Staple Shoes
There are two seasons here: Monsoon Season and Blizzard Season. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter all go to different parts of the globe.
I have been pretty disgruntled at hoping for summer to come and realizing that it is only a turbulent mix of thundering rainy days alternated with seamy hot ones. The rainy days out do the sunny ones and that just makes me want to smack Auntie Nature in her sassy face. Auntie Nature, is the witch who rules these parts.
That maternal Mother Nature remains south of the Mason Dixon border calmly drinking her sweat tea and humming "If I were a rich man" with the voice of Julie Andrews. I think Mother Nature probably looks like Mary Poppins. But that is side tracking me from today's story.
Today, my friends, I am here to discuss the importance of shoes to survive New Jersey's two seasons: Monsoon and Blizzard. My grandpa was a cobbler (shoe maker), a Gepetto if you will, and made several pairs of my shoes when I was a kid. I remember his store smelling of leather and seeing him weigh the nails that went in the sole of shoes. His shop was magical to me, full of cool looking things that came together into a pair of sturdy shoes. I used to dance around his shop like a little wild female Pinocchio playing with his leather carving tools, eating snacks (spoiled by grandpa) and enjoying his stories of his youth. "I met your grandmother by the river when she was 3..." Grandpa lived a good long life and his advice to me to have an equally good life was this,"Eat good quality food, don't drink water with your dinner and wear the best quality leather shoes you can afford." There you have it, from your intestines to your spinal cord covered! In my very humble and grumbling opinion I believe that there are a few types of shoes needed to survive the weather here. Here we go from rain to snow:
1. Sperry Top-Siders or the like: These rain shoes are great for toting around with your umbrella on "summer" days where the sky is blue with a few black black black clouds. It looks like it could pour or be a day at the beach. No in between here. Rain boots are far to bulky and heavy to lug around in an extra bag. So pack up a pair of these shoes to keep your tootsies dry. Top-siders look dorky, I know, but you will be the envy of the drenched grocery store crowd when you waltz in nice and dry proclaiming, "They call me Arizona."
2. Hunter Rainboot: every dime of the price of these is worth it. These bad boys were designed to keep the Queen of England's feet dry and if royal toes endorse this, you know they are well made. I have had my pair for 3 years now and at first felt that they were a bit dramatic. Oh no, when it poured in Italy, poured in Rome, poured in NYC and poured in New Jersey I was glad that I had my sturdy Hunters to keep my pants and feet dry.
3. Cute Brown Boots: where to get your cute pair is totally up to you. My favorites are a pair I got by the Italian store Bata in Desenzano del Garda. Italian leather shoes are well worth the cost because they are well made, will last years upon years and of course look superior to shoes made in China or anywhere else. Brown boots pair well with skirts, dresses, and jeans. They are more on the casual side of things while keeping your legs warm and making you look put together. Get them :)
4. Flat Black Leather Shoes: I am a huge supporter of flat shoes, especially winter ones. Who knows how many miles I have walked in my black flat boots? 100 miles? 1,000 miles? I got mine as a gift, in Italy, from yours truly about 5 years ago. At first I thought they were nice elegant boots but 4 harsh winters taught me that these are not only elegant, they are boots fit for a marathon! These guys have survived -20 degree weather, rain, salt, ice, snow and still look new. I have taken good care of them polishing them from time to time and having their sole changed when they got a little worn down. My doubts about these boots has never wavered as I know they will last me several winters to come. Once again, buy the best quality you can afford and shoes you could walk 10 miles in if needed.
5. The Tank: These combat boots are for the blizzards, ice, snow and locust that arrive from Auntie Earth. I carefully did my research when locating the shoes that would get me through the worst winters of the East Coast. I finally found Joan of Arctic and thought the name was fitting for a boot that had a warrior spirit. Yes, shoes have spirits. Never judge a book by it's cover but always judge a woman by her shoes. See? Spirit. So the Joan of Arctic boots don't play around. They are heavy, tone your bum when you walk heavy, but are guaranteed to keep you warm in -40 degree temperature. I will take that any day over frozen tootsies!
And one last word on Italian leather shoes. You can find them at Marshalls and TJ Maxx. What is their cheesy quip? Oh yeah..."Never pay full price for fabulous."
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I have been pretty disgruntled at hoping for summer to come and realizing that it is only a turbulent mix of thundering rainy days alternated with seamy hot ones. The rainy days out do the sunny ones and that just makes me want to smack Auntie Nature in her sassy face. Auntie Nature, is the witch who rules these parts.
That maternal Mother Nature remains south of the Mason Dixon border calmly drinking her sweat tea and humming "If I were a rich man" with the voice of Julie Andrews. I think Mother Nature probably looks like Mary Poppins. But that is side tracking me from today's story.
Today, my friends, I am here to discuss the importance of shoes to survive New Jersey's two seasons: Monsoon and Blizzard. My grandpa was a cobbler (shoe maker), a Gepetto if you will, and made several pairs of my shoes when I was a kid. I remember his store smelling of leather and seeing him weigh the nails that went in the sole of shoes. His shop was magical to me, full of cool looking things that came together into a pair of sturdy shoes. I used to dance around his shop like a little wild female Pinocchio playing with his leather carving tools, eating snacks (spoiled by grandpa) and enjoying his stories of his youth. "I met your grandmother by the river when she was 3..." Grandpa lived a good long life and his advice to me to have an equally good life was this,"Eat good quality food, don't drink water with your dinner and wear the best quality leather shoes you can afford." There you have it, from your intestines to your spinal cord covered! In my very humble and grumbling opinion I believe that there are a few types of shoes needed to survive the weather here. Here we go from rain to snow:
1. Sperry Top-Siders or the like: These rain shoes are great for toting around with your umbrella on "summer" days where the sky is blue with a few black black black clouds. It looks like it could pour or be a day at the beach. No in between here. Rain boots are far to bulky and heavy to lug around in an extra bag. So pack up a pair of these shoes to keep your tootsies dry. Top-siders look dorky, I know, but you will be the envy of the drenched grocery store crowd when you waltz in nice and dry proclaiming, "They call me Arizona."
2. Hunter Rainboot: every dime of the price of these is worth it. These bad boys were designed to keep the Queen of England's feet dry and if royal toes endorse this, you know they are well made. I have had my pair for 3 years now and at first felt that they were a bit dramatic. Oh no, when it poured in Italy, poured in Rome, poured in NYC and poured in New Jersey I was glad that I had my sturdy Hunters to keep my pants and feet dry.
3. Cute Brown Boots: where to get your cute pair is totally up to you. My favorites are a pair I got by the Italian store Bata in Desenzano del Garda. Italian leather shoes are well worth the cost because they are well made, will last years upon years and of course look superior to shoes made in China or anywhere else. Brown boots pair well with skirts, dresses, and jeans. They are more on the casual side of things while keeping your legs warm and making you look put together. Get them :)
4. Flat Black Leather Shoes: I am a huge supporter of flat shoes, especially winter ones. Who knows how many miles I have walked in my black flat boots? 100 miles? 1,000 miles? I got mine as a gift, in Italy, from yours truly about 5 years ago. At first I thought they were nice elegant boots but 4 harsh winters taught me that these are not only elegant, they are boots fit for a marathon! These guys have survived -20 degree weather, rain, salt, ice, snow and still look new. I have taken good care of them polishing them from time to time and having their sole changed when they got a little worn down. My doubts about these boots has never wavered as I know they will last me several winters to come. Once again, buy the best quality you can afford and shoes you could walk 10 miles in if needed.
5. The Tank: These combat boots are for the blizzards, ice, snow and locust that arrive from Auntie Earth. I carefully did my research when locating the shoes that would get me through the worst winters of the East Coast. I finally found Joan of Arctic and thought the name was fitting for a boot that had a warrior spirit. Yes, shoes have spirits. Never judge a book by it's cover but always judge a woman by her shoes. See? Spirit. So the Joan of Arctic boots don't play around. They are heavy, tone your bum when you walk heavy, but are guaranteed to keep you warm in -40 degree temperature. I will take that any day over frozen tootsies!
And one last word on Italian leather shoes. You can find them at Marshalls and TJ Maxx. What is their cheesy quip? Oh yeah..."Never pay full price for fabulous."
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