cheap and wonderful.

Sometimes, when something is very inexpensive and still very cute, I (and many of you, I'm sure!) feel the need to buy it just to have, even though you might not wear it that often. Such is the case with this pair of menswear-style oxford flats that I bought at Target (!) several months back because I thought they were cute and cheap, and I assumed that I would find some way to wear them.

Favorite (cheap) footwear find.

Lo and behold, several months later, I have been wearing these shoes several times a week and already wearing out the soles. While I have already written about how much I love me some ballet flats, this has been a great change. Mixed with a dress, the combo of masculine and feminine makes for a really fun outfit, and I can wear them to work where I'm lugging around very heavy art up and down stairs. They also saw some action this weekend when I was working thirteen hour days with my debate team at our state tournament. Unfortunately, the soles have started to come off (an unfortunate side effect of underpriced footwear), so I might consider investing in a slightly more expensive pair, or even just have these resoled!

accesorizing sneakers.

As I've mentioned, I have patellar tendonitis so I cannot run for around six weeks. It has also severely limited my footwear to sneakers. Now I wish I was really hip and had a whole plethora of sneakers that I matched with really trendy outfits, but that is hardly the case.

The always cool Dunks, in my office, which I share with two cardboard cutouts of men and three other students. 

My wonderful, trusty running shoes, which have seen no action lately. 

What does one wear with these? Well, for me, this means spandex and workout shirts because that's really the only thing I want to wear in the winter. Voraciously accessorizing those outfits with tons of jewelry might work with boots to make you look really cool and artsy, but with sneakers all the jewelry makes you look like one of the crazy ladies at the gym who wears more bling than a Cartier shop. However, that is not really appropriate for museum work. So, more than a blog discussing my fashion-sense, this is a cry for help. Somebody, please tell me what to wear for the next 5.5 weeks of my life so I don't look like a really colorful gym rat. 

why ballet flats are (almost) always appropriate.

When I went to college in Maine, everyone assumed that New Mexico was a place of endless warmth and sunshine. Apparently, I also picked up this assumption during my years in Maine and South America. I received a very rude surprise this past Monday when I woke up to winds of 50 mph and several inches of snow. Well, I was very happy because this meant a snow day for my school (Snow days in grad school! Who knew?) and a day of having the house to myself, the dogs, and the cats, so that I could indulge in reruns of Sex and the City and How I Met Your Mother. However, I was quite upset in other ways. First of all, it ruined my morning run, which I consider sacred and my time to sort out my thoughts. Second, but most importantly, it impeded my ability to wear ballet flats.

                                                           My loves.

I think ballet flats are really great for all women for several reasons. For students of all ages, they are really comfy, which is important when you're walking everywhere around campus! I think even with jeans and a t-shirt they add a little something chic to the mix. Now that I've started working (a lot!) I find them so great to run around in, at both of my jobs. I made the mistake of wearing heels on a business trip to Dallas one day, and since then I have told myself that flats will forever be the way to go. Nothing like humidity, sweaty feet, and blisters to make you crave a pair of flat shoes. So this leads me to my present conundrum. The snow from the Monday storm has stayed, and unfortunately snow and flats do not mix. At all. I already tried and found myself scooping snow out of my shoes. This is one time I should have listened to my mother and just worn socks and actual shoes, that ya know, covered my feet. So for the past few days I have resorted to trusty wellington and cowboy boots, the whole time suffering a severe longing to stretch my feet and scratch that itch that you always get on the bottom of your foot when you wear boots.  Hopefully, tomorrow, I can return to wearing my beloved flats. For now, I leave you with a picture of the beautiful, snowy Sandias, which are making me wear many-a-pair of boots.