Genkek Goodies

If you follow my Facebook page and have read my 2nd last blog post you will know that recently Genkek had a shoe sale and that I happened to buy 4 pairs!

Like you, I get numerous emails everyday about sales, but I am so glad I took the time to open and read this email from Genkek describing their sale phrases like "Nothing over $50", "Clearance" and "Sale" really caught my eye and made my heart beat that little bit faster!

To make the sale that little bit sweeter Genkek also have free shipping on orders over $100.

Check out all the beauties I purchased! I only had to wait 4 business days from memory too.

Check out the detail on the heel! I think they are real jewels hehe.

These are beautiful, but due to my high arches I think I need to have them altered :(

Which are your favourite?

THE SALE IS STILL ON, CHECK IT OUT!!!

Grace xo

Sydney Surprise before 8am

Last week at work, a colleague mentioned to me that they had spied an interesting shoe store in Sydney whilst at a conference and splurged on 3 pairs! I was intrigued and as luck would have it I just so happened to have a conference of my own to attend in Sydney on Monday this week....yahoo!

I was running a tad late for my conference, but I still wanted to at least see this shoe store so I could check it out on my lunch break when it would be open. I was told it was in the underground area near Town Hall station, those of you that have been to Town Hall station would know that it veers off underground in many different directions each direction throwing you into a different shopping mall. I chose the Pitt Street "Galleries" exit and THERE IT WAS and OMG IT WAS ACTUALLY OPEN before 8am. I said to myself - "looks like I may be even a tad later to the conference hehe".

The name of the store is "Kagui" according to their Facebook page and website they have been operating in Sydney since 2001...I am so disappointed that I have only discovered them now :(

The shoes (heels and wedges) I liked seemed to range from about $50 - $100 which is very reasonable for a boutique store like this.

The shop assistant was very friendly and assisted with the sizing. There was also a 20% off full price shoe promotion and a 30% off second pair.

Check out what I managed to buy all before 8am on an Autumn morning in Sydney. I am so in love with them!!!

What do you think? Have you ever shopped at Kagui before?

Do yourself a favour and check out their online store if you cannot make it to one of their three stores across Sydney.

Grace xo

Melbourne Continues to Impress!

My husband and I traveled to Melbourne just after Christmas, the plan was:

• Go to the Boxing Day Cricket Test match 
• See Cats the musical 
• Road trip to the Great Ocean Road
• Eat lots and 
• SHOP!

Due to some outrageous bushfires around the Great Ocean Road and some woeful cricket by the West Indies team those two were off the list before we arrived. This only left us with Cats, Shopping and Eating lots - too easy!

You may recall from my previous visits to Melbourne, that I had two really positive shopping experiences (check them out here and here) and one negative. I can happily report that this visit was definitively of the positive variety and mainly because of a new shoe store I discovered called Genkek.

On the day we arrived, we set out to explore the locality and I stumbled across a very appealing shoe store in a dark arcade. I glanced in and thought instantly, "this will be one of those very expensive shoe shops" and "What is "Genkek"?", but then I noticed the huge sign saying "Minimum 50% off, maximum 70%" they were my kind of figures!!

I walked in, and instantly spied a pair of Silver Glitter Pointy Toed heels beneath a 70% off sign - OMG. Tried them on and put them aside to purchase. Then I wandered around, my eyes bulging, with one shoe off ready to pounce. After about a 5 minute walk around the store, I walked out with the one pair for $21, a membership to the Genkek Club for a further 5% discount, the address of the Flagship store a few blocks away and a massive grin on my face.

We then arrived at the Flagship store and it was a real "Hallelujah" moment, it was beautifully fit out, no clutter, lots of light, lots of sparkles and lots of unique shoes. Check out the pics below. I purchased another two pairs from the Flagship store and flagged another pair or two to check out later in the trip and decide then whether to buy.

Genkek is great for the following reasons:

• The prices are very reasonable - even before the huge discounts I experienced.
• The uniqueness of the shoes.
• The mish mash of colours used, every other shoe store is using a bland colour palate at the moment.
• The friendliness of the staff I dealt with on my 3 visits to the stores.
• They have an online store - with a massive sale right now!
• Free shipping within Australia on orders over $100.

Genkek needs to address the following 'cons':

• The sizing is a tad confusing - but the staff can obviously help.
• There are currently only 2 stores in Australia and both happen to be only a block apart in Melbourne CBD.

As you can see the Pros far outweigh the Cons. Do yourself a huge favour and jump on the Genkek bandwagon asap and throw them a like on Facebook!

Check out all my purchases below - which are your favs? All of them purchased for about $100 in total. AMAZING!

 

Lovely shopping bags

Purple Sparkly with Rhinestones embedded in the heel.

Pink Sparkly Ombre with Bead embedded in the heel.

Silver Sparkly with Rhinestones embedded in the heel.

Very light weight, elastic walking / casual shoes. I purchased one pink pair and one multi coloured pair,

Love this silhouette with the Melbourne skyline!

Grace xoxox

PS I have asked Genkek via Facebook for a definition of the store name and how to pronounce it!

 

 

Stretching Out For My Birthday

I am abit late with my annual birthday post, but here it is. This year I turned the big 3-Oh. So I decided to celebrate my 1/3 life crisis milestone by hosting a huge party for 40 of my nearest and dearest. Thankfully to make my hosting gig easier, we booked a mobile pizza oven caterer, a karaoke jukebox and a slushie cocktail machine, too easy. All I had to do on the day was basically sweep the deck, make up the slushie mixture, test out the karaoke and put on a awesome birthday outfit (no, not my birthday suit haha).

Unfortunately the weather for the few days leading up the party was very up and down so I changed my outfit choice about 10 times before the party and a further 5 times the day of the party. Seeing I was so indecisive, I needed a versatile comfortable wedge silver in colour, that would match all of my potential outfits.

The only pair of silver wedges I own are a tad too small, purchased them on sale a year ago but now was their time to shine. I needed to find a way to stretch them and fast.

Attempt 1 at stretching
I wore them around the house, hoping they would stretch. Strike 1

Attempt 2
I took them to Mister Minit, they said they needed 7 days to stretch them. Strike 2 as I only had 2 days before the party!

Attempt 3
I put a bag of water in them and froze them, hoping the expanding ice would stretch them. Strike 3.

4th and Final Attempt
I put on a pair of socks and slipped the wedges on while they were still cold and wet from the freezer, and just like Magic they began to stretch - Hoooray! They were now big enough to wear comfortably for the majority of the night.

My birthday outfit was saved!!! And they all lived happily ever after. :)

What have you tried to stretch you shoes with? Was it successful?

Grace xo

Hibernating Boots

Now that it is inching towards summer in Australia (3 days straight of above 34 degree Celsius is a good indication), it is time to prepare your boots and winter shoes for their hibernation.

The first step is ensure you have a dehumidifying product in the depths of your wardrobe to neutralize the air surrounding your shoes (Damp Rid or Hippo are two brands I know are readily available). This will stop mildew, mould and musty odours while your boots are not in use.

Secondly, give your boots a wipe / scrub down, to remove all the nasty mud or dirt that has accumulated over the long wet winter.

Thirdly, you need to brace the boots so they do not get creased or floppy in the 6 months of non activity.

Check out the everyday household items I have used to brace mine. They work remarkably well and are extremely easy to find in your recycling pile.

(Left to right) Original Boot Packaging, Magazine, 1.25L Plastic Bottle and Small Magazine

 

 

What do you usually use to brace your boots? 

My best tip is fight the desire to throw away all of the 'stuffing' you receive when you purchase boots and use that as the brace when it is time for your boots to hibernate.

Get prepping ladies!
Grace xo

Waterproofing is Fool Proof

Recently I purchased some Ramarim booties on eBay (check them out here, they are also available from Passion For Shoes here), they are beautiful but have a suede like leather section on them - I knew that them being an expensive boot I HAD to protect them from the elements.


Water repellent products are those items I always think about buying, but always get distracted by the beautiful shoes between me and the display where the shoe accessories live. Thankfully on a recent online shopping expedition, I had $60 worth of shoes in my cart but needed $70 for free postage, so I went on the hunt for a $10ish item to tip me over the minimum required (haha we have all been there, who else is guilty?). Then I went to the "accessories" link and there it was "OMG, I totally need some Water Repellent", bargain price of $11.99 which is probably what I would have paid for postage, so essentially it was free!!

On the evening that my shoes and the water repellent arrived, I gathered all of my suede heels and began spraying them, I really didn't know what to expect in the morning but when I dropped some water on the first pair, it just balled into cute little droplets and didn't soak in - AMAZING - it was like a science experiment from a primary school classroom. 
Needless to say I was extremely happy with the results. Now I have plans to spray more than just my shoes; Handbags, Jackets and even our cat that likes playing in water may get a spraying soon! Just joking about the cat :)

Not only is the water repellent effective, but in my experience it is exceptionally easy to achieve results, just spray it on haphazardly and you are on your way to protecting your subject from water and stains.

I have some before and after pics below - truly astonishing!
 

1. Before any water is dropped on the shoe

2. After dropping water on an unprotected shoe.

3. The water droplets on the same pair of shoes as above, after the 'water repellent' has had 1 hour to dry!!! Astounding!

Will you be investing in some water repellent? Or have you been using it for years and I am an fool for taking this long to embrace it?


Grace x 




 

Launching - Ramarim Shoes Australia Buy, Swap and Sell

Just a quick post to launch the "Ramarim Shoes Australia Buy, Swap and Sell" Facebook Group. The intention of this group is to have a central location on Facebook where you can Buy Ramarims and Swap or Sell your surplus Ramarims.

Be sure to join and turn on your notifications, so you are aware every time a member lists a pair of the 'Most Comfortable Shoes Ever'. If you aren't convinced by my multiple blog posts, you can find one here, then grab yourself a pre-loved pair to try.

Happy Ramariming

Grace xox