Who REALLY owns walking shoes?

So, my family is about to depart on a week long adventure to Europe. I have much to do in preparation for this trip and I really haven't done any of it. It is kind of stressing me out. We leave this Saturday. For all those that know me, or for those that don't (you will now learn), that I like to plan things out maliciously. I don't like to be unprepared for anything. Especially when it comes to the weather. If it rains, I will have my umbrella. If it is sunny, I will have my sunscreen. If it's cold, I will have a jacket. Therefore, I have Weather dot com on a continuous internet stream that refreshes every 2 minutes, with alerts that "bing" every time there is a change in the weather forecast and my weather day planner nicely nuzzled in my purse for me to take notes in. Ok, not really. But that did give me an idea....

Not only do I worry about the weather, but I worry what shoes I am going to wear. Now normally, I like to plan my outfits around what shoes I am going to wear. Tall shoes require longer pants. Shorter pants require shorter shoes. You see where I am going with this... the list could go on forever. So, knowing that I had this trip coming up I started to worry (yes, worry) about what shoes I would wear in Europe. It wasn't necessarily a worry like, "Which shoes will look best". It was more of a worry like, "Which shoes aren't going to leave my feet a bleeding mess at the end of the day?" Yes, I would throw fashion to the wind if it meant I had comfortable shoes.

I took a look at my shoe rack and thought, "yea, none of these are going to work." I find it difficult to purchase any shoe that has a rubber sole. It's just not in me. I can't do it. I feel like a boy if i don't hear the "click, click" of a stiletto as I walk.


With that said, I took to the internet in a search for a comfortable, yet stylish walking shoe. I spent days visiting Zappos. I even summoned the advice of my friend Marianne and would send her links to the shoes that I liked. I finally decided on this shoe:


Zappos is fabulous and has FREE overnight shipping. Awesome. It was like Christmas morning when I got home from work and saw the package nicely hidden behind my flower pot on the front porch. Gosh those UPS men are considerate. Anyway, i torn into the box relishing in the cutest of my new shoes. I immediately put them on. After reading online about them (another clue as to my OCD of being prepared), they didn't get the best reviews. I was determined to be not believe any of the "these are horribly uncomfortable" reviews. However, within 5 minutes, my feet were already killing. "I don't have the time, or the patience for that matter, to break these shoes in." I promptly returned them to their box.

I finally decided on a new pair of shoes. They have been ordered, delivered and wore once to assure safety and comfort. My shoes might scream "AMERICAN TOURIST" - but at least I will be comfortable.

Now please, no comments on how many shoes I have. In my opinion, it is not enough. I really do think that I need one more pair of black, pointy toed, stiletto pumps. But this time, the heal will be 2 inches, instead of 3. And that my friend, is how I rationalize 15 different pairs of black shoes.