A Shoe Story

The story begins innocently enough - a need to replace two pairs of old shoes.

Pair #1:
I need new Lola walking shoes. My current pair is a comfy pair of Sketchers:



I like them because they are easy to slip into in the morning when I really don't have the skill to tie shoelaces. In fact, this is the second pair of (essentially) the same pair of Sketchers that I have owned in 2.5years. The problem? They get wet (from dew and/or sprinkler moisture practically everyday & the man-made materials don't hold up too well. So, even though I like these sketchers, I'm looking for new Lola walking shoes.


Pair #2:
My favorite shoes in the whole world are these Merrell shoes:



They are super-comfy and have that awesome burnt tomato color. They were my "Go to" shoes - the ones I could slip on to go to the mall or a quick errand or a movie or a plane flight or... well, you get the idea. They are still structurally sound, even though I've had them for at least 7 years. In the last couple of months, however, the sole has finally started to deteriorate - there are no holes, but they are starting to get really, really worn. (They have become my "walk around the grassless sometimes muddy yard" shoes and that's why they are so grungy in that pic.)

So, of course, I went shoe shopping, intent on ONLY getting replacements for the aforementioned shoes. I was quickly reminded why I shouldn't go shoe shopping without someone to be the voice of reason.

First, I found these pirate shoes (with hearts!) from Rocket Dog on Super clearance at Macy's:



Then, at DSW, I found some really cute (also on super-sale) Rocket Dog flats similar to these, but the print was the British flag (I couldn't find them on their website)...luckily, they didn't have my size & I had to leave them. :(

DSW is evil, because there I found these replacement Merrells:

[They also come in red, but the red color looked..hmm...more like a really bright Day-Glo red, if that makes any sense, so I went with these.]

So they are not in a super-fun color, and therefore not "strictly" a replacement, but they are oh-so-comfy. They are cloth and will make a great "Go to" shoe for the summer. As I poked around the Merrell website trying to find Lola walking shoes (I saw a few that might work), I discovered that this style also comes in leather. Oh, the temptation!

And of course, because DSW is evil, as I walking out with my "replacement shoes", I walked by a stack of Pumas on super-duper clearance. They had these in my size:



$16 for comfy purple & lime green leather Pumas? No way were those staying at the store! (Come home with momma, kitties!) I'm saving these for this year's Comic-Con.

If anyone has any suggestions for Lola walking shoes, please let me know; the criteria: no slides, no velcro(Lola's hair gets stuck to it), no shoelaces and no thin soles.


Sigh. Shoes.