warning: this is mostly about footwear

It's official. Today was the first day that I had to wear real socks. It's been a good five months or so since my feet have seen real socks. I'm not talking white, athletic, I'm wearing tennis shoes and taking a walk socks. Real socks. With colors and patterns.

And what else to wear with real socks than my trusty old shoes? Today I pulled the winter shoe box out from under the guest bed and there they were, waiting for me. Steve and I attempted to calculate when I purchased these fine clogs. Our best guess is somewhere in the late 90s. I know, right? Those are some old shoes. And still perfectly good, although I have sewn them back together three different times. And yes, they do say Faded Glory, and no, I'm not ashamed. Because when you are willing to wear a pair of $8 Walmart clogs for twelve years, you obviously have other priorities.

Other priorities = slippers. I am very passionate about slippers. This is a picture of Steve and I last Christmas. Some people photograph their tree. Not us.

These slippers are the real deal. Three Christmases ago, we had a fantastic idea. We picked out a pair of Land's End slippers for each of our immediate family members (which may not sound like a lot of slippers, but we have between us ten parents and siblings). We also each picked out a pair for ourselves. When the twelve pairs of slippers arrived in December, we wrapped them all up and put them under the tree. Even ours. We saved them until Christmas Eve, when we could no longer wait to try them on. They are amazing. I have been excited every year since then to get them out from under the bed and start the fall season with these red wonders. They are like a hug for my feet.

Last year I decided that the worst thing about going to work in the winter was that I didn't get to wear my slippers while I was there. So I picked out a pair of work slippers. (What? Nobody at your office wears work slippers? Weird...) They are black and very demure and I was CERTAIN that nobody ever even noticed that every day I would slip off my work shoes and leave them under my desk and put on my slippers for the day. I mean, I was wearing black pants- they should have been camouflaged, right? But one day I overheard someone make a comment about "Lauren's slippers" and I knew my secret was not so secret. And I kept right on wearing them. When I finally packed up my office to leave that job, the box I took home on the very last day contained a plant, one picture, chapstick, and my slippers.

I'm not exactly sure how the two pairs are going to coexist at home this winter, but I sure am glad to have options.