Wednesday, June 19, 2013

In which I confess my shoe love while working on a house project

True confessions, Karen style: I like shoes. A lot.

Yesterday, I posted a photo on Instagram of my shoe collection. Which up until yesterday, had been (embarrassingly) mostly stacked on one another on the floor of my closet. So I finally bought a shoe organizer at Target and put it together yesterday afternoon.

I posted a photo once I filled it up with shoes, and then we went out to the side of our house to work on this:


With our house came two beds covered in lava rocks (insert huge groan here), one being inside our small yard (which we haven't dealt with yet, more groans), and one on the alley side of our house. It really was an eye sore... pieces of at least three types of weed barrier pulling up and showing, plastic garden edging that wasn't tucked in fully any longer, and covered in weeds. At least the one in the yard has some nice flowers in it.

We finally we came up with the idea of doing a couple of layers of cement blocks from Home Depot as a defining border. They match some that are in one of our flower beds in front of our house, and also act as a border so cars don't accidentally drive up on it in the winter when you can't see the alley for the bed because of snow. Then we'll add a bunch of mulch and plant a few shrubs. We're not going too crazy because we literally almost never see that side of the house, it's in the alley, and we have to send a hose all the way from the other side of the house to water it. We wanted simple.

I can happily say after last night, part two (part one was weeding) is now complete! Unfortunately I didn't get a before photo, but trust me, this is a vast improvement. I think this modest look will do our 1950s ranch proud.


By the way, it will eventually extend to that small stem wall sticking off the side of the house you see in the distance (between the day lilies, a peony you can't see, and a shrub in the front yard at the far end of the photo). We'll have to transplant one of the lilies as it's too close to the edge of the alley for us to get the stones in, so until fall we just made the little wall curve back around to the house instead of go straight, since there wasn't room. 

But back to shoes. While we were working on that, people were going bananas on Instagram over my shoes. I aired my dirty laundry (well, shoes) there, so I'm airing it here too. I rarely wear shoes out to the point where I have to get rid of a pair, so some of them I've had quite a long time. There's even two 40s pairs in there that my mom recently gave me, and she personally wore them in the 80s.

And my confession now:


I swear it didn't look like that much when they were in the closet. What can I say, I really freaking love shoes. And now you have proof.

I've always thought I had a much smaller wardrobe and less accessories than many bloggers I follow, but shoes are another story. I could get rid of all my jewelry, carry one purse forever more, cut my wardrobe in half (maybe not my knitted sweaters, heh heh), but so long as I had several pair of shoes, I'd be happy. :)

What do you love most in your wardrobe?


42 comments:

  1. Wow! I have a very small wardrobe and shoe collection, and jewelry collection, ha! I think my favorite is probably my sweaters though. I love them and I wear them all year. They are perfect with anything from a little day dress to a pair of jeans.

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  2. I love your shoes! And I don't think that's an outrageous amount - I have far more, spread out over several closets (and under the guest bed). Of course, I suspect I'm a fair bit older than you, so I've had quite a few more years of collecting time! And I'm really happy to see that I'm not the only one who buys the same shoe in a few colors.

    Shoes are definitely my most cherished wardrobe item too - all outfits start with the shoes!

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  3. So many cute shoes! I love them all. I've been wanting to buy a shoe organizer for a while too. I have quite a bit of shoes and skirts. I love my novelty print skirts. I do need to add more plain colors in skirts and blouses to my wardrobe.

    Our front lawn has a rock instead of grass. The landlords said it would cut down on weeds and lawn care. Ugh so not true. For two years now, we've had to pull out the weeds because it's easier and weed control doesn't reach the roots. I would have loved grass but people don't always clean up after their dogs.

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  4. I love how colorful they all are! You have a wonderful collection. Good luck on the yard work - tackling a new yard is so overwhelming! I'm trying to muster the energy to do it now too.

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  5. Shoes! :D I think I will show this to my husband so he'll quite complaining about how many I have. ;) Between having to wear sneakers at work and spending way too much of the rest of my time at a riding arena, I haven't been buying as many new shoes as I used to but I'm like you are rarely need to toss a pair because they are falling apart.

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  6. Shoes and dresses! I love how you have organized your shoes. I tend to keep mine in clear plastic boxes but I think a shoe rack certainly works better and it is more attractive.

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  7. I love my dresses the most :) Most of them are me-made and in prints that make me happy when I wear them. Shockingly, I do not have that many pairs of shoes and really only wear 2-3 different pairs a season. Your shoe collection is a happy rainbow and I love it!

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  8. My poor flower beds need this same treatment! They're looking a little "wild" right now lol. If you think you're a blogger lacking in accessories, than I must be seriously deprived in comparison haha! Really I'm just rather envious. My feet can't even dream up shoes that awesome! You better hope we don't have the same shoe size, and if so, don't invite me to your house ;) ;)

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  9. Well, I can't see a reason why to blame anyone for having a shoe addiction. A few weeks ago while re-arranging them in my wardrobe (I keep them in the two bottom shelves, stacked onto each other, what a shame) I counted them and almost dropped my jaw when realizing I had more than 60 pairs. Well, now I put several of them in an old clothes collection bin, but there are still many.
    Main difference is, that I would instantly wear most of the shoes you showed, whereas I own lots of shoes that I own only to be worn and not to look beautiul. I have the same problem with my clothing as well. But I have been trying to change my wardrobe slowly during the last couple of months, I don't want to wear jeans only because it's comfortable and because I can't find anything to wear.
    And your bed turned out really beautiful, I can imagine it pretty well with some green inside. Unfortunately we don't have a garden on our own, but are allowed to use a vegetable bed in the garden of our houseowners.

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  10. I have serious shoe envy now! I'm not even a shoe prson, bags are more my thing, i'm starting a vintage bag collection although I worry about using them!

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  11. I've actually considered buying one of those organizers but I don't know where I'd put it. I have to actually switch mine out every season. What's out of season goes under the bed. I really would like to be able to keep them all out like this. Besides shoes my most loved in my wardrobe is my handbags.

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  12. LOL we have the same shoe size hehe but sorrowfully I cannot where them or borrow them hehe But I think your collection is neat! Good for you! I love brooches and handbags so thats where I focus my collecting on...oh yeah and magazines and books :P Such a vintage nerd I am! hehe xox

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  13. Where did you buy that wonderful shoe rack? It looks so sturdy! I desperately need new organization for my shoes. They're all over the place! :P

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    1. From Target, and it is sturdy! You can use it with or without the wheels. I put the wheels on figuring it would be easier to wheel it away from a cold air return it's in front of (for better vacuuming purposes), but I think it would be slightly sturdier without the wheels on. But I'm still very pleased! In my Target it was in the aisle with the closing storage racks, over in the storage section. I checked their web site but the one they show looks the same but is a different brand and more expensive, the one I have is their Threshold brand (holds 50 pairs). So worth it!

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  14. I dream of having such a lovely collection.

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  15. I was so smitten by your shoe wardrobe snap on Instagram yesterday that I went back and looked at it again a few hours later, my mouth very nearly agape in complete and total love and awe. :)

    In each outfit post you're shared with us, I've admired your wonderful shoes, and so enjoy that you shared the whole (amazing!) collection with us here.

    ♥ Jessica

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  16. The side of your house is looking lovely! Can't wait to see what your next steps look like. Also, and most importantly, YOUR SHOES ARE AMAZING. All of those delicious technicolor bits of wonder - I am jealous to the core. They look so neat and organized on your new rack :)

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  17. Shoes are women best friends, aren't they????
    I have more than 100 pairs... and it's not a problem!!!

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  18. love it. Those yellow mustardy ones are too cute. I actually did a blog post on why women have so many shoes lol.

    xx jade xx
    www.wrongsideof20.blogspot.co.uk

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  19. Wow! I'm overwhelmed with jealousy right now, to be honest. I only realized that I need more shoes like a month ago and now I just can't stop thinking about it.
    I think what I love most in my wardrobe are my dresses. I own quite a lot of dresses, maybe around 15-20 dresses that can be worn on day by day basis. And also lipsticks! It's not a part of my wardrobe, I know, but I am crazy about lipsticks. Especially red. I have so much red lipsticks that are indistinguishable for other people. I'm a real lipstick maniac.

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  20. These shoes are 'only' your 'summer' shoes? I don't see your winter boots, the black ones? We absolutely share the same love for shoes! I am a bit afraid to count mine but I am sure I don't have as many as you yet ;). Comforting to see that you own more shoes in the same color, I always hesitate to buy a second pair. No more hesitation, thanks to you! The shoes will remain longer in new condition if you vary them. That's my best excuse to buy more shoes, hahaha!
    I am curious what kind of plants you are going to put in the new flower bed. You don't get much sunshine there? Please post more pics from the development of your garden, its so nice to follow it!

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    1. No, those are pretty much all my shoes except a few pairs I almost never wear and boots since they don't fit. I really don't have a lot of winter shoes. ;)

      In the bed shown above we planted four golden globe arborvitae shrubs. We don't want anything that's very high maintenance, since it's literally not even a side we see until we walk into the alley. We get tons of sun there though!

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  21. Holy moly, I have super duper SHOE ENVY! Especially the fact that you have vintage shoes. My big a@@ Sasquatch feet can never seem to fit into a pair. Sigh. I can look longingly at your collection. I have a big fat hairy dress collection. My closet(sss) are far too packed but I just can't seem to part with 'em. I'm like you: purses, meh; jewelry, meh. But dresses, well that's just another story. PS Yard looks great!

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  22. I'm with you on this one - don't mess with mah shoes. I have one rule, I can only buy new shoes as long as I wear the ones I already have. Which means at any given moment that I have to leave the house, there's a 95% chance I'm wearing ridiculous heels.

    Love the glimpse into your wardrobe, by the way. Gorgeous!

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  23. Wow! Not only do you have loads of shoes..they're all so darned cute! Love them! I too have more shoes than anything else in my wardrobe...but they're not all worn for various reasons, so should have a clear out really!

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  24. I am a shoe-a-holic too and I have passed this obsession on to my daughter as well. When she was two, - she's 25 now, - she rounded up all of her shoes into a pile and would just sit and play with them. lol.

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  25. I have a shoe obsession too! Always have and always will. My other weakness, sweaters! It gets mighty cold up here in Wisconsin and a whole pile of warms sweaters is a MUST! :) Your shoe collection is gorgeous!

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  26. Oh my gawd...your shoes!! Tell me why you groaned over lava rock. We're thinking of replacing all of our mulch with it. Should we not dare?

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    1. It's probably mostly personal opinion honestly! In a flower bed, I feel like I'd rather look at dirt and/or mulch than rocks. They just feel really cold-looking and sterile to me (I might feel different if there were a lot of succulents). Of course, the bed inside our yard with them doesn't have a whole lot planted in it (just what the previous owners did-- we haven't changed anything yet), so we look at a LOT of them. So I might be biased! But I can say from moving 8" of them over 45" long in that alley bed to fit the stones, they are a royal pain to move. I kind of clawed at them like a dog digs a hole. lol I think it would have been a lot easier moving mulch and dirt. I'll find out how difficult it is to plant in lava rocks tonight when we plant the shrubs.

      In terms of a weed barrier-- I wouldn't say it's any more effective than mulch, if that was potentially one of your reasons. If it would help your decision-making at all, I'd be happy to send you a photo of our one flower bed with lava rocks.

      But don't let me dissuade you if you like them, like I said I'm probably biased because of our excessive amount of them! :)

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  27. That's not nearly enough sheuz. You need to step it up Tasha. :-D

    Nice work on the bed! Can't wait to see it what all the plants in!

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  28. Purses. I'm seriously addicted to purses. Vintage ones, of course. I think shoes are becoming a strong contender as is jewelry.

    ~Katie (my wordpress doesn't work to log in for comments, but I'm real and I live at www.katiemullaly.com)

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  29. I saw that shoe picture on Instagram and I'm so jealous! I seriously need a better way to store my shoes! They're on boxes on tp of the wardrobe, piled in a box and just all over the place!

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  30. I have to admit that I too have an obsession with shoes! Everything has to match, after all. ;-)

    http://misskittyrouge.blogspot.co.uk

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  31. Thats an impressive collection of shoes! Very Jealous!

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  32. I love all these home improvements that you two are doing! It's so awesome seeing before/after pics (LOVE your bathroom!), but what I love even more are THE SHOEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! When I saw that photo on Instagram, it just about gave me heart palpitations! They are all so pretty!!!

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  33. I LOVE shoes - you have an amazing and enviable collection! Pretty pretty shoes....shoe envy ;)

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  34. OMG! Those lovely shoes! I bet I have about the same amount, but I just don't keep them in the same place so it feels smaller amount. If we would have more room in our apartment I would love to have similar rack for my shoes. My problem is large feet, it is quite difficult to find vintage shoes in my size since most vintage shoes are so darn small ;) Thankfully there are manufacturers that make gorgeous vintage style shoes.

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  35. oh my goodness - I have SERIOUS shoe envy! And I *want* one of those shoe racks. I'm going to see if Target in Australia carries them too!!

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  36. I WANT THOSE SHOES! I WANT THAT SHOE RACK! Obsessed or not, that's a gorgeous collection you got there, gal! Good luck with the outside renovations! :)

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  37. I drooled a little on myself when I saw your IG photo on my tiny phone screen. I have now gotten around to looking at the full computer screen version and wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!!!

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