Life After Heels

A few months back we went out with friends and I went ahead and wore the cute heels that I love to pieces. I figured since we'd be sitting at dinner and not walking around much I could get away with it.

Several hours of sitting later oh how wrong my thinking had been. My hips, knees, and back just will not tolerate heels any more. Since I'd rather be able to run pain free (and live life in general as pain free as possible) I gave all but one pair of heels away.

I  just had to keep these! I may only wear them once a year and may have to pack flats to change into, but I love these shoes, and they were a gift so I just have to keep them.  

After that night out I vowed to only wear flats/shoes that don't hurt my body. Which left me with only a few choices for several months. I'm sad to admit that I wore running shoes almost all the time while searching for cute flats that would work and be fashionable. I've slowly been adding shoes that work for me here and there, and have been focusing on options that have a cool or unexpected color or detail to add visual interest.

It may come as a surprise to those that know me that I turned to cowboy boots to add an interesting look to my shoe wardrobe. While I grew up very much a country girl in boots I have not lived that lifestyle in a very long time. The city got into the girl for sure and I honestly don't remember the last time I had boots on. I had to laugh when Dad was looking at my wish list and had to call and verify that boots were really what I meant to put on there.

Boots, specifically cowgirl boots, have so many color and design options, and stitching that add visual interest, and I remember that they were comfortable and long lasting. If you take care of them and treat the leather they will last forever! You may need to have them re-soled, but they won't fall apart on you and become even more comfortable the more you wear them.

So I added a few pairs to my wish list to contemplate, and ended up with a beautiful pair for Christmas! Thank you Dad!

I love my Eight Second Angel boots (they are on sale right now)! They are the perfect color to wear with a ton of stuff in my closet, and are so comfortable! It was dry out yesterday so I ventured out in them, and felt so sassy! I'm picking up the boot care products I need today so I can get them ready for rain, because I plan on wearing them all the time! Especially now that Sky and I both have boots!

She was all about our boots and matching mommy yesterday! Honestly the best shoe option for a tot is leather boots. They are beyond cute and indestructible. Those purple boots have been in the rain, mud, snow, and been peed on several times (accidents happen) but they are holding up and still look great.

I'm just really thankful to have boots that have cool detailing and punch up my footwear options. I'm not going to lie, heels can put the perfect finishing touch on an awesome outfit, and I was sad about being limited to flats. But, these boots make it all better, and I'm building outfits around them so I can wear them all the time!

Call me a poser if you want, I won't be roping cattle or busting broncos in them, but I am going to grocery shop, and take Sky to classes & lessons like I mean it! :)

A few other options I've added to my shoe wardrobe since getting rid of the heels...

P.S. Going totally flat can be bad as well, so I use inserts as needed/appropriate. All of these were sourced at outlets/discount stores except the green ones, those are from Target. 

There is a sexy, exciting shoe life after heels! My back, knees, and hips thank me for changing my ways.

From The Kitchen and Other Stuff!

From The Kitchen:

Two things I'm sort of obsessed with right now.  I put one or the other on pretty much everything I eat lately. 

It  has to be the Buffalo flavor of Frank's, although I have the regular Frank's in the kitchen as well.  I put it on eggs, avocado toast, tacos, nachos...basically anything that needs a little kick. 

 

I love anything Penzeys!  Their spices, rubs, herbs etc are the best.  End of story.  The Mural of Flavor may be my favorite thing though.  If I'm not putting Frank's on it then I'm putting Mural of Flavor on it!  It's especially good on Trader Joe's White Cheddar macaroni and cheese.  Sky likes hers plain, but I like to sprinkle on some Mural of Flavor to make it more grown up. 

I received a Penzeys gift box for Christmas last year and have been in love ever since.  I know you can order on line, and they have a store front in Seattle.  I really want to visit the store in Seattle and see what other wonderful stuff they have! 

Other Stuff:
Fleet Feet Diva Night was so much fun!!!  I met a couple of awesome ladies at the wine hour before hand.  Totally excited for the referral to a chiropractor that adjusts feet and tib/fib!  He works on lot's of runners/athletes, and best part is he is in Lakewood!!!  Can't wait to make an appointment.

Amy, one of the girls I "knew" from Tuesday Night run group, but had never met, was super awesome!  Turns out there were several of us who all wanted the same shirt, thankfully we needed different sizes, since she paid her bill first she ran down to the store and snagged the size I needed and held on to it for me until I could pay my bill and get down there.  Good thing because my size/color were gone by the end of the night.

I LOVE my new Oiselle Flyte top! 

 

Best part is it goes perfectly with my new Athleta running tights (pictured above and below)!  I like color for sure, but the grey will go with all my running tights and all but 1 or 2 of the skirts.  I really like how long it is, and the sleeves have thumb holes which is a bonus feature that I love.

 

Close up of the detail on the pants.  There are reflective strips as well, and the pattern is repeated down by the ankles also.  There are also mesh vents at the back of the knee to help cut down on overheating. 

I'm so excited to have some updated cold weather gear.  I already cleaned out the old pants and tops that were smelly/stretched out/didn't work that great in the first place.  There are a few more tops on the bubble, but I'm going to give them one more run before tossing them.  

I may need to break out the  new top Sunday.  Last long'ish run before the last 1/2 of the summer and it looks like we will get rained on.  It will be my first run in true rain in 3 or 4 months!  I'm not sure I'm ready for running in the rain yet! 

I also won a hour Foot Zone Therapy session in the drawing last night!  I had to come home and look up what it even was! 

Zone Therapy is precise, directed pressure to the various “zones” of the feet. The Zone Therapy practitioner observes the foot and interprets the “messages’ it conveys through discoloration, texture and tenderness.  More info can be found HERE

I'm really looking forward to it.  It sort of reminds me of the Craniosacral Therapy (more info on that HERE) I had after my concussion.  I wonder what the foot zone person will think of the nasty blister scars I have?!   

A couple of non-running purchases, because life isn't all about running.  

My skin needs a little help, especially with all the time it spends covered in salty sweat.  I have been looking for a papaya based treatment for a long time.  I had one I liked but they went out of business years ago, so was excited to be able to order this from Birchbox.  I had some points saved up to use so thought I would give this a try.

Fall makes me want to wear boots.  All. The.Time. (And drink salted caramel mochas.)  I had a pair I wore 3 or 4 times a week, but being clumsy I had scratched the toes up pretty bad catching them on stairs or what not.  They were not fixable so I've been looking for a replacement pair all summer.  Finally ordered these from MakeMeChic.com.  They are a dark brown color, the picture almost makes them look black.

 

I have always had really good luck with makemechic.com  The prices are crazy good.  I know the risk with that is the quality can be crazy bad, but so far I have been really happy.  Since I'm not all that hard on my shoes they last a long time.  I have had my black ones from them for 3 or 4 years now, and the ones I just replaced I had for 3 or 4 years.  Not bad for boots under $30!  Thank you Dad! 

I also have some new cookbooks on the way that I can't wait to share recipes from.  Get ready for all things Paleo!  It's a great GF/Dairy Free option for Mark.  There isn't anything in a Paleo diet that he can't eat, so I'm going to give it a try and see what we think! 

No Sky pics today...she has a nasty little cold going on and not fun to take pictures of right now. 

Questions for you:

What do you have planned for the weekend?
We did have a night out planned for a friends birthday, but with Sky being sick I'm staying home and Mark is going to represent for us.  I don't mind though because I was out last night, and I like being able to cuddle her to sleep when she is sick. The rest of our weekend plans have been cancelled as well except for my Sunday morning run, not going to cancel that!    

Do you go to the State/County Fair? 
I haven't been to ours in 10ish years.  I don't like the hassle of the crowds, parking miles away, $$ to get in, the smell of fair food makes me sick, as do the rides.  But, Sky would love all the animals.  We are running out of time though, so I think it's a pass this year for us once again.

When do kids start sleeping with pillows? 
Sky still doesn't but was wondering if it would help to elevate her head a bit and make breathing easier when she is sick?