Autumn Wishlist!

I know, I know -- we're not even in the month of June, so how can I be thinking about autumn?

Well, I am an avid blog reader myself, and one of the people on my blog roll posted a link to some incredible Prada shoes shown on Neiman Marcus' website in a "fall preview" section. So, naturally, I had to check it out. Not that I can afford Prada, but... I can still browse and keep my eyes peeled for look-a-likes : )

These cute little flats are from Manolo Blahnik. The color, the little bow, they're just perfect. Very feminine and girly. I have an interesting relationship with flats. I love how cute they look on other people, in their skinny jeans and all their chic-ness. But I'm a mere five-feet, two-inches, so I favor heels for that reason. And I also don't find flats all that comfy. Oftentimes they lead to painful rubbing and blisters on my poor little toes and the back of my ankle. But maybe that's because I refuse to spend more than $10.00 on a pair of flats because they're, well, flat. Regardless, I think these are adorable. And I'm sure for the $495.00 price tag, I wouldn't get any blisters : ) On second thought, I think I'll stick to heels that are 10% of that price.

These are your typical riding boot. I can't necessarily say these are the cutest leather riding boot I've ever seen, but they reminded me that I want to get a good, leather pair this coming autumn. I purchased a fake leather (fleather? Kind of like Flocke, fake Locke, from Lost?) pair from Old Navy this past fall as kind of a 'test run' to see if I like this style, and I really do. But I certainly won't be shelling out $1090.00 for them...
Ah, so cute. Gorgeous color, perfect height on the calf, adorable bow detail up top. Love!
These are the shoes that brought me to Neiman Marcus' website to check out the fall preview in the first place. I love the deep, rich brown colored leather, the chunky (but not too chunky!) heel, platform sole, and the cut-outs. Would look way cute even with tights! Perfect for cooler fall days. Love, again. And at a mere $695.00, on a [hopefully] full-time teacher's salary, I could afford these... right? Right?

Yeah, I know. Keep dreamin'.
And finally, these little black booties. Now, do I want them to have black glitter all over them? Ah, no. And is the heel and platform a bit high for standing on my poor little feet all day? Definitely. I just really like the black bootie thing. Nine West had some very similar to these on the shelves last fall (sans the glitter and probably an inch less of heel), all the way down to the back zipper detail (if you can see that). However, I didn't buy them because the sole of the shoe was completely smooth. I'd be slipping all the way down those polished elementary school hallways! I have yet to understand why shoemakers make such a smooth sole on their shoes. I bought a pair of 'Miranda' pumps from Banana Republic a few months ago and they are awesome for one reason on so many levels -- they have a rubber sole on the bottom of them! Which means no slipping and sliding on those waxed, polished floors and students can't hear you click, click, clicking down the hall so they can't suddenly decide to be on their best behavior when they hear you coming. They're a tricky bunch, those kids!

So there's my preview. Indulgent? Yes. Will I be purchasing any of the above? Not a chance. Well, unless they appear on eBay for $50.00 : )

Guess who's back?

Shame on me! What a horrible blogger I've been. Sorry for the lack of posts for the last, oh, two months! I wouldn't be surprised if I lost some of my poor readers who got sick and tired of waiting for me to post again... serves me right. Life got busy and I got... lazy? Ah well, what matters is, I'm back.

I went back to my old high school tonight for my sister's band "pop concert". It's an awesome display of musical talent, not to mention delicious desserts to enjoy while you listen and the band plays popular music -- from the Beatles, to Journey, to the Lion King, it's all good. It was, however, stifling hot in that old gymnasium, due to the near-90 degree temperatures we've been lucky enough to enjoy lately : ) Anyway, it's interesting what some of those events can do for a person.

Five years ago, I sat in that gymnasium, walked across a stage and turned a tassel. Just a few weeks before that, I participated in my own "pop concert" as a trumpet player, alongside some of my best friends. And consistently across the three years before that, I attended pep band gigs religiously in that gymnasium, where I formed some of the best memories I have.

Now, I'm not just getting all nostalgic to get nostalgic. I don't really do that anymore over high school because I know how blessed I am and I wouldn't give up who I am, where I am, and how I've grown and changed over the past five years for anything. But I had this friend once. He was remarkable. So fun, so gifted, and so a part of so many of those memories.

He was loud. He gave me a handshake upon entering the band room every day. We laughed. A lot. He mooned us out of a moving car window on the way back from open lunch. We ate a lot of popcorn chicken from KFC during open lunch. We went to lunch together almost every day for awhile. He wore tight pants before it was 'cool' to wear tight pants (is it even 'cool' to wear tight pants? Not so much in my book). He loved to play his trombone. He always bummed me an ear bud from his first-generation iPod during band, and he'd lean real far forward from the trombone section so I could listen from the trumpet section, and the band teachers never said anything. They liked us; at least, I like to think they did. We always sat next to each other at pep band and raced down those rickety, wooden stars as fast as we could during the percussion break of "Land of 1000" so we could dance as wildly as we could. He'd sing the loudest on "Hey! Baby!"

And that's what sparked it tonight, really. As their closing tonight at the concert, Jefferson Senior High School's graduating senior class of 2010 chose their favorite pep band song to play. It was that song. And instead of thinking of all those times at Bison football games in college when NDSU's pep band played that song and my friends and I all sang along obnoxiously, I thought of him. Our arms outstretched, instruments in hand, hips wiggling to the tune, and voices loud. I can still hear him.

He's not here anymore. Hasn't been for awhile. I let go a long time ago, whatever that means. Really, that's kind of sad -- how can you let go of someone because they die? Seems kind of harsh. But we kind of have to.

It's weird. We were all so close when we walked those halls and played in that gym. And then we walked across that stage, turned our tassels, and never thought we wouldn't be friends. And it's not that we're not friends. We just aren't friends. We all ended up looking in new directions, and somewhere along the way, we turned into totally different people.

I guess that's what happens. And that's okay. It's just weird to think about -- how much has changed. Like I said, I don't get nostalgic over high school anymore -- so I guess I've never thought about how much changed.

I'm not sad. At least, not over the changed friendships. I'm just... temporarily nostalgic.

Sorry for the semi-depressing post.

Glad I'm back? : )