A New Love

Isn't love amazing? You always think you've found THE ONE LOVE and then something else comes along, unexpectedly and grabs your heart... You can never have too much love in your life. It just makes the world brighter and the flowers smell sweeter!

As I get older, my tastes change and I'm more discerning on what I choose to buy. I mean, eons ago I was complacent to buy cheapie purses anywhere I went (Target, Mervyn's (now nonexistent), etc.) and I would just BALK at the thought of spending more than $40 on one! Not to mention, as rough as I am on purses - I can't see "throwing away" much more than that every month or so (yes, I was buying a new purse about every month back then). EEEK! Now, you'll find me hauling ass to the Coach outlet and spending slightly more than $40 on a purse or wallet (EEEK!).

Let's move on to shoes. I have a love-hate relationship with shoes. I just LOVE how beautiful and elegant they can look but hate the fact I have HUGE, F-A-T, FLAT feet. I only wish I could don a pair of strappy sandals with heels and run amuck a-la-Carrie-Bradshaw style, but I can't. Five minutes into wearing a pair, the balls of my feet are turning numb and I'm wobbling like an amateur carnie on stilts. Just my luck that I've been relegated to wearing flats like flip-flops, tennies and the like. Occasionally I can find a pair of wedges or low to mid heeled dress shoes with the right height to length ratio that won't kill my feet. When I do find those, I buy them up in every color (or multiple pairs in the same color) so I won't be caught in a bind when I pull them out of the box in the closet and realized I've worn them so much they've fallen apart.

Let's face it - as I'm aging, comfort is starting to take precedence over "cute" and it's hard to find shoes that are comfortable AND cute without bordering on the old school granny-like thick soled nursing shoes. But alas, by taking a chance - I have found at least ONE pair that still is "hip" AND comfortable. So much so, I am claiming LOVE to this new shoe.

Now, the reason I took a chance on this new brand is that I bought a pair of flips first - they were an INCREDIBLE deal and I figured - why not? As soon as I got these flips, I ripped open the package and immediately put them on and have worn them EVERY.SINGLE.DAY since. They were so comfortable, I do not even hesitate walking long distances in them - as my feet don't get sore at the end of the day like my traditional Old Navy flips do (yes, I just about have one in every color from Old Navy).

So I thought, if their flips are THIS comfortable, what about their other shoes? I'll be honest. I'm not a fan of their "traditional" shoe, the one they are famous for but now they carry all kinds of styles - so I managed to find the style I traditionally love - and armed with a 20% off coupon code, took a risk and ordered three pairs! EEK! Now, what shoe/brand is this you ask? I'll tell you:

CROCS

Yep. I know some of you hear that and you think of this:

I think they look absolutely U-G-L-Y and I'm sure they will make my feet look even bigger than they already are but those aren't the only style they have!

They have these:

and these:

and of course the style I love so much - THESE:

I also ordered two other pairs exactly like this but without the fun decor - one each in "Espresso" and black. When the box arrived I hurried and opened it and immediately put on a pair. Just so happened, the next day I was headed out to a Baby Welcoming so I donned a dress just so I could wear them and give them a test run.  

VERDICT: I never knew I was wearing a heeled shoe - they were so comfortable, it felt like I was barefoot!!!

Here are a few pics of the gorgeous, yet oh-so-comfy pair that I wore (please ignore the poor lighting and so-so pics. They were taken with my phone):

Oh... I'm in HEAVEN. What else can I say? How about 

"CROCS... I ♥LOVE♥ YOU!!"

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If a Brooke Van Gory and a Coach diaper bag met in a dark alley....

 I just BIG RED PUFFY HEART Coach bags (thanks Megan for that saying *wink*). They are EXTREMELY well made and they have YET to do me wrong. I've never had a THING go wrong with one of my Coach items - they are DURABLE (and I'm ROUGH on bags) and still look new after two years of use! Who couldn't just LOVE a Coach bag? I love Coach SOOO much that when I went on Spring Break with my BFF, JG in March of 2008 - I splurged and bought a Coach diaper bag (I was only a few weeks preggo at best). It just seemed so PERFECT and screaming my name as it was the perfect shade of green that I so love...

Do de do dee do dee doo whoosh - FAST FORWARD: Cubby is now 18 months, we're cloth diapering (something I never considered until late pregnancy) and we are a go-go-go kind of family. Which means, we need to pack diapers, wet bag, snacks, extra clothing, blankets, sippy cups, etc. on a regular basis for all day or overnight/weekend adventures in and out of town.

I had to finally admit it to myself that my beloved Coach was NOT cutting it. To put all the things I needed in it, plus sometimes my wallet, cell phone, keys and "mama stuff" on occasion so I wasn't carrying a purse PLUS a diaper bag, I was constantly picking up things that were falling out and it just LOOKED messy no matter how neat I put everything in it because there is no closure for the top. Not to mention that I can only carry items on my left shoulder, which is ALSO the side in which I carry Cubby on my hip, and since the double carry straps are short and non-adjustable, I constantly looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame from the side. And it FELT like it too.

ENTER STAGE RIGHT: Brooke Van Gory Designs. I "met" Brooke on Twitter. I vaguely remember through who/what/why the connection was made, but it was and I'm sooo glad it was! After seeing her wares, I was absolutely IMPRESSED. But I was so in LOVE with my Coach bag! Over the next few weeks, I kept going back to her shop - admiring, drooling, daydreaming about how perfect the bag would be... but I was torn... how could I ditch my beloved Coach???

One of the things that bites about buying things online, is that you can't really get to "see" the item and judge for yourself how BIG or small something really is. Once I decided I would get one, I went to see a friend's diaper bag to judge the size. She had an Expedient Weekender upsized because she was going to be diapering TWO kids. Me? I just love a big bag. After trying out hers, I decided to go UPSIZED!!! Plus a few other options because I'm needy like that.

One great thing about ordering something CUSTOM is that you get what you want! Which in this case, also meant I got to pick the fabric!! Being a "boymom", I wanted something that said "BOY" and also something that Pappa wouldn't mind carrying. Brooke was also so helpful and sent me links to samples of fabric based on conversations we had about what I wanted (even though I was completely vague). Truth be told, sometimes ordering a custom anything is intimidating. You want to make sure you get what you want, but how do you know that's REALLY what you want?

Brooke was super fabulous and patient and even after I picked a fabric, she found another oh so fabulous fabric that I knew I had to switch to! I'm telling you, this is one FANTASTIC AWESOME gal AND she has two kids to boot! She MUST be SuperWoman!

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Wordless Wednesday - Coach

I have found another love... granted I've had this love for a while, but thought I'd at least share for the moment...

For more Wordless Wednesday visit Wordless Wednesday or
Mostly Wordless at Ordinary & Awesome!
Don't forget to post and link yours!

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