Two of my dearest friends invited me to join them on a shopping expedition to our favorite vendor of pain-free footwear, the Shoe Mill, a now venerable joint in the studenty heart of Tempe. We first chowed down at the House of Tricks, probably the best restaurant in town, IMHO — certainly in Tempe, if not the entire Valley.
Then it was off to the expensive environs of our target.
I’m afraid I went completely berserk — must’ve been the wine. Or maybe the exotic dessert… Five hundred dollars later:I love me a red shoe…especially if it’s a strappy sandal! Those things are SO LIGHT they feel like they’re made of styrofoam. You have never seen a pair of shoes that is so comfortable and so…almost unnoticeable.
They’re made by Romika, a brand I never heard of but will certainly look for again. Then we came up with this somewhat dressier number, created by Brako:
I’ve been searching for a pair of decent shoes in this color. They were originally presented to us in bright orange, which really DID look awesome. But I’d already decided to get the red sandals, and I couldn’t imagine what I could wear orange shoes with. These will go with almost everything. And they’re also extremely comfortable.
And of course we couldn’t get out the Shoe Mill without another pair of Naots:
Why stop at orange when you can have purple and red in the bargain?
The last pair of Naots I bought — which admittedly are a conservative black — have been on my feet almost every single day for the past two years and are only just beginning to show some wear. They’re so comfortable yet at the same time so good looking I wear them almost everywhere, from church and business meetings to the Costco.
So I spent a lot. But I have it: the once-a-month limit on the Costco junkets is saving so much in the monthly budget that I actually was able to cover the horrifying water-heater bill without having to raid emergency savings(!). So the $5000 in backup savings is still sitting there.
This spring has been so temperate — almost the end of May and I haven’t had to turn on the air conditioner! — that power bills will hit a historic low. Soooo…that means this month I probably can pay for the shoe extravaganza out of cash flow. If not, the raid on the credit-union savings account will be minimal.
And so, to work…
Funny, it’s quite possible we were separated at birth because I do think red sandals are going to be given away for free when we all get to paradise. 😀
I adore red anything, and it can be hard to find, and I adore sandals, so the combo is like chocolate and nuts, just supremely satisfying.
I realize your shoe budget is probably shot for the year but I have discovered that Aerosoles are extremely comfortable also.