One small step

I give my beloved friend oodles of props for not only allowing my daughter to give her an acid green pedicure but to then to wear it proudly instead of calling it good practice and reaching immediately for the polish remover like I would have done.  There I am with my blinged-out sandals and orange nail polish.  Because the combination of those two things just screams "Don't look at me!  I loathe attention."  Right?  What?  

Those sandals were a big purchase for me.  Not because of their expense.  Obviously they aren't $500 FancyName sandals. Or are they...  No, no they're not.  I was looking for casual but not flip-floppy; comfy but not Birks.  I love my Birks!  They look terrible.  I still love them.  My daughter spotted these at Target and "Mom, your clothes are so boring"-insisted that I try them on.  My first reaction was "Ack!  That's a lot of bling!"  But then I realized they went  w a y  beyond just the giant sparkles.  Three different types of crystal [that probably deserves to be spelled with a K] plus round beads, oval beads, sunburst patterns and sequins.  The foot bed is a metallic silver but the straps, woohoo!  - we're talking metallic silver snakeskin-embossed man-made fabric.  So, while the idea of sparkle on my sandals isn't appealing because it seems excessive and attention seeking, the fact that they are completely over-the-top is something I can totally embrace.  Picture this:  there I am, walking down the street in my simple black simple outfit with maybe something white and simple and simple makeup and plain-Jane hair and simple jewelery and then you [doesn't have to be you you but you know what I mean] see my sandals and Whamo!  You [again, not necessarily you you]  thought you had me all figured out but you weren't expecting THAT were you!  Obviously your reaction is only happening in the altered reality inside my head.  The sandals are really just grey and glass which is like smoke and mirrors which makes them nearly invisible.  You probably didn't notice them at all.  Which I find quite reassuring.  And they are quite comfy.