[Shoe Lookbook] Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Hi there!

How was everyone's weekend?  For me, Sunday was spent relaxing and catching up on some shows (Fringe, Awake, Modern Family, New Girl, to name a few...), doing laundry, and going to Costco (In old Black Suede Birkenstock Sandals; probably about 20 years old!  Sorry, no photos of that!).

Saturday was busy with church in the morning, then to the mall to fix my iPhone (stress!), and lunch at BJ's Resturaunt, with the husband and youngest daughter, while we waited for an appointment time at the Apple store.  Thank goodness my phone didn't die, as I thought it had, and we came home to complete the download on our computer.  Luckily my husband and I were still able to make it for the evening orchestra concert, which was amazing!  We went out for Fish & Chips, and ate that, among other greasy, deep-fried items, with my BCFF ('C' for Caucasion, cause she calls me her BFFF, 'F' for Filipino, although she too can be my BFFF, where 'F' is for FUN - I just thought of that!  I know, I'm too silly...)

Shoe Lookbook -

Left to Right:  Olive Sandals from Urban Outfitters, Midnight Blue Peep-toe  Pumps by Marc Fisher from DSW, Black Platform Wedge Sandals from ShoeMint

Paisley Dress (The Something Old is this Sweet Pea Sleeveless Dress I bought about 9 years ago for my 20th High School Reunion.  I ended up wearing a J.Crew Brown & Orange Floral Slip Dress instead with Bebe shoes and I still have both as well!) -

1st Look, worn to church (The Something Blue is the Marc Fisher Shoes in Midnight Blue found at DSW & the Teal Trench from Old Navy) -

2nd Look, worn to the mall & lunch (The Something Borrowed are the Olive Sandals from Urban Outfitters, loaned to me from my oldest daughter.  Thanks for the recommendation!) -

I pulled the dress down around my waist to wear it as a skirt...aren't I innovative AND cool?!

Shirt:  Forever 21, Belt: Gap, Sunglasses:  Remember, my no name ones from Monterey Bay!

Lunch...I couldn't really eat cause I was worried about my phone!

3rd Look, worn to a casual evening concert & dinner (The Something New are my Black Platform Wedge Sandals from ShoeMint (my first pair)! -

Jacket: Benneton, Flower: Gap

I really should stand straight...

"I feel dumb...how am I suppose to pose?" 

"Okay, fine..."

"Is this good?"/"Okay, I'll pose & keep still..."/"I'm done!"

Dinner...I was STARVING by this time as I didn't eat breakfast & not much lunch cause I thought I had killed my phone...I know, I'm weird...

Well that was my weekend!  Hope you had fun along with me and as usual, leave any comments or suggestions on my blog site.  Thank you for being a part of my journey!

See you later!

Cheryl

[Sole Inspiration] Married Life is for Losers?

Hi there!

Happy rest day!  I know that at first glance, this blog looks like a style/fashion blog.  It is, but as I have said, I believe that shoes inspire fashion and life in general - taking us on a journey.  Even though I love fashion, who I am is more than that...so here is part of my journey.

When my eldest daughter recommended this article to me, I sort of cringed when I read the title.  Thoughts like, "Oh my, have I totally turned her off to marriage?" or, "She thinks we're losers!" flashed through my mind. I am so proud of my daughter; she is so wise for her age and I learn so much from her.  When I read this article, it truly touched my heart, and even though I "know" all these things, how it was presented just clicked with me.  I understood that in loosing, we can actually win in our marriages.

Marriage Is For Losers

When it comes to winning and losing, I think there are three kinds of marriages. In the first kind of marriage, both spouses are competing to win, and it’s a duel to the death. Husbands and wives are armed with a vast arsenal, ranging from fists, to words, to silence.  The second kind of marriage is ripe with winning and losing, but the roles are set, and the loser is always the same spouse...and in the process, both husband and wife are stripped of their dignity.

But there is a third kind of marriage. The third kind of marriage is not perfect, not even close. But a decision has been made, and two people have decided to love each other to the limit, and to sacrifice the most important thing of all—themselves. In these marriages, losing becomes a way of life, a competition to see who can listen to, care for, serve, forgive, and accept the other the most...to see who can give of themselves in ways that most increase the dignity and strength of the other.  These marriages form people who can be small and humble and merciful and loving and peaceful. 

Because we live in a culture in which losing is the enemy, we wake up to news stories about domestic disputes gone wrong. We fight to have the best stuff, in the best name brands, and when we finally look at each other at the end of the day, we fight, because we are trained to do nothing else...for the validating stamp of a world with one message: win.


In marriage, losing is letting go of the need to fix everything for your partner, listening to their darkest parts with a heart ache rather than a solution.  It’s being even more present in the painful moments than in the good times. It’s finding ways to be humble and open, even when everything in you says that you’re right and they are wrong. It is forgiveness, quickly and voluntarily. It is knowing that your spouse will never fully understand you, will never truly love you unconditionally—because they are a broken creature, too—and loving them to the end anyway.        
  
Maybe marriage, when it’s lived by two losers in a household culture of mutual surrender, is just the training we need to walk through this world. Maybe we need to be formed in such a way that winning loses its glamour, that we can sacrifice the competition in favor of people. Maybe what we need, really, is to become a bunch of losers in a world that is being a torn apart by the competition to win. If we did that, maybe we’d be able to sleep a little easier at night, look our loved ones in the eyes, forgive and forget, and clap for the people around us.

Excerpted and paraphrased from  drkellyflanagan.  To read the complete article, click here.

Photo (left):  My husband and I in Spring 1984 at our "first date" during our college freshman year (Like the matching tie with the dress?  This is so old that "teal" is back in!  I have been seeing this color all over the place!  Oh and the wrist corsage...nice, isn't it?)   Photo (right): Me and my husband in December 2011 during a family cruise in the Caribbean. 

My husband and I have been married for almost 23 years now, and we have been through the first two types of marriage, and are now working on the third type.  I love how Dr.  Flanagan states that the third type of marriage is not perfect, but a decision has been made to love each other.

No matter who we are, we all have our issues, our "stuff", whether in marriage or just in life, but as a dear friend of mine said, "The past is in the past...".  We need to continue on; grow and learn, and find that joy and peace in whatever we believe in.

I hope that this inspired you to move forward through your journey, no matter what you have been through or what challenges you face.  Thank you for sharing this moment with me and I look forward to any comments or suggestions you may have for me.  Thank you for being part of my journey!

See you later!

Cheryl 

[ShOe Inspired] My Pinterest Addiction

Hi there!

Happy Friday to everyone!  Hopefully you have great weekend plans to do something fun or just relax from the week.  The weekend is a great time to hang out and pursue one of your hobbies, or catch up with any social networking, like Pinterest!

If anyone is on Pinterest, you know how engaging it can be...actually bordering on addiction.  It's like a "game" I play on my iPhone as my husband plays Bejeweled, or whatever that game is called. It's so easy to just scroll through things and pin them. I equate it to tearing out pictures from magazines that appeal to me, then saving them in a file, or pinning them up in my room when I was younger.

The neat thing about Pinterest is that it can be inspiring to look at things, such as recipes.  You can save the recipe, come back to the Pinterest site, look the recipe up, and make the dish. It also has beautiful photos of places all over the world and you can pin it while fantasizing about actually going there.  There are gardening tips and crafts that you can try; truly any hobby that you may or may not have.

For fashion or decor, you start to see a pattern of what your style and taste may be.  You may even be surprised at some things you are drawn to, so it is safer to pin it than it would be to actually buy it, especially if it happens to be pricey.  If one were to be so bold, it would be cool to buy some of these surprising and/or expensive picks, throwing caution to the wind.

Here are some shoe looks I was drawn to and pinned on "My Style" board.  It would be my luck that everything I saw was over $200...

I've noticed a lot of fluorescent and bright colors.  Of course, Christian Louboutin at $625.

So, so pretty!  Gucci at $850.

What a work of art!  Somehow, I like...  Rebecca Taylor at $325.

I have wanted a Tory Burch item.  Tory Burch at $250.

Even though these picks were quite pricey, I hope that you were inspired nonetheless.  And if you can afford these beauties, well that's awesome!  Just shoot me an email picture of them and how you wore them.  And if you can only dream, try to find a similar pair or at least keep pinning!  Let me know what you've pinned and leave me any comments or suggestions.  If you want, you can follow me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/ShoeAxis/ .  Thank you for being a part of my journey!

See you later!

Cheryl

[Life-Style Forum] Healthy Life-Style

Hi there!

Happy Thursday, which means it's almost Friday and the weekend!  Today I thought I would talk about healthy eating.  Since I work with individuals that have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes, as well as those that are obese, I spend a lot of my day counseling and talking about healthy lifestyle changes.

I try to practice what I preach by eating healthy and exercising.  I have just recently gotten into "Juicing" and it has made a difference in how I feel.  By no means am I a fanatic about it, but I have done this fairly consistently for the last couple of months.  I am also eating more fruits and vegetables and try to eat more whole foods versus processed foods.  I always have rarely eaten fast food or drank soda, since I pretty much drink water.

I do love food, I enjoy cooking (when I'm not exhausted and when the kitchen is clean), and I like to go out to eat (I'm a wanna be Foodie!).

Love my Soy Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks once in awhile, but hot water with fresh squeezed lemon is my daily early morning drink.

To make Green Lemonade, from Natalia Rose's book, "The Raw Food Detox Diet":  2 Fuji apples, 1 whole head of Romaine lettuce, 2 kale leaves, and 1 whole lemon (I add some fresh ginger when I have some).  They all go into my Breville Juicer for my daily juice. My friend (you know who you are!), told me about this book and the Green Lemonade. I'm going to officially name her my "Life-Style BFF" because we literally bond over food, fashion, and just about anything in life!

Top left:  Carotene Zing Recipe (my concoction):  3 carrots, 1 Granny Smith apple, 1 Fuji apple, 1/2 lemon or lime.  Top right:  Green Lemonade with 5 Kale leaves, Bottom:  Green Lemonade with 2 Kale leaves.

My Green Lemonade in a To-Go-Mug that I usually drink before I eat any breakfast.  Notice the shoes on my desk from my lovely Executive Director.  She gave them to me yesterday, and I LOVE them!  They are from "Just the Right Shoe" and are the Leopard Stiletto and the Zap! shoes.

Isn't she the BEST?!  Shoes:  Jessica Simpson, Outfit: ?)

This is my usual breakfast lately, unless I have an avocado with, yes, honey, and another fruit, usually a banana.  I try to have a large salad with some type of protein for lunch and a regular meal for dinner (I honestly fall apart during the weekend sometimes, but I try...)

I know that there is always discussion on whether vitamins and supplements are necessary, but I'm over 40 (so basically I'm tired and my bones creak), I have vitamin D deficiency, and I have a family history of osteoporosis (brittle bone disease).  Therefore, I take my Multi-Vitamin with Iron, Calcium with Vitamin D, extra Vitamin D3, Glucosamine Chondrotin, Vitamin B6 & B12, Folic Acid, and Omega-3 Capsule, even though I HATE taking pills!

Okay, so I am not above eating dessert, especially my favorite, Red Velvet Cupcakes!  My Executive Director brought this in today, of all days, when I am writing about healthy eating...oh well...as long as it's in moderation ;-).

Oh, and another weakness to my healthy lifestyle, Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates Macarons!  My kids introduced them to me and it was love at first bite.  My favorites are the salty caramel and poppy seed, and their chocolate chip cookies are the BEST!  Oh and GREAT hot chocolate - Classic American, European Sipping, and Oaxacan Spicy Hot, which is my favorite (now I want to go down there...)

So I had to tie this healthy eating post in with shoes, and here it is!  TOMS has a Natalia Rose Linen Ballet Flat (she is the author of "The Raw Food Detox Diet" I referred to earlier).  This is the best photo I could get, but if you look on the TOMS link, they are SO cute!  I am tempted...

So that's my typical workday diet.  Like I said, it is harder to control on the weekends.  I have been known to kill a whole bag of Lay's Kettle Cooked Sharp Cheddar Potato Chips, eat straight from a Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry's ice cream carton, or secretly eat a bag of Mini Chewy Sweet Tarts.

But as in life, we sometimes need to let loose a little (or a lot) and just enjoy ourselves.  Just remember to not feel guilty about it and get back on track!  I hope I gave you some good tips.  Feel free to comment or leave suggestions on my blog site.  Thank you for being a part of my journey!

See you later!

Cheryl

[Stylish Steps] Accessory Points

Hi there!

Accessories can be points of enhancement for our wardrobe, adding spice and character to an outfit. I am aspiring to do more accessorizing as I don't do enough of it!  Therefore, you may or may not have noticed that I am not the best at jewelry accessorizing outside of the basics. I'm not sure if it's my upbringing, with jewelry being a "no-no", or if it's just the practical side of me.

Banana Republic Necklace (Christmas 2011 Gift from my son)

I believed that the only accessories I needed were shoes, bags, and the occasional hat (yes, I grew up in the Lady Di era...).  I would rather spend my money on the actual clothes, as well as on the shoes & bags (more on bags next time), than spend it on jewelry.  Most of the jewelry I do have are gifts and even then, I have trouble putting them together with an outfit.

As I have gotten older and wiser, it finally has dawned on me that I can further mix & match my clothing if I had more jewelry. Plus, I just think jewelry can individualize a look and bring it to the next level of style.

So my next challenge for myself is to find and buy more jewelry, but to be as practical about it as I can be. For example, I saw on one of my favorite blogs, Drunk on Shoes, that they used a skinny belt wrapped a few times around the wrist to make a bracelet...nifty!

Photo from Drunk on Shoes website

Don't get me wrong. I will accept any and all jewelry gifts that come my way! I may even break down and buy something, but I need to figure out what I truly like and how to wear it.

Here are some things that have caught my eye.

Forever 21 Shimmer Flower Studs $1.50 www.forever21.com

House of Harlow 1960 Pyramid Spike Ring with Engraved Band with Labradorite Stone $35.00 www.zappos.com

J. Crew Gold Bangles $29.50 www.jcrew.com

Chan Luu Multichain Antique Necklace $66.99 (Sale from $105) www.zappos.com

Forever 21 Beaded Statement Necklace $8.80 www.forever21.com

Forever 21 Pressed Floral Knuckle Ring $6.80 www.forever21.com

Banana Republic Gold-tone Knot Earrings $39.50 www.bananarepublic.com

Banana Republic Tribal Mood Bracelet $45.00 www.bananarepublic.com

J. Crew crystal Starlet Earrings $35.00 www.jcrew.com

If anyone is a jewelry fanatic, I would appreciate any suggestions or comments. Even better, email me a picture with any jewelry looks that you love...I may even post some of them. This will be fun! Thank you for stopping by and being a part of my journey!

See you later!

Cheryl

[Life-Style Forum] Napa Valley: Food, Sweat, and No Tears

Hi there!

Hope you had a great weekend! It was a fun-filled, but tiring weekend in Napa Valley for me because of the Half Marathon event in Calistoga. Here are some of the highlights -

All the shoes I brought for Napa. Pretty light packing, wouldn't you say?

Left to right: Steve Madden Slippers, Jack Purcell Converse, Nike Free Run 2+, Matte Bronze Sandals from Off Broadway Shoes

Nor Cal BFF and I decided to have a late lunch at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena. We literally ran into my kids and ate lunch on the patio with them. We didn't even know they were there! (Remember, they left before us because we were so slow?)

Standing in front of Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in my "Comfort Uniform" T-shirt and Linen Pants.

Clothes: T-shirt - Gap, Pants - Elan, purchased from Nevaeh Boutique, Shoes - Off Broadway Shoes, Sunglasses - No Name Brand purchased at a boutique in Monterey Bay, CA a couple years ago, Bag - Coach

My shoes close up with my newly pedicured toes before the race! Also, love my linen pants because I HATE to iron, but they still look good, right? Oh and we also had to stop by Starbucks, as you can see from the bag in the background!

The food tasted as good as it looked.

While the kids went to see friends, we took a power nap. We then decided to go to the grocery store to get food for dinner.

Up and about early for race day!

Me with my son and daughter, numbers 2,3, &4!

Me with Nor Cal BFF, number 247. She obviously signed up after us!

Running along the Silverado Trail, it was a nice beautiful route, but unseasonably hot!

Vineyard along the Sliverado Trail.

All done! We were so happy with our medals and T-shirts, even though we were hot and sweaty!

After the race, we showered, had a late lunch, then went to Gott's Roadside because the kids wanted milkshakes!

Happy with their milkshakes (still kids at heart <3). Well earned after running their first half marathon! Congratulations! So proud of them!

Even though the race was difficult, with more heat than expected for this time of year, we all finished the race and were able to celebrate it without out any injuries or tears. We told our stories about the race to each other at lunch, because even though we had gone there together, we all ended up in different places.

As I was running the last 2 - 3 miles, I was hot, sweaty, and tired. I wanted it to just be over, but I had to keep going in order to finish. It seemed like forever and I felt like I would never get there. I knew that I was okay; I had no real pain or injury. I had to just keep my pace and take it, literally, one step at a time. So instead of focusing on my fatigue and the heat, I thought of crossing the finish line and decided to enjoy the beauty of the day and the encouragement shouted from the spectators.

In the end, I finished, and when I saw the finish line, I sprinted (well, I felt like I was) to the end. My son greeted me with a cup of Gatorade and my daughter came over too. I cheered Nor Cal BFF as she came in and got a picture of her crossing the finish line. What a relief and feeling of accomplishment we all felt after completing such a feat! We even started talking about our next race...maybe a half marathon relay?

What are your goals and accomplishments? Have you ever felt like giving up because of situations you weren't anticipating? Don't forget that we are all in this race of life and that you have your own unique experience and reaction to situations. What's important is that you keep your goal in mind. You have people cheering you along the way, people who will meet you at the end, and people that you need to cheer on and encourage until the end.

I hope you had fun! Please leave any comments or suggestions on my blog site. I am trying to catch up on reading the comments left last week and am grateful to those who are leaving kind words and encouragement. My goal is to respond to you all because your comments are truly appreciated!

Thank you for being a part of my journey!

See you later!

Cheryl