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

 

Central Coast Ramarim Crisis

You may recall my excitement when I found a local stockist of Ramarim shoes on the Central Coast of NSW. Read all about the pair of shoes I purchased here. 

Unfortunately, the shoes were faulty and after repeated attempts to contact the store owner (Facebook messages and phonecalls that were not returned), I was stuck with a pair of usually top quality shoes that were faulty :(. 
Those of you that read my posts know that always support small business where possible and love giving businesses a wrap. However, in this particular case I would caution you all to stay well away from "Inner Souls" at Terrigal if you are after high quality after sales service when you purchase a pair of high priced shoes.

Being stuck with a pair of faulty Ramarims is less than ideal, so I went to the only person I knew that could come to my rescue - Jess from Shoe Me Gorgeous (which you have probably heard of if you have read my blog before, but here is one post that Jess features in). I explained the situation to Jess and she put me in contact with the Ramarim distributor in Melbourne "Easy Life Shoes", Elena was very understanding with my predicament and organised a replacement pair within a few days!!!! How awesome is that?! What a great example of top notch service?! 

Where have you experienced similar customer service?

Grace xo
 

European Shoe Safari

Most of you that are interactive on my facebook page, would know that my husband and I embarked on a 5 week adventure in Europe for our honeymoon. Everywhere I go I am drawn to looking at people's shoes, shoes that are for sale and ultimately buying many pairs for myself - so of course this trip was nothing different, despite the baggage allowance.

France
In my mind I thought going to Paris I would see some incredible high heels that I just had to have. Mostly I saw 'interesting' shoes, but their price tags were the only thing 'high' about them, so I couldn't justify buying them for the 'interesting' factor.
What do you think of the ones below? These were in a boutique store I found in Dijon (that wasn't open!). But 175 Euros for glitter Birkenstock? Eeek!

 


Italy
We visited Milan, Venice and Rome. I only spotted one shop that was worth a few quick pictures of some gorgeous high heels in Venice.
Which are your favourite? I almost came home with all 3 until I realised that were 350 euros a pair.... here is the store's website if you are interested.

  
Mediterranean Cruise
So despite being disappointed so far with the shoes in France and Italy in my price range, I still looked around every stop on our 14 day Mediterranean cruise.

Santorini
Again the shoes were interesting and had a very expensive pricetag attached.
 

Kusadasi
FINALLY, I changed my plan and stopped looking in boutique shoe shops aimed at tourists and went to the Bazaar instead and got a pair of pink wedges (in the pic below) and some pink joggers.

Kotor
Again visiting a local shopping center instead of the boutiques, I snapped up another 2 pairs of shoes to add to my collection. The only problem is it is absolutely freezing in Australia at the moment so I have to wait until Spring / Summer to wear any of them :(

Now onto the random footwear that caught my eye throughout the trip.

A guy wearing two different coloured socks In Paris (looked like a local, no backpack or hat in sight!)

Our tour guide in the Vatican with taped up sling backs.

A young lady wandering around the Colosseum with only one shoe on

And my favourite of all - the Swiss guard at the Vatican! Does anyone know why they need to wear such a seemingly impractical outfit?

I wonder when my next shoe safari will be, hope it is soon!

Grace xo
 

My Wedding Dress Renovation

Although not specifically shoe related, I really wanted to tell you about my wedding dress renovation.
After our wedding I faced one of the dilemmas that most brides face - what to do with my wedding dress?!?!
In my research on the matter I found many honourable futures for a wedding dress:

• Dry cleaned and preserved in a windowed box for around $400, this allows the dress to be 'looked' at whenever you like.
• Dry cleaned and 'preserved' in a garment bag starting at $280, this allows you to re-wear your wedding dress on your first few anniversaries after which you will probably forget about the tradition or drop garlic butter on it which is then followed by another $280 dry cleaning bill.
• Dry cleaned and 'preserved' for you future daughter(s), this concept always surprises me, styles change so often and the likelihood of your future daughter having your exact taste 25 years later is such a gamble!
• After such a busy wedding (years ago) you still haven't gotten around to having it dry cleaned, currently hanging in the wardrobe dirt and all.
• Sell your dry cleaned and even not dry cleaned gowns on websites such as eBay, Gumtree or The Bare Faced Bride for designer gowns. Ensure you are expecting to receive between 25% - 33% of what you paid for your gown, although it is probably stunning, at the end of the day it is still a used gown and brides buying second hand will not be willing to pay top dollar! Also consider the time between your wedding and when you plan to sell it, if you wait too long it may no longer be in vogue!
• Have a Trash the Dress photo shoot, this involves the bride and the groom getting together on location and trashing their wedding attire in outrageous shoots such as: throwing paint on it, burning it or swimming at the beach in it. This is not my cup of tea but there are some very creative ways of trashing your dress if you are interested.
• Donating your dress to charities such as: Angel Gowns - this is to make dresses for stillborn babies which is a beautiful idea or to the Salvation Army so another bride can experience the same joy you have done for a lesser price.

Knowing that I was far too attached to my dress to consider selling it, trashing it or giving it away and I knowing that I definitely wanted to wear it whenever I wanted to I decided to renovate it. Specifically into a cocktail dress that I could wear to any formalish occasion including weddings, work functions and formal nights on cruise ships.

It was only 1 month after our wedding that I took my dress back to the dress maker that had hemmed it only 2 months earlier. I asked her to cut off the train and make my beautiful gown knee length. 3 weeks and $60 later I had a half renovated wedding dress in my hands and I loved it!!! I have also planned to make a cushion or two with the offcuts.

The next step was getting it dyed from Ivory to a new colour, I had asked my friend google "how to dye a wedding dress?" and the results in most of the blogs I read were disastrous, but I had already cut my dress in half I HAD to dye it a different colour. 
Thankfully I found a business in Surry Hills Sydney called "Culla change". Culla Change specialise in recolouring all kinds of fabric. I knew I had to check them out. Despite the postage paid colour pack I had been sent or the option of dropping my dress at a local dry cleaners for them to send to Culla Change free of charge, I just didn't have much faith in Australia Post and loved my dress too much for it to be lost in the mail, so we drove to Sydney.
I met Rosemary a very friendly and enthusiastic Culla Change colour consultant, I knew my dress was in safe hands. I was tossing up between black and pink. Black being able to match every handbag and shoe combination I have or pink the true me....so I chose pink. Rosemary also added that if for any reason I didn't like the pink it could be easily redyed black in the future. Done Deal for $220! (Culla Change have differing prices for different articles of clothing so please check out their website for more information).
Four weeks later (being yesterday 18/4) we went back to Sydney to pick up the finished product and I was speechless. I absolutely loved the finished product and almost felt like crying happy tears for the third time seeing my dress, the first and second time being the day I bought it and the day I wore it for our wedding.

Now my husband and I can wear matching formal outfits hehehehe.

 
What do you think of the transformation? What grand plans do you have for your wedding gown or have you already completed one of the above options?

Grace x

Convertible Thongs - I am Converted

On our recent trip to Brisbane, I decided I should buy some new thongs (flip flops for the international readers) ready for our Honeymoon in Europe in May.

Deciding on the colour of thongs is difficult, I usually lean towards Black or Pink as they will generally match to any of my outfits. But I must confess I own 10+ pairs of thongs and the new thongs from Ipanema that are readily sold in Novo shoe stores would negate the need to own multiple pairs of thongs to match outfits.

Check them out online here. For only $20 you essentially buy 3 pairs of thongs, with easily interchangeable straps to match to your outfit. Further the straps are interchangeable across the convertible range (provided they are the same shoe size of course).

Have a look at the pics below, only a couple of easy steps required to change the straps from Pink to Black & Pink stripes.

 

Further Novo Shoes has an online sale with 50% off the second item - including sale items - so you could potentially get two pairs for $30 with the interchangeable straps this means 6 pairs of thongs!!! Bargain!!

Now I have new thongs for our trip and can easily pack 6 different colours without impacting too much on the baggage allowance.

How many pairs of thongs do you own??

Grace xo

 

Chameleon Wedges

A few weeks ago I mentioned buying a new pair of Ramarim wedges (read about them here). I forgot to mention why I NEEDED to buy them.

Back in August 2013 I purchased these terracotta coloured wedges (check them out here), they were only about $20. These wedges were a very important addition to my wardrobe and I pretty much would wear them every weekend for running countless errands from shopping to family gatherings and to 'dress up' and 'dress down' various outfits. 

They really were my shoe chameleons that could look good with just about any clothes I owned from dresses, denim shorts, jeans and skirts. Somehow the shade of terracotta would work well with blue, aqua, pink, purple & many other colours.

Here are three outfits that I thought they looked great with.
 

One of my favourite dresses

Great facial by me ;)

Please ignore the sunburn, the sun is not a friend of mine....

On our way to the cruise ship - the trip when we got engaged hehe

The night before our wedding, I was wearing them with a pink and blue paisley print sundress. We walked about 2km from our hotel to a pub for a few celebratory drinks then walked back. Unfortunately that was the last time I could wear them as my little toe had decided to try and escape and made a hole in the side of them from the long walk :(

 
Knowing that I had now lost one of my most versatile pairs of shoes, I knew they had to be replaced ASAP and with a wedge of a similar colour so they would look good with all of my established outfits!

Of course Ramarim delivered and now I have a chameleon wedge again but this time in a shade of PINK - my favourite colour hehe. I have worn them with 3 of the outfits and I thought they looked great!!!

Do you have a pair of chameleon shoes that somehow seem to work with numerous outfits of various colours? How handy are they to have? What colour are they?

Look forward to hearing from you all.

xoxox
 

Shoes can be lifesavers

I pretty much wear high heels everyday at work, if I decide to hit the shops on a Thursday evening for some late night retail therapy I usually chuck on a pair of flats that I leave in the car. This means my high heels sometimes spend a few weeks hiding in the back seat of my car - not ideal for two reasons: 

1. A pair of my babies are not available for the morning choice session when I run out of the door at 7:55am.

2. The following can happen :O

I was so surprised to see these on the back seat of my car with the sole almost completely off. We have had a lot of humid and hot days lately so it must have been the temperature in my car that forced this to happen.
It made me think about the deeply sad occurrences of sleep deprived mothers and fathers accidentally leaving their most prized possessions in their car....their children.

Look what the heat did to my shoe!!! Let alone a little child.
 
I have a small suggestion for Mothers and Fathers of young children. Leave the left shoe you are wearing in the back seat of your car when you are driving, forcing you to open the back door of your car to retrieve it prior to running your errands and hopefully in the process noticing your child. I know it might be cumbersome on your already crazy busy schedule of raising children, but it could save a life.

I do not know the ins and out of laws surrounding footwear when driving, or how this suggestion could work for manual drivers. I just thought there had to be something that both women and men have on their person on a daily basis when driving that could act as the lifesaver. A shoe it is.

Do you have a ritual to remind yourself in cases like this?

Grace xo

PS I do not have children, this is only my opinion and a suggestion :)

Ramarim Wedges - 100% no Carb

A few months ago I became aware of a Central Coast of NSW stockist of Ramarim heels - hooray! - called "Inner Souls", check out their Facebook here and their website here.

I went there immediately to check them out, the shoe boutique is located in the Beach side suburb of Terrigal. Due to the location being so close to the beach, they tend to stock summery flats and wedges, fair enough, but my passion for Ramarim so far has been directed towards their stunning high heels, so nothing grabbed me on that first visit.

I gave the shop a like on Facebook though, and have kept my eye on their new products and their sales and the below caught my eye last week. I immediately contacted them (as you can see) to find out if the Ramarims I had my eye on were on sale and they were!!! Yay!!

Today we went to visit Inner Souls and I was so pleased to find that they hadn't sold the wedges I was interested in trying on. They fit perfectly, looked great and because they were Ramarims they were extremely comfortable.

I would like to welcome the newest addition to my Ramarim collection - what do you think?

While I was at the store, I spoke to Susan the very friendly owner. Susan showed me some of the shoes she had coming in for Ramarim winter and they look very nice. Further, Susan mentioned that if there were any Ramarims that I liked but she didn't stock she would look at trying to get them in! To top off the visit, Susan's 2IC is her dog Oliver, he is very cute and loves visitors, so please drop by if you are in the area and grab youself a summer bargain!!!

Grace xo

My wedding heels finally unveiled

Thursday 22nd of January 2015 I married my best friend, Trent. Trent has featured in many of my posts including this one about his bad taste in thongs (read about it here).

After a booking the venue, a spectacular cruise ship in Sydney Harbour, 12 months in advance, I really thought the year would drag on, but it was here before we knew it! I cannot believe that our wedding day rolled around so quickly and now it is all over...bring on the honeymoon planning I suppose!

Let me know what you think about my heels (remember I was on track to have 24 pairs of wedding shoes at one point haha read my previous wedding shoe posts here and here) and of course Trent's snazzy suit hehe

 

Grace xoxox