Confessions of a shopaholic...

I'm writing this while sitting on the floor in my very cluttered bedroom, while bidding frantically on a Topshop jacket on eBay... I have come to the realisation that I have issues... Or even ‘ish-shoes’... In regard to shopping... They have come to a head this week, well right now to be honest... As I sit looking at the laundry that is waiting to be put away, the shoes wondering why they have been discarded, millimetres away from their boxes - but not quite inside, emails that are waiting to be opened, toiletries looking for lids and projects waiting for completion... I realise that something must be done... By me... The past few evenings have been a whirlwind of neglected duties... Other then putting mini-me to sleep and eating (which has been done in front of the computer) I have done nothing but sit on my beautiful MacBook and trawl through website, after website of clothes shoes and bags.... HELP!!

Twitter has been unable to distract me, phone calls have gone unanswered, TV programmes unwatched, Haagen Dazs uneaten (this is what worries me the most), fingernails unpainted and hair un-brushed, as I sit in front of my laptop in a clothing, bag and shoe induced coma. I fall into bed weary and blurry eyed in the early hours of the morning. With the satisfying glow of accomplishment… A job well done. This is not normal... It can't be normal; do I have no self-control? Errrr...

Asos, Topshop, Warehouse, Office, Mango, Irregular Choice, All Saints, Zara and others that were found along the way, but none so addictive or all consuming as eBay... None so treacherous, perilous or hazardous as eBay... The high I get from bidding and winning on eBay must come a close second to gambling. I'm sure the ridiculously, excessive excitement I endure is similar to that of a hyperactive child. I am currently bidding on a jacket and I am tense, anxious, and slightly panicky as if performing naked on stage in front of thousands, with full knowledge that I can't sing or dance or even speak for that matter... HELP! This week I promised myself I would have early nights Mon-Weds as i'm out the rest of the week. To the best of my knowledge shopping online from the comfort of your bed (or in my case floor in corner beside bed) does not constitute an early night. Nor is it a normal way to spend 3 evenings. So I am making a call of action. An intervention if you like. For myself... They say admitting you have a problem is the first step right? Well i'm admitting it. To you. Hi. Yes, you. "I am PurpleRamblings and I have a problem". There I did it. I'll be back in a sec, just have to check the progress of my jacket... So, back to the intervention. If you've read my blog before you'll be aware of my challenges, if not check them out. I failed the 5 fruit a day one miserably by the way. But I digress. I challenge myself starting the 1st of May 2013 to no shopping… (Until the end of each month and then a budget will be set) Except food and toiletries.

No buying of shoes, bags, clothes, hairbands, earrings, cd's, iphone or blackberry cases, make-up, socks, dvd’s, anything... Nothing. Nada. Naught. Zilch. It shall be hard. I shall be tempted. I shall have withdrawal. I shall cry for ASOS and eBay. I shall talk myself into buying that thing that I must have and for some reason or other doesn't count and then I shall talk myself out of it. I shall give my debit/credit cards to a trusted third party. I shall avoid window-shopping. I shall be depressed. I shall once again find time to eat Haagen Dazs. I shall mourn the weekly parcels I will no longer receive. And I shall wait excitedly for the postman to deliver all the delicious parcels I have ordered the past three days and will be ordering until 30th April ☺

Ish-Shoes Part 2...

Today one of my nearest and dearest quite innocently asked to borrow a pair of shoes...

Not a big deal, people do it all the time... Right?

She sent the request in a bb message and my automatic response was "of course, which ones?"

So why didn't I type that? I didn't type anything... I went into a state of panic and just stared at the message getting hotter and hotter, while my train of thought became more and more random and increasingly erratic.

Hundreds of 'what if's?' dive bombed me, accompanied by images of scuffed suede, red wine stains, shoe prints, broken heels, fraying laces and other such trauma. Things that were totally out of her control and could happen while I was out in said shoes, attacked my subconscious. A sense of fear and dread settled around me and it was all I could do not to burst into tears. I thought of reasons I couldn't lend them, athlete's foot, verucca's... None of which I have I hasten to add.

I became a tortured Gollum/Smeagol character... Battling it out with myself.

"She can borrow my shoes... Of course she can..."

"No she can't... She really can't..."

"Why can't she? They're just shoes"

"They're aren't just shoes... No way, no lending"

"Of course she can..."

"She can't, she really can't, I want to let her but I can't"

"It'll be fine she can borrow the shoes"

"No I can't do it, I can't lend her my shoes"

I readily lend clothing, money, car, even on occasion mini-me and had obviously thought shoe lending would come with the same ease... Obviously not... I began to run through other pairs of shoes and then other friends, to see if the fear was shoe or person specific. Turns out it isn't. It applies to all shoes and all people...

Remember Joey in Friends shouting "Joey doesn't share food!!"

Well it turns out that PURPLERAMBLINGS DOESN'T SHARE SHOES!!

Sorry.... I'm shame faced and embarrassed, but at least it's out there and everyone knows now...

But I can't be the only one can I? Do you panic over the thought of lending shoes to friends? Or do you hand them over without a second thought?

Oh well... Just another notch to be added to my crazy lady in purple belt, one step closer every day...

Here is the offending article.

So Hot Right Now...

If you've been following for a while you may have seen my wishlist... If you haven't here it is http://tinyurl.com/66zlkls

These shoes came off my wishlist and I HAVE THEM!!!

And I got them for half price... Whooo Hooo!!

I saw them when browsing and "someone" said i'd be a fool to pass them by, so I didn't.

Shoe-shell-shock

Picture Credit: kittydoll67

It has been 6 days, 12 hours, 27 minutes and 56 seconds since "it" happened and I finally feel ready to talk about it...

*Takes deep breath, composes self*

Sorry I thought I was ready, this is gonna be harder then I thought.

It was a Friday, it was quite mild, I had been out, builders had been round, a discovery had been made. A box had been opened, something had been found, panic had set in, whispers had gone round...

"Who’s gonna tell her?"

"Not me"

"I can't"

"She’ll be distraught"

"Someone has to"

"Ok I will"

A worried, anxious looking face approaches me; a hand is placed on my shoulder, a rub, a pat, a squeeze, a sorry smile...

"Sooo.... there was a pipe leaking outside.... the window ledge you had stacked your erm shoe boxes in has been affected.... it's erm kinda damp, some of the boxes got a little bit ruined, the shoes were.... *ahem* A little bit wet"

Cue heart sinking, floor moving, walls rotating, hot, sweaty, dizzy feeling

No-one is making eye-contact with me, my voice is a high pitched whisper that belongs to someone else "what do you mean... wet?"

"Well, they must've got wet as they appear to be, well, you know, slightly dampish looking, go and have a look, it's not that bad"

Again with the high-pitched whispering voice from unknown “slightly dampish looking” what the hell does that mean?

The walk downstairs is dreamlike, the 14 steps, become a long, windy spiral staircase of epic proportions with the words “wet”, “dampish”, “shoes” floating in and out of my consciousness.

I get to the room, boxes on the floor, one on the top, lid slightly raised... A pair of Office shoes, the ones I bought when I was pregnant, my yummy mummy out on the town, laden with post-bump memories shoes... Are.... GREEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNN!!!!

My heart is beating so fast I feel faint, I back out of the room holding onto the wall as I go so as not to fall over, sit on bottom step head between knees trying not to hyperventilate... Brown paper bag, brown paper bag. Words are dive-bombing me, cartoon-style... Consciousness is trying to elude me…

I am shaky and nauseous, tears prick at my eyes. I can't bring myself to go back into the room, the possible devastation is too great to even contemplate... Hundreds of pounds worth of ruined, irreplaceable, invaluable, sentimental, beautiful, beautiful, shoes. Yearned for, owned, broken in, loved… Leather and suede, patterned and plain, pointed and rounded, knee highs and ankles, straps and courts, wedges and stilettos, lace, buckles, zips and bows… Ruined... I am overcome, inconsolable, unresponsive.

I don’t know how long I sit there in the vacant grey mist of sorrow…

Eventually someone ventures downstairs to take a look…

Only to find that the general disorder and devastation that chooses to follow me around like a travellers rucksack, coupled with my perfectly honed, but unintentionally lackadaisical way of never returning things to their rightful place had resulted in all but 2 of the shoe boxes being empty...

Panic over!!! Chaos reigns supreme!!! Oh yea!!

“No woman needs more than one pair of shoes. But when it comes to shoes and women, the word ‘need’ doesn’t make any sense.” - Alicia Muñiz (shoe collector, designer, and founder of Comme il Faut)

I Don't Care!!

Today I had a convo with a friend that went something like this:

Him: Do u like my shorts?
Me: Not particularly
Him: Why not? What's wrong with them?
Me: I just don't like them
Him: Well I really like them
Me: That's good as they're yours
Him: Fine then, just so you know I hate those flowery shoes that you always wear
Me: Ok
Him: Actually I hate all your shoes
Me: That's fine, I like them and to be fair I don't care if you like them or not.
Him: Storms off muttering under his breath

What the hell!!!

Was I wrong to admit I didn't like his shorts? Should I just have said yes to placate him? But most of all... Why did he care so much?? He supposedly bought the shorts because he liked them, so why be so concerned with someone else's opinion?

Why do people always seek approval from others?

I am often told "don't like your shoes/top/hair etc..." Am I bothered?? Errr... Nah

I saw them, I liked them, I bought them, I done my hair (or not as the case often is) and I like it... And even more then all of that is the fact that I couldn't care any less than I actually do about what anybody else may or may not think. As long as I am happy with it and comfortable enough to wear it then it's a go.

I've been called eccentric, left, kooky, kitsch and a plethora of other terms that pretty much amount to me being slightly strange or weird, but i'm happy with me and in the long run that's all that matters isn't it??

Or am I wrong? Should I be seeking to please others with my hair, clothing, shoe choices??

Ish-Shoes... My favourites of the moment

I was tagged, exactly a month ago *hides face in shame at time it's taken to respond* by the lovely teawithonesugar to share 7 pairs of my favourite shoes. Almost as hard as choosing my favourite songs, which I agonised over for days, but i've narrowed it down to my favourite shoes of the moment... Still not easy, but easier-ish. Lol

I don't think there's any order as such, and I was being really lazy, so some are photos I actually took on my trusty BB (picture quality, sadly better then my iphone) and others are images i've stolen off the internet :-/

So here goes....


Winter Boots by Kickers..
No-one believes these are Kickers, I guess they're not really in the style you expect from them. I have only very recently put these back in the cupboard, quite upsetting considering it's mid-June. I love them, have had them for about 5 years and always get asked where they're from... I love them even more because they are the only pair in this colourway, I know this because I painstakingly dyed them with a bottle of brown dye and an old toothbrush. They were totally beige before and for some reason seemed to glow in the dark... Lol

Military Boots by River Island
These boots have replaced the ones above, and are perfect in this bi-polar spring/summer/not-sure what's going on weather. Fine for not so warm days, fine for rainy days, fine with jeans or with a dress and I know they'll be my festival staple (I must be the only person that doesn't own wellies)...


Peep-toes by H&M
I initially bought the leopard print ones for my trip to Dubai last month. They were so comfy and versatile (can be worn with or without tights, and to work or to the park) that when I came back I bought them in all the colours available. They probably won't last me 5 years like my boots above, but at £8 I can't really complain and they'll do fine for the "summer"...


Rifts by Nike
These are my "weekend" trainer, going to the park, anytime, lazing about, converse, but not actually converse type trainer. You've probably noticed a trend in me buying the same shoe in various colours, one more below - lol. When I first got these I was ridiculed (it was 1999) but now everyone is wearing them. They are so easy comfy and can be chucked in the washing machine. The socks are an absolute nightmare though and I do not recommend them...


Ballerina style shoe by Office
I initially bought the red ones, when I was at University, they were really expensive at the time £45 and I remember having my last £50 and having to have those shoes (I think a phonebill was neglected that month). I remember going back for the black ones a few months later at the expensive of some other boring utility - lol...


Blue patent brogues by ASOS
I bought these last year in the ASOS sale for £12 and I love them. I have been told "they are very you, but I couldn't get away with them" I absolutely love them and people are constantly staring at my feet when I wear them. Especially as I tend to roll my trousers up, just to make sure they are displayed to their full...

Abigail by Irregular Choice
These shoes I fell in love with at first sight. Shoes that must be worn with a skirt or rolled up trousers, so as not to dull the shine. I have also been told of these "I couldn't wear them, but they suit you"... Beginning to wonder what that actually means, I hear it quite a lot. I had to show the soles as well, as I think they are fabulous :-) I have noticed that this is the only pair of heels, this is by no means a reflection of my collection as I have loads. Even though at 5ft 9" I don't really need to be an taller...





I'm a bit of a wall flower really, could think of nothing worse then being centre of attention, but love for my shoes to be centre stage :-)

The Wishlist....

These are the things I would like my Fairy Godmother, Tooth Fairy, Genie type entity (otherwise known as MrRamblings or 'babe' according to mini-me) to "suprise" me with in order for this month to end well... In no particular order.

1. A fully grey short-hired domestic cat. Stripes or spots of any size or colour will not be tolerated. I had a fully grey cat called Jasper, that was my baby before the baby came along. Sadly he was put to sleep last year... And I want a new one. I would buy him a teal collar and he would be the most pampered house cat ever. 2. Swarovski black crystal ring. Needs no explanation. It's a nice ring and I want it. The end. 3. Irregular Choice 'Driving Bananas' shoes. I drive. Don't really like banana's, but I do like banana flavoured things. And I realised this weekend when my feet and legs quit working for me in an act of rebellion against the constant high shoe wearing that the only flat shoes I own are Converse or Ugg boots. As good a reason as any other that I could think of, other then... Because I want them.

4. Nissan Figaro. I lurve, lurve, lurve and want, want, want this car. I can see myself driving through the countryside, top down with a scarf tied round my head, floating in the wind Isadora Duncan style, obviously without the death by strangulation part. I would cover the seats with Liberty print fabric. And spray the body metallic teal. I promise I would service it every 6 months and never drive above 30mph, unless on the motorway or really empty roads with no cameras at night, I would never have road rage, so would never have to bang uncontrollably on the horn and therefore could instill a 'no swearing in the car rule' to preserve the quirky, retro car style ambience. Unless of course there was the absolute need to occasionally shout 'duck'.

5. Red & Pink bike with basket. I am usually the anti-pink and pink and red would usually set 'fashion faux pas' alarm bells ringing... Until this bike. Some how it works. I can picture myself in denim capri pants with my driving bananas shoes on (see above) zipping through Hyde or Richmond park with mini-me in tow, tooting our horns with fresh cut flowers in our baskets (what the hell era am I living in? Pollyanna eat your heart out).

6. Irregular Choice 'So Hot Right Now' shoes. I know I mentioned previously that I was slightly lacking in the sensible, flat, style footwear region. But. I. Don't. Actually. Think. I. Can. Go. On. Without. These. Shoes. In. My. Life. That is all.

Ok, so maybe expecting them all this month is a bit much, but i'm sure 4 out of 6 isn't too much to ask for... Is it?? And anyway the saying goes 'If you don't ask, you don't get' :-)

The shoe cast system...

Mini-me has grown out of all the fabulous size 9 shoes I bought her over the past few months... These have consisted of but were not limited to:

1. Navy Blue Tribal ugg style boots (which were greatly admired and sort after by mothers and teachers alike at nursery).
2. Beige side tie ugg style boots, I initially bought a size 9 which seemed to be too small until I bought the size 10 which fell off one evening on the way home from school, it turned out she just didn't like them and found excuses ie: they're too tight, my feet hurt etc... so she didn't have to wear them. I now have 2 pairs, neither of which can be returned as they were both worn...
3. Beige square toed boots with little embroidered pink flowers on the side, which she named 'the clunkies' as they had a tiny wedge/heel bit which was neither a wedge nor a heel really as she is only 3 and I would never do that, but they made a clunky noise, and I wished they had them in my size so we could wear our clunkies together.
4. Black and Yellow Pastry trainers, highly sort after in Hip Hop circles as they are made by the daughters of none other then the Rev Run himself from Run DMC (HipHop royalty don't you know).
5. A pair of shoes that vanished whilst moving, but she neither liked nor wore them so i'm guessing she hid them and various pairs of slippers and flip flops.

I liked every single one of these shoes and if they made them in my size I would happily have dressed mini-me like a mini-me and we would have ‘clunkied’ our days away... But alas it is time for new size 10 shoes and here is where I reach my dilemma... Mini-me has reached a milestone of sorts, she has started to develop her own sense of, not so much 'style' but a desire to wear certain things and not others and to have the same things as her friends... Woe is me!! All her friends have shoes bought from 'start-rite the wrong way' and 'one giant leap into clarks' type shops and I cannot bear them. Worse still they have LELLI KELLY shoes. When she came home and said 'mummy I want Lelli Kelly shoes like Evelina' it was all I could do not to burst into tears.

Many a blissful day has been passed trawling websites for amazingly cute original shoes, (I very rarely see other children in the same shoes as her and always get asked where they are from) without over-dosing on pink, ribbony, flowery style acoutrements that seem to infiltrate the factories of every girls shoe maker. Her little tootsies have been kitted out in some of the most fabulous shoes.... From silver kickers, to black mary janes with white butterflys, red converse with diamante's at the front, classic adidas nizza’s, double tongued converse, red mary jane's with white flowers, beautifully crafted blue and green buckle my shoe sandals, patterned espadrilles with ribbon ties.... The list goes on and on and on a bit more... But these were all my choice, through my desire for my child to experience only the best that footwear could offer. And now she wants to stamp on everything I have been trying to teach her, the education her feet have known up until now will not prepare them for the distress they will experience at the hands of the pink, sugary, flowery, fairy style extravaganza that errupts volcano style onto Lelli Kelly shoes. The princess, diamante style happy ever after, rainbow world of teddy bears and pom poms has infiltrated the elf and the shoemakers and made it’s way onto the high street… But this is what she has asked for, in order to fit in with the other children in her class (I am giving this as the reason rather then the fact that she may actually like them herself, because she couldn’t possibly? Could she? Has she learnt nothing in 3 years of fabulous footwear?)

Do I give in to MY desire for the adults to swoon at MY choice of classic, fabulous, painstakingly chosen shoes at the risk of my child being made a social outcast in Nursery School 2? Or do I give in to HER desire to be accepted by HER peers and have the footwear coveted by 3 year olds the world over? I cannot make this decision alone...

I could be setting my daughter up to be shunned by her peers for having footwear desired only by adults with no fairy dust or fantasy flower throw up anywhere in sight, but on the other hand I could be setting her up to know, love and understand all there is to love about a fabulous pair of shoes, which will bode her well in the future... HELP!!