PuglyFeet ~ The Blog

Miss Vintage

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:22:15 +0000

I was very pleased to stumble into Miss Vintage last week. Through several of her vintage-inspired websites, she shares the breadth and depth of her knowledge about vintage fashions over several decades, beginning with the Flapper 20's. I love the Glamour Archive section of the website where she shares actual articles from each period, organized into subsections for Hair, Fashion, and Beauty. Miss Vintage is virtually a complete guide to dressing vintage, loaded with historical facts to beauty tips. Check these out!

Miss Vintage also has Flapper Radio!

{ Image courtesy of the Louise Brooks Society. }

This Blog is Pro-Obama

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:07:51 +0000

I am the first to admit that my blog is about a whole lot of fluff. My core topics evolve around shoes, socks, donuts and such. Very rarely (if ever) do I write about anything substantial. Today may be the first.

In light of the Presidential Elections that are soon approaching, I've felt increasingly excited and restless. I've felt compelled to help without really knowing how. Well, I thought, I could put up a badge on my blog supporting Obama. Then I thought that perhaps there may be others out there who may wish to do the same. So here are the Obama Badges. These images were taken directly from Barack Obama's online store! =)

Please show your support for the Barack Obama and Joe Biden presidential ticket by adding an Obama Badge to your blog. It's easy. Highlight the corresponding markup and then paste into your blog. Linking back here is NOT necessary. Show your Obama Pride and feel free to share the wealth!

	<a href="http://www.barackobama.com" title="Obama for President"><img src="http://www.puglyfeet.com/pics/obama/o1.jpg" alt="Obama for Presdient" width="120" height="180"/></a>
	<a href="http://www.barackobama.com" title="Obama for President"><img src="http://www.puglyfeet.com/pics/obama/o2.jpg" alt="Obama for Presdient" width="120" height="159"/></a>
	<a href="http://www.barackobama.com" title="Obama for President"><img src="http://www.puglyfeet.com/pics/obama/o3.jpg" alt="Obama for Presdient" width="120" height="78"/></a>
	<a href="http://www.barackobama.com" title="Obama for President"><img src="http://www.puglyfeet.com/pics/obama/o4.jpg" alt="Obama for Presdient" width="120" height="81"/></a>
	<a href="http://www.barackobama.com" title="Obama for President"><img src="http://www.puglyfeet.com/pics/obama/o5.jpg" alt="Obama for Presdient" width="120" height="95"/></a>
	<a href="http://www.barackobama.com" title="Obama for President"><img src="http://www.puglyfeet.com/pics/obama/o6.jpg" alt="Obama for Presdient" width="120" height="95"/></a>
	<a href="http://www.barackobama.com" title="Obama for President"><img src="http://www.puglyfeet.com/pics/obama/o7.jpg" alt="Obama for Presdient" width="120" height="92"/></a>

{ Images for these Obama Badges courtesy of BarackObama.com. }

Dreaming of Macaroons

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:43:03 +0000

If anybody knows where can I get macaroons in SF, please send me an email or comment. They don't have to be by Pierre Herme, per se. And, I don't think Pierre Herme macaroons are available outside of Paris, anyway. Sigh... they look so pretty and so delectable. Here are macaroons from F. Lamet:

Oh, this is another reason to visit Paris one day!

More pics here and here.

{ First mage courtesy of Pierre Herme. Second image courtesy of little miss pamplemousse on Flickr.}

UPDATE:
The Black Apple made some macaroons recently and was cool enough to share in her post where she found the recipe. From Epicurious!

Fandansko ~ Where Do You Dansko?

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:00:47 +0000

During the Summer, I blogged about Fandansko, a place on Dansko's website where they interact with Dansko fans by holding contests and surveys in exchange for the possibility of winning a pair. Well, one of the questions in one of their Summer 2008 contests asked, "Where do you Dansko?". In addition, the contest asked for an *action shot*.

It sounded easy and well, I couldn't resist. I entered the picture that I used for one of my June posts called Falling Leaves along with a short description of where I Dansko (everywhere, really).

To be honest with you, I totally forgot all about this contest... until yesterday afternoon when I received an email from Dansko notifying me as one of the winners. I was gleeful! After much deliberation and research, I chose Mae in Veg Tan Brown for my complementary pair. Thank you, Dansko -- I'm so excited!

The Secret worked once again!

{ Second image courtesy of Fandansko. }

Finger Lickin' Good

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:44:59 +0000

Cakespy's Flickr photostream makes me happy... and crave for morsels of sweetness. She has a yummy blog, too -- a welcoming distraction from left-brain overactivity.

All this studying makes me hungry!

{ Images courtesy of Cakespy. }

Do Have a Cow, Man! Contest Results

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:46:25 +0000

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Do Have a Cow, Man Contest! Here are the results of my shoe count as of Monday, 9/1/08:

Marcelle by Dansko in Cordovan Cabrio
Marcelle by Dansko in Red (sold 9/13)
Marcelle by Dansko in Claret Patent
Bronte by Dansko
Prof. Stapled Clog by Dansko in Cordovan Cabrio (sold 9/7)
Desiree by Dansko
Professional Stapled Clog by Dansko in Black Patent
Professional Stapled Clog by Dansko in Claret Patent
Midori by Dansko
Marcelle by Sanita Clogs in Black (sold 9/3)
Catalina Wave by Sanita Clogs in Navy Blue
Tulip by Wolky
Creepers by TUK Shoes
Emily the Strange by TUK Shoes (sold 9/20)
Boomerang by Rocket Dog
Joint by Rocket Dog
Thrifted Miz Mooz by Gazith (name unknown)
Camper Twins #20256
Black Sandals by Clarks
Sandal Hash by Clarks (red)
Joy by Asgi
Scutes by Crocs (in green)
Burgundy Flats by Nine West
Crocodile Loafers by Franco Sarto
Mary Jane Pumps by Franco Sarto
1.5 inch Wedge by BCBG
Mary Jane Wedge by BCBG
Flats by American Eagle in red
1460 Boots by Dr. Martens in cherry
Wing Tips by Dr. Martens
Jossiline by Betsey Johnson
Canvas Venturas in black by Keen Footwear
New Balance Aerobics Shoes

And the winner is: Deb from Deb & Her Camera with lucky guess: 35.5. Yip-yip-yippeeeeeee!!!!

UPDATE:
Due to tight time constraints, Monday Madness will be discontinued... until July 2009, post graduation! =)

Betseyville's Jossiline

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:23:12 +0000

If you've been following my Daily Mug photo blog, then it should come as no surprise that I bought Betseyville's Jossiline moccasins. I'm very pleased with them -- they're cute and comfortable, though since the soles are quite thin, I don't recommend them for any off-road hiking and such since you may very well damage your precious feet that way. They are great to wear around town!

I have one complaint, though. And unfortunately, it came only as an afterthought and I'm quite embarrassed to even bring it up because it should have been fairly obvious. The color of the soles sold this pair for me. Though not a hot pink aficionado, I found these shoes strangely attractive especially because of this. I guess it's also because it's so unexpected. I mean, one generally associates moccasins with the standard colors of fawn or brown -- but pink? Unusual. And I loved it.

So why am I complaining? Well, it never occurred to me that the soles would become yucky gray. Like, DUH! Okay, I was expecting a graying and a darkening of the soles, but I didn't expect the sides of the soles to look pretty gross.

So there. The shoes are great, but the worn soles gross me out. Strangely enough, I can't stop looking at the bottom of my soles to see how yucky they get.

Tack-O-Rama ~ Retro Images and Fonts

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 05:19:08 +0000

I spent the last couple of hours downloading every conceivable 50's-inspired image, icon, background and font from Tack-O-Rama's vast online collection of "vintage tomfoolery." Behind Tack-O-Rama is Magic Jelly's sister, Josella Colquhoun, who scours the Internet for retro fonts and images and turns them into awesome royalty-free clipart. Many of them are images inspired by advertisements from the 1940's and 50's. If you're one for clip art, fonts, or anything vintage, I promise you'll get a good kick out of Tack-O-Rama. I swear, I got a high downloading everything -- the same feeling I imagine I'd get if I were granted a shopping spree at a shoe store.

I made this awesome collage using some of the clip art. These images are just the tip of the iceberg, though -- there's a ton more at Tack-O-Rama!

{ Top image courtesy of Tack-O-Rama. }

Dispensable

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:37:34 +0000

I hung out at a friend's house the other day and the moment she opened the door, she exclaimed that she had been laid off -- that very day! She thought it was strange that she was given vague reasons for her termination and after a few moments of silence, she asked me if I had ever been laid off before. Oh yes, I certainly had been. I didn't get into the nitty gritty details with her, but as I drove home, the feelings I had of that strange time resurfaced.

Some time during the mid-1990's, during the early days of the Dot-com boom, I landed a job as an "Operations Assistant" at a high-tech public relations firm called Niehaus Ryan Group Public Relations. I don't know what ever happened to the PR firm, but back then, NRGPR was a leader in their field of PR for high-tech firms, with impressive clientele from Apple to Yahoo!, and O'Reilly to CyberCash (later acquired by Verisign, and then later acquired by PayPal), to name a few.

I remember feeling all at once excited and scared when I learned that I got the job. My duties included the mail room, ordering office supplies, drinks and snacks; managing the periodical library (which had every conceivable computer-related, high tech magazine); covering for the receptionist during breaks; setting up the conference rooms with food and beverages for meetings; assembling all new office furniture; and best of all, I was encouraged to learn HTML to become the company "Webmaster".

In theory, it should have been a dream job. In THEORY. Most of the time, I felt lucky to work for an exciting company which offered plenty of growth. I had a great work ethic and I did my job WELL. I arrived for work early and didn't leave until all my work was done for the day. So I 'll never forget that day I was let go. Carol Niehaus was there, along with the head of Human Resources and the Operations Manager. I remember feeling excited when I was called into Human Resources and I felt nervous as I took my seat. I seriously thought that I was getting a promotion and a raise.

Well, the joke was on me. I left the meeting in tears. Though I was reassured that it was nothing personal, I felt that it was. I felt upset and confused, almost as though I was in a terrible breakup. I felt like the first person eliminated from a reality show like Survivor.

They said they were letting me go as a casualty of stream-lining their operations. And so I wondered, why the hell did they hire this other dude just several weeks before as my co-partner in my department? At the time they hired him, it never occurred to me that the new recruit I was training would eventually replace me. After all, the company was growing at such a fast pace (NRGPR tripled during my short tenure there), it only made sense to hire more help.

Feeling insulted and unappreciated, with my small box of office decor and whatever dignity I had left, I walked out. As my mind raged in a torrent, I immediately drove to the unemployment office in South San Francisco. I thought about what I had done to deserve termination. Perhaps I should've attended all those baseball games and company parties. Perhaps I should've been more sociable by accepting invitations for after-hour drinks with some co-workers. Or maybe I should've kept my mouth shut when the CFO had threatened to "bite my head off" if I ever fulfilled an office supply request over $50 without his direct authorization. I guess I could've been nicer to my boss who clearly suffered from an acute case of Asia-philia.

Though it was not clear to me at the time, getting laid off from that job was the best thing that could've happened. Of the 70 employees who worked there, only a handful were sincerely kind folks while the others were blinded by hubris. Simply, they were cut throat, blow hard assholes. No, I'm not disgruntled -- just honest. Working for a big company left such a bad taste in my mouth, I only sought to work with small companies thereafter. However, one of the best things which resulted from getting laid off from NRGPR was the motivation it gave me to go back to school, in hopes of one day securing enough credentials to be indispensable.

Flowers and Feathers

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:23:14 +0000

I'm sure any of you following the best reality show in the world is familiar with Kenley Collins, one of the extraordinary designers competing in this season's installment of Project Runway. I'm a big fan of hers and I like most of the pieces she's designed so far (though I was not fond of tonight's Aquarius avant-garde dress). I adore her personal sense of style, her vintage-inspired outfits, and most of all, her hair accessories, from her headbands to her hair combs and clips adorned with flowers and feathers!

I've noticed that flower and feather hair accessories are in vogue. I've seen them featured in many places, from JCrew to Forever 21. As a matter of fact, I bought a purple feather hair clip at F21 yesterday, though, it looks more like a purple tarantula on my head. Don't worry, I will take a photo later this week for laughs.

Hmmmm... how can a regular person like me pull off this look? I suspect it will be very tricky.

Anyway, I've been searching for pretty hair accessories on the Internet and was happy to stumble upon Bando. All the accessories on Bando are breathtakingly beautiful, but for the sake of bandwidth, I'm posting a few of my favorites. My big gripe, however, is the cost. Most pieces range between $100-$200!

So thank god for Etsy. I found a few Etsy boutiques which sell this sort of thing at a fraction of the Bando prices. I used a bit of the PayPal money I earned from selling shoes to buy a beautiful headband with feathers. It could go either way, really. I may be able to pull it off or may even look foolish -- like some sort of bird woman-- who knows. Regardless, I'm pretty excited.

{ Picture of Kenley courtesy of BravoTV. Bando products courtesy of Ban.dö. }

Saved from eBay

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:24:59 +0000

I listed some shoes for sale on eBay the other day. Luckily, I was able to sell my black Sanita Marcelles fairly quickly and hopefully, my other listings will sell just as well.

I've never worn these out, these ruby American Eagle flats. Though I've had them for about a couple of years now, they've never seen the light of day. It's not that I don't like them -- they're lovely. But, my wide flat feet look ever so hideous in them and these shoes give no arch support whatsoever. Remember the Rated R version of my Cute Magic pictures? Well, let's just say that my feet looked pretty scary in them, like She-Hulks on steroids. So I've been meaning to either give them away or sell them and I finally decided to sell them on eBay. After completing the listing for this pair, I sat in front of my keyboard, kinda stuck until I canceled the submission. I just couldn't bring myself to hit the submit button.

This happens to me frequently. For instance, any attempts to clean out my junk drawer often ends with me retaining most of the very things I'm trying to clean out. I'm one of those sentimental folks. I keep a lot of stuff, far longer than I really should. I keep old greeting cards, even those generic Xmas cards that people send out.

Though I've gotten much better at parting with souvenirs and miscellaneous memorabilia (ie. napkins with notes, salt and pepper shakers kidnapped from various restaurants, movie stubs, programs, restaurant receipts, etc.), sometimes my feelings come between me and a clutter-free environment.

Quite frankly, I don't like holding on to the past in such a manner. Talk about a waste of space! Perhaps I'm afraid that without such things in my life, I'd forget a whole lot of things -- a whole lot of good things. I'm aware that I do these things to remember certain events and even certain people. Perhaps to remember, that despite the outcome, painful or otherwise, that at some point in time, wrapped within each scrappy trinket or souvenir is magic of some kind, magic that helps me relive the good times, especially with those estranged ones.

Such collections of mine are hidden deep within drawers or packed away in storage boxes and they only surface during those times that I'm trying to clean house.

Well, these American Eagle flats have been saved from eBay, once again saved from potentially touching earth by fond reveries of dear Mama.

Dansko's Professional Patent Clogs

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:10:24 +0000

One day over the Summer, as I was running errands around The Fillmore for my boss, I saw this stylish woman dressed all in black. She wore a black crew sweater with a black mid-length skirt, which looked great with her black footless tights. She wore her raven hair sleek and short and the only color she dare expose were her blood red lips. But what really caught my eye were her black patent Professional Dansko Clogs. From that moment, I began dreaming of black patent clogs, and the cordovan cabrio Professional Clogs in my closet now seemed so dull and boring and ever so passé.

Imagine my excitement when I received a box from Dansko last week. They sent me these black patent Professional Clogs as a thank you gift for using Midori and Marcelle as part of my blog mastheads. Thanks a million for this unexpected gift. Perhaps The Secret does work, after all! =)

These are my first non-Sanita manufactured stapled clogs and I must say that these are my best Danskos ever. They're super comfortable and so perfect. My feet feel soooooooo good in them -- just comfy snug as a bug, so much so that I felt compelled to buy another pair in claret at Nordstrom yesterday.

Let me tell you something about the patent line of stapled clogs: they're seasonal and are only available for sale in the Fall. But, as I've been told by a friend who works at Nordstrom, Dansko has skipped seasons before. For instance, they weren't available last year. So, get these while you can -- especially the ones in claret. I dare you to buy the clogs in claret online -- they're unavailable. As of tonight, Zappos has the patent clog available only in black, in only a few sizes, at that. The Professional Clog in claret is even more elusive. Nordstrom.com sells them only in black, as well. Go to a brick and mortar Nordstrom -- they sell them there!

Thanks, Dansko! I love love love them.

More on non-Sanita-soled Danskos at these fine places:

Do Have a Cow, Man! Contest

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:14:30 +0000

Happy Monday Madness, ladies! Okay, the concept of today's giveaway was inspired by a Flickr friend's bold and daring question:

OK Fess up -- how many pairs do you actually own!!!!

Very good question. In all honesty, however, at the time she made this inquiry, I really didn't know. Well, I just counted all my shoes and all things considered, I'm no Imelda Marcos. The total count is actually quite conservative. I'd be happy to tell you how many shoes I own (as of today, 9/1) -- in two weeks. For now, you'll just have to make an educated guess and I'll make it worth your while.

The individual who makes the closest guess to the actual count wins four fabulous pairs of I'm-Just-a-Country-Girl socks by Betsey Johnson. Remember my nasty pair of gopher socks? The winner will get a pair just like it!! But instead of gophers, it will be a nasty pair of cows -- Tubular Cow Socks by K. Bell from SockDreams.com. It will be perfect for those crisp and cold winter days that are coming our way fairly soon.

If there are multiple entries with the same guess, then those entries will be entered in a random drawing. Entries will be accepted until Friday, 9/19 at 6pm and the winner will be announced on Monday, 9/22.

Hints:

Daily Mug is a great place to start to get a rough count.
Shoes come and go.

Best of luck and happy guessing! =)

I Nearly Missed Class Today

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 05:04:29 +0000

I could've sworn that my Physics teacher informed the class last Friday of the upcoming three day Labor Day weekend. Talk about wishful thinking! See, it was a crrrrrrraaaazy weekend and I was seriously looking forward to a class-free Monday. I even slept in an extra 30 minutes this morning and took my time getting out of bed and even made the bed! I lazied my way into the kitchen and washed a mountain of dishes. I started to boil some water for our morning French-pressed coffee and then sat down to check my email.

I casually sent an email to my boss telling him that I'd be able to run some extra errands for work today since it's a holiday and all. I thought that he was really out of it when he responded with 2 words: "What holiday?". I looked at my calendar and was flabbergasted. Turns out, I'm really out of it. I didn't see the words I expected to see in the box labeled August 25th. But Labor Day is supposed to be today... isn't it? I mean, Doug and I just went to REI's Labor Day Sale yesterday... but then wait... I turned the calendar page to September. Hooooooooooly Shiiiiiiit!

I went into full-fledged panic as I read "Labor Day" marked for September 1. Right on time, just as the panic set it in, the steam kettle blew its whistle. Shit! I only had an hour to brush my teeth, wash my face, change into something civilized, burn the roof of my mouth with scalding coffee, wolf down some breakfast, drive to school, look for parking and speed walk to class.

Well, I made it to class on time. How in the world did I do that? I prioritized and didn't brush my teeth. Nor did I wash my face nor comb my hair, nor drink coffee nor eat breakfast. I threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a sweater and slipped into my Crocs. I kissed Doug and the canine kids goodbye and grabbed my backpack as I fled out the door. I made it to school on time, thank god, even with a few minutes to spare. I felt like a crazy woman with morning breath and serious bed head, but I did it.

Okay, completely off topic: In the world of cute shoes, I have some news that I'm excited to share with you. I scored two pairs of shoes last weekend, one of them for 19 bucks (thanks to a tip from Chez Shoes)! I will post with pictures, sooner than later, I hope. Oh, I'd much rather blog than study. Sniff...

Superbad.com

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:45:49 +0000

This is not Super Bad the film. Despite rave reviews, I thought the movie was terribly bad and so cliché and regretted paying the $4.00 I sacrificed to rent it from Blockbuster Video.

Superbad.com is not related to that movie at all. Instead, SuperBad.com is Internet art, total free association -- dreamy and ephemeral. Are you bored? If so, it's quite amusing. Go check it out!