Sneakers!

Praise the Lord in heaven that stylish footwear now includes sneakers!  As opposed to say, stilettos.  For which my back, my knees, my ankles and my feet thank the fashion gods (not in heaven above, BTW).

Where I come from athletic gym shoes are called “tennis” shoes.  Because I tend to spend a lot of time pursuing athletic activities, I’ve had a number of tennis shoes to fit the varous bills. Of which tennis was never an activity. But I digress.

And now?  Now, I have sneakers.  And quite a few of them.  Sneakers for indoor wear.  Sneakers to wear with shorts.  Sneakers to wear with jeans.  Sneakers to wear with dresses.

I’m a sneaker convert.  Is that a term?

Dress Sneakers

Probably really an oxymoron, but I don’t think anyone can argue my Ecco’s qualify as dress sneakers. They are truly gorgeous.

Comfy, but yet a fun look to combine with a dress or skirt are the Bonefish canvas sneakers I got from Amazon.

Benefits of Sneakers

Aside from all the joint issues I alluded to earlier, sneakers are also great because, well, your pedicure doesn’t need to be perfect.

You can wear socks with them and protect your dry heels.

They tend to have nice support which is great for wearing on the hard cement foundation my house sits upon.

Sneakers are much safer than flip flops.  Any questions about the safety of flip-flops, please let me know and I can start a whole post on that.  Yes, I wear flip-flops, but now that I have sneakers, I wear them much less.

Laces optional.  Lacing up and tying shoestrings isn’t really that big of a deal, but most of my sneakers have ornamental laces or none at all and that is just one less step.

Availability is so great now.  Everyone from Nordstrom to Walmart now sell my favs, New Balance, because they are so popular.

The soles on my non-athletic sneakers are pretty smooth.  That makes them great for in the house, on the court or on the dance floor. 

Using them for tread on an uneven trail or slippery sidewalk is probably risky.

Downside of Sneakers

Well, I have to wear sneakers with socks.  I just do.  And those little invisible socks never work out.  I have tried every single suggested tiny sock and they still slip down my heel and give me something to fiddle with all day.

Some of my athletic socks are pretty short and barely peek above some of my shoes, so I find that acceptable.

Slipping them on is not as easy as sliding on a pair of sandals.  Remember the post I did on my long shoehorn (of which I now have three scattered throughout the house)? 

Using a shoehorn which hangs right next to my shoe selection means I don’t have to bend over or find a seat to put on my shoes. Love my shoehorns.

The downside of the popularity of my beloved New Balance is that they can get a little pricey.  I find myself actually searching for the best price now when I need to purchase a pair.

So, let me ask you.  Do you find your shoe selection now includes more sneakers than ever?  Are you wearing athletic shoes with regular outfits or do you have dedicated “dress sneakers”? 

Young women adopting sneakers over high heels is brilliant and their feet will thank them someday.

Oh, but the calves those heels carved, right?

Summer Salad

DF Julie shared her gorgeous summer salad.  She lives in Denver and apparently her local farmer’s market is fantastic.  She picked up tomatoes and cucumbers there and used basil she grows herself to make this salad inspired by Eating Well.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Summer Salad from Eating Well

Course: Salad

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ¾ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 English cucumber cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 pound tomatoes cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tbs chopped shallot
• 2 tbsp chopped basil

I am literally salivating over this and you can be sure it’s on my menu plan this week.

Look at the fresh produce she picked up.  Oh, just YUM!

Wrap Up

Well, hello, August.  I knew you’d get here, but I didn’t think it would be this fast.  Darn! 

Two exciting bits of news from July.  DFs Jann and Denisse both joined me in retirement and I am so excited for both of them.  I hope this means more play time together!

Speaking of Jann, her sister Beth (with whom we partied hearty in Death Valley) sent me a pose of her Lil’ Man imitating Jabba. 

So darn cute.

Have a wonderful week and sending lots of love and wishes for comfy feet!