From deep within my sole

About a year ago, I swallowed my pride and bought a pair of shoes from Target.

That was a big moment for me. Back when I lived in New York, I not only would never have considered Target as a shoe source, I would never have considered buying anything less than a designer pair, as my job in the fashion industry ensured that those types of things mattered.

But these were the cutest pair of shoes, and almost as importantly, they were comfortable! Oh and almost (almost!) as important as that, they were cheap! I spent $25 and got the most, adorable pair of metallic wedges that earned me compliments nearly every time I have worn them. Which was very many times indeed, as not only were they cute and comfortable and embarrassingly inexpensive, they were shockingly well made! Score one for Lori the Shoe Snob who walked out of Target with her tail between her legs, but my goodness, weren't my legs just to die for in these fabulous new wedge heels!

So, with spring in the air, I optimistically picked up a new pair of canvas wedges at Target a few weeks ago. Not to replace the others, but at $25, a girl can afford options. These were cute daytime espadrilles that could maybe transition into night, but more importantly, because of the closed-toe, they would serve as a mid-season cure-all to take me from platform boots to open-toed sandals. The ribbon at the top worried me a bit, because I wasn't sure it would stay tied, but I figured that, for the price, I could be a walking experiment.

It turned out that staying tied wasn't the problem, but staying attached to the shoe was. I walked out of the office at lunch today, and I literally "walked out" of my left shoe. The ribbon stayed tied around my ankle, but it pulled out of the seam in the back where it had been (rather poorly) sewn in. When I got back to my desk I considered my options, and decided the staple gun would suffice until I could get home and sew the ribbon back in the seam. That was effective for about five minutes, or at least until I got up to go to bathroom, when one of the staples found it's way out of the grosgrain ribbon, into the sole of my shoe, and promptly into the ball of my foot. That felt awesome. Kept me on my toes, one might say.

But then I remembered that, as a hotel amenity supplier, we have countless boxes of sewing kits in our office. It only took me about 5 minutes to sew the ribbon back in place, and I felt quite proud of myself as the shoe held itself together for the rest of the day.

It's too bad that as I walked into the gym tonight, the ribbon on the right shoe decided to do the exact same thing.