PLACES TO GO! NORVELL SHOE REPAIR

The walkway and parking lot at my place of employment is murderous to my dear stilettos.

 

 

It’s so bad, that I’ve began wearing flats or flip-flops as I make that trek from my car to the front entrance.

Concrete, Asphalt & Flip-Flops

 

I’ve tried self-repairing my heels, which was a big fail.  I further damaged the heel trying to remove the metal rod.

I had a very hard time locating an inexpensive repair shop that could work miracles.
Finally I found Norvell Shoe Repair on North Avenue.

Norvell Shoe Repair

The shoe repairman pulled out his pliers and proudly pulled out that metal rod (right in front of me) located in one of my shoes with ease...as if he were pulling a straw out of a Slurpee!

The end result:  Four pairs of revitalized shoes for the price of one new pair!

 

Almost like new!

Once again, my beautiful RVA is the home of an awesome business that has given me happiness & satisfaction. 

Next month, I will share another RVA hidden jewel!

Please share your shoe repair story in the comment section below.

Also visit me on Instagram @ecleticbouquet!

SHOESDAY TUESDAY WITH THE SMITHS

Once again, we take a few minutes to celebrate the beautiful shoe.  How can did a functional invention become such splendid works of art?

I decided to share some of my family’s fancy footwear with you.  We are an artistic family, full of color, fun & self-expression and that is indeed reflected on our toes.

                                     Mark, Jessica & Erica are the owners of the cute zapatos.

I also wanted to show you the glittery-gold, 5 inch heel of this beautiful Madden Girl summer peep-toe.  I know it’s a summer shoe, but I had to share it with you on the last snowy Shoesday Tuesday of the month. 

                                                               

TUESDAY SHOESDAY – PEWTER IS THE NEW BLACK?

Some folks believe that fashion is all about trends, but fashion is really about freedom.

When I was a young girl living in the projects in the 1980’s, my aunt used to give me all of her recycled fashion magazines. 

Seventeen. Vogue.  Mademoiselle. Glamour. Cosmopolitan.  

Those magazine editors were probably under the impression that  they were just introducing today’s style to the world, but what they were doing was reiterating the fact that it’s ok to be fashionably-free. 

I used the little money I earned from summer and after school jobs and purchased affordable clothes and shoes that were similar to the ones I saw in those magazines and created a style of my own.  

Yes...I still have this skirt that I purchased somewhere between 1987-1988.

When Vogue said it was the season of the hounds tooth pencil skirt – I strutted, in my skirt, through a sea of tight biker shorts, down the project streets, to the bus stop.

When Glamour said the classic pump was being reintroduced to the masses - I sashayed, in my pumps,  past waves of  red, white and black Air Jordan tennis shoes,  from the bus stop to job interviews.

When Mademoiselle said the blazer was the hottest new addition to any ensemble - I strolled, wearing my blazer,  past mountains of Adidas tracksuits, to those job  interviews that create a path that would lead me out of those housing projects.

Biker shorts, Air Jordan tennis shoes & Adidas tracksuits all played an important role in fashion history, but I had to create my own history.

I enjoyed these magazines for entertainment.

I flipped the pages & gazed over beautiful pieces of clothing.

I purchased reasonable facsimiles of these pieces.

I added my own personal touches to these items.

I embraced individuality in a place where individuality was not always embraced.

Almost thirty years later, I'm still happily dictating my own fashion destiny.

Exhibit #1:  These unusual Pewter booties by Unlisted.

 

                          My creative daughter, Erica's bedroom wall serves as the backdrop.

My wonderful husband, Mark, purchased these cuties as a Christmas gift for me.

He has become very familiar with his wife’s eclectic taste.

Everyone has a fashion history.

Please feel free to share yours in the comment’s section below.

SUNDAY REWIND - FRUIT AND SHOES

After a small hiatus, Ecclectic Bouquet has returned!

I am celebrating by combining Splurgeday Thursday & First Time Friday and a lil' bit of some premature Shoesday Tuesday.

                                              
First of all, take a look at these beautiful Steve Madden “winter wedges” I purchased on my lunch break on Friday. 

 

Here are the stats:

  Black Suede

  5 ½ inch wedge heel

  1 ½ inch platform

  Ankle strap

  Gorgeous!!!

I call the Steve Madden brand the working woman’s splurge.  His items are well made, beautiful and affordable.  I can always find Steve Madden shoes or bags at a reasonable price. 

I love you Christian Louboutin, but I can only peep at your shoes through a store window...unless I want Suzy Orman’s head to pop out of my glove box & yell at me.

On Saturday, I was able to prove that Steve Madden’s shoes are soooooo comfortable.  I went on a two  hour grocery shopping excursion and completed some other shopping duties with these beautiful shoes on.  No pinched toes.  No cramped ankles.  Just happily taking care of business,  comfortably and in style.

 

In my rush to put these shoes on, I placed the buckle in the middle.

It should be on the side.

They are still ridiculous-cute though!

 

Also, I kinda ended my search for a fruit I can enjoy. In my first post, I told everyone about the texture issues I have with almost all fruit.  So for the first time, I tried to eat a mango. 

It was my belief that since I love mango flavored Orbits gum, mango scented lotion, perfumes & candles, maybe I could love the actual fruit.  I cut this unusual looking fruit into cubes, shared the cubes with Mark and Erica, sat down and took a very small bite. 

Good grief!!!  It was too soft and sweet…not crisp enough.

I also tried a pomegranate again. 

 

 

 I like these, but I cannot get over the hard little seed in the middle of each pulp.

 

 

 

I think I’m just going to stick to lemons and organic Granny Smith apples.

Please share your Steve Madden experiences with me in the comment’s section below.  Also, if you are a fruit hating weirdy like me, please also share that story as well!

 

 

TUESDAY SHOESDAY - BOOT-BOOTIES

Long, black stiletto boots are one of the hottest items of clothing any woman can own.   I purchased a pair online last year and fell in love with them…kinda.

These boots come in two pieces…a short bootie and the long leg piece that you can attach to the bootie.  This way you have two pairs of shoes in one.  When I saw the picture online, I was so excited to purchase such a unique item.  When I tried the shoe on, I was a little perplexed.

   What's up with all the cords? 

My husband, Mark is a techie-kinda guy,

so these cords are like snakes on a plane around our house. 

I put on the leg part, then slipped on the bootie…snapped both parts together and sashayed around the house.  This puzzle just didn’t fit together like it should.  I think this is just another creation I’m just not smart enough to enjoy, and I think I’m pretty deft chick.  I’ve worn them to work with a dress, I wore them to an event with some jeans…they looked awesome, but I had to keep adjusting the bootie so that the back part won’t keep peeping out of the long leg part.

Oh well…I still love these cuties, even though I mostly wear them as a short bootie.

Ok…forgive me, but I’m going to back up & run off of the track for a second.  “Deft” is one of my new favorite words. I’m probably using it out of context in the paragraph above, so once again, please forgive me. I was reintroduced to this word as I watched Alex Ebert accept his award  for Best Original Score –Motion Picture on the Golden Globes Sunday night.  Remember his ingenious quote: “Even the most deft pen is a clumsy tool and yet we still try for magic”.  As a lover of the written word, this will be my new motto.

Back to Tuesday Shoesday

 

If you have any suggestions on how to wear these gorgeous boots correctly  or if you have a piece of clothing, household item (like cords & wires), a complex dish you would like to cook, and you feel that you are just not "smart" enough to conquer, please share in the comment’s section below.

                                                                 

SUNDAY'S POETRY

Why do I still have this conformed old shoe?  Two words:  Borderline Hoarder!

CONFORMED^©

By Rose V. Smith

Don’t let this be you

A conformed old shoe

No life of its own

Roams where the feet roams

Smells like the feet smells

Swells when the feet swells

Shaped like the feet’s shape

Can’t determine its own fate

The foot will walk for miles

Re-determining the shoe’s style

Yet when the shoe mirror the foot

The hands will toss it for a new boot.

 

.

 

TUESDAY SHOESDAY





BEAUTIFUL PARIAH^©

By Rose V. Smith

 

My passion for three & a quarter inch platform Stilettos

Does not reflect a desire to tip toe past foes

Who bitterly mutter blatant contempt as I Sashay by…

It simply reflects my desire to Sashay.

 Steve Madden, Jessica Simpson, and even my dream shoe Christian Louboutin .  They all make me feel quite gitty inside.  Y’all know the feeling! You step into the shoe store, knowing that you intend to leave with a pair of beautiful , Scarpas, Chaussures, Zapatos…

 

You scan the displays…slip on a few pair…saunter around the store…staring at your feet’s reflection.

 Once you’ve made your decision, you place the box on the counter, watch as the register calculates surprising discounts (“…oh, and you also receive a 30% Spring-Fling discount today”).  At this point I’m usually bouncing on my tip-toes.

When you reach your car, you know you should use good judgment and place your bag in the trunk of your car, but you place the bag in the front seat, so that you can peep into the bag at each red light.

Hmmph!!!  Don’t judge!  My fellow shoe lovers (guys and girls) understand! 

Well, when I purchase this pair of sparkly black Deréon shoes during my lunch break more than a year ago, I experienced the same scenario above.

 

Let me know what you think about these cuties in the comments box below.