Monday, August 29, 2005

viva las vegas

So my husband left for Las Vegas today for another trade show...actually three trade shows -- Magic, Pool and Project. He left me behind this time because someone has to make some money to pay the bills around here. Other than the fact that I would love another opportunity to spend thousands of dollars on shoes in just a few hours (and clothes and handbags this time too...can you imagine the damage I could do?), I'm just fine that I'm not in Vegas right now. I don't like Vegas. Actually, I despise Vegas. My favorite part about Vegas (and favorite here means the ONLY thing I liked about Vegas) was the three minute respite from THE CONSTANT NOISE I experienced in front of the Bellagio fountains. I don't care if you think I'm cheesy, those fountains are amazing. We were fortunate to view them during "Ave Maria" (I think...if it wasn't that, it was some beautiful operetic-like song). For those three minutes, I really did forget that I was in Vegas. My least favorite part about Vegas -- the incessant ringing of slot machines. You can't get away from them; they're even in the airport. I have never wanted a pair of headphones so badly in my life. My second least favorite part about Las Vegas - their state slogan..."what happens here, stays here." Enough said.

I had huge plans for the next three evenings (after Margot went to bed of course) while John is out of town. I was going to start a new knitting project. Spend time with my friend, Julie, who just moved around the corner from us. Clean the house. Pain the trim in the dining room. Well, I don't think any of those plans are going to be realized because as if right now I am laid up in bed with a bad back. All day I have been unable to stand in a full, upright position. I basically look like an 80-year-old woman with an unfortunate curve in her spine (actually, my grandmother is 82 and she looks better than I do). I'm currently experiencing relatively little pain (as compared to the rest of the day), which I attribute to the fact that my back is numb from the two ice packs I've been laying on for two hours. I think it's too much to hope that I would be healed by the morning, but if I don't get a little relief, and some subsequent freedom of movement, I'm going to be feeding Margot breakfast in bed tomorrow morning. Breakfast in HER bed, that is, since I won't be able to lift her out of it.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

new friends in blogland

Well, I found out last night that my friend, Kerry, has thrown her hat in the blogring (of course my "tagging" her with the idiosyncrasies meme was the major catalyst...Kerry wouldn't miss a chance to share her quirks with the world!). I'm especially excited that Kerry decided to start a blog because she and her husband just moved two hours away from us. Living close to them again was definitely one of the highlights of moving back to KC for us, but a blog is the next best thing of having her down the street, right? If you want to get to know Kerry and view some of the amazing handmade things she makes, check this out.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

idiosyncrasies

I must apologize to Hannah for taking so long to realize she had tagged me for the idiosyncrasies meme (I have no idea what the word "meme" means, but despite that I've gathered it's somthing I'm supposed to respond to). As you've probably noticed, my posting lately as been intermittent (at best) and likewise, so has my blog reading. My excuse? -- that pesky think called work. It's definitely put a dent in the time (and energy) I have to be on the internet, which is probably not all that bad of a thing since I was beginning to think I was spending too much time in front of a computer.

So, I've been thinking about my idiosyncrasies and here's what I've come up with (it was more difficult than I thought it would be):

1. I read magazines cover to cover.
Every single page...including the ads. I even read articles that I have no interest in. I first noticed this when we had a subscription to Outside and I would find myself reading articles about a man who decided he wanted to live with bears instead of people or a man who would host dinner parties for his friends to have them sample the exotic meals he would create out of wild animals that people don't normally eat (like tortoises and ostriches). I think there's something inside me that feels like I cannot say, "I read this month's issue of ______ (insert magazine title here)," unless I actually read the WHOLE thing. Who's asking me if I read the entire magazine? No one. But that doesn't matter now does it?

2. I alphabetize my CDs.
Which used to be a bigger deal than it is now, since I never rotate the CDs in my car. I don't need to rotate them because I will listen to a CD eight times in a row without ever thinking about changing it and my case holds 24 CDs and by the time I've actually listened to all 24 CDs a year has passed and I'm ready to hear Madonna's "The Immaculate Collection" another eight times. The only way a CD ever gets changed in my car is if John takes my car for the day.

3. I can often be seen standing with one foot resting in the crook of my other knee.
Yes, this makes me look like a stork, but I'm most comfortable that way.

4. I have at least 3 (and I've had up to 6) half gallon containers of Edys ice cream in my freezer at all times.
This is to insure that I won't have to miss my nightly cup of ice cream. Not a bowl, not even a mug, but a cup. It doesn't matter if it's a blazing hot summer night or a cold, harsh winter evening, I must have my ice cream.

I hesitated to list this final one, but I couldn't think of any more myself. When I asked John what he thought my idiosyncrasies were, he responded VERY quickly with this (which makes me think he sees it more as a character flaw than an idiosyncrasy):

5. I disclaim everything.

I read a lot of blogs, but I don't know many people that read mine (that have blogs of their own), so I'll tag Stephanie, Laura and Lindsay (who do have blogs) and also my friends Sarah*, Kerry (who don't currently have blogs) with the hope that this will serve as a catalyst for at least one of those two ladies to join the fun.

*Update: Well, that didn't take long. This afternoon I found out that Sarah has finally decided to enter the blogosphere...she has a "team blog" with one of my other friends, Jeff. Check out their drivel here.

Monday, August 08, 2005

lucky girl

...on two accounts. The first: I got to spend three full days (and I do mean FULL) at the World Shoe Association trade show. Before we left, John informed me that the show was in three different convention halls and there were over 4,000 vendors being showcased. Thankfully, John had done quite a bit of research before we left and had already made appointments with eight or nine vendors. Honestly, I could kiss him for being so prepared. We were able to get SO MUCH done since we already had those appointments booked and it was a lot less overwhelming than I think it could have been had we just chosen to walk around and see what was out there. We did that too, but we would have been sunk if that's all we had planned on doing. We did find some other cool vendors by walking around and through word of mouth, so we'll probably be adding some of them to our original line-up. I know you're all curious to know exactly what kinds of shoes we're going to be carrying at habitat. We'll, it looks like you're a lukcy girl (or lucky boy) too, because I'm going to give you a sneak preview of some of the lines we've already ordered from:

1. faryl robin -- very unique shoes. In their words, "we design footwear so that you can look great at work and then make your way to a party and turn heads there." Faryl started the company (about 5 years ago I think) and is also the designer (not to mention a wife and a mother). She actually helped us pick out our shoes for next spring/summer. I truly appreciated her honest and forthright opinion. I never once felt like she was trying to "sell" us on her brand, but was really interested in helping us choose the right does for us at this time (being a start-up and not knowing our clientele yet). She's a woman who understands the importance of good working relationships and realizes it's in her best interest for us to be successful. Pesky one of my favorite boots we picked out of the whole show (in smooth, chocolate brown though)...I love the Victorian feel of these.

2. fornarina -- sexy in an "embrace your inner rockstar" kind of way. We spent the most time in this suite (some vendors had booths in a large convention hall, others had their lines displayed in suites in the Venentian hotel)...I just couldn't get enough of their shoes. I had a very difficult time narrowing it down to 16(!) different styles for spring/summer. There were just too many great ones to choose from. Their website is currently being overhauled, so I can't show you any examples of what we purchased for fall, but trust me, you'll want a pair. Even their current website page that's counting down to the new launch is cool.

3. j shoes -- a perfect mix of styles you would recognize, but with an artistic flair. Prior to the show, this was the vendor I was most excited to see in person because I've been salivating over their styles online for so long. It's VERY difficult to choose my favorite out of all the ones we bought (every design is amazing), but I'm going to go with the portobello for men and the suay for women (or the quartz...or the marion...I told you they were amazing).

4. medium -- shoes for the culturally creative. John and I both own a pair of the alchemist and guys will be able to get their own lux pair (in kelp) come October. Ladies, you'll have to wait a little longer. Medium has decided to manufacture women's styles (not just men's shoes in smaller sizes), so those will be available in February.

5. camper -- a name you probably already recognize. I can't find any of the shoes we ordered on their website...when I do, I'll post 'em.

6. gola -- soccer inspired sport shoes in both "easy-on-the-eyes" and "not-so-easy-on-the-eyes" color combos (we stuck mostly with the former to start off with). For men: the chase and the coyote; for women: the harrier and the couture.

Well, that should keep you busy for awhile. I'll post some of the other lines we're considering in the next few days. Feel free to leave feedback (but only if it's positive). No seriously, all comments are welcome.

And why I'm a lucky girl on the second account...because all I've been doing for the past three days is flipping through Lucky and other fashion magazines. One thing I realized at the trade show was that I'm really not *that* into fashion. I mean, I like to buy clothes and shoes as much as the next girl, but 1) I don't like to spend a lot of money on clothes, 2) I NEVER look at fashion magazines, and 3) in light of #1 & #2, I don't know anything about designers or what's *HOT*. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I flipped through a fashion mag, but, it looks like we'll be getting a subscription to at least one soon. Why? Well, I figure if we're going to actually sell cool shoes, we need to know about them: how to wear them, what to wear them with and who's wearing them. All stuff that I never really thought about before this weekend, but I picked up pretty quickly after talking to just a few shoe vendors. They were throwing around terms like peep toe, boho, kitten heel and names like Marc Jacobs and Lindsey Lohan. So, aren't I a lucky girl because I get to read fashion mags as part of my job? It's a tough life, but someone's got to do it.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

talking pennies

We made it through the first day of our first shoe trade show -- what a FUN DAY! So much packed into one day, and we have two more to go! There's too much to tell and I'm not sure I could even articulate anything from the trade show yet, so I'll just share some highlights from the flight:

1. My favorite quote came from a middle-aged women sitting behind me:

"My sister and I are convinced that our mother speaks to us through pennies. Like just last night, we went out to dinner, and we saw two pennies on the ground when we got out of the car -- one for each of us."

My head snapped in John's direction and I quickly gave him the "What did she just say?" look. We obviously were the only ones confused because the women next to her replied, "Oh, and do you beleive if the penny is heads up she's telling you 'yes' and if it's tails up she's telling you 'no'?"

2. My favorite photo: (well, my favorite picture in my mind, that's the only memory I will have of it because John and I forgot our camera. I know, I know, how could we forget our camera on a trip to Las Vegas. Trust me, I DON'T KNOW.)

An elderly man outfitted in light blue-and-white houndstooth polyester pants, a navy cotton blazer tipped in white piping covering a white butterfly collar shirt and the largest glasses I've ever seen with his head tipped back, sleeping with his mouth open. It honestly was the most precious sight. Although I must admit, when my eyes first found him I thought he was dead. I was much relieved when I saw his chest moving with his breath.

off to sin city

So, I've decided I must get over this idea that I have to post a photo with every entry. Honestly, it's too exhausting (especially right now when I'm doing good to getting around to blogging) and I'm tired of not posting at all just because I don't have a photo to complement the writing. No more esxcuses.

I have NO IDEA WHY I AM STILL AWAKE. John and I leave tomorrow for the World Shoe Association trade show in Las Vegas (to say I'm excited about it is a gross understatement...not Las Vegas, but the shoes, THE SHOES), so I should be asleep right now. I sat down at 11:30pm with my (almost) nightly cup of ice cream to *quickly* catch up on some blog reading. Then I was going to iron some clothes, gather my knitting supplies (I've had a strong urge this week to pick up knitting again) and pack all my stuff to prevent the typical "rushing-around-so-as-not-to-be-late-to-the-airport" routine that plagues me the one time of year that I fly. But alas, I am here posting to my blog because I don't want to let down all my readers (all five of them) with the lack of activity here lately. I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I will most definitely be rushing around tomorrow morning (well, actually this morning) while John sits in the car wondering if my twelfth exit from the house will indeed be the final one. And although wearing wrinkled skirts is much less bothersome to me now than it was two hours ago, I figure I better get some sleep. Otherwise I won't have any energy to walk around the three (!) conventions halls filled with more shoes than I've ever seen in my life. Oh, who am I kidding...sleep, or no sleep, I'll ALWAYS be able to shop for shoes.