and fashions of my youth.

I remember my sisters wearing huge platform shoes in the 70s...
and Candies in the 80s.But I don't think anything has had a greater effect on women's shoes than Sex and the City. I bet nobody outside of NYC had ever heard of Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Ch00 before Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha made them household names.

Designer shoes have become a huge industry necessitating custom closets with shoe shelves and in some cases, bedrooms converted into walk-in closets. Its no longer about having the perfect pair of black heels. Now its about having a pair of black heels for each outfit.

And who can forget the Alexander McQueen's armadillo shoes worn by Lady Gaga?
With all the creativity and technology out there, shoe-aholics will be practically orgasmic over these:

Weekend highlights

After Spouse's personal trainer appointment Sat morning, we prepared a shopping bag of canned and dry food items to donate to the Food Bank of DE and headed to the Annual Summer Bash. It was really hot outside (about 90 degrees) but fortunately there was a nice breeze, and the location was mostly shaded. We saw lots of friends, met some new folks, ate, and enjoyed the concert. Its was a really well put together event.

Later that evening we met up with Steven & Thad and one of The Bobs to see "Sex and the City 2".

My expectations weren't very high, due to the disjointed trailers I'd seen and the lukewarm critics' reviews I'd heard, but the 5 of us found the film to be thoroughly enjoyable. Whomever created the trailers should be fired. I think the critics panned the film because they think its 'cool' to hate on "Sex and the City". The scenery was beautiful, the clothes were great, and the story line was solid. We all liked it a lot. After the film we had a late dinner at Saketumi and talked about what we liked, what worked, etc in the film. I started with a Cosmo (made with Absolute Berri Acai) as a tribute to having just seen SatC2, and well, because I just love that cocktail. Without even ordering another, a 2nd Cosmo magically arrived in front of me! Gotta love the service at Saketumi. We had a great time and I got just a teensy weensy bit tipsy.

Sun morning Spouse & I met up with Steven & Thad and one of the Bobs again at the beach. It was really hot again, and the breeze was coming off the land instead of the ocean. Jack & Alisha also joined us for a while, until the wind sent us all packing. The wind off the ocean is cool and doesn't pick up sand because the sand is wet. However, the wind off the land was hot and kept gusting and blowing the dry sand all over us. We cut our beach time short in order to avoid getting an unexpected microdermabrasion at the beach! I had so much sand on me that I felt like a panko crusted tilapia. Fortunately we had a nice time before the wind gusts started.

After removing the sand from my ears, nose, hair, etc we went to Steven & Thad's for dinner. Steven grilled chicken which went nicely with the sesame noodles and salad. Afterward we drove to Dairy Queen in a nearby agricultural (read: redneck) location. I was driving and realized I'd forgotten my wallet. Spouse suggested I drive very carefully "so you don't get pulled over and carted off to jail and told 'you have a real pretty mouth'". The "Deliverance" reference made us all laugh! Once inside the DQ we noticed the specialty Blizzards being offered for the 25th anniversary of the Blizzard.

I made the mistake of thinking that all the flavors under the heading "Chocoholics" were contained in a single Blizzard, and said "Wow, they put all my favorite things into that Chocoholics Blizzard! That's what I'm getting." Thad quickly explained that each of the flavors under the heading "Chocoholics" was a separate Blizzard. The look of disappointment on my face must have said it all because Thad started laughing really hard. Then when I thought about how they could possibly get all that stuff into 1 Blizzard I began laughing too. We laughed about the 'real pretty mouth' and the Choloholic Blizzard several more times before we said goodbye.

Crush du Jour: Hen Amar

Friday fragements

I recently read that Sarah Jessica Parker had twin girls. How did I not know she was pregnant? I'm not one to keep up with what celebs are doing, but I do love me some SJP. I also heard they are planning another 'Sex and the City' movie. Yay!

A friend sent me this: "Life is like a book with many different chapters. Some tell of tragedy and others of triumph. Some chapters are dull and ordinary, others intense and exciting. The key to being a success in life is to never stop on a difficult page, to never quit on a tough chapter. Champions have the courage to keep turning the pages because they know a better chapter lies ahead. (Source unknown) So true!

Another friend sent me this: "The person who complains that it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it." Also quite true.

My friend Kathryn sent me this, which had me squealing with laughter! (Click to enlarge.) Can I just say how sick I am of the Michael Jackson coverage? I turn the channel now when it comes on. Okay, so he was a 'legendary performer', and there is some unknowns surrounding his death. Can we just leave it alone for awhile? Maybe until the autopsy results are back and there's something REAL to discuss?

As I've mentioned before, Spouse works for the State, which has a huge budget deficit like all the other states. There have been several proposals for ways to reduce the deficit, and reducing State employees' salaries were included. At 1st we thought he might get an 8% reduction, then a 2.5% reduction. However, yesterday it was announced that State employees will have to take 5 unpaid furlough days (1 day per month) from July-Dec. Spouse is thrilled with this, as he would like nothing more than to spend fewer days at work, paid or unpaid!

I am anxiously awaiting the return of Big Ella. I put her in the shop a few weeks ago to have a couple minor electrical things done. While there, Spouse talked me into having the dash pad replaced. When I got Big Ella her interior was amazingly preserved, with the exception of the dash pad which had been badly faded and cracked open by the sun. So I ordered a new dash pad online, had it shipped to the shop, and they were to have it painted to match and then install it. On Tues the shop said the dash pad was not back from the painter yet. I'm nervous that it will not be installed by today, and that I will not have Big Ella back in time to show her off in the 4th of July Doo Dah parade on Sat. Please send positive energy to DE!!

I'm really excited about the July 4th long weekend! Spouse & I are both off today (Fri) and are going to the beach in a few minutes. Tomorrow (Sat) morning we're walking to the farmer's market for a bagel and coffee, then I'll drop Big Ella off to get detailed. Spouse will bring me home and then he'll head to the personal trainer and I'll make a dish for later on. Then we'll walk to the annual outdoor art show/sale, followed by the boat parade on the canal. We'll to Mike & Steve's for a 4th of July BBQ and parade viewing party. But I will sneak out of the BBQ early to pick up Big Ella and show her off in the Doo Dah parade. Later that night we'll walk to the beach to watch the fireworks. Wishing all of you a happy, fun, and safe 4th of July weekend!!

Crush du Jour: Ryan Kwanten